FABULOUS FLAKES; WINTER STORM REJUVENATES SKI SHOPS, RESORTS FIRST BIG SNOW OF YEAR FROSTS HILLS NEAR VALLEY.Byline: Phil Davis
After five weeks of a snow drought, ski shop manager Steve Crane was ecstatic Monday to see a white dusting on the Santa Susana Mountains The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west separating the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley on its south from Santa Clara River Valley to the north and and a customer waiting eagerly at his door. ``He could see snow from the Valley, so he figured it was time to get ready. He bought a snowboard, boots and bindings,'' said Crane, manager of Sports Ltd. on Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. . The winter storm, which dumped several inches of snow as low as 2,000 feet across the Southland and caused a rash of accidents and commuter slowdowns, even gave Bakersfield its first snow since March 8, 1974. And a little more is on the way, forecasters say. Skies are expected to clear today, but clouds could return by evening, with a chance of light snow falling at 4,000 feet and rain elsewhere, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the National Weather Service. ``I think the heavy stuff is over, but you could have more snow. It's going to be kind of light,'' meteorologist Bruce Rockwell said. ``There have even been reports of snow at 2,000 feet, but it's basically tapering off for now.'' After the storm Monday, rainfall for the season so far is about a third of the 7.1-inch average considered normal, he said. The dry spell is likely to resume by Thursday, but enough snow fell in the latest storm to keep ski resorts in business through the spring. Mount Waterman Mount Waterman is a ski area on Waterman Mountain in the San Gabriel Mountains (Angeles National Forest) of Los Angeles County, California. It is located on the State Route 2, the Angeles Crest Highway. It reaches a height of 8,030 feet, has an overall vertical drop of 1,030 feet. ski resort put out a call for employees to report to work. And San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. ski and snowboard shop owners reported an increase in calls for information on snow conditions. ``Looks like it's going to be a good weekend,'' said Mark Stratton, manager of Hub's Boardhouse Surf & Snow in Agoura Hills. ``It was busy during the Christmas holiday, even though there wasn't a lot of snow. That shows there is a lot of interest, anyway. But this is the best snow we've had in months.'' Larger ski resorts had been furiously making snow to stay open. ``It's definitely not an El Nino year, but after this latest series of storms we've got enough snow to last us through spring,'' said Kelly Cogswell, a spokeswoman for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area The Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is a large ski resort located in eastern California on the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the Inyo National Forest. The ski area, commonly called simply Mammoth . ``But keep it coming. Pray for snow.'' The snow meant Mountain High resort could open 75 percent of its runs. ``This is certainly a welcome sight,'' resort spokesman John McCauley John McCauley (d. June 3, 1989) was a NHL referee, who was forced to retire due to an eye injury in May 1981; he was subsequently given the position of Assistant Director of Officiating. said. ``Conditions have been pretty good despite the lack of natural snow, but it's kind of hard to convey that to the market.'' He said snowfall at the lowest elevations - where Valley dwellers can see it - is the best publicity. ``In Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , and pretty much all over the world, if it's out of sight, it's out of mind,'' McCauley said. ``So it's a tough job, but it's something we deal with every year. We still expect to see more snow.'' The 6 inches that fell at Mount Baldy Mount Baldy or Baldy Mountain may refer to:
``This time last year, we were completely open. We had tons of snow from El Nino. But it's been pretty dry this year. That's how it goes. It's all about Mother Nature here. We don't do a lot of snow-making here,'' Grinnell said. Crane expected business to pick up on the ski side of his shop. He said snowboard sales were steady despite the thin snow. ``Snowboarders are more optimistic about ski conditions. They'll go out even if there's only 6 inches of snow on the run. Skiers usually wait until conditions are better,'' he said. Jill Rosenberg said her annual family trip to Mammoth would be better thanks to the new snow. She bought her son, 9-year-old Jeffrey, a new set of skis Monday afternoon. ``We go on this weekend every year,'' she said. ``They just happened to get snow. I guess we're just lucky.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos PHOTO (1 -- color) Ashlee Waters, 13, and her 8-year-old cousin Tyler Allred sled down a snow-covered hill Monday at Frazier Park in Kern County. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News (2 -- color) Kjersti Gibson builds a snowman by a restaurant at Frazier Park. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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