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Check here for a concise look at Bear Valley Cross Country center [WWW]snow conditions.

Downhill



[WWW]Bear Valley Ski Mountain Resort is our ski area, about 3 miles from Bear Valley town center to the ski lodge. There are shuttle buses to take you to and from the ski resort to Bear Valley town all day... check with Bear Valley Lodge or the mountain for the schedule.

Bear Valley Mountain Resort was purchased by the Dundee Corporation, a professional resort operator. Dundee also operates Arapahoe Basin in Colorado.
Bear Valley Ski Resort Trail Map (2007-2008)


One of the much anticipated changes is a chair lift from the Bear Valley town center to the ski area. Eliminating the shuttle bus drive will enhance the ski experience. Especially since there are well marked trails (Lunch Run and Home Run) taking one from the ski area all the way back to the Bear Valley town center.

Check New Quad Lift for an informal pictorial update (June 24 '06).

Lifts operate from 9am to 4pm weekdays, and 8:30am to 4pm on weekends. If there is overnight powder be sure to get there as early as possible. On a busy weekend, many of the good powder runs can be tracked out before 9am.

The ski runs are decent and well groomed. Not the most challenging or longest vertical in North America, but to date, the lift lines here, rather the lack of lift lines here, make Bear Valley a highly desirable ski destination. Terrain parks (two) are decent, and the half-pipe is open about half the weekends. If you're a single college student, maybe Whistler or Mammoth is better for the scene, but for those who want a pleasant, low intensity vibe and NO lift lines, Bear Valley is it. Not having to wait 30-45 minutes in the lift line goes a long way to balancing the issues with Bear Valley!

Some mountain statistics:

Elevation
Lifts & Terrain
Snowfall & Snowmaking
Natural snowfall average is 359" (30 feet) annually. Our advanced snowmaking system covers a network of runs served by 9 lifts; beginner through advanced terrain; blankets 795 vertical feet; approximately 100 acres of coverage.

Cross Country Ski


Bear Valley Cross Country Ski Trail Map (2006)

Check out [WWW]Bear Valley Cross Country and Adventure Company for tours and packages. Right across Highway 4 is a large cross country trail system, perhaps one of the best(?) cross county opportunities in California. Latest cross country conditions, snow conditions, etc... check out their [WWW]What's New page. Contact them at 209-753-2834. Paul Peterson and his wife are the owners and can pretty much tell you anything you want to know about any recreational opportunity in Bear Valley.


Backcountry Skiing & Snowboarding


Immediately surrounding Bear Valley is a wide range of excellent backcountry skiing and snowboarding opportunities. The Poison Gulch and Round Valley areas are the most popular and are easily access from the Lake Alpine Snowpark. A parking permit is required Nov. - Apr. ($5/day or $25/year) and can be purchased at either the Cross Country Center or Sports Shop in town. These areas are off limits to snowmobiles.

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Comments:

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2006-04-16 06:40:27   Had a great series of downhill ski lessons this year at Bear Valley from George Comninos (sp?). If you get a chance next year, hire George to teach you modern carving techniques. —TonyZuccarino

2008-01-06 12:46:18   ski conditions were fantastic today. Grizzly opens Wed they are saying. Food continues to be top notch, what with 100% angus beef burgers :). —TonyZuccarino

2008-01-28 14:05:41   I'm not sure how to phrase the question but I was hoping someone might be able to help me understand BV Resort's decision making process for opening Grizzly Bowl. I'm not looking for the "company line" and I know about avalanche control. I am a reasonable guy, but it seems that in recent years(last 5 perhaps), that the opening of Grizzly bowl(lift) is very inconsistent. It is very frustrating. What critiria is used to determine the opening? How hard does management try to get it open? What is the priority in getting Griz Open? Why can other resort areas get their expert terrain open in a timely manner yet we, at BV have to suffer with relentless laps on the face, monte wolfe, yellow sub, R&R. —BobRynd

2008-01-28 14:11:34   and Yes, I have posed this question to BV Resort and I get a generic company answer. —BobRynd

2008-01-28 16:17:34   Bob, See my comment above from 3-21-06. The more things change, the more they stay the same.... —DianeLundquist

2008-01-29 08:28:21   an SFGate [WWW]article on the dangers of skiing/falling into a tree well. ALot more dangerous than it first sounds. —TonyZuccarino

2008-01-29 12:42:40   Hey I was skiing Homewood the same day that dude died. I didn't know about the accident until I read your link. It was EPIC powder, especially in the trees. And I ALWAYS wear a helmet —MichaelShorts