SKI BUNNIES HEAD FOR THE (SNOWY) HILLS ANOTHER STORM FORECAST FOR TONIGHT.Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer For the first February in years, Southern Californians geared up Friday for a three-day weekend of skiing, snow boarding and sledding. Local ski shops reported sellouts at their rental counters and authorities expect the roads to be packed - with motorists and snow. This week's big rainstorm dumped 5 to 7 feet of snow in Southern California's mountains, and regional ski resort operators say conditions on the slopes haven't been this good in years. ``Some locals here say it's the best snow in 10 years,'' said Greg Ralph of Bear Mountain in Big Bear, which has more than 2 feet of powder over 32 runs. ``When you get in the trees and canyons in the powder, the snow still has the reflective sparkle. Where it's groomed, it's like frosting frosting the slight graying of the haircoat around the face, particularly muzzle, in dogs with aging and as a regular feature of some breeds such as the Belgian shepherd dog. , smooth and creamy-like.'' And more snow is on the way. Weather forecasters predict between 3 and 6 inches of snow above 6,000 feet by tonight. Mountain temperatures could range from the low 20s to the low 50s, said Ray Tanabe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. It was perfect weather Friday as ski and snowboard bums flocked to local ski shops, snapping up equipment and depleting goods. Sports Ltd., a popular shop 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. in Woodland Hills, sold out its skis and snowboards four hours after it opened Friday. ``We've gotten about a million calls today,'' said Steve Crane, the manager of Sports Ltd. ``Everybody's calling to get rentals to tire chains, to goggles goggles, n the protective eyewear worn by dental personnel and patients during dental procedures. goggles see periocular leukotrichia. , to all the little necessities they forgot to pick up as they were running out the door. You can usually tell by the tone of someone's voice that they've been checking other places and haven't been able to find anything.'' Crane referred those callers to mountain ski rental shops. ``But you better get there early so that you get a great shot at getting rentals,'' he warned. Many are headed to Mammoth Mountain Mammoth Mountain is a large lava dome complex[1] that lies to the west of the town of Mammoth Lakes, California in the Inyo National Forest. Mammoth Mountain is home to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area which is notable in that it gets an unusually large amount of , eight hours northeast of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. in the Sierra Nevada Sierra Nevada, mountain range, Spain Sierra Nevada (syā`rä nāvä`thä), chief mountain range of S Spain, in Granada prov., running from east to west for c.60 mi (100 km), parallel to the Mediterranean Sea. , which has received 7 feet of snow in as many days. But Crane said the local ski resorts in the San Bernardino Mountains San Bernardino Mountains, part of the Coast Range, S Calif., extending c.60 mi (100 km) NW and SE through San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Notable peaks are San Bernardino Mt. (10,630 ft/3,240 m) and Mt. San Gorgonio (11,485 ft/3,501 m). offer just as much snow - and are much closer. ``It is pretty odd to have local snow with the same base depth as Mammoth in the middle of February,'' Crane said. Many others agreed Friday. About 3,000 visitors descended on Bear Mountain to snowbike, snowboard, ski and snowblade, which is a snow version of in-line skating. The resort expects a maximum crowd of 5,000 this weekend. ``We usually have two phone operators,'' Ralph said. ``We have six people answering phones today, and (callers) are still having trouble getting through to us.'' But just hours before throngs of Southland residents were expected to play in billowing bil·low n. 1. A large wave or swell of water. 2. A great swell, surge, or undulating mass, as of smoke or sound. v. bil·lowed, bil·low·ing, bil·lows v.intr. 1. fresh snow during the three-day weekend, Caltrans crews were busy clearing snow banks from Angeles Crest Highway The Angeles Crest Highway is a two-lane (one lane of travel in each direction) segment of California State Route 2 in the United States. The road is 66 miles in length, with its western terminus at the intersection at Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge and its eastern above the 6,000-foot level. ``We had several avalanches that occurred this week that were pretty bad,'' said Caltrans spokeswoman Margie Tiritilli. ``We had one that occurred Wednesday that covered both lanes of Angeles Crest Highway. That's what we're removing right now.'' Tiritilli said the road is expected to reopen today at the 6,000-foot level. To prevent more avalanches from occurring along Angeles Crest Highway, crews were exploding dynamite to blow up large dangling snow formations. Workers were also headed up even higher so weekend snow warriors could get to 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. off Angeles Crest Highway above the 6,000-foot level. |
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