Everything You Need to Know About the Mammoth-Big Bear Merger

Four years into California’s drought, El Niño wasn’t the only powerhouse to bring welcome change to SoCal’s two most famous mountain resorts. One year ago, Mammoth Resorts acquired both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit resorts in Big Bear Lake, marrying the two largest ski resorts in Southern California. When ski season commenced this past November, one season pass would get you into all four SoCal ski resorts: Mammoth, June Mountain, Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. 

The merger lures coast and valley dwellers past the cozy (and crowded) confines of Big Bear up to the dauntingly vertical slopes of Mammoth Mountain’s volcanic terrain, with the hopes of converting the occasional visitor to diehard snow bunny. In 2005, Mammoth Resort was purchased by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area for $365 Million from its now 100–year–old originator Dave McCoy. Once known as an antiquated ski resort with killer terrain, the resort was quickly transformed to be a formidable opponent in the luxury resort bout. Gone are the days of trucking up to Tahoe when there’s a pampering yet unpretentious ski village in half the drive. 

Mammoth quickly added high–speed lift chairs and hired "parkitects" to up the resume of the sprawling mountain range; this is California, no doubt. Snowboarders and Freeskiers can now try their hand at four different terrain parks with rails, boxes, manicured bumps, four half–pipes including a 22’ superpipe, and snow playgrounds for even the littlest Shaun White wannabes. To give Northstar a little run for its money, Mammoth Resort tucked a quiet village enclave along route 395. Those looking for a little apres ski action can find a posh village outfitted with high–rise condos, restaurants, cafes and even a daycare outpost. 

The grandiose Westin Monache sits atop the village and has its own evening hours kids club, as well as year–round outdoor pools and spas to relish in as the gondolas sway overhead. Plans for the monumental Mammoth Resort overhaul show no signs of slowing down. And for a mountain in the midst of what science geeks are calling the start of a megadrought in the southwest United States, the unbelievable aspect of Mammoth’s growth is that demand is driving the supply. Eagle Lodge, once tucked away and remote, has found itself in the middle of a real estate hot bed. 

Brand new multimillion dollar homes have sprung up slopeside as of late thanks to Eagle Lodge’s dedicated express chairlift, making it the place to stay when you’re looking for an exclusive mountain getaway. The nearby Juniper Springs Resort beckons both diehards as well as those looking for seclusion. The area even drew snowboard fanatic Kylie Jenner and beau Tyga over New Year’s Eve. Plans to revamp the outdated and undersized Eagle Lodge have yet to be unveiled but are in the works according to Mammoth Resort staff.  

The quick revamping of what started in the 1930’s by one lone skier with a portable rope–tow has exploded into a behemoth brand. The squiggly mountain–like "M" emblem is emblazoned everywhere you look: snowboarders slap it on their helmets; SUV’s proudly display it on their rear windows in the grown–up, suburban form of tagging: "I wuz here." Mammoth Mountain is the Nike of SoCal mountain ranges. And in the arena of branding, Big Bear is the Asics: Comfortable. Unchanged. Familiar. Until now. Intro: Shaun White.   

Hitting Refresh on Big Bear and Mammoth

Big Bear is touted as a homey, laid–back village with vintage charm. One would be hard–pressed to go in search of a spa visit to go with their ski lessons; in the fine dining department, one might even rub elbows with the resident ghost, but the El Niño winds, they are a–changing. Big Bear is having a banner year on the tourism front.  According to Jonathan Vasquez of the Rahill Real Estate Group, "we have been experiencing HUGE crowds of visitors on the weekends like we haven’t seen before." 

Not only did Big Bear receive large amounts of snow this year, Big Bear’s snow–making capabilities are incomparable due to the nearby lake, thus making Big Bear resistant to the drought–related issues faced by other ski resorts, like Mammoth. In the mountain’s usually dreary first quarter real estate market, Big Bear Lake has become a seller’s paradise. After news struck in 2014 that Mammoth Resort would merge with Big Bear Mountain Resorts, the real estate market began a slow rise that surged in January, halving all real estate inventory. With the merger including 130 acres of parking lots and a golf course, "there have been rumors of mass improvements with infrastructure and expanded recreational activities," says Vasquez. 

By the start of this ski season, Mammoth resorts had already added a tube park in the middle of Snow Summit, as well as the addition of a restaurant and a concert stage at the top of Snow Summit. But it’s Bear Mountain that draws the fun–loving, fearless snowboarders that California is known for, and the biggest spark in the rumor mill is the plan to link Snow Summit with Bear Mountain in the future. And the unknown plans for Bear Mountain.     

In January, Mammoth Resorts announced that none other than San Diego native and snowboard icon Shaun White has become a minority investor in Mammoth Resorts. White, who perfected his half–pipe on the slopes of Bear Mountain as a kid, is a game changer in the Mammoth–Big Bear Resort merger. It was Shaun White who ignited a media frenzy at the 2002 Winter X Games and stamped his face on the sport in Turin at the 2006 Winter Olympics with his gold medal finish. White’s newest business venture is a much needed homecoming to a sport that needs a little life–support. 

According to the Kottke End of Season Survey, snowboarding has been steadily declining in popularity for the past five years, while freeskiing, a kind of snowboard–alpine ski hybrid, has doubled in popularity. Shaun White plans to change all that. According to the Los Angeles Times, Rusty Gregory, Mammoth Resorts' chairman and chief executive, says that White will have a key role in revamping the resorts. In particular, White, who got his first pro sponsor at the age of 7, will help expand on the base of the sport by catering to youth with a re–imagined way to teach the sport to the younger generation. Appealing to the youth seems to be White’s main agenda as he brought LA’s Air + Style event back for its second US tour stop last weekend. 

White is a majority shareholder in the Air + Style Company, a long running snowboard competition and music festival. In 2014, White brought Air + Style stateside for the first time in its 23 year history. This year, with headliners J. Cole and Incubus, the festival lasted two days and featured art, music, fashion and, of course, snowboarding on a warm Los Angeles day at the LA Coliseum. Mammoth will host a tour stop in 2017, and with Shaun White’s finger clearly pressing on the refresh button, perhaps Big Bear will eventually have the chops to host such an event.