Visits to California ski areas rebound after a series of snowstorms

After a couple years of not-so-white Christmases, California skiers and snowboarders are welcoming the most bounteous blanket in years.

That’s good news for ski resorts across the state, which say business has increased after a series of snowstorms beginning last week in the Sierra Nevada contributed to an above-average snowpack.

Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Areas Assn., who previously ran Kirkwood Mountain Resort for 13 years, said member organizations “couldn’t be happier” with snow conditions.

“It really is a night and day situation,” Berry said. “For skiers and riders, it’s the best skiing and riding that they’ve had in those four years in California.”

Berry said resorts have posted an increase in visitors and have been able to open more terrain this season.

“For anyone to have a great year, you have to have a strong first third,” he said of the period from about November to early January. “This year … for all of the resorts in the Sierra, it’s been a great first third.”

Kevin Cooper, spokesman for the Kirkwood Mountain and Heavenly Mountain resorts, said Kirkwood received 124 inches of snowfall last season and Heavenly received 85. So far this season, Kirkwood has received 198 inches and Heavenly has received 175.

“We just haven’t had a good, solid winter in four years,” Cooper said. “We’re at 100% [open terrain] at Kirkwood and Northstar and Heavenly. This time last year, we were just struggling to get open.”

They’ve also been able to open lake-level activities, such as tubing, sledding, snowmobiling and snowshoeing, that were closed at this time last year, he said.

Cooper said there was a drop-off last year after the holidays, but with El Nino arriving, he is hopeful that the visitor flow will remain heavy through the winter.

Dan McKernan, spokesman for the Big Bear Visitors Bureau, said the last two years had been bleak, but this year operators are already starting to see an “overwhelming” difference.

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“The snow came in early this year, and we’ve been getting small storms throughout,” McKernan said. “We’re hoping the new year brings the El Nino weather and a lot of snow.”

With the favorable conditions, there are more families building snowmen in front of their cabins and more children playing in the snow, McKernan said. As he looked out the window of his office Tuesday, he said he saw a child picking up a snowball.

“The snow is always gonna be a blessing for Big Bear. So the more snow we get, the better it is for our town,” McKernan said. “We need the white stuff. It’s our economy here.”

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