Bear Mountain, Snow Summit

After announcing that they would acquire Big Bear Resorts in September, Mammoth Mountain completed the $38-million deal this past week. According to the LA Times, with the addition of the two San Bernardino ski areas, Mammoth Resorts now controls more than 4, 000 acres of skiable land in California. While Chief Executive Rusty Gregory said that no major changes will be made to Bear Mountain or Snow Summit until Mammoth staff has met with resort employees, the company did hint that they have big plans for the two. The biggest announcement? Like Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons in Utah, it looks like Bear Mountain and Snow Summit will also be connected in the near future.

To compensate for the historic four-year drought that currently plagues California ski areas, Mammoth plans to expand summer activities at Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. Here's what skiers and snowboarders can expect:

· More biking and hiking trails
· A possible zip line course
· New ski and snowboard trails that would run between Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. The two resorts are currently separated by only one mile of forestland.
· Skiers from Southern California already make up about 85% of visitors to Mammoth Mountain, and this only looks to increase with the Big Bear Resorts acquisition.
· There will likely be more development at the base of the resorts, as part of the sale included 130 acres of parking lots and a golf course. Bu there's no word yet on proposals for that land.

What do you think Curbediverse? Are you more likely to ski Bear Mountain or Snow Summit now that it is owned by Mammoth?