"Kids today, all they talk about is big air.
I say, stay on the mountain -- that's where the action is.
If you want big air, pull my finger."
~Smooth Johnson
"Skiing combines outdoor fun with knocking down trees with your face."
~Dave Barry
"If you aren’t crashing, you aren’t skiing."
~Unknown
A main item on my Original Bucket List was to stay in good enough shape to continue snow skiing with friends into my 80s. I have been able to do this so far and I expected another great year of skiing during my YEAR 77. The highlight of my skiing over the years has been the Annual Park City Ski Trip, which is the subject of a separate blog written in late January 2018. My regular skiing takes place primarily at Big Bear Lake, but I have had many other fun skiing experiences over the years and I have summarized many of those below in A Little of My Skiing History.
My regular plan has been to begin skiing in November or December (as soon as Snow Summit in Big Bear opens) to get in shape for the annual Park City Ski Trip that takes place in late January. Then we usually have more local skiing into February and March. The weather has not been very cooperative this winter and Southern California is back in drought conditions. There has been some skiing in Big Bear, but due to rather poor conditions, and some schedule conflicts, I have not skied Big Bear until now; the trip that is generating this blog. Art W and I drove to Big Bear on the afternoon of Presidents Day, February 19th, to ski for a couple of days. To my surprise it was snowing as we came closer to Big Bear Valley and the roads were covered with snow and were icy - about 23 degrees as we entered the Valley. Art H came to visit that first night and Art W and I went to the Hacienda Mexican Restaurant for dinner. It was 15 degrees when we arrived back at the cabin after dinner.
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I set the cabin's furnace thermostat at 68 degrees when we arrived. It ran all night and the room temperature was still just 63 degrees when I got up the next morning. It was 5 degrees outside.
Snow Summit Ski Resort has changed ownership a couple of times in the last several years, and both Art and I were really impressed with the significant improvements that the current owner has made to the facilities - the shops, restaurants, rest rooms, and more. Significant construction has taken place and it must have cost many millions of dollars.
We had a couple of days of really good skiing. Some new snow came on Monday evening (they said 4 inches) and it has been really cold for the last week so they have supplemented the natural snow with man-made. Groomed skiing couldn't be any better. The only downside is that because of the earlier lack of natural snow, and not enough cold weather to make snow on the entire mountain, they do not have all the runs open. For those familiar with the mountain, Chair 10 and Chair 6 were not open, and a number of runs on the other Chairs were closed or restricted. Nevertheless, there was a lot of good skiing. I couldn't resist having a photo taken of Art and I at the top of Chair 7 - 7 has to be one of the best runs!
We also took photos lower on the hill at the cutoff to the Miracle Mile.
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We skied Tuesday and half-day on Wednesday and headed off the mountain for other planned activities. We agreed to watch the weather and try another local ski trip if conditions and our schedules will allow.
A Little of My Skiing History: I'm not sure why, but even though my hometown was in ski country, I didn't begin skiing until I was in college. I took a ski class during the winter of 1958/59 and began skiing often after that at Beaver Mountain, the local ski resort. Usually I skied with Covert, Mike, Mel and Merrill. Despite ski equipment and hill conditions that seem dreadful now, we had a lot of fun. I also made a couple of trips to ski the old Snow King Mountain in Jackson Hole and to Snow Basin in Ogden. During the winter of 1960/61 I took a solo trip to Aspen in my 1940 Chevy. It was a great experience for me, skiing at this famous resort, and I'll always remember watching Stein Erickson who, at that time, was doing a somersault each afternoon at Aspen Highlands to the delight of a crowd that would assemble each day to watch. Of course that somersault in 1961 doesn't hold a candle to the aerials they do these days. The only photo I have from the Aspen trip is me and the Forty at the "Ski Bum Hotel" where I roomed.
Bonnie and I moved to California in 1964 and it was not until the winter of 1970/71 that I realized we had snow skiing at local ski resorts. With a few friends, we rented a cabin in Big Bear a few times during the early 1970s and did some local skiing. The photo below is the New Year's Eve Torchlight Parade at Snow Summit in Big Bear.
Bonnie & I, and Merlin & Susan, bought our cabin in Big Bear during the winter of 1976/1977. We all had great fun playing in the snow when the kids were small. Merlin and I took the kids skiing at Gold Mine (now Bear Mountain) and at Snow Summit Resort a number of times. We also skied with Dennie & Alison and Fred & Connie. I have skied there regularly ever since those days. The photos below are from those early days. The skiers are Tracy on the left, and Jenny.
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Bonnie and I visited Grant & Finch in Lake Tahoe in April '74. They had a big spring snow storm just before our trip so I took my skis and skied at Heavenly Valley Resort. I skied at Lake Tahoe a number of times after that - once on a business trip, 3 or 4 times with the Poker Club guys, and once with Jarrett, staying at his condo. In addition to Heavenly, we skied Sierra at Tahoe, Kirkwood, Squaw Valley, and Diamond Peak. The photo below was when I skied Heavenly by myself in April 1974 in new, deep, wet snow. I was the first one to the top of the mountain and as I got off the lift there was a sign that said "Do Not Ski Alone" and of course I had no choice - I was alone.
The Annual Park City Ski Trip, which is covered in a separate blog, began in the winter of '74/'75 and has continued ever since - a wonderful group of people have been on those trips and they have all been great fun. On these trips we have skied Alta, Snowbird, Snow Basin, as well as Deer Valley, Park City Resort, and The Canyons. At the end of the Park City ski trip in both 2006 and 2007, Art and I drove to Aspen and skied there. The first year we skied Aspen Mountain and Aspen Highlands, the same mountains I had skied when I was there 45 years before. The snow was wonderful and we had a great time. In 2007 we also skied Snow Mass Resort and had a fantastic day. It’s a huge mountain with a tremendous variety of slopes and runs. In one case, we took off our skis at the top of a chairlift and climbed another 200 yards or so to access a long run that was only accessible by doing the climb. There were only a few skiers on that run and the snow was wonderful. Although I don’t remember the name of the run, I’ll always remember the experience. Beginning in 2008, Art W, Gary D, and I have driven to Logan and skied Beaver Mountain Resort for a couple of days after the Park City ski days. The photos below are from our trip to Logan this year and from prior years.
1st row- Gary, my cousin Dee and Art as we were heading for Marge's Triple Lift; next shows the crowds as our group skis down Ted's Rock run; last is Art, me and Gary at the top of Harry's Dream Lift a few years ago.
2nd row-These are just shots of the beautiful mountains where we ski - the last one is Art and I skiing in new powder down The Stump run.
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While I was working at Hydril Company, Jim N and Warren P organized an annual ski trip to Mammoth beginning in the late 1970s. They planned it for the weekend after the Thanksgiving weekend and we always had good snow and a great time. We would drive 5 hours after work on Friday, then return the 5 hour drive home after skiing on Sunday. I couldn't do that these days, but it was great fun then and we went on many trips, the last in 1992, long after I had left Hydril.
Scorpian Skis - During 1984, I met John Post, who had a long history with Snow Summit Ski Resort, and at the time I met him he was trying to obtain financing for his company, the Scorpian Ski Company. An engineer in San Diego had developed the Scorpian Ski with the objective of making a ski designed to turn rather than to track, as conventional skis are designed. The ski is only 106 centimeters long, is wider than conventional skis (to help keep it on top of the snow) and has a slight reverse camber. If you set the ski on a flat surface, the tip and heel are slightly off the surface. This allows the skier to turn with the use of his knees versus the “un-weighting” technique. In December 1984, in order to demonstrate the Scorpian Ski to me, Post took me skiing at Snow Forest Ski Resort in Big Bear (this resort was south of the Village, but no longer exists). As we got off the chairlift at the top he casually said, "Just follow me" and then he went right off a cliff, down deep unskied snow, and through the trees. With some trepidation I followed him. I was immediately amazed at how well the skis handled on steep terrain and in deep snow and at the total control you had. It wasn’t long before I was thinking; “I can’t wait to let Walt try to follow me down a mountain when I’m on these Scorpians!” After one run I had decided that I had to have a pair of Scorpians. Art W and Dennie are the two guys who have skied the Scorpians the most with me and we have had some of our best days skiing the trees at Deer Valley on the Scorpians. I assisted Post in his efforts to raise capital for the Scorpian venture by preparing prospectus type material for presentation to investors and lenders. I received common stock in Scorpian Ski Company for my efforts but the venture was never successful. In fact, John, who was my age, died of a massive heart attack just a few years after I was working with him and to my knowledge no one has tried to do anything with the Company since.
Brian Head is a small, but nice resort near Cedar City and in 1989 I skied there with Jarrett and Shannon, and skied it again in 2009 with Art and Al.
During the winter of 1993/94 I worked for Fullerton Mortgage in Big Bear and also served as a Host for Snow Summit Ski Resort. I skied over 30 days that year, the most days I've ever worked in to my schedule. The first photo below is a Fullerton Mortgage Ski Team (me on the right) that participated in a slalom contest to benefit the March of Dimes; the second photo is me in my official Snow Summit Host parka.
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Beginning in 2004 I began purchasing mid-week season passes at Snow Summit and have skied there every year since. My usual routine has been to drive to Big Bear on a Sunday with Art W and Al, stay at our the cabin, and ski Monday and Tuesday. Art H has normally joined us, and Dennie has also joined us on many occasions.
Photos below are from a few years ago. From the left- Al and I at the top of Chair 7 at Snow Summit; a Selfie of Art W and I at Snow Summit; then Art W and I separately at Maggio's Pizza Restaurant, a favorite in Big Bear after a ski day.
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