Local temperatures dropped below 20 degrees last night and, given the cold factor, Big Bear Mountain Resorts did their first round of snowmaking for the 2009-2010 ski season. As of last night, snowmaking at Bear Mountain was done on upper Park Run, as well as Expressway and Central Park. If cold nights continue, Bear Mountain will be open in the near future, maybe even this week for skiing and riding. According to the resorts’ General Manager Brent Tregaskis this morning, “We had a really great night of snowmaking—almost 6,000 gallons per minute. We’re really trying to get as much snow made in this window as possible. Our goal is to open Central Park at Bear Mountain in the near future.” At Snow Summit, snowmaking got underway on Miracle Mile and upper Summit Run—initial snowmaking at Summit is to start stockpiling a base so that, when another cold snap arrives, continued snowmaking will allow for the opening of the resort. The tentative plan, however, is to open Bear Mountain first, if cold nights allow for continued snowmaking in coming days.
