Suddenly the weather forecast called for snow in our local mountains this weekend. I was more than happy to hear that since SoCal resorts have been hurting due to lack of snow.
Because most LA drivers don't have a clue how to drive in the snow and tend to do stupid things, the police usually close the mountain roads (or require chains) as soon as it snows. I had a terrible experience from last season. Big Bear had received a late dump in March and when I reached the foothill I was turned away by the police because I didn't have chains! WTF...I mean, I drive a AWD Subaru and I go up to Mammoth all the time!!>( So, to avoid the same thing happening to me again, this time I got smart and took the "long way". This detour required me to go up toward Victorville (pass Mountain Die), cut across the desert and take the back road into Big Bear Lake. The road had no passing lane and was rather twisty. And the surface was getting snowy and slippery as I climbed higher. But since not many people took this route I was able to arrive at Big Bear only 30 minutes later than usual.=) Snow Summit in the background as I was driving into town I could see the entire town was blanketed by snow, but as I pulled into the parking lot at Snow Summit the weather was fine. I was contemplating which goggles I should use and somehow had a feeling that I should put on my Dragon goggles with the amber lense for all-around riding (I made the right choice). At the base of the resort...fresh snow and sunny I was glad to see that there weren't that many people on the slopes. I think most of the them were still stuck at the bottom of the mountain or sliding in their stupid big-ass SUVs on the way up. As I rode on the express lift I noticed the weather changing right in front of my eyes. From half way and up the temperature turned cold and there was fog! But of course I didn't let that distract me from having fun. My feet (actually my board) touched fresh snow for the first time this season and I was all smiles! Look at all the snow, and it's wide open! I spent about 2 hours freeriding at Snow Summit then got bored because they didn't really have a park yet. So just like last week, I took the inter-mountain shuttle bus and headed over to Bear Mountain for some freestyle action. But I couldn't believe my eyes when I got there...it was TOO foggy, even at the base!=( The visibility was so bad that it was kinda dangerous, especially because Bear Mountain is full of freestyle items on all of its slopes. I fell hard a couple of times because I couldn't see some of the lips and kickers. The fact that the buckle on my toe strap decided to quit on me didn't help either. You probably could've heard me cursing all the way down the mountain! I gave up on Bear Mountain after about an hour. I'm not exactly sure why but I started having sharp pain on the inside of my right quad muscle. I didn't want to push it too much so I called it a day. But before I got on the shuttle I caught this new promotional sign. I think JT would get a good laugh out of it: Man-made snow is STILL real snow! Apparently it's been snowing up in Mammoth since Saturday night and the forecast calls for more snow throughout the week so I'm finally going to ride Mammoth next weekend...I can't wait! Self portrait in the parking lot...kakkoi?
by snoboyaro
| 2006-12-10 17:13
| Snow
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