Westbound Boarder

Allright folks, get ready for some sick conditions coming to the SoCal mountains this week.  It’s finally snowing!  And with rain in LA expected to continue throughout the week, this should be the El Nino storm we all have been hoping for.  Mt. High has already seen 3 inches of fresh pow at the peak, with the base receiving a mixture of snow and rain.  The snow level is expected to drop to 5,500 feet tonight, making for tons of fresh pow tomorrow and throughout the rest of the week.  Bear, on the other hand, (while the temperature is 38F at the moment) is expecting 8 - 16 inches tomorrow.

I’m not going to pretend to love the rain (because I really don’t) but nonetheless, it has been raining in LA the pase couple of days.  But one great thing about rain in the city means snow at the local mountains!  Big Bear/Snow Summit saw more than 14 inches of new snow this week, so if you’re thinking of heading up to the mountain, now would be a good time to do it.  And if the below photo doesn’t entice you, I don’t know what will!

Photo courtesy of Big Bear Mountain Resorts

Just because summer has officially come to a close does not mean there’s nothing to do.  In fact, our event calendar is just beginning to ramp up.  So if you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, check out our list below (by the time you’re done reading this post, you won’t know where to begin!  Is it Friday yet?!)

• Sunset Strip Music Festival: Sept. 11 - 12 — If you live relatively near Hollywood (or even if you don’t) this two-day event should be an awesome time.  The strip will be closed for performances at several different locations, including two outdoor stages, The Roxy, House of Blues, and other large venues located along the famous Sunset strip.  Headliners include Ozzy Osbourne, Korn, Pepper, Unwritten Law, LMFAO, and more, and tickets are $39.50/day in advance, or $50 at the gate, plus additional charges for club events. Additional Details.
• World Premiere of Forum’s “Forever”: Friday, Sept. 11 at the Balboa Theater (868 4th Ave. @ E Street, San Diego), Doors open at 7pm — This Friday, Forum will be debuting its sixth film, “Forever,” featuring Forum team riders such as Peter Line, Eddie Wall, John Jackson, Jake Welch, Stevie Bell and Cameron Pierce (all will be in attendance). The film will be shown alongside Standard Film’s “Black Winter.”  Additional Details. (Don’t live in SD? Totally no worries, its just the first stop of many).
• MSA Classic’s Opening Party and Keep A Breast Foundation Benefit: Friday, Sept. 11 at the Writer’s Boot Camp Bergamot Station Arts Center (2525 Michigan Ave., Building 1) in Santa Monica from 7 to 11 p.m. — Tomorrow the Malibu Surfing Association and Global Surf Industries will host the MSA Classic Opening Party, which will benefit the Keep A Breast Foundation. The party will feature free food and drink (free? yes!), pro surfers, a photography show by Roxy team rider Kassia Meador and Simone Reddingius, a Classic Hot Rod and Kustom Car Show, a raffle, and musical performances by MK & the Gentleman and The Holloys. There is  $5 suggested donation (but it’s going to a good cause, so don’t sweat).  Additional Details. (I’ll be stopping by, so make sure you stop by to say what’s up!)

Pencil This In: Events on the Horizon

• Saturday, Sept. 19: Bear Mountain Hot Dawgs and Hand Rails
• Saturday, Sept. 26: Red Bull Soapbox Los Angeles
• Sunday, October 4: Sixth Annual Night by the Ocean (Kodak Theater, Los Angeles)

Think it’s too early to get your season snow pass for next year?  Think again.  With the 2008/2009 ski and snowboard season just coming to a close, most resorts are already starting to gear up for next year by offering great discounts on tickets and passes for next year’s season.  And here’s one awesome deal worth checking out in the SoCal area:

Bear Mountain Resorts (click on the link for our review) is offering a killer deal on 2009/2010 season passes from now until May 31 (translation, you only have a few more days to snag this bad-boy deal!)  2009/2010 “Screamin’ Deal Season Passes” at BBMR are valid for both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit and start at only $199 for children and $299 for adults. Season pass holders can use a single pass to access both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit which includes 26 lifts, 430 developed acres, more than 55 runs, and the #1 Park in the Nation (according to BBMR).  After May 31, prices on BBMR passes will go up roughly about $200, depending on if you purchase a pass good for for just one or both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit Resorts.  A regular-priced pass during the season is $599 for adults, and $399 for children… so I’d say that $300 off is a pretty darn good deal.

Aside from SoCal mouintain resorts, if you haven’t already started thinking about whether or not you want to invest in a pass, you should, because most good deals are pre-season only.  It’s really a matter of taking a moment to sit down and ask yourself, “am I really going to go enough to at least cover the face-value cost of this pass?”  If the answer is yes, go for it!  A good deal is well worth the advance investment.  If your answer if “eh, maybe,” though - no worries, you still got time, even if you don’t catch a good deal this time around

My top reco if you know you definitely do want a season pass this year is to first, decide which resort you’d like to purchase a pass to; and next, call the resort or visit the Web site to check on dates and deadlines for advance purchase deals.  And of course, we’ll continue to keep you posted on good season pass deals at Westbound Boarder as we hear about them!

If you’re an avid SoCal boarder, like myself, you probably associate Big Bear with snow.  Well, I’ve quickly come to realize that this place is a fabulous summer destination as well! (The photo to the left says it all. Really; I should probably just stop writing now).

Last weekend, Big Bear Mountain Resorts opened up the Snow Summit Scenic Sky Chair, where you can check out the view from 8,200 feet in the air.  It will be available for public use every weekend until June 20th, at which day it will stay open daily until summer’s close, with scenic sightseeing and mountain biking.  Additional summer activities at Big Bear include: the Bear Mountain golf course, extensive biking and hiking trails, scenic views (like the one from Sky Chair), quality fishing and fun, family-friendly events such as the “Ride the Mountain” Bike Show on June 6.  Check out the Summer at BBMO Web site for additional info.

If you’re missin’ the snow or want to show mum and pop your second home (and not have to endure the pain of watching them eat mouthfulls of snow to understand your love for the lift), or simply want some good old fashioned outdoor sunshine (because we really don’t get enough of that in Cali) Big Bear is one of the best staycations around.

Also, as an added bonus, if you were a season pass holder last season, you can ride the lift for free!  (So, to all you men out there looking for a place to take the missis’ but would rather spend your money on next year’s new ride - hope you’re taking quality notes!)

And you know what that means - massive snow at the mountains!  Light snow flurries are expected to hit Mt. High and Bear all week through Saturday.

If you’re looking for an event to hit up this weekend, check out “A Snowboard Contest” presented by Active and Signal Sports Saturday at Mt. High; registration begins at 8am.  Additionally, Bear Mountain will be home to USASA’s boardercross competition on Sunday, March 8.  Great events + dank snow = awesome time at the mountain this weekend.

March is usually the snowiest month at California mountains?  I had no idea!  I thought for sure the season would be done by March 1.  (Thanks, Bear Blog, for that tid bit of info.)

Other news from SoCal…

• Bear Mountain’s Superpipe is currently under construction.
• Sick (and free) concert at Mt. High Friday the 27th - Shiny Toy Guns.
• The Active BroDown ShowDown, a slopestyle competition for amateur and pro riders, is coming up this Saturday at Bear Mountain.
• Later that night, the Hot Dawgz and Handrails Qualifier will take place also at Bear. The top two competitors will get an invitation to the Main Event in September.

This one will be a quickie, but if you’re thinking about hitting the slopes this weekend… don’t think; do it!  The storm that brushed through LA Sunday through Tuesday definitely left more than just mud.  Bear Mountain is reporting 18 inches of fresh powder this week, while Mt. High has received 17 to 19 inches since Sunday.  The even better news?  Blue-bird skies and spring weather all weekend!  If the bare-backed mountain has deterred you from hitting the slopes as of late, now’s the perfect weekend to head to the hill just in time to finish up the season strong.

Is your home mountain also experiencing massive pow?  Let’s hear it in the comments!  Oh, and please… go snowboarding already!

After heading to Bear Mountain, CA for the first time in years, I thought a review of the resort was in order.  Let me preface this post by saying, good snow in SoCal is hard to come by.  With 85 degree weather in the dead of winter (yes, its true) SoCal is known for its beaches - NOT its mountains!  Well, you wouldn’t think so, anyway.

Last weekend when I competed in the Burton AM Series, I got the opportunity to ride at Bear Mountain Resort (part of Big Bear) and I just have to say, I was quite impressed!  It was a park rider’s heaven, and combined with the 50 degree, ride-in-your-T-shirt weather, a perfect day.

Big Bear contains two separate hills - Bear Mountain and Snow Summit - and with the price of one ticket you get to ride at both.  Typically, Bear Mountain is known as more of a “snowboarder’s resort,” while Snow Summit is the side for skiiers (though neither side discriminates!)  Bear Mountain is only open during the day, while you can ride Snow Summit at night, so combine the two and make one long day!

I only had the chance to hit up Bear Mountain, so I’ll talk about that resort in this post.  I had my hesitations about heading to Big Bear - It hadn’t snowed in days, and I had just ridden at Vail a few weeks prior (quite the difference).  But I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  Bear Mountain is about as close to LA as a mountain can get, and the resort definitely knows it’s assets.  See, at most mountains, you can usually find a terrain park or two, maybe even a halfpipe, but Bear Mountain (since, admittedly, it doesn’t have the best free terrain) is basically one huge park.  I love sunshine, and I love riding the park when the sun shines just enough to soften your landing, so Bear Mountain was like a dream for me.

The mountain has 12 lifts and several runs, however, you would probably be able to hit up every run in only half a day.  There isn’t a ton of variety, however, they have more jumps and jibs than I’ve ever seen on one single mountain, and even a half and susperpipe.  The one thing I didn’t really like about the mountain is that there wasn’t much order to placement of things - jumps and jibs were randomly sprinkled throughout the hill, parks aren’t marked off, and no one called drop.  At one point, it took my 6 times to actually get a solid run through the park I was riding because people kept cutting me off or stopping in front of the lip…  So frustrating!   I definitely saw more than one accident throughout the course of the day because people weren’t as careful here as they are at other mountains.  I’m sure if you go on a weekday, though, things wouldn’t be quite as bad.

As for cost… not bad at all, in the grand spectrum of what you get.  Lift tickets run $53 for a full day, $30 at night, and a hot dog was only about 3 bucks! (Take that, 12 dollar hot dog I bought at Vail!)  And don’t forget, you can ride free on your birthday!

Being a great, but relatively close, weekend getaway for most So-Californians, Big Bear has a great town with a ton of stuff to do.  I didn’t stay in the town so I won’t go into too much detail, but if you’re planning on riding a few days in a row I’d recommend you check it out.

Have you been to Big Bear?  Tell us what you thought!  And check out my pics below, from the drive up.  Great view!

There’s one thing I love even more than the two words ‘free’ and ’snowboarding’ - when the words are used together!  Throw the word ‘birthday’ in the mix, and you’re set.  (Got your attention yet?)

Well yes, it’s true.  Head to Mt. High in Southern California on your birthday, present a valid ID, and get a free lift ticket! (The Web site makes sure to mention that cake is not included; you know, in case that would be the deciding factor).  Bear Mountain and Snow Summit also have the same deal.  I discovered this nugget on the sites a few days ago and am already planning to take a trip up in April :-)  My biggest problem now - deciding which mountain to go to!