Mt. Waterman and Snowcrest/Kratka Ridge

Howdy,

I was wondering if anyone could confirm for me that the single-trip sightseer rates will be available on Saturday. I got an email from Roberto Martinez who's the website administrator saying they'd be $15, but I don't see those prices on the website. I'd just hate to drive up Saturday morning to discover I still have to hike up to the top of Chair 1! Thanks.
 
It is friday night and everything is a GO! Lifts open at 8:30 (hopefully...lol). I don't know what is up with single ride prices but I'm sure Roberto is correct as he is an owner.
 
Wow! This is awesome, awesome news. I grew up in Pasadena and was really bummed to hear of Waterman's demise a few years ago. Here's wishing you guys all of the best and I hope you'll be putting smiles on people's faces for many years to come.

On another note, take it easy on the CalTrans guys. They're kicking butt the best way they know to get things open for you. I lived in South Lake Tahoe the past 4 years and eventually you just come to accept the fact that sometimes the roads shut down. 3-4 years ago in January, all of the roads out of South Lake shut down for 2-3 days. And anyone who frequents Kirkwood is very familiar with road closures. Hwy 88 shuts down a lot. Sometimes for several days. And this is with experienced snow removal crews. The guys down there don't have the same level of experience, and I'm sorry to say Hwy 2 isn't exactly the biggest priority. I'd say it's lower priority than even 88, which isn't that high either.

Also, another person mentioned Mt Rose Hwy. This is controlled by NDOT since it's in Nevada. It's also a major artery out of Tahoe. So they take pretty good care of it. Also, NDOT doesn't have nearly as much to clear as CalTrans either; so it's a lot easier for them. Add this to the fact that Nevada spends a lot more money on their roads too. Just drive across Stateline towards Nevada in South Lake and the road goes from some of the worst chain ruts you've ever seen to smooth, nice pavement.

Anyway, I'm so glad to hear you're back up and running. GOOD LUCK AND GIV'ER!!!
 
Howdy All,

I just wanted to say thanks to Tom and Roberto and all the others at MW for getting the word out about opening day. It certainly was a gorgeous day out there and I look forward to returning in the upcoming weekends. Tom, it was nice to meet you on Saturday and put a face to the name. It's pretty cool that the LA Times gave it some decent space, hell I even got a quote! On an aside, I was wondering if any of the new owners/managers of MW went to UCLA? I know it's a bit of a tangent but my wife works for the External Affairs and Marketing Dept. here at UCLA and if any of the MW crew were Bruins the reboot of Waterman might make a neat article for the campus publication. Just curious. Best,
 
Waterman can add some weekdays if we can find some Patrollers. Weekends are no problem with the Nationals, but have no one at this point for midweek.
 
With the current warmup (81F in L.A. expected today) I'd expect a good corn cycle at Waterman by this weekend. And if it doesn't snow some more Baldy's chairs 1 and 4 won't last through March IMHO. Waterman's face and even the OB down to Angeles Crest Hwy should hold up better with the north exposure.

I will not be back in SoCal until mid-March but I hope to get up to Waterman after that.
 
A few questions.

First, what days is MW open? First link below says Thurs-Sun and second says Sat-Sun:

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/?p=1340
http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/?p=1382

Second, what is the pricing? Web site says $49 for "peak" weekends and holidays, but one of the links above says regular weekends are $49 and weekdays are $39. I guess my question is what is a regular full-day ticket going to cost me on Thurs/Fri as opposed to Sat/Sun (non-holiday)?

Lastly, will the roads be clear by this weekend? Looks like construction on the 134 so how would I get there driving South from Santa Barbara/back to Santa Barbara from MW? And isn't there some bike race up in that area? It seems like there is so much stuff going on with the roads up there...

Also, has Mt. Waterman considered getting a hotline/1.800 number/snowphone? It would really help with getting people like me up to date quickly, as opposed to fumbling around online so much looking for updated information, most of which seems incorrect or inconsistent.

Sorry for all the questions, it's just that I would really be disappointed if I had to drive 100+ miles and not be able to get some snow! Thanks in advance!

Regards,

Mark
 
Mark, Tom will surely reply once he gets a chance as he's been very, very responsive to queries in this thread, as you can see. I just wanted to take the opportunity to welcome a new member to FTO Liftlines! If you head up, be sure to post a report -- I'd love to see some pics from the "new" Waterman.

The longevity of this thead continues to amaze me...
 
Roads are not a problem, Bike race was last weekend. From Santa Barbara take 101 I guess through Ventura up Conejo Pass to 23 towards Moorpark then take 118 till it ends at 210 then towards Pasadena and get off on Angeles Crest Hwy in La Canada and go up 34 miles to MW.

Be sure to stop at Newcomb's Ranch for dinner on the way home and try the new chef's food, I really like the Short Ribs or the Chicken Marsala.

MW is only open Saturday and Sunday as of right now so disregard anything about weekdays. They would like to open some more days but no ski patrol available during the week. They are looking for someone to be Ski Patrol Director who can recruit some Pro Patrollers to work during the week. As for the cost on weekends I believe it is $49.00.

Snow Phone # is (818) 792-7676 and the website is http://www.skiwaterman.com
 
Howdy,

Here's a few photos from opening day (if I can get them to load!)

Chair 1.JPG


Chair 2.JPG


Chair 2 pt2.JPG


Kiss n Run.JPG


Chair 2 pt 3.JPG


Robyns Run.JPG
 
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yikes, it really is $49? i could get 55 different runs for that at snow summit/bear as opposed to like 4 or 5 at MW... hmmm definately will have to think about that. loyalty is one thing; but i'm broke!
 
And these days you would probably spend another $49 in bypassing Waterman and going on to Bear/Summit in gas alone. I believe weekend rates at Mt. High are now $62.00 and Bear/Summit is at $64.00

All I can ask is that you look at the $49.00 as a contribution to the Saving Mt. Waterman project because it is definatly not out of the woods yet.
 
They were charging $45 last Saturday.

The way I see it, you could pay that money to dodge morons on groomers and sit in grueling traffic afterward (unless of course you take the 38 from BBL), or you could pay that money to dive into some steep trees at a place an hour from home.

For me, the decision is not even close. Sure the number of cut runs is much greater at the other places- but the number of potential lines through the trees at Waterman is much much much greater than at the Big Bear resorts or Mt. High.

As far as patrollers- I wish I could step in and help out- I used to be a pro patroller at Summit. Have quite a few weekdays off here and there but wouldn't be consistent enough to help you guys out.
 
The skiing at Mt. Waterman is a different animal from Big Bear/Mt. High. Sustained fall lines on the front (joegm quality moguls in the old days, maybe not enough people up there yet for those now) and lots of variations through the trees. There are also the impressive and longer lines through the OB trees down to the highway. Do this first with someone who knows the way as it's easy to botch the navigation and end up in the San Gabriel River drainage (as I did in 1992) with a long hike out.

Chair 2 up top is very good for beginners/low intermediates, similar to the small chair at the top of Mt. High East. What Waterman does not have are the long intermediate cruisers like the east side of Snow Summit or the top-to-bottom runs of Mt. High East.

Mt. Waterman's real competition is the similar but much larger Mt. Baldy, thus the skepticism I've expressed here before, though I wish the new owners success with all the work they have done. Waterman's main advantage over Baldy is spring snow preservation during sustained warm spells such as we are having now. Once Baldy's lower chair is no longer skiable, I think Waterman is a better bet.
 
Tom Moriarty":196flc72 said:
Roads are not a problem, Bike race was last weekend. From Santa Barbara take 101 I guess through Ventura up Conejo Pass to 23 towards Moorpark then take 118 till it ends at 210 then towards Pasadena and get off on Angeles Crest Hwy in La Canada and go up 34 miles to MW.

Be sure to stop at Newcomb's Ranch for dinner on the way home and try the new chef's food, I really like the Short Ribs or the Chicken Marsala.

MW is only open Saturday and Sunday as of right now so disregard anything about weekdays. They would like to open some more days but no ski patrol available during the week. They are looking for someone to be Ski Patrol Director who can recruit some Pro Patrollers to work during the week. As for the cost on weekends I believe it is $49.00.

Snow Phone # is (818) 792-7676 and the website is http://www.skiwaterman.com
Click to expand...
tom snow phone # is wrong? call me r.j.
 
I posted some stoke over at TGR and the Mammoth forum and will post some pics here also.These were taken on opening day.

The base lift.
009.jpg


Riding up Chair 1
067.jpg


Mid Chalet.A very chill place to hang out at:)
074.jpg


The beer wall.Its a Waterman thing;)
MtWatermanopeningday016.jpg


Skiing to the car.
027.jpg


All the way to the car,heh.
017.jpg



As stated before,a very chill place to kick it.
104.jpg


Working the High T on lift 1
043.jpg


Turns on #1 proper.
075.jpg


Turns on #3.
100.jpg


A great change of pace from the usual crap the Big Bear dishes out.Props to the Metcaffs<spelling? for opening up.Now I am just waiting for the harvesting of the corn ,soon......soon.
 
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