For this weeks Show Us Your California contest by Hive account@thesocalhive I headed up into the San Bernardino mountains for a fun day of snowboarding at...

Bear Mountain!!

Ever since the start of winter I've been wanting to get out and do some snowboarding. I got a season pass again this year and I need to get some use out of it!! But unfortunately the beginning of the season was pretty dry. But it had been cold enough for producing man made snow, so I figured that most of the runs were open and lifts were operating. So even though there was a big storm in the forecast I figured I'd head up to Bear Mountain the day before the storm started just to check it out. And I also figured that most people would be waiting for the fresh snow from the incoming storm so I figured it would not be very busy. And I was right! I got there just before the lifts opened and I was actually able to park in the main lot. Which almost never happens. And there was actually so few people there that I never had to wait behind a single person in the lift lines all day! And although there was almost no natural snow the man made snow had all the runs well covered and so pretty much all the lifts were running.

Arriving at the slopes

Trail map sign

As is my usual routine I started from the west and worked my way east. First riding chair 9, the Bear Mountain Xpress, and I did some laps on 'Rip's Run', 'Gambler', and 'Showtime'. I like hitting chair 9 first because it's the most popular and so the snow can get choppy later in the day, but with so few people there it wasn't a big concern and all the runs were nice and smoothly groomed. Which is just how I like 'em!

The top of chair 9

Views from the top of 'Rip's Run'

Riding chair 9

Views from chair 9

Overlooking the base of the slopes

Eventually I decided to move on and so I took the 'Silver Connection' down to chair 4, which is possibly my favorite chair at Bear Mountain, although I also love chair 8 so it's hard to choose. I rode chair 4 for awhile doing several laps on 'Exhibition' and 'Ripcord'. After awhile I took 'Amusement Park' back down to the base of the slopes where I caught chair 6, the Access Xpress. Which took me up to chair 8, my other favorite chair, where I finished off my day of snowboarding doing several laps on 'Geronimo' which is the steepest run at Bear Mountain. Chair 8 is also the highest chair lift in all of Southern California topping out at 8,805' at the top of Bear Peak. And that's one of the other reasons I really like chair 8, the views from up there are pretty awesome! After awhile I was starting to get a little tired so I decided to call it a day and headed down 'Accelerator' to 'Easy Street' and back down to the base. I had some lunch in the parking lot and then drove around to the north shore of Big Bear lake for a relaxing little walk along the lake shore. Which has also kinda become part of my routine over the last few years.

Riding chair 4

Views from 'Exhibition'

Views from 'Ripcord'

Riding chair 6 from the base

Passing a small pond used for snow making

Heading up chair 8

Views looking east from chair 8

The top of chair 8

Views from Bear Peak

A snow making gun had completely frozen this tree on 'Geronimo'

Views looking west from 'Geronimo' with the San Gorgonio range in the distance

Overlooking the bottom of chair 8 from the lower part of 'Geronimo'

Back down at the base of the slopes

Taking a short walk along the north shore

The next day the big storm blew in and no doubt dropped a lot fresh snow. But with the weather already warming back up unfortunately it won't last too long, so I'm gonna head back up there ASAP and check it out. So stay tuned for my "Bear Mountain (After the Storm)" post coming soon!!