More Talk of Snow and Less Hope from Baldy
Another six inches is expected on Monday. That will bring the total to a workable four feet. I’m not used to this kind of dump in SoCal. Growing up, I remember twenty foot weekends in Tahoe (El Nino, anybody?), but four feet in SoCal is miraculous, like God giving sight to a blind man.
Unfortunately I was unable to get a Mt. Baldy VIP coupon book. I was told to call back the next morning for four mornings in a row before leaving my number with someone, who didn’t know what a VIP pass was and probably won’t call me back.
For those that don’t know, VIP passes go on sale once a year at the local ski expos. It’s a great deal: four anytime tickets, two monday-friday tickets, four 2-for-1 coupons and two learn-to-ski-and-snowboard coupons, all for $60. I got mine last year at SnowJam, but Baldy didn’t setup a booth this year. At least that’s what they told me on the phone before the show. If you attended Ski Dazzle in LA this year, you scored.
So what to do? $180 6-pack at Mt. High? It’s reliable, true. You get man-made snow, sometimes it’s real but rare. No steeps. A well-maintained park. The most crowded ski resort per square inch in America. The secret? Ski weekdays. Can I do that? No.
Next option, pay exorbitant prices for Mt. Baldy, which has steep skiing and no lift lines. Unfortunately, you never know what to expect from Mt. Baldy. I went last year in the Spring, and it was awesome. I went in the early winter and they were charging $50 to walk around on a little patch of snow in front of the lodge. In other words if it’s good, it’s the best in Southern California (Mammoth excluded). If it’s bad, you feel like you lost ten hands straight in blackjack and tipped all the rest of your money to the person who enabled your hangover.
So honestly, I hate to rip on Baldy because I completely understand their situation. See, Mt. Baldy has this real local mountain feel to it. The road getting up there is not easy. The patrol is straight out of a movie; last year they had a sign that said, “Be Careful, it’s hard dick out there.” About as helpful as a snowboarder patrolman who told my friend “Why the f*ck should I know?” when asked if he’d seen his lost camera. Plus, the biggest metropolis this side of the Mississippi is one hour from the base of the mountain. So why not charge the douchey Lakers fans who wear jeans tucked into their ski boots $50 a ticket for 60s style lifts? Gotta protect the mountain somehow. Makes you wonder why they even sell the VIP pass?
So I think this year might be a Mt. High year. I’m going up for a day this coming week and I need a guarantee and a cheap ticket. Hopefully working on Sunday and skiing on the 23rd won’t be as busy as a normal day. And hopefully there’s more to that mountain than what I’ve seen the past ten times I’ve skied there. Not likely as you can see the whole mountain from the parking lot.