Ski Los Angeles!
By Carolyn Branson
Who hasn't heard of Los Angeles' sunny weather? We do have that all summer long, but January through April, the snow sifted on the mountains from winter storms is visible from the city. True, the snow isn't falling in the city itself, but local news crews have captured on tape frozen flurries falling on the outskirts of town.
Yes, the 2001 winter season is setting records for snowfall at lower elevations, which foreshadows a long ski season. This may give you an opportunity to do something you might not have thought of doing on your vacation to Los Angeles: ski!
If you've never tried snow skiing or snowboarding, this would be a perfect opportunity to try it out! Hard-core skiers, which I'm not, might prefer Mammoth Mountain (which I do!), but it's quite a long drive (3 hours "plus") from Los Angeles.
From the city, the drive to local slopes is only an hour-and-a half, sometimes requiring tire chains, but not always. Even though these local slopes are not world-class, they're far from being a joke. Multiple ski lifts plus snow pipes and parks for snowboarding are the norm. In fact, Snow Summit hosted the American Snowboard Competition in late February.
The San Bernardino mountain range is home to Big Air, Big Bear, Mountain High, Ski Sunrise, Snow Summit, and Snow Valley ski resorts. For any of them, weekday is the best time to go, without question, for the most crowd-free experience. Don't forget that you can also ski at night!
A few well-thought-out reviews, although some from two seasons ago, of each of the resorts can be found at SkiTown.com.
Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can check out our North American Insiders page.
