Los Angeles Ski Resort Taking Advantage Of El Nino Snow
Taking advantage of all the snow it’s been getting this winter from El Nino, two local outfitters have created the inaugural Big Bear Winter Festival.
Taking place Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 27 & 28, it features a fat bike race and snowshoe races. It also has a festival area with music, a bar, BBQ food and a vendor expo at the base of Snow Summit.
“As the cycling capital of Southern California, this festival brings together alternative snow sports to Southern California’s premier ski resort,” said Big Bear Cycling President and Big Bear Winter Festival Chair Craig Smith. “Fat bike rides and snowshoe races surrounded by skiing and snowboarding makes the ideal atmosphere for a winter festival.
“This is a great way to celebrate the recent snow, and I’m optimistic El Niño is going to continue to deliver more snow. After all this is a ‘snow-only’ event.”
The snowshoe races will take place on Saturday in distances of 5K, 10K and a whopping 22K.
The fat tire bikes are the next day and have four routes of 6, 10, 14 and 18 miles on groomed courses by Snow Summit’s groomers. Fat Bike Big Bear is the only organized fat bike ride in California. It’s limited to fat bikes only with a minimum 4” tire width (tire studs OK).
Friday night registration is 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Same-day registration for the snowshoe races is at 7 a.m. and registration for fat bike rides is from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The 22k snowshoe race starts at 8 a.m., the 10k races starts at 8:15 a.m. and the 5K race at 8:30 a.m.
Online registration is $40 for the 5k, $50 for the 10k and $60 for the 22k. Fat bike rides on Saturday, February 27 start at 1 p.m. Participants have a choice of 6, 10, 14 and 18 mile rides, rates are $50 each ride. A discounted rate of $80 is available for participants who sign up for both a snowshoe race and fat bike ride.
Both events have well-marked routes with a fully-staffed radio team and aid stations positioned throughout the course. Snowshoe and fat bike rentals are available on site or can be reserved in advanced online at www.SnowShoeBigBear.com (for snowshoes) or www.FatBikeBigBear.com (for fat bikes).
It should be noted that fat bike rentals are limited and it’s highly recommended to reserve in advance.
In the summer, the mountain hosts the Big Bear Cycling Event, July 30-Aug. 7.
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