January 2022 Big Bear Today Magazine

Page 2—January 2022
From the Publisher
All signs point
to staying off
Big Bear Lake ice
Stay off lake ice. There’s signs all
around Big Bear Lake with the message,
dozens and dozens of them in
all shapes and sizes, from Boulder Bay to
Baker Pond and everywhere in between,
stapled to telephone poles and mounted
onto posts.
Some signs are 4x8 feet, practically
billboards. Others are electronic. The message
is the same on all of them, threatening
a hefty $500 fine for those who violate
San Bernardino County Code 52.0502.
Yet every winter there are those who
can’t resist the urge to venture out onto frozen
Big Bear Lake, intrigued by ice that
often has cracked, thawed and refrozen repeatedly
thanks to the warm days and cold
nights that make Big Bear such a popular
winter destination. Indeed the first cold
snap of the season had barely arrived last
month before social media was alive with
posts showing folks ignoring the message
Big Bear Municipal Water District diligently
tries to get out every winter.
You see people in Boulder Bay especially,
but at other spots around the lake
too, gingerly stepping out onto the ice just
to see if...what? If it will hold their weight?
What if it doesn’t?
A more somber consequence than just
a ticket that costs money awaits those who
insist on walking on lake ice: doing so can
cost much more, like your life. Which very
nearly happened to one family two years
ago, after they walked right past and defied
one of the many signs by stepping out
onto ice near Stanfield Cutoff.
The lake bottom slopes away rather
quickly at the east end of the lake, the result
of major dredging work several years
ago, so water gets deep right away. The
man and his wife plus daughter had only
gotten 20 feet from the shore or so when
the ice gave way and all three plunged into
lake water that was only 34 degrees at the
surface, a couple degrees less underwater,
several days after the incident.
“There must have been some cracking
or some noise,” MWD general manager
Mike Stephenson said. “We estimate
they were in six feet of water at that time.”
At those temperatures the body
doesn’t last long as hypothermia sets in,
losing the ability to function in only a
couple minutes with death in as few as 15.
“We’ve all jumped into a cold pool and
sucked our breath in,” Stephenson said.
“We can all relate to that experience. In
bitter cold temperatures shock sets in.
“We estimate that they were only in
the water for a minute or so before someone
on the shoreline reported it,”
Stephenson added. “They were lucky the
Sheriff (Citizen Patrol) was around the corner.
They were in the water about seven
minutes and probably would have been unconscious
in ten.”
As it happened help was on scene in
moments and from the shoreline rescuers
were able to toss a rope out to the family.
It took several attempts and about three
precious minutes for all three to be pulled
to shoreline. Lucky Citizen Patrol was
nearby, lucky they were only a rope’s throw
from the shoreline when they plunged in,
lucky there was only three of them and not
the dozens that have been reported out on
the ice at one time. Otherwise they’d have
gone home from Big Bear in body bags.
“In another couple minutes they
wouldn’t have been able to grab the rope,”
Stephenson said. “Your grip gets so weak.
The deputy told them to wrap the rope
around their arms. The family was treated
on scene for hypothermia and also abrasions—ice
cuts you too.”
To be clear most people heed the signs,
but social media has documented those
who don’t the past several years. And really
the number of those doing such a headscratching
dumb act seems to be going
down. A decade ago we’d see two or three
hundred out on the ice on a busy day, now
it’s down to dozens.
“I feel like we’re getting the word
out,” Stephenson said. “You can’t enter the
Valley without driving by a 4 x 8 sign. A
lot of these people are knowingly breaking
the law. I’ll pull up and they run off
the ice. It’s no different than if they were
parking in a No Parking zone.” Except, of
course, you’re not likely to die in a No
Parking zone.
Yes, the family was issued a citation
with a court appearance but five hundred
bucks seems like a slap in the wrist, no
worse than a speeding ticket. “And that’s
if the judge doesn’t reduce it as they often
do,” Stephenson said.
With last month’s storms and many
consecutive days of freezing nights, ice figures
to be a real problem as 2022 arrives.
Lower lake levels mean less ice but if folks
wander far enough they’ll find it.
At press time there was ice off
Stanfield Cutoff and Boulder Bay among
other locations around the lake too. Stay
off it. The ticket, or worse, isn’t worth it.
Have a good one.
Marcus
ON THE COVER: The Olympics are coming in February but you can get a taste of the games
now on the Alpine Slide! Snow Play, Mineshaft Coaster, Soaring Eagle too!
Volume 33, Number 7 January 2022
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5
6
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Publisher
Marcus G. Dietz
Associate Publisher
Sandra L. Dietz
Publishing Consultant
Bret Colson
Technical Consultant
Charles Dietz
Photography/Distribution
Steve Dietz
John Daskam
Mark Gauger
In This Issue...
Big Bear Today
Satisfy Inner Olympian at Alpine Slide
Lean into banked turns, tuck through straightaways, and
experience some of the same gravitational forces Olympians
do on the Alpine Slide bobsleds, which never need snow and
always deliver Go Pro-worthy moments. Then take a flight on
the Soaring Eagle and slide on the family favorite inner tubing
hill. Plus the new Mineshaft Coaster! All at Alpine Slide...
Beat the Beaten Path on Snowshoe Tours
Discover the beauty of the forest with Discovery Center
volunteer naturalists as guided Snowshoe Eco-Tours return
Saturdays. Learn the basics of romping through powder and
then explore Towne Trail to learn how animals adapt to winter,
a bit of Big Bear history and more. Meet at the Knickerbocker
Parking Lot and reservations are a must.
Root Canals, Pedicures Bear-able at Zoo
You don’t just tell a grizzly bear to open wide when it needs a
root canal. Instead it takes a team effort, in this case volunteer
specialists who visited Big Bear Alpine Zoo to perform
extractions, pedicures and more on residents. Thousands of
dollars in services and equipment were donated in the process.
Endless Ribs, Enormous Pot Pies
Ribs are never-ending at Thelma’s on Saturday nights and
enormous chicken pot pies only seem that way. Comfort food
is on at Big Bear’s family restaurant where there’s awesome
breakfasts, two fireplaces and amazing apple dumplings.
Winter Horseback Rides, Petting Zoo
Explore pristine Big Bear backcountry on horseback during
guided tours out of Baldwin Lake Stables. Snow makes for the
ultimate silence and adds an extra dimension to these popular
rides with horses for all ability levels. There’s even pony rides
for little buckaroos and petting zoo! On The Back Page...
January is Learn to Ski or Snowboard at
the resorts. See page 7
DEPARTMENTS
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From the Publisher
Potpourri
Area Map/
Calendar of Events
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