Thrills and Chills : Snow Seekers Get Taste of Winter on Slopes North of L.A.

On a snow-covered hillside, a short distance from the two-lane road leading to the top of Mt. Pinos, young T.J. Brooks imagined he was a motorcycle driver with the need for speed.

Riding on his belly in his orange snow saucer, the 9-year-old from Valencia raced down a slope with fearless abandon, kicking up a cloud of ice as he launched himself, arms flailing, airborne.

“He loves anything that’s fast,” explained Todd Brooks, as his son charged back up the hill. “He just loves the snow.”

So do lots of other people, judging from the scores who came to the Los Padres National Forest in Saturday’s glorious weather, leaving behind warmer climates for a taste of winter the way it was meant to be experienced. Frazier Park, a town of 1,500 residents 60 miles north of Van Nuys and some 4,600 feet above sea level, drew snow lovers from as far south as Orange County and as far north as Lompoc.

Here, amid a sea of humanity, were saucers and snowmen--not to mention a pint-sized igloo. In the nearby woods, the air was filled with children’s squeals of delight as well as cries of anguish from a multitude of slips, snowballs and stray sleds.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we got 3,000 to 4,000 people,” said California Highway Patrol Sgt. Ron Lagrande as the midmorning crowds swelled. “Lots of families like to come up here and play in the snow.”

By early afternoon, the CHP had closed the only road leading to Mt. Pinos, causing a backup that extended more than a mile.

Jill Greene of Topanga was frustrated and upset after waiting more than an hour in the resulting traffic jam along Frazier Mountain Park Road, only to be turned away at a road block. “I came here with six kids to celebrate a birthday party,” she said. “These poor kids. This is terrible.”

Not everybody was so angry, however. Hank Hudson set out at dawn from Lompoc with four of his grandchildren to give them their first glimpse of the white stuff.

“They were totally thrilled,” said Hudson. “We brought little toboggans and snowsuits. The first time they saw it, they wanted to reach down and grab it.”

For others, like Lisa Schaffner, 38, of Agoura, it was a communal affair. “Four adults and three kids came up,” said Schaffner. “These kids had so much energy stored up because of the rain, this was a good way to get some of it out.”

As the afternoon wore on, temperatures climbed, and as sleds were dragged across the same popular hills, novice snow bunnies discovered just how messy slush can be. At one small puddle, a group of parents stood guard to prevent their children from getting soaked before the long ride home.

And though many reveled in the snow, Southern Californians’ lack of cold-weather experience was often obvious in the very warm tears that streamed down more than a few cheeks (though there were no reports of serious injury).

As more and more people crowded the hillsides, etiquette went the way of lost mittens, and wintry calm became chaos. Some neophytes walked up the middle of the hill into oncoming sleds or stared off into the hills, oblivious, as trouble headed straight for them.

“It’s getting dangerous out here,” one mother said. “There’s just too many people.”