There is at least one Bear Valley resident enjoying our low snow year. They will be familiar to many of you. Traveling on four paws and generally considered a pest, coyotes are natives of the Sierra Nevada and fulfill necessary ecosystem roles, like controlling prey populations.
I haven’t worked at the Warming Hut for years, but I still love it. Penny and I go skiing, and we see so many friends, so much so that socializing gets in the way of skiing. It is nice to be in a place where everybody knows your name.
While sitting down to write this article for the January edition of the Cub Reporter, a well-advertised “Christmas Miracle” storm is getting underway. Over the next 48 hours, we are braced to receive an impressive amount of snow, even by Bear Valley standards.
As we reach the last day of November, we're still waiting for winter to arrive in the meadow. Without snowmaking, Bear Valley Adventure Co. (BVAC) depends on natural snowfall to open for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, and tubing.
The waiting game for winter has begun, and it's hard not to check the weather forecasts multiple times a day. It's both exciting and agonizing as each nuance is analyzed. Is the storm door open or closed? Wax on, wax off.
As chilly mornings bring frost and fall colors to Bear Valley, it is time to bid adieu to summer. Winter preparations are officially underway! As folks around the village stockpile firewood and provisions for the coming winter, many of our friends outdoors have their own preparations underway.
Autumn arrived right on schedule, and we are enjoying a mix of rain and warm, clear weather. I even saw the first snowflakes of the season this morning, on October 3rd, but not enough to stick, which is okay with us this time of year.
Labor Day has passed, the trails are quieter, and it's another wonderful time of year to be in Bear Valley. The aspens are still green, but you know that the colors are right around the corner. Dreams of skiing have started …
Quaking aspens are a type of poplar tree named for their leaves that tremble given the slightest current of air. The feature is reflected in their latin name as well - Populus tremuloides.
Spend some time in a ski town, and you're likely to hear the saying, "every winter's different." While this is true, you rarely hear much about summer.
Summer is our favorite time of the year. However, we've also mentioned that winter is our preferred season. Regardless, mid-summer is upon us, and we are relishing the warm days, cool nights, and the abundance of outdoor activities.
The Sierra Nevada is characterized by a number of different bioregions that are heavily influenced by altitude. Though a number of species persist in multiple bioregions, they are distinct in their makeup. Bear Valley resides in the Upper Montane.
Spring has sprung, and summer is here! The Bear Valley Adventure Company (BVAC) reopened for the Memorial Day Weekend with regular business hours, continuing through at least Labor Day Weekend. Our store hours are …
As winter melts away, it's exciting to anticipate the summer season ahead. While this past winter didn't produce many big Sierra Nevada snowstorms, it did provide timely weather disturbances. Starting on …
My husband and I were having a very good day cross country skiing – blue skies with freshly groomed trails on top of four feet of snowfall from the night before. The boys were at the mountain skiing with friends. We had the day to ourselves …
As new parents and avid skiers, we were keen to get our two young boys on skis. We were apprehensive about bringing them to a downhill resort where it appeared difficult to manage young children in crowded lodges and keep them engaged in actual skiing.
Despite limited snowfall, several weather phenomena have combined to create some of the best cross country skiing conditions in Bear Valley this winter. What lacks in quantity and kilometers of open trails is superseded by the top-notch quality of the 25 open kilometers.
