The best winter in years (decades?) has left the Big Bear resorts amply set for spring. Assuming it ever arrives, of course.

    Winter has already brought over 10 feet of snow to the slopes at Snow Summit and Bear Mountain, and as March arrives it hardly appears over. Storms in the forecast should keep the 4-6 foot base depths at both resorts going strong, even as the sun rises in the sky and days get longer.

    Typically we’re talking spring skiing in March but during this El Nino, it’s anybody’s guess what conditions will hold. Late January’s five foot epic dump, generally considered the biggest storm sequence in Big Bear since 1969, was followed by frequent February blasts including nearly a foot that fell at the very end of the month. Simply put, if you haven’t had a powder day yet as a skier or snowboarder, the blame lies purely on you.

    “I think we’re still gaining snowpack,” Chris Riddle of Big Bear Mountain Resorts said on March 1. “We had a net gain this weekend and are still piling it up.”

    All of which has left Snow Summit and Bear Mountain in prime shape indeed. Awesome coverage on 55-plus runs at both resorts, tree sections including the canyons at Bear Mountain going off, more forest to be explored at Snow Summit, a couple hundred jibs and jumps between the two...what a winter! Hello, El Nino!

    Why, there’s so much snow that ski patrol has had to rope off areas underneath some chairs at both resorts to make sure skiers and boarders don’t get whacked by those riding up. Check out the covers on the snowmaking hydrants too; they stand four foot tall and as Big Bear Today went to press many at both resorts are practically buried!

    “Plus they were already sitting on at least two feet of snow, before we quit taking the covers off each night for snowmaking,” Riddle pointed out. That means there’s really six feet or more on the covers!

    Indeed lines have opened up at both places that even regulars and locals have never explored. Case in point: the front cover of this issue of Big Bear Today. Was it shot in the canyons at Bear? No. Rather it was taken in tree sections serviced by Snow Summit’s low intermediate level Chair 9, between runs Skyline Creek and Sundown. Truly you don’t have to be a hottie to find happiness in the timber, and skiers and snowboarders of all ability levels have been getting off the beaten path.

    There’s a terrific recently-thinned tree section off Rip’s Run at Bear that affords terrific off-piste action. Silver Mountain is littered with exploratory lines, between signature run Exhibition and The Wedge, then further down between Rip Cord and Exhibition. Showdown Mountain has a peak’s worth of trees.

    Snow Summit has lots of hidden stashes too, from the obvious visible trees into the Chair 6 bowl runs to tastes hidden amidst Chair 3. Bop into the timber off Timber Ridge, drop into the drainage below East Mountain Express chair known by locals as Toad’s, zip between Perfect Pitches and Sideshow...the possibilities are nearly endless and the fun definitely so.

    Instead of 400-plus acres of developed runs at Snow Summit and Bear Mountain to enjoy, winters like this one open Southern California’s premier mountain resorts up big-time. Now there’s more like 1,200 acres to play in—that’s a good sized destination resort!—just a couple hours from most Southland cities.

    Both resorts are well positioned to take advantage of all the fluff. Bear Mountain for instance has not one, not two but three pipes. Just like in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, there are pipes that are “just right” for you whether it’s the mini with gentle transitions for learners, standard size or competition-size Superpipe with 17’ sidewalls. Plus get some change back with quarterpipes that are half of a halfpipe with one wall.

    The Scene, Bear’s collection of hike-to hits, is insane with jibs for all abilities. Further up the hill are favorites including the recently-unveiled spaceship, winner of Analog’s “Design Unlikely Feature” contest. Yet there’s jibs and jumps for all ability levels lining the runs at Bear, from wide flat boxes for beginners to huge rails for advanced riders. And whether March brings more winter or drifts toward spring, Bear’s massive 13,000 sq. ft. deck is the happening place with music, Beach Bar and barbecue, the perfect venue to take in the coolest vibe around.

    While Bear remains Big Bear’s place to park—The Park has been voted number one in the nation by Transworld Snowboarding Magazine readers, and #2 overall behind only Whistler Blackcomb in Canada—Snow Summit also offers more freestyle fun too. Westridge, the resort’s longest run at 1-1/4 miles and at one time the nation’s premier freestyle trail, has gradually returned to its former status.

    Hardly Superpark status like it was when it was Ground Zero for the inaugural Winter X Games in 1997, Westridge still has some premium-size jumps on it plus the famous pole hip. Which makes sense, since Westridge is Snow Summit’s premium run at night.

    “We’re trying to have more of a freestyle mix,” Riddle said. “From the Family Fun Park with hits everyone can enjoy to intermediate and even larger jumps.” Family Fun Park on the low-intermediate runs along Chair 9 is a great place to discover freestyle, with itty bitty hitties including small jumps and tame jibs.

    Call Big Bear Mountain Resorts at (909) 866-5766.