For this weeks Show Us Your California contest by @socalsteemit I take you to another beautiful ski resort in the San Bernardino mountains...

Bear Mountain!!

In my last two entries I showed you Snow Valley and Snow Summit. The last of the three ski areas in the San Bernardino mountains is Bear Mountain. Bear Mountain was first opened in 1943 as the Moonridge Ski Area on Goldmine Mountain. In 1988 a major ski area operator bought Goldmine Mountain and changed its name to Bear Mountain. They invested millions of dollars in improvements to compete against nearby Snow Summit. But in 2002 Snow Summit purchased Bear Mountain and the two mountains became one resort. The Big Bear Mountain Resorts.

Satellite View
click to view large map

Big Bear Mountain Resorts close proximity to Big Bear Lake allows them to use the water from the lake for making snow, giving them the ability to keep the slopes covered with snow even at times when there is not much natural snow. The mountains base elevation is 7,140' and the summit elevation is 8,805'. They operate 8 chairlifts and have lots of different terrain for all skill levels from beginners to experts. I personally really like the runs on chair 4 they are all usually really awesome! But my favorite is probably the longest steepest run, a 1.5 mile long double black diamond run called Geronimo!

Arriving at Bear Mountain

Trail Map
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Overlooking the base of the mountain from Chair 5

Riding up chair 2

Overlooking Big Bear from Chair 4

Views east from Chair 4

Watching people fly down the Geronimo run from Chair 8

The top of chair 9 the "Bear Mountain Express"

Lunch time at the base of the mountain

The mountain patrol cabin on the summit of Bear Mountain with Sugarloaf Peak in the background.

Selfie on the Summit of Bear Mountain

Looking off the backside of the mountain at the Santa Ana river and Mt. San Gorgonio the highest mountain in SoCal.

The snow in the San Bernardino mountains this winter has been pretty decent and so far I've gone snowboarding three times. I'm hoping to get some more trips in up there. But next I'm planning a week long trip to Mammoth Mountain in the Sierra Nevada mountains! So stay tuned for that!!