UNOFFICIAL GUIDE: Bear Mountain, CA

[Pat AKA mustski]

Unofficial Guide to BEAR MOUNTAIN
By @Pat AKA mustski

Bear Mountain is defined by it's terrain parks and it's youthful vibe. Big Bear Mountain Resorts hosted the first X Games at Snow Summit, in 1987, and continue to sponsor and support pro riders today. Without a doubt, Bear Mountain has become a park terrain Mecca in Southern California. There is a regular flow of competitions( amateur and pro) and events held at Bear throughout the season. Don't let this fool you into believing that Bear Mountain is only for the hardcore. Bear has terrain features for all levels, an excellent beginner area, and is home to a full time, on-site, adaptive ski school for children and adults with cognitive and physical disabilities. It also has some of the best steeps in SoCal and, in a big snow year, some great backcountry skiing in the canyons.

Like Snow Summit, Bear Mountain has excellent snow making, great grooming, and it also has an outstanding park development team.


A view of Bear in December 2012. The fantastic snowmaking makes Bear and Summit both excellent early season bets as far as open terrain and snow coverage.

Aside from the beginner area, Bear Mountain divides into three categories: Park Terrain, The Scene, and The Steeps.

THE PARK (chairs 1,2,3,5,9)

The entire Western half of the resort is dedicated to park terrain, a continuous 1200 vertical feet from top to bottom. Although there are features for every level of ability, Bear's park terrain attracts some serious sliders, and the pace is fast and furious. The West side is dominated by intermediate and advanced park terrain and is often busy on the weekends. To avoid crowds, arrive early in the day on Saturday or Sunday. Then when the slopes and park get too busy, hit the beach bar and kick back and watch the park action from the sundeck.


Central Park


Lower Park Run


Red Bull Plaza - an "urban themed" terrain park built in powder bowl

THE SCENE

The scene is located in the base area. New freestyle skiing and snowboarding features are often laid out here before being placed on the mountain, giving sliders the opportunity to hike and try them out. Here, Bear also hosts its numerous events and competitions throughout the season. From the opening competition event in September ( "Hot Dawgz and Hand Rails")


This one if from Sept 27, 2014 .... It may still be "summer" in SoCal ... but that doesn't stop us~


to "Neff's Beach Bash", the scene keeps hopping all season long. "Hey, it's Southern California! What we lack in snow, we make up with personality!"


The sundeck with view of "the scene"



THE STEEPS (chairs 4 & 8)

Although "steep" is an exaggeration when compared to Mammoth, Bear Mountain does boast the longest, groomed, steep runs in Southern California. Most of the time, runs like Geronimo, The Wedge, and Exhibition are relatively uncrowded. While it may get repetitive skiing the same runs over and over (if avoiding park terrain) the room to ski is a definite plus. Be warned - on a powder day, all bets are off! Even the hardcore park rats appreciate a powder day as much as anyone else and will head for the peaks.


The view of Big Bear Lake from the top of Geronimo


Exhibition Run under chair 4

UNITED STATES ADAPTIVE RECREATION CENTER

"Big Bear Mountain Resort is proud to sponsor the United States Adaptive Recreation Center (USARC). USARC provides skiing and snowboarding to adaptive athletes of all ages. USARC uses the best adaptive equipment, the most effective teaching techniques available, and private one-on-one instruction to maximize each participant’s potential for success. Visit www.usarc.org for more information on the first, full-time, on-site, adaptive ski school in Southern California." BBMR



USARC provides ski opportunities at little to no cost to the customer. The funding is providing via fundraising efforts. If you are interested in participating in a fundraiser or in donating, check out this event. The annual "Peak to Peak" ride from Big Bear to Mammoth is not for the faint of heart, but I have friends who have done it every year for 10+ years and they love it!

http://usarc.org/peak-to-peak-pedal

All photos are courtesy of BBMR.

 

[mellowben]

Hey Pat,

Awesome guide. This is my first year skiing at big bear and have really progressed through the runs at snow summit so i thought id give bear mountain a try after reading your guide. However, i do have some questions.

At snow summit I can comfortably ski the intermediate to advance terrain, but have had difficulty with the double diamonds (the wall, olympic, etc.) - They are still a beyond my ability level.

That being said, what runs would you recommend at bear mountain? I see a lot of park at bear mountain but that really isn't my thing. Any suggestions on what runs to begin with?

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

Bear has much more park and less straight ski runs. Most of the park runs are easy blues but you do have to avoid features also known as “obstacles.” That said ... if you can ski Log Chute and Miracle Mile at SS, you will be able to ski both Exhibition and Rip Chord (often referred to as Silver per the original mountain designation). As for Geronimo ... I find it easier than the Wall or Olympic; the pitch is better and it’s a longer run with a steep section followed by a run out followed by another steep section so less sustained steep. Also ... you don’t get the gazillion idiots straight lining it. Overall, Bear offers less options than Summit but it is a nice change and in spring the conditions are sometimes better because it has a little higher altitude. If you ever want a guide, hit me up and Bob and I will meet up and show you around.

 

[mellowben]

Thanks for the detailed information. I will definitely give bear mountain a go to get some variety in. I will stick to exhibition and rip chord when i first get there to get a sense for the runs.

I tried Olympic last week for the first time and ended up sliding all the way down. There was no stopping... Not fun.. I was not used to the run being that steep.

I will definitely keep you and Bob in mind when I make a trip back out there! I appreciate it!!

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

Olympic tends to be slicker than other runs because it is always in the shade. Next time try “baby Olympic”... cut left and take the cut off after the drop in. It’s much more user friendly.

At Bear, to get to Silver (ie: exhibition and Rip chord) you will have to ski through some steepish blacks. Showtime is about the same as the steep drop on Miracle Mile. Silver doesn’t open until 9:30. We usually 2 runs from the top of the express before we head to Silver. This is the best route over.

Seriously, wherever you go.. hit us up. We ski everywhere and have no preferences so we are happy to ski whatever terrain you prefer.

 

[mellowben]

I will definitely give "baby olympic" a go next time around. I definitely lost some confidence in my ability as I was rolling down the hill but it was a learning experience.

I am getting excited about bear mountain now! I can't wait to go back and give it a go. Conditions have been nice since we got some snow these past few days so i am going to make the most of it.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

We’re hitting SS tomorrow. Just so you know, we have a meet up thread here: https://www.SkiTalk.com/threads/big...eet-up-thread-20-21.20477/page-17#post-594297

Join in the conversation.