Story by Eric Carter
Photos by Dan Severson
Snow Summit ski resort, located in the San Bernardino Mountains, was the only lift access bike park for all of Southern California. Snow Summit hosted the National Championships, World Cups and was the seminal hot bed for the SoCal racing scene for two decades until friction from federal land managers and a financial decision handed down by the resort's board of directors closed the mountain bike park a number of years back. The loss was a huge one for California's downhillers, because there were almost no alternative trails worth shuttling at the time and no legal ones for sure - and while there are a number of options available today for gravity riders, there has been no lift access for SoCal riders since Snow Summit closed. But that all ended last weekend. Working in secret for over a year, Snow Summit contracted Tom Pro' and Gravity Logic to design a trail network on the resort property. The first trails are in, and the park reopened officially to bikes Friday, May 24, for the Memorial Day Weekend. Eric Carter tells the story: - RC
When I heard that Snow Summit was opening Memorial Day weekend, I actually changed my plans from attending the first round of the Oregon Enduro Series to head up to Big Bear to see what the folks from Gravity Logic laid out and what the Summit build crew came up with. Personally, I know that my cycling career would have been completely different had it not been for the Snow Summit Resort and being able to ride my bike so much, so I felt compelled to support what the the resort is trying to accomplish. A quick call to Richard Cunningham at Pink Bike to line up a story for this weekend and another call to Dan Severson to capture the images and we were off to give this historic MTB Mecca the support it deserves.I was able to talk with Chris Riddle, Vice President of marketing at Big Bear Mountain Resorts, and he explained to me that this weekend was a soft opening in relation to the master plan that is in place for the Snow Summit Adventure Park. The project is a five-year plan with the goal of becoming the Southern California Mecca of Mountain Biking. The adventure park will include numerous MTB and hiking trails, as well as a zip line. Currently there are two new trails open on the resort property as well as the pre-existing National Forest trail network that is adjacent to the resort.
The marque advanced trail is named “Miracle Mile”. It consist of 33 berms, ten jumps, numerous sweeping s-turns, rollers and three wood features. There is also an easier option down the hill on the west side of the resort called "Cruiser." Both trails have a good mix of man-made features and natural single track and provide great flow, which is always the desired experience of modern day bike parks.
| The crew at Gravity Logic did an amazing job on the first of many new trails. We can't wait to see how things progress over the summer and next couple years. It's safe to say that this redesigned bike park will continue to grow and reclaim it's spot as the biggest mountain bike mecca in California. |
| I'm excited to see what the future holds up at Snow Summit and to encourage everyone to show support for the resort. Since the day Snow Summit closed, everyone talked about how awesome it would be if Snow Summit would build a bike park and how many people would ride it. The ball is now in our court. The folks at Snow Summit are doing their part, and it's up to us as a cycling community to support it. Judging by this weekend's turnout, I think we did our part as well. - EC |
For more information and park hours, please visit: Big Bear Mountain ResortsFind out what Tom Pro' is up to next with Gravity Logic
My local mt just shutdown to biking.
This gives me hope.
Support your local mt. People.
Then got worse for a few years.
Then got a little better till back in black first open. ( possible the peak of mt wash).
Then it all just went downhill from there.
Lawsuits have destroyed way too many things for the masses because of the greed of a few(and their lawyers). The number of good ideas that will never see the light of day are 10x greater than those that have been shut down. Let's be honest: we participate in a pretty dangerous sport and our realization of that is evident in the thousands of dollars that we invest in it. Apparently, a few didn't see it that way.
There has never been any shame or shunning for people who have the balls to pursue crazy-ass lawsuits, and they are not going to end. Not many of us know the names of people who sue parks and bike companies because they "didn't tell us it was dangerous to ride at night without lights"(RIP Nishiki). I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to change that and give folks something to be scared about before they call their lawyers to cash in at the expense of others. I'm glad Big Bear is back and I hope it stays this time(for those of us with more than 5"of travel, too, or whatever the hell that stupid rule was.)
www.imba.com/blog/patrick-kell/trail-development-big-bear
IMO, of all the local resorts, Big Bear is by far the best option when you consider all the variables of lodging, location, employee infrastructure and funding.
Agree...I start my first run @9:3X blind turn washed out corner. No way U can get the speed to hit that mini table.
Not agree...they water the trails next day after we given some idea about the dusty issues & the trail build.
Go back couple weeks later. They trying to improve.
Oh really? I don't think you've been to Mt Baldy then.