But 1952 was also the beginning of many dry winters that would last into the 1960’s. These drought years forced the closure of most all the smaller ski areas, and seriously threatened the existence of the new Snow Summit.

However in 1958, a man named Chuck Smith began experimenting with making snow on a small rope tow called “Rebel Ridge” near Big Bear City.

Over the next three years, Smith proved that snowmaking was an economically viable solution during dry winters.

With Snow Summit on the verge of financial collapse in 1961, Tommi Tyndall decided to go further into debt to build a major snow making system. The system was completed in 1964. It was the largest in Southern California.

But the success of this new system was overshadowed by the accidental and untimely death of Tommi that same year. The leadership of Snow Summit fell on the shoulders of his wife Jo Tyndall and her son Richard Kun.

The years following Tyndall’s death proved that snowmaking was here to stay. An exceptionally heavy winter in 1969, enabled Snow Summit to build a second Chair lift.

In late 2002, under the leadership of Dick Kun, Snow Summit brought Big Bear Mountain and collectively renamed the two resorts Big Bear Mountain Resorts. Big Bear will cater to snowboarders while Snow Summit will continue to be more family friendly.

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