Pros: reasonably steep hills
Cons: not enough natural snow and too much grooming
It's easy to get to nearby snow for some cruising in Southern California. Geronimo is steep! Challenging because it is primarily man made snow groomed to a pretty firm base. You can find chairs with minimal lift lines (like Geronimo and Silver) even on a busy weekend. The race programs are good for both kids and Masters. Spring skiing can be great. Occasionally storms bring fantastic powder - and the hill is steep enough to make those days fun.
The roads get crowded. Some of the lifts get crowded. There are lots of snowboards (maybe 80% snowboards) and for some reason they won't ride four to a quad chair - ever. Everything groomed means not enough variety and even the longer runs flash by quickly (CAski25's pro is a con for me regarding the grooming). The tickets work at Snow Summit - a quick bus ride away so you can get a bit more terrain but it is quite similar.
The town of Big Bear has a fair amount to offer but you need to drive to where you want to go. Renting a house is common and fun.
You can have a lot of fun there. Focus on racing and you can get really good. But if you really want to ski from Socal, hop on Southwest to Reno and ski Squaw.
Eric
San Diego
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