On Big Bear's slopes, a new ski lift opens. Is a link between resorts next?

Snow has been dilatory to get successful Big Bear this year, but the semipermanent forecast calls for large changes.

Bear Mountain edifice successful Big Bear is adding its archetypal caller seat assistance successful 30 years, a six-seat, high-speed assistance that volition transportation its archetypal customers Thursday.

The caller Midway assistance (also known arsenic Chair 5) holds up to six skiers astatine a time. Its features see a abbreviated conveyor loop that carries skiers and boarders to the spots wherever the assistance volition prime them up for a thrust of astir 2,500 feet.

“This is our bright, shiny, caller artifact for the season,” said Mark Burnett, the resort’s vice president for facilities, astatine a caller trial run.

Though Bear Mountain opened chairlifts 7 and 9 for the play Dec. 13, absorption waited until aboriginal successful the period earlier opening up the Midway lift, hoping for much snowfall that has yet to arrive. Skiers tin get updates connected Big Bear weather, trails and lifts here.

Meanwhile, Alterra Mountain Co., the institution down Bear Mountain, Snow Summit, Snow Valley and respective of the largest wintertime resorts successful the West, continues to inch guardant connected a bigger idea: linking Bear Mountain and Snow Summit with a brace of lifts and different amenities. This would let skiers and boarders to determination backmost and distant betwixt resorts without driving oregon boarding a shuttle bus.

Under the program — inactive nether reappraisal by the U.S. Forest Service — the resorts would physique a brace of “Big Bear Connect” lifts. To marque the program work, the 2 skis operations (together known arsenic Big Bear Mountain Resort) would request to adhd astir 300 acres to the astir 1,500 acres they usage present nether permits from the Forest Service.

The Forest Service, which owns the land, began gathering nationalist input connected the projected enlargement program successful 2023.

“We are successful the investigation phase,” U.S. Forest Service Mountain Resorts programme manager Janelle Walker said, confirming that the task is inactive moving forward. She said “we had further investigation that was needed, and we are readying to get the Draft Environmental Assessment retired to the nationalist successful outpouring 2025.” Even aft approval, edifice officials noted, the task could instrumentality years to complete.

In the meantime, skiers and boarders person the caller assistance astatine Bear Mountain’s to effort out.

How the caller assistance works

Bear Mountain officials said they’ve spent astir $10.2 cardinal connected the caller Midway lift, which replaces the now-departed chairlifts 1, 2 and 5 successful the resort’s cardinal basal area.

Designed by the assistance specializer institution Leitner-Poma, it is expected to transportation passengers 2,494 feet upslope successful arsenic small arsenic 2.5 minutes. The assistance volition beryllium capable to transportation arsenic galore arsenic 3,200 radical per hour, edifice officials say.

“Now each we request is the snow,” said Burnett.

The construction, which began successful May, included helicopters carrying a twelve towers to their caller places connected the slopes, portion different workers dug a immense spread to clasp the lift’s galore moving and stationary parts astatine the basal of the mountain.

Bear Mountain, known for its terrain parks and half-pipes, has operated nether assorted names successful the San Bernardino National Forest since the 1940s. For galore years, the edifice has relied heavy connected artificial snow-making, attracting galore beginner and intermediate skiers and snowboarders.

Burnett estimated that successful the past 8 years, absorption has invested $30 cardinal successful improvements to Bear Mountain, with further concern astatine Snow Summit and Snow Valley.

How Bear Mountain and Snow Summit could nexus together

Like galore skis resorts, those successful Big Bear see ample chunks of U.S. Forest Service land, wherever edifice companies run nether semipermanent peculiar usage permits, gathering improvements and sharing a information of their income with the Forest Service.

Bear Mountain, whose licence covers 818 acres, runs 7 chairlifts connected 198 skiable acres.

Snow Summit, whose licence covers 656 acres, operates 10 chairlifts connected 240 skiable acres.

The permits are bully done 2057, edifice officials said, and linking them would necessitate different 300 acres of Forest Service onshore betwixt the two. Within that area, the “footprint of disturbance” would beryllium comparatively small, Walker said — little than 100 acres.

The main mode to question betwixt the resorts present is to thrust oregon drawback 1 of the escaped Intermountain Shuttle buses that depart each half-hour for the 10-minute travel betwixt the resorts.

Though Bear Mountain and Snow Summit person been nether communal ownership since 2002, speech of linking them didn’t vigor up until aft they were bought up by Mammoth Mountain successful 2014, past swallowed successful 2017 (along with Mammoth) by the Denver-based institution present known arsenic Alterra Mountain Co.

Alterra, 1 of the biggest names successful the skis industry, operates 19 resorts successful the Western U.S. and Canada and uses its fashionable Ikon play passes to marketplace them together.

The company’s projected nexus betwixt Bear Mountain and Snow Summit is portion of a broader upgrade that is spelled retired successful a Big Bear Mountain Resort Master Development Plan, filed by edifice officials with the Forest Service successful 2020.

Besides adding the acreage and 2 lifts — which would mean 4,250 feet successful magnitude — the program would see operation of a Goldmine Mountain Lodge (including restaurant) connected Bear Mountain; the instauration of 60 acres of trails successful and adjacent the enlargement area; clearing trees; and gathering a skier span truthful that skiers and boarders tin transverse supra an existing upland road, 2N10, that runs betwixt Snow Summit and Bear Mountain.

Other elements of the proposal: summation of a zipline system; 12 caller upland biking trails; a “mountain coaster” attraction connected onshore already covered by permits oregon owned by Alterra; and the summation of astir 1,400 parking spaces. Resorts officials said the outgo of these projects is yet to beryllium determined, pending reviews and approvals.

To enactment the transportation betwixt resorts successful simplest terms, Big Bear Mountain Resorts advertizing and nationalist relations manager Justin Kanton said, “we’re talking astir a constrictive ravine with 2 lifts coming successful and out.”

“And there’s already a roadworthy that goes successful and out,” Burnett added.

In the period aft the August 2023 merchandise of Alterra’s projected plans, much than 40 section residents weighed successful with letters to the Forest Service and expressed a premix of caution and support.

Mitchell Chivetta warned that “the section infrastructure cannot grip the existent influx of visitors during the winter.” Even erstwhile road 330 and 38 are successful bully repair, Chivetta wrote, “the postulation connected these roads caused by inexperienced wintertime drivers creates hardship for section residents and frustrates each drivers.”

Conversely, Justin Kohlas wrote that “we’re mode overdue for an upgrade to the resorts and acquisition connected the mountain. To beryllium capable to determination from Bear Mountain to Snow Summit and vice versa without the request to hold successful a shuttle enactment makes truthful overmuch sense.”