Forget that nonsense about bluebird days and sunny skies making for great ski and snowboard days. Truth be told, sunlight is snow’s natural enemy. Sun is to snow what mountain lions are to deer. And the more sun that’s around, the quicker snow conditions deteriorate.
 
That’s why now’s the best time of the year to be out skiing and snowboarding in Big Bear. Usually Big Bear’s snow comes in February and March, sometimes January, but this year it came in early December, over a foot falling at Snow Summit and Bear Mountain.
 
What makes this foot different from a foot that comes two months from now is that the sun is approaching its lowest point in the horizon. The days are getting shorter till December 22, and while that may be when winter officially begins, the sun also begins its slow and gradual climb higher and higher into the sky. Each day gets a little longer, bit by bit but it adds up as sunlight becomes ever more intense and drives daggers into snow packs everywhere.
 
Right now, the enemy is at its weakest just as the snow is at its strongest. Which explains why the snow in Big Bear is staying so good even days after the storm. On Thursday and Friday, December 13-14, I was out at Snow Summit enjoying mostly packed powder coverage, and it’s truly amazing how good the snow is staying.
 
Log Chute, now open top to bottom, was especially tasty, with inches-high piles of light fluff on top of machine groomed packed powder the whole way. Steilhang on Miracle Mile was the best I’ve seen it all season on Friday. That the resort has opened much more terrain in recent days has helped disperse traffic on the standard runs. As of today (December 15), Chair 10 at Snow Summit and Silver Mountain at Bear are open, so both have almost all chairs operating and many of their runs.
 
Cold temperatures and around-the-clock snowmaking for several days now has let Snow Summit and Bear Mountain keep adding icing to the expanding cake, and new runs and lifts are opening almost daily in Big Bear. Hey, I even had a couple pseudo-powder days last weekend, and there’s enough snow in the trees now that the next storm–talk of one is in the forecast for next week–will bring coverage for off-piste fun, even for my discriminating tastes. Those who care less about their equipment than I do have already been in the woods getting their tastes of freshies.
 
Sure, it’s a busy time of the year, what with holiday parties and Christmas shopping, but the sun is still working for us for another few days, the snow is here now, and the holiday crowds aren’t. Midweek, the slopes are downright empty, even after a big storm! In a couple weeks the slopes will be busy during the holidays, the days will be getting longer, and who knows if there will have been any new snow.
 
I think I’ll just hit the malls after Christmas when everyone else is up here in Big Bear! The time to ski is now, while the sun is still my friend. If my gifts are late, at least the skiers and snowboarders on my list will understand. And for those who can’t join me, catch my posts and pictures on this blog and also at http://www.bigbeartodaymag.com.

Marcus