Snow Valley Mountain Resort

Last updated
Snow Valley Mountain Resort
Snow Valley CA 2010 1.jpg
Location Running Springs
San Bernardino County, California
Nearest major city Running Springs, California
Coordinates 34°13′24″N117°02′15″W / 34.223375°N 117.037423°W / 34.223375; -117.037423
StatusOperating
Owner Alterra Mountain Company [1]
Vertical1,041 ft (317 m)
Top elevation7,841 ft (2,390 m)
Base elevation6,800 ft (2,100 m)
Skiable area240 acres (97 ha)
Trails 29 total
Ski trail rating symbol-green circle.svg 14% easiest
Ski trail rating symbol-blue square.svg 45% More difficult
Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond.svg 31% Most difficult
Ski trail rating symbol-double black diamond.svg 10% Experts only [2]
Lift system 12 lifts: 1 High Speed Six, 4 Double, 4 Triple, 2 conveyor
Lift capacitySix Person Detachable - 2,600 riders per hour
Terrain parks The Edge, East Bowl
Snowfall 150 inches (380 cm) [3]
Snowmaking Yes
Night skiing Yes
Website https://bbmr.com

Snow Valley Mountain Resort is a ski resort located in Running Springs, California, United States. Snow Valley is the longest continually operating ski resort in Southern California and is also one of three ski resorts in the San Bernardino National Forest.

Contents

Originally named "Fish Camp" for the pond located in the area above the former chair 5, the site was developed into a roadside resort and lumber mill in the 1920s by the Swetkowich brothers. In the 1930s the slopes were developed for tobogganing and skiing by the Arrowhead Springs Corporation, which named the development Snow Valley. [4] The resort featured one of the first overhead cable ski lifts. [5] In 1940 the resort was purchased by Norwegian-American ski jump champion Johnny Elvrum, who expanded it. [4]

In 1974 W.R. Sauey became the owner of Snow Valley. His company the Nordic Group owned and operated Snow Valley. [6] In January 2023, Snow Valley was acquired by Alterra Mountain Company, operator of nearby resorts Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. [7]

The resort operates under Special Use Permit from the United States Forest Service. [8]

Lifts

The facilities include 12 Lifts: 1 high speed six, 4 double chairs, 4 triple chairs, 3 surface lifts/moving carpets. [9]

At the fleet's peak, 14 lifts were operating at once, 3 of those lifts have since closed, with chair 2 getting remodeled for the 23-24 ski season, shortening it to serve only the beginner area at the resort. [10]

Chair 11, at Snow Valley, serves the Slide Peak terrain zone Chair 11 at Snow Valley.jpg
Chair 11, at Snow Valley, serves the Slide Peak terrain zone

Terrain

Snow Valley has 240 acres of skiable terrain. Although a few lifts have closed and opened throughout the year, the terrain has stayed generally the same. Most of the runs in the resort are groomed. However, when fully open, "The Ladder" and a few runs on Slide Peak can stay ungroomed.[ citation needed ] The main mountain has the majority of trails in the resort, housing all of the terrain parks, as well as most of the lifts. Peak 9 is mostly used for an up-and-over lift (chair 9) which takes skiers to and from Slide Peak. When conditions permit, peak 9 has mostly hike-to bowl and tree terrain. Slide Peak is the "Crown Jewel" of Snow Valley.[ citation needed ] Known for its steep pitch, it is where well-known skiers like Warren Miller would be known to ski.[ citation needed ] Generally, Peak 9 and Slide Peak are only open for around 4 to 6 weeks out of every season; this is because of a combo of the not so favorable snowfall history of Southern California, [11] as well as snowmaking not being used in the terrain areas due to outdated water pipes and water limitations.[ citation needed ]

Skier en route to Slide Peak in 1943, following the current chairlift route ClimbingSkinAscentSlidePkCA43.jpg
Skier en route to Slide Peak in 1943, following the current chairlift route

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References

  1. Winchester, Stuart (2023-01-24). "Alterra Buys Snow Valley, California; Adds Ski Area to Big Bear Resort". Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  2. "Snow Report - Snow Valley Trails". Snow Valley Mountain Resort. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  3. "Southern California Ski Area Analysis." Archived 2005-02-12 at the Wayback Machine BestSnow.net. Retrieved on 2010-12-16.
  4. 1 2 "The History of Running Springs". The Rim of the World Historical Society. Archived from the original on December 26, 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  5. "The History of Skiing in Los Angeles, California". Pacific Rim Snow Sports Alliance. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  6. "Home". nordicgroup.com.
  7. "Snow Valley Mountain Resort acquired by parent company of Bear Mountain and Snow Summit". ABC7 Los Angeles. 2023-01-20. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  8. "About Us". Snow Valley Mountain Resort. Retrieved on 2010-12-31.
  9. "Snow Valley Trail Map". Snow-valley. Snow Valley LLC. 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  10. "$12.7 Million Project Renovation at Big Bear Mountain Resort". www.bigbearmountainresort.com. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
  11. "Historical Snowfall | Snow Valley, Snow Summit & Bear Mtn". www.bigbearmountainresort.com. Retrieved 2025-01-11.