The closest ski hill to Los Angeles recently sold to an investment group with big plans. But can those ideas work amid catastrophic climate threats that continue to plague the mountain?
For much of its 85-year existence, the Mount Waterman resort has drawn skiers and outdoor enthusiasts from around Los Angeles for its no-fuss, no-frills experience.
Unlike all other ski hills in Southern California, Mount Waterman, the closest mountain resort to Los Angeles, didn’t make snow (its motto has long been “Praying for snow since 1939”), and it has only a modest warming hut and three chairlifts. But its steep inclines and access to backcountry terrain kept loyal snow-sports fans coming back.
“It’s steep, gladed — one of the greatest places I’ve skied,” said Michael Melton, a board member of the Buckhorn Ski Lodge, a private lodge near Mount Waterman. “It doesn’t have the acreage of a Palisades Tahoe, but it has the punch.”
That rustic experience will soon get a face-lift — the ski hill is under contract to be sold to an investment group, Angeles Mountain Partners, with a more aggressive business vision. The new owners, Josh Shelton, an entertainment lawyer, and Scott Towsley, a veteran of ski-area construction in Southern California, have plans for an amphitheater and glamping cabins. They also plan to add a snow-making system and offer a club-membership program that would give skiers helicopter access to Mount Waterman.
But for all of their big ideas, the ski hill has for years been hit hard with existential climate threats. From 2011 through 2017, the most severe drought years in recorded California history, Mount Waterman opened for only a few dozen days as it battled higher temperatures, less snowfall and destructive wildfires.
