4+ My recent visit in early 2/2026 was the first time I've been to Snow Summit in over a decade and this was my second snowboarding excursion in the last decade as well (so I am/ was a bit rusty) I had a free day during the week and drove up in the morning by myself. There was free parking that was easy to find and gear up at. This particular location doesn't feel large and since it was kind of sunny and a weekday, I think a lot of the trails and some of the lifts were shutdown during my visit. Not a big deal at all since my goal was to avoid large weekend crowds and shake off my personal cobwebs and just enjoy myself at my own speed. Getting my pass ready at the entrance using my phone, emails, and the app was pretty straightforward. Once I got that situated, I was able to start making my way to the first main lift and head up. The crowds during a weekday (early 2/2026) were so small, I was able to take my own chair up without having any traffic behind me. I can't speak for experienced skiers and snowboarders since even a decade ago, I would consider myself a solid intermediate snowboarder (that didn't do any tricks) and I will say it's a solid resort especially what I was looking for. I was able to go down the trails and constantly go up the lifts so quickly and my muscle memory all started coming back albeit with a few minor spills. After a while, I wanted to grab a beer and make my way over to Big Bear since I had the pass that allowed me to experience both parks. Definitely a solid snow resort that isn't too intense and is great for the proximity of people who live in the LA/ IE area. read more

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For a SoCal option, this is one of my favorite mountains to take newbies and intermediate boarders. The terrain offers quite a bit of selections is the skillset mentioned above. I also like one of their runs being spacious and wide for ease of maneuverability. Base of the mountain during peak season also have a wide variety of food and beverage options. Their bloody marry are really good here. I would recommend you get one of these for those cold days for a light snack with a kick to move you along until the last run. I have seen the lift ticket system change throughout the decades and I'm glad that they are updating their process to move the lines along. During peak season, there are multiple locations that you can park where shuttles will take you to and from the base. Parking in the main lot does come with a fee. Slow days or weekdays are usually $25 per vehicle. Overall, it's a great place to board with a nice view of the lake. Can't wait to get back on the slope with good snow. read more

We had an amazing experience with our snowboard instructor, Cody! From the very beginning he was incredibly positive, patient, and encouraging, which made a huge difference while learning something new. Even when things got a little distracting on the mountain, he kept us focused and motivated. Cody also had some really great analogies that made it so much easier to understand how to move your body and stay in control on the board. His explanations around safety were clear, thorough, and very informative, which gave us a lot of confidence out there. And honestly, the lesson was just fun. If you take a lesson with Cody, get ready for "jazz hands" and don't forget to stick your belly out while riding toe side! 10/10 would absolutely recommend Cody to anyone learning to snowboard. Great instructor and a great experience overall! read more

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Snow Summit is the closest ski resort ito San Diego, and we have been coming nearly every year for the last 30 years. Both our kids learned to ski here, and we come up every winter with lots of friends. Even when the mountains aren't getting a lot of snow, they are usually able to make enough snow that the skiing is still decent Lines can get long, but as with most ski resorts, are usually fine first thing in the morning and are better during the week. Great to be able to go from the ocean to the mountains in So Cal and get in some skiing! read more

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Rented boots, board and helmet. Everything was easy to get. Slopes were great. It was a great Sunday not too packed. They do offer $40 dollars for parking which I think is a bit steep. They do offer free parking a couple blocks down with ample shuttles going back and forth. Shuttle and free parking made it really easy. Come check them out and enjoy a day on the slopes read more

Snow Summit - Picture to end the day - Ski Resorts Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

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Love this mountain but it's been way too crowded recently we need to set restrictions for the amount of people that come and ride!!

Pretty good ski resort! Almost as good as Mountain High. Snow Summit has plenty of open trails. I like the live cams on their website. . Somewhat crowded. Most of the trails had riders (unlike MH's East Resort, which consists of long, often empty trails). Don't have to worry about collisions. . The lift ticket is expensive without the IKON discount. . On average, the ski lift lines here are okay length and speed. . Only one of the resort's overall trails had rail features. Non-likes: - The conveyor belt for the bunny slopes was very long and slow. - The food in the cafeteria was super expensive. And not quite on the healthy side. The only fruit option was oranges. I had about $30 worth of food for $50. Indoor seating was a lil limited. An extra 30-60 min drive to reach SS compared to MH. Without the IKON discount, better stick with MH. Slightly better quality at lower costs. Better than Snow Valley for sure though. SV's the worst I've been to of the three. Reg website price, 1-day lift ticket: $169 Total incl tax with IKON discount: $112 read more

Snow Summit - View from Snow Summit summit. - Ski Resorts Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Snow Summit is the crown jewel of the resorts near the Big Bear area. We've been pass holders for 7 years now. You do need to be willing to navigate traffic at times. Our tip is to reserve your parking in advance and plan on arriving around 7:15am to beat the crowds. If you're an Ikon pass holder you can come in for an afternoon/evening session at 2:00pm. When the early birds have left. Also intermediate and advanced Riders and Skiers should head to the Eastside and do Chairs 7 and 10. Pretty good beginner area as well read more

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Snow Summit has been the only mountain I've been snowboarding at since I started to learn a few years back, and is the same mountain where I have gotten better each time !! This is probably the best snowboarding mountain in SoCal :-) Snow Summit is beginner friendly and I'd recommend this place to beginners to get used to snowboarding/ learn the basics. The last times I've gone here there's much more snow (right now it's pretty sad), but I still love this resort sm :-) I love how there's so much food/ cafes when you get tired & it's so ez to just chill there while waiting for friends. The only thing that sucks is the parking -- if you don't get parking in the front you need to take a trolley but if you do get parking in the front you need to pay a fee. I will be back soon! read more

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So I ask for a beer(tap) at the downstairs bar ..the guy immediately said there is no tap here..so I then asked is there upstairs and he said NO..the other girl bartender looked at him and he said "nope not at all." So I go upstairs and find tap beer ..when I go down ask why he lied to me and lied to the other bartender he wouldn't admit it ..while rude ..so childish and disrespectful.who hires people like this??? read more

Snow Summit - Ski Resorts Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

I went into a class for a refresher and was moved to a separate group for a slightly more advanced course. I ended up getting a free private lesson since there were no other people in that division, and I got to spend time with instructor Vera. She was very kind and knowledgeable, teaching me new tactics and tricks, like how to ski backwards! Overall, she was amazing, friendly and fun to talk to. I would totally recommend taking lessons with her!! read more

Snow Summit - Top of the mountain! - Ski Resorts Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

I'll preface this by admitting I knew resort sports weren't for poor people. My amazing straight A earning her entire life daughter has been asking me to take her to the snow to snowboard for the past 5 years. Times have been tough in those years. We lost our home, and have yet to find much financial stability in recent years. I got her snow clothes for Christmas this year, pants and gloves(the only things I got her)Then February I stumble upon this Ride n Dine night session deal on ig. I had a little bit of money set aside, obviously not enough to responsibly pull off a snowboarding trip, but being the sender I am I decided it was worth it for us to go seeing how food, lift tickets, and rentals would leave me with enough gas money to get up n down the mountain and to work the next day where hopefully I'd make some tip money and not have to stress about being completely broke. I had it all budgeted out, with no wiggle room, but still budgeted out. We arrive at the mountain and park in the free parking down the street. Hike to the rental shack. The rental team is kinda hit and miss with perky stoked snow people and dumb, spacey, people who act like they aren't necessarily sure what a snowboard is.... kind of a fun mix though. We carry our shoes, snowboards, waters, and personal belongings to the locker area. I had planned on renting a locker, but unfortunately the machines to rent a locker weren't accepting cash, some of them said no cash, some of them just said to use exact change $10.... But knowing full well I only had about $6 in my checking account I decided we would just have to tough it up and hike back n forth from the car like the peasants we are. This also saved me an extra $10 in gas. Then about two hours into my daughter gets hungry. So we go to the lil cafe/grill to see about getting some burgers. They scan my barcode and it doesn't work so the restaurant cashier recommended going to guest services. Snow summit guest services is a guarded office. Outside was two employees. One elderly lady who didn't seem entirely sure of what her job was, and one nice older man who assured us that those Dine n Ride deals screw up all the time and not to worry we were in the right place. Eventually it's our turn to enter guest services. It's a little room staffed by DMV rejects. The lady behind the counter takes my ticket, sees that I paid the $109 plus tax advertised cost of the session and continues to scan it repeatedly saying it doesn't say anything about food. So I asked her if their usual rate without food is $109, to which she said she had no idea the rates of the mountain or didn't know where I heard of the Dine n Ride deal.... Literally moments after she already acknowledged it's existence... not more than a couple minutes after the reassurance of the guest services deacon outside.... I wanted to pull it up on their website, but the section of their website you actually order tickets and rentals from is as much of a mess as dmv.org from 1998 She then tells me I can just ride out the night on the lifts and if I have a complaint there's a number I can call...... So helplessly I leave to go spend $32 of my budgeted gas money on some horrible school cafeteria grade chicken strips n fries for me and my daughter. She's happy at least at finally her dreams coming true. I'm stressing holding back tears at thought of being such a loser that I might not be able to get to work tomorrow..... Lesson learned don't go skiing or snowboarding unless you're rich. I won't be making the same mistake again. From now on when I hear people say the resort is really struggling I'll know it's not even close to because of a lack of snow. It's a lack of repeat business read more

This place is mainly for skiers. They have regular snow play and snow tubing but for what I would consider for kids! If you do not want to skie do not come here there is much more places nearby that will accommodate non skiers. The traffic in the parking lots is also very hectic. The staff although was very friendly and informative read more

We drove up for a day of skiing and snowboarding at Snow Summit, and it was a blast! We rented the equipment, skis, boots, helmets, poles, snowboard, and fittings without a hitch. We hit the slopes, and the lines that day were light and quick; the snow was groomed with some powder (off-trail areas were 3 ft. plus of powdery snow! read more

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No snow, two lifts open, two runs only and the tickets are the same price $170! Also never heard of having to pay for parking. For the same price you can get a flight and fly to a resort that doesn't over charge and actually has snow. read more

$50 for the kids to use the activities, bungee trampoline, zip line, slide. Workers just don't give a shit really. Our 10 year old wanted to zip line finally got brave enough at 3:45 and they wouldn't allow her because they shut at 4pm. One guy walked away to have a smoke. Just low care for the cost. read more

Dude. Rachel in parking control saved my butt this afternoon... After a long two days of training on the mountain, I come to my car with a dead battery... How stressful! And I have a flight at 5AM the next day... She truly saved my life thank you so much to the parking staff at Snow Summit. You guys are rock stars appreciate you so very much. read more

Linda was very helpful to us when we couldn't convince our kid to ski back down! We were not on skis so unable to go on slope. He was so proud after she encouraged him - it was great. She prevented a potential negative experience, which would've caused our son to not want to return! Thank you, thank you! read more

Overall an okay place if you're from Southern California don't have the will to trek north to some of the larger resorts. This is definitely much more catered to family/beginners between the two main Bear Mountain Resorts. Some cons include an extremely limited ADA parking availability. If there is no ADA parking left, they will direct you to drop off (but what if the driver has the disability?) - I strongly believe ADA should have more accommodations. Their alcohol lines are poorly handled as well - there are separate lines for alcohol and food even though the ordering is done in the same location. Parking also seemingly becomes more expensive after every year - this year parking ranged from $25-$40 on the main lots which is ridiculous to me. However, there is off-site parking available with with good shuttle schedules but the parking lots tend to get extremely muddy and will likely ruin your car's interior if you don't have the will to clean very well. The worst part is probably how crowded the resort can get - which in itself is not necessarily bad but there isn't enough emphasis from staff to ensure safe pathways especially on the beginner slopes. There are Jerry's who can hurt children and the elderly on a common basis due to how crowded the slopes can get. Some pros include that this really is a good place for people to start learning how to perform in the park. Most features are extremely forgiving, but they can get ridiculously crowded with how many people the resort allow in. Added a fun video of me eating it! read more

Where do I start?! I have to sing the highest of praises to Megan, Zac, and Daniel! Zac in rentals at Snow Summit was the absolute best person you'd want to interact with when renting gear. The most patient and informative person you'd meet. Educated me on the profile of different boards, my size, and took the time to pull out maybe 20 different boards, and I didn't feel rushed at all. I wanted to move up from my ancient setup and decided to demo some boards, and after describing what I liked in my current board and didn't, he put me on the Arbor Metal Machine and it was spot on! I loved it so much and wanted to take advantage of demoing other boards with camber, hybrid, rocker, to see what I liked because he told me about the upcoming old demo/rental sale. I then was at Bear mountain when my old setup was compromised and while I'm in the shop you wouldn't believe who I saw... Zac! And he told me they are selling demos at summit and to come through so I did! I then demoed another like 10 boards helped by Zac, Mac, Klayton, and Megan who were so patient and accommodating setting me up several times, removing and adjusting bindings, etc. Megan went above and beyond, and picked up where Zac left off when he was on break, had no problem helping on the floor giving me prices and the boards. I ended up BUYING TWO BOARDS! Both Arbor, love them. Daniel in the repair shop put some serious love into the hand wax and sharpening on them both, I seriously have not seen someone use every tool on the board, basically giving it a manicure, they both look brand new now. Unfortunately the winter hasn't graced us with heaps of snow here in SoCal but the people at Bear/Summit really make it worth the drive, I got really taken care of and I'm very confident riding on MY BOARDS now. Thanks a billion times Zac from rentals, if I'm spelling it right. read more

I like coming to snow summit as it is closer to Big Bear Valley. It definitely get crowded on a long weekend. For a ski slope that is more popular than Snow Valley, their lounge/eating area needs to be remodeled and made bigger to fit the amount of people who visit. Saying that though, the seasonal workers here are always so friendly. :) read more

The employees are mean and I over heard several of them yelling at children over the 5 hours I stayed. Everything is no, no, no here. I can't believe anyone would just yell at children instead of talking to the parents. Two employees were arguing with each other in the parking lot when we arrived in the morning so that should have been my first clue about the staff. Part way through our stay, we went to sit at an empty picnic table (that had zero signage) to adjust a snow boot and an employee told us we could not sit there because he wanted to have his lunch-- there were 4 other empty tables around us. We literally just sat on the ground for a minute to adjust the boot so that we wouldn't take anyone's unmarked super secret seat. The snow was melting and people were slipping and falling all over the place. The only good thing about this place is the food. read more

After living in San Diego for 20+ years, I'm kicking myself for not skiing in Southern California sooner! And this is less than 3 hours away?! (Maybe its cause I finally got myself an AWD car...Subaru WRX). I've skied in Tahoe, Reno, Whitefish, and Salt Lake City...Snow Summit may not be as big and dynamic, but still its still fun and a helluva log closer! It was a very snowy season in California this year, and it shows! Late April and there was still plenty of wonderful powder on these mountains! I stuck with the the beginner slopes and some intermediate slopes, all were well maintained and the lengths were decent enough...so fun! Friendly staff all around at the ticket booth, bars and food areas, and equipment rental. $115 for the life ticket, and $67 to rent skis, boots and pools...pretty standard pricing overall. And $10 for a very bland cheeseburger. Warnings: -all the snowboarders seem to enjoy sitting on their butts right smack in the middle of slopes, and just chill there. Y'all are obstacles, get of the way! Move to the side if you need a break! -Quite a lot of people were drinking at the bars...I understand its a big business, but seems a bit dangerous to have boozy snowboarders and skiers. Hopefully the bartenders don't overserve. -$6 for water bottles...bring your own! -If you can, book your lift ticket and rentals online in advance, I've heard this place can sell out. read more

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Besides the traffic is super heavy and parking is very hard and the line for the chairs is extremely long, I have no problem with snow summit, haha. But every one of the complaints can be solved if you want to enjoy skiing. such avoid peak time, getting up very early and leaving earlier to avoid traffic, reserving a parking spot, and going to chairs 7,10,5,6( blue or black diamond chairs) instead of chairs 1,2,3... Big bear mountain has two ski resorts, snow summit, and bear mountain. we always like to go to snow summit. I just think we are lucky enough to have a ski mountain 2 hours away. I am not complaining about anything. Also big thanks to Mt high and snow valley ski resort! read more

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We love Snow Summit! My husband enjoys the variety of courses black diamond, blue/green slopes, and the kids and I enjoy the bunny slopes with the escalators. The adult beginner class was great and the kids enjoyed their three hour class too. Parking is free Wednesday and Thursday on site as far as we know. Fridays through Sundays seems to require a reservation and a fee, with free parking a drive away near the CVS with a shuttle service throughout the day. We enjoy the drinks, hot chocolate, and fried food here. We enjoy just hanging around outside. My kids can spend several hours playing the crispy snow at the tables and benches outside while their daddy skiis/snowboards on his own. Everyone has their preferences in Big Bear, but Snow Summit is our favorite! read more

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As a first time snowboarder, snowboarding was an awful experience. I hear it's always horrible for the first time. Snow summit made the experience a little less awful because of its cozy cabin vibes. They include a cafe with coffee and other drinks from such a friendly staff. It was December 15th when I went, and the snow was great, at least from the perspective of a rookie. I felt that the bunny slope wasn't that very easy, but maybe I'm just that bad. I could have utilized the snowboard trainers, but I didn't. At least they are made available. They also had great energy as my friends took on the green triangle slopes, but turns out my friends weren't ready, so the friendly staff was able to pick them up and move them to more comfortable inclines. And a special shoutout to the lift operators who are happily willing to slow down the slopes for me, even if I still fell! read more

This is for the slopes only. They need to do a better job at enforcing snowboarders off the mountain in a reasonable time, or have a separate area for them. They only have a few runs open and the snowboarders are just hanging out on the slope and getting in the way of skiers. Awful experience, not to mention dangerous. read more

Snow Summit - Ski Resorts Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Very nice place for kids and family. We took classes for my family from Vera Savage. She is very nice and patient.

I'm a beginner so I stayed in the bear bottom beginner area and loved it. Chair 8 is great for first time riders. Spending the day on that chair has me feeling more confident. I'll definitely be back to get better so I can ride more chairs next season. You have to pay for parking and the lot is smaller than Mt. High. There is a separate lot for overflow that has a shuttle service. I recommend getting to the resort early for parking. I got there at 0840 and the lot was filling up quick. I would check the website to see if they have free parking days. I know the time I went Tuesday- Thursday there was free parking. I came here on a weekday so it wasn't as crowded as I would imagine a weekend would be but I was surprised at the amount of people there on a weekday. read more

Snow Summit - Ticket window - Ski Resorts Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Kids had a great private lesson with Vera today! Would recommend for beginners starting out skiing or snowboarding.

So much fun! We had 10 people (4 adults 6 kids) visit on a Monday in June and we couldn't be happier. Great customer service, everyone went above and beyond to be super patient with the kiddos. Special shoutout to Sherry who answered all my silly questions that were already posted on the signs and Blake who helped the tiny ones get up the hill. I wish I got everyone's names but I highly recommend the day pass for hours of fun!!! read more

Came for the day with family. Every single worker has been an absolute delight and has gone above and beyond to help us. Thank you so much, skyline food service crew (also, we are deeply sorry) read more

Went snow tubing here because it was advertised on their website as this really cool thing and fun! It was fun if you're okay with a somewhat mini hill. You pay $40 for parking because it's a holiday weekend...cool cash grab. And 50 in person but online it's 45... just to show tube for one hour and there are only three lanes open. One man doing it all pulling everyone! He's the real mvp and Superman he honestly made the whole thing fun! Wouldn't recommend to go here for snowtubing but I should've know it's mainly snowboarding...maybe Alpine is better!? read more

Snow Summit - Snow summit - Ski Resorts Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Parking lot (free) I would highly suggest getting here before it opens to avoid the large crowd There were a lot of workers managing the parking lot. I would also suggest getting lift tickets in advance online. All lift tickets were sold out today 12/28 which was a bummer. Weather was really nice -- Large crowds and conditions were slushy and icy. I would suggest packing food to avoid the lines for the restaurant area. Rentals are available but lines were super long too. Lift ticket $159 per person for one day. Lifts close at 4pm so plan accordingly. read more

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Giving you the info upfront! First time here and I am not a snowboarder or skier so I won't be commenting on the slopes or the lifts. But I can tell you about the facilities. We came here during the end of the season so conditions were not the best for snow wise but can't complain my family just wanted to slopes. I posted pics of the various menus at the different places. Good selection and restroom facilities were good too. Just be prepared to top dollar for food Took a star off for parking. Very limited but they do have a shuttle or street parking. Come salt or come in the afternoon and they re-open the lot. read more

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Love this place. Took ski lessons and had one of the best instructors here. Young, patient, encouraging and passionate about his job. The place is amazing. We caught the last snow this year, I guess. The rental is efficient, the return is effortless, the shop has pretty much everything we will ever need, and the old lady there is amazingly helpful and friendly. We are waiting for the next snow so we can come back again to ski. The only draw back is probably the parking. Some have to move to another parking lot and walk back here. We are lucky to have the last spot in the parking lot right outside the skiing area, the cars after us have to drive to somewhere else and I don't know hour far it is. It is overall a nice experience. Even though I think it is closes too early, but I know it is for safety either you ski or drive back to the city. Bring your chains if your car is not all-wheel or 4-wheel drive. It is usually $40 to install and about $160 to purchase the chains. And it is cash only by the roadside. Get ready before you go up. read more

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I would love to give this place a higher rating, but after tonight it doesn't seem like they care about their customers. Last weekend was not allowed to park in ADA even though there were plenty of spots open. Parking staff love to send customers to shuttle lot when website states parking is free after 2pm. Pulled up at 3pm just to get redirected to the shuttle lot when there were plenty of parking available. Waited at Chair 2 just to have this young female with dirty blond hair let the opposite side flow in, as the line I'm in just kept getting longer. After calling her out on her mistake, she then had to throw attitude about how we "visited Snow Summit on a Saturday." read more

Snow Summit - Night boarding parking is cap. - Ski Resorts Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Pray for snow. Finally a snow storm. The best ski resort in LA! Definitely depends on the season. But when it snows it's a great resort especially for beginners. They have a lot of technical features (boxes,jumps, bars) and when the snow dumps you can go through the trees sections/canyon. Such a fun time just be careful of everyone that doesn't know how to board/ski in powder. All around good vibes. But make sure to be careful of everyone going on the mountain there are a ton of beginners. Be careful about the roads and make sure to check to see if you need chains before you go up. For parking. Weekdays the lot is free but first come first serve. Weekends are pain parking at the top lot which you could also get a parking pass for. But if you don't want to pay they have free parking lots with free shuttles that take you up to the resort. If you get tired of snow summit you can always take a different shuttle to bear mountain. Leaves every 30 mins. read more

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We come here for summer mountain biking. The trails are clean and taken care of. The lift can get busy but it's manageable. My kids love that it is so close to home. The staff are always friendly. There is a hike for people who don't bike. The bbq place for food is good. Snowboarding in the winter is great too. Lots of fun runs and so many places to stay nearby. read more

This was our first time at Snow Summit, and also our last. During the week they closed most of the food/beverage places even though the website says they are supposed to be open. With only one restaurant open the lunch line curved around the block a few times. West side of Snow Summit was properly groomed, East Side was in questionable condition, basically reducing the available area by 50%. Blue runs were open, but bottom section had no snow; I ran into a fellow skier there who asked "Did we miss a SLOPE CLOSED sign??" The triple pack tickets I bought from the website did not work. Had to wait 20 minutes in the ticket office while people tried to figure out how to reissue them. Lift 2 has a side Single entrance that worked great; when trying to line up the same way at Lift 1 I got yelled at by one of the lift operators instead. Bought a one day ticket for my child, then tried to use it at the lift and it wouldn't scan; had to walk back down to the ticket office yet again for another reissue. read more