Big Bear Today Magazine November 2020

Big Bear Today November 2020—Page 7
Kun statue, virus protocol at resorts
The resorts may look the same but the
experience will be different when the 2020-
21 Big Bear winter season gets underway,
typically in November.
Covid-compliant protocols are the
dominant theme when the lifts crank up.
Which means that no one without a valid
lift ticket, season pass or reservation will
be allowed into the base areas at Snow
Summit and Bear Mountain. Nor will they
be allowed on the free shuttles to the resorts
either. Reservations are not required
to secure a spot on the mountain but you
won’t get onto the base areas without a
valid lift ticket or season pass.
All parking is paid on Fridays through
Sundays during peak winter months at $20
per car even at remote lots like Brownie
and Garstin. Parking can be purchased
online in advance or from on-site attendants.
Remote parking is still free for
BBMR and Ikon season pass holders.
Other virus-related protocols include
obvious wearing of masks in public areas
and social distancing. Chairlifts will be
loaded to just partial capacity and groups
are advised to only ride with those they
traveled with.
Other than procedural stuff there’s not
a lot to report from the resorts, save for the
new statue of late Snow Summit icon Dick
Kun in the resort’s courtyard unveiled last
month (cover photo, story page 2). Bear
Mountain’s $5 million base renovation
highlighted by the tripling of its sun deck
remains half-finished as the scheduled second
phase was halted by the virus.
Still, guests who didn’t make it to Bear
before the resort was shut down in mid-
March will be amazed at how much the
project’s first phase changed the deck. The
legendary 13,000 sq. ft. deck, already the
envy of the ski world, doubled in size last
year and when complete will be some
36,000 feet, extending 350 feet from endto-end,
roughly the size of a football field.
It’s not just big either. Custom benches
were built into the slope edge of the sun
deck and there’s a new outdoor dining location
on the west end. Three new fire pits
and $250,000 in outdoor furniture make
the best apres spot around even nicer.
Laybacks Bar sports a posh mountain look.
Other highlights include ADA ramps and
pathways to provide expanded access and
plaza along with updated paint scheme to
existing base area.
“All capital projects have been postponed
till further notice,” said the resort’s
Justin Kanton. “We’re hoping to revisit
before (next) season.”
The deck project at Bear comes on the
heels of major renovations at Snow Summit
in recent years. The outdoor Meadow
courtyard is awesome, paved with woodburning
Big Horn Smokehouse right below
the chairlifts, a great spot to grab a
bite or beer apres ski, with built-in fire pit
plus two portable ones, tables, heat lamps,
charging stations and more.
The virus may be an uncertainty, but
snow conditions shouldn’t be. Huge compressors
were installed at both Bear Mountain
and Snow Summit two years ago to
increase air pressure capacity to run the
massive snowmaking systems at the resorts,
some of the largest in the world. In
fact Snow Summit has its own power generating
system to make sure there’s enough
juice to run its share of the 150 fan guns
between the two resorts plus traditional
nozzle guns.
A virtually unlimited water supply
courtesy of Big Bear Lake guarantees
plenty of ammo for those guns, so winter
is on in Big Bear whether the forecast calls
for La Nina or El Nino. Fleets of snowcats
manicure the runs at both resorts nightly,
creating perfect corduroy for the next day’s
guests. At Bear Mountain Piston Bully Park
Pros sculpt and shape Southern
California’s only halfpipes including competition-quality
Superpipe.
There’s some 20 different food and
beverage venues between Snow Summit
and Bear Mountain, some outdoors and
Last year’s deck renovation at Bear
Mountain, this year’s statue of ski pioneer
Dick Kun at Snow Summit notable
improvements for the 2020-21 winter
others in, and all are expected to operate
in 2020-21 at limited capacity and with enhanced
safety procedures. Additional graband-go
opportunities will be introduced as
well—will the famous burrito snowcat at
Mammoth be introduced to the Big Bear
slopes?
Resort guests will continue to enjoy
the free shuttle running between Snow
Summit and Bear Mountain every halfhour
with their tickets and passes valid at
both resorts.
Visit bigbearmountainresorts.com for
tickets and information.
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