Lift-Served Skiing Returns to Saddleback After Five-Year Hiatus
Ski area eases into new era with a high-speed lift and an understated opening
December 16, 2020
The mountain reopened on a Tuesday. There were no day ticket sales. None of the carnival trappings that may have attended such a stalled and triumphant re-entry into the public realm: No speeches. No music. No ostentatious vendor booths.
Instead a pounding of motion and hustle that felt almost military. Like a construction site for the world’s greatest snow fortress, barrel guns hammering and Snowcats rumbling across the flats. Everywhere green and yellow staff jackets. Whether these determined rank or duty was unclear, but for most of the day they seemed to outnumber or equal the number of skiers.
Posted from the Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast
