Thoughts on Mt. High.

theo79

Member
I'm planning on getting a season pass to Mt high this year since it's the closest to Camp Pendleton. I don't get days off during the week and I can only ski on the weekends.

It's a toss between Mt high and Big Bear right now, I just cant justify paying that much money for a season pass to Big Bear and only skiing on the weekends.

If you've skied at Mt high what are your impressions?
 
I haven't been to Bear in forever so I can't compare it.Mt High is okay if you're that desperate to ski every week and/or can't afford a couple decent trips to Mammoth/other legit resorts. Mt High is full of snowboarders. I'd say 7 to 1 ration board to ski. There are lots of park rats with huge egos. There are also a lot of people who are learning, usually Asians. Of course there are some cool people there, but it really the majority of people are snowboarders roughly 17-25 years old who don't like when there is fresh snow.
 
I'm deciding between Mt high and Big Bear due to how close it is to base. We aren't allowed to go a certain distance every weekend (don't ask Marine Corps is stupid like that.)

But I definitely am that desperate to ski. Deployments over the last 2 years have stopped me from doing so. This winter I'll be stateside though!

The thing about egotistical snowboarders kind of makes me not want to get a pass here though..
 
The snowboarder thing will be prevalent at both resorts I believe.I think you said you can only go weekends(too lazy to check to see if you did forsure). It can get real busy and crowded since they're the only two "large" resorts in SoCal, but still small in comparison to other mountains

If you are into park you'll probably have a pretty good time since I'm pretty sure both are usually ranked high in park rankings.

Just remembered that High has two resorts. The east is less busy and more advanced terrain(also no park). The west is the one where the park rats are.

Look at both resorts trail maps/video. Passes are pretty reasonable, considering getting one myself now that I looked at it. I don't know if you ever get a vacation from the corps or not, but the benefits of the Mt High Pass seem pretty sweet.
 
Definitely agree on the benefits, I'm from Norcal so all my buddies ride up in tahoe. We get extended weekends for major holidays and I'll get a hefty chunk of pre deployment leave next spring before we deploy (spring skiing!)

 
I skied Mt High about 50 days a season during college. I only went on weekends a few times and it was always a shit show. Unless you want to ski extremely crowded parks I would look into Snow Summit. Mt high does have the East Resort which gets more of the older ski crowd and I have heard that they have added more park to that side also now.
 
I was about to say this. If it is open I personally would go there over any of the other SoCal mountains.However last year it was open one maybe two days. Also lifts take longer, park is smaller/not as good. More of an old fashioned resort.
 
Mt High sure isn't Mammoth, but it's not THAT bad either. I don't think it's worth an extra 30 minute drive to go to Bear. The main quad at West can be packed at times, but there's another 2 seater at West which accesses everything worth hitting which is almost always empty. I really don't mind the snowboarders, and they pretty much all seem to appreciate a skier who can throw down. There are a lot of cool riders when you talk to them a bit.

Baldy has decent terrain for a mountain in SoCal, but I wouldn't buy a season pass there again. The occasional great days and cool vibe don't make up for the antiquated lifts and poor snowmaking capability.
 
I live in Escondido, and I personally think it's worth the drive to bear, more specifically snow summit. I'm certainly not a stuck up tradtitionalist, but the egotistical snowboarders really get to me sometimes haha. Mt High is filled with them and Asian gapers that litter the landings of all the jumps. It looks like a picnic. HOWEVER. For the 200 dollar season pass and convenience, hit up Mt High! Totally worth it. The Bear/Summit pass is insanely overpriced for what it is, fuck the Mammoth season pass is cheaper when you buy it before the beginning of the season. If it ever snows a lot, definitely worth it to go hit up snow summit though. Give them all a try when you get the chance though! And hit me up when you're going XD
 
If you want to go to baldy this winter, A season pass for a first timer is $59. Keep in mind that they were only open maybe a week last winter
 
Got about 20 days in at Mt High last season. All of my long weekends/ leave blocks from work were spent in Tahoe.

It wasn't bad though, agreed there are a lot of gapers here, but people seemed friendly enough. Lift lines are ridiculous on the weekend.

I did get the $299 pass at the end of the season, good for any time any day of next season along with my Tahoe local pass. Hell of a deal, you get free tickets to Sierra also.

Bad news is I shattered my collarbone a month before the season ended.

Back at it this winter :)
 
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