Big Bear Lake Resorts Receive More Than A Foot Of Snow

BIG BEAR LAKE (CBSLA.com) — The storms wreaking havoc on Southern California have also dropped at least a foot of snow on Big Bear Lake, to the delight of skiers and snowboarders.

Bear Mountain and Snow Summit have received as many as 17 inches of snow throughout the day, and this is just the first onslaught of El Niño-influenced weather this year, the snow resorts' spokesman Clayton Shoemaker said.

"It's amazing right now," he said. "We've got 15-17 inches of fresh snow and it's still coming down. There's a chance we're going to see more snow this week than we did all of last season. We're pretty excited up here."

The fresh, powdery conditions were years in the making for some snow enthusiasts.

"It's nice, it's kind of breezy, but it's very nice," one skier accompanying his daughter for a lesson said.

The heavy snow caught a few motorists by surprise after they decided to go off-roading in the mountains in two Jeeps, according to San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies. Members of the Bear Valley Search and Rescue team had to be called in to help find the trio, who were cold and hungry but found to be in good condition with no injuries.