There's snow in the mountains and no place to play

Pssst ... You can play if you plan ahead... read on...

hapi undertook to develop a brand that distilled the Greater Tehachapi area's appeal. Following months of study and surveys, consultants concluded that what resonated the most with residents and visitors was the mountains.

The logo that the consultants developed is a calligraphic suggestion of mountains. In the logo's various iterations by local agencies and groups, the word "up" is used -- as in "Come up and enjoy our community."

In the winter, the snow–blanketed Tehachapi landscape beckons to people below, saying "come up and play."

Upon arrival, the day visitors discover that there is no public Bureau of Land Management or U.S. Forest Service or state park land on which to play. There is no public or privately owned ski or snowboard park to accommodate them. They drive toward the Tehachapi Mountains, turning south off Highline and Banducci roads into Old West Ranch, Mountain Meadows, Country Oaks and Alpine Forest Park. They go up people's driveways to try to reach the snow. With children all bundled up and eager, tantalized by the proximity of the snowy slopes, visitors stop wherever they can, by the side of the road or at vacant fields, frequently venturing onto privately owned land.

The single public destination for snow-seekers is Kern County's 490-acre Tehachapi Mountain Park, the acreage a gift of the Wyman family, located at the 5,680-foot elevation at the end of Water Canyon Road. When the snow on the valley floor is wet and turning to mush, the snow at Mountain Park is deep and crunchy, perfect for play.

Mountain Park, however, was not designed to accommodate day-trip winter visitors. The parking lot at the entrance is small and, at this time, is snowed over. Water Canyon Road is winding, narrow, steep and icy. Parking on the road is not allowed. Cars unsuited for winter conditions have been known to slide uncontrolled down the road. On weekends this year, hundreds of cars have lined the roadway as visitors got out to walk up the hill or play on the narrow margins between the road and private fences. The residents along Water Canyon Road are frustrated with the vehicles parked illegally along the road (sometimes in the road) and encroachment on their yards, with occasional vandalism and the trash that the visitors leave behind.

The Sheriff's Office issued an advisory on Jan. 6 saying that Tehachapi Mountain Park is not set up for snow activities and that deputies will issue citations to "those who violate the property rights of others, and illegally parked cars may be towed."

To further control the situation, the Sheriff's Office is now blocking day visitor access to Water Canyon Road at Highline.

"We are using citizen volunteers [Citizen Service Unit] at the barricades," Sheriff Sgt. Mike Bonsness of the Tehachapi Substation said Thurs., Jan. 7 as he escorted Forde Files and a Bakersfield television crew up the hill to the park entrance in his 4-wheel-drive vehicle.

"Water Canyon is treacherous," he told Forde Files. "It's becoming a major, major issue. Thousands come every time it snows, and there's no place to play. It's a weekend nightmare."

The problem is not a new one.

"We were hoping [at one time] to get a downtown shuttle bus to the park so people could enjoy the snow," former District 2 Supervisor Don Maben said. "It was not designed to be a snow park." The shuttle plan never materialized.

The park is closed to all campers and groups at the moment. Kern County Parks and Recreation Director Robert Lerude said that Mountain Park normally is open to winter visitors and currently is closed for electrical upgrades. ADA-compliant upgrades will completed by fall.

"The electrical upgrades may be finished before this winter is over," he said. The group cabins and campgrounds are available for anybody to reserve at modest rates.

He said that in the past, emergency vehicles could not get through the mess of cars on the road to respond to injuries. It is not likely the county will widen Water Canyon Road or expand the parking lot to accommodate day visitors.

"Snow play is shut down and it is going to remain closed," Lerude said.

Alpine Forest Park, a community with two public entrances on Banducci Road, has similar difficulties with snow visitors.

"There were hundreds of people over Christmas weekend," Alpine Office Manager Deb Roberts said. Alpine's roads are semi-private, she said, and all homeowners can do is "ask them politely to leave."

Sometimes the visitors cause accidents with their vehicles, she said, and a fistfight erupted recently. Visitors who are asked to leave occasionally respond rudely.

"Some do burnouts in the parking lot on their way out," Roberts said.

The property owners are not being hard-hearted. It's a serious matter of liability. Snow visitors who are injured while playing without permission on someone's property have been known to sue the property owner.

"These mountain properties are not public land," Old West Ranch resident Donna Moran said. "If out-of-towners travel to play in the snow they should be sure to not trespass on someone's front yard. It seems to me that when city people see open space some automatically think it doesn't belong to anyone. But the reality is that it does."

Mountain property owners, Moran said, "put up with a lot to live where they do. They shouldn't have to worry about trespassers coming onto their property and hurting themselves or destroying their hard work....the plants they are dislodging are not 'weeds' to us even if they may look that way to others."

Deputies direct visitors to Frazier Park, which has public land that is owned by the U.S. Forest Service. Deputies also suggest certain ski resorts, but the resorts are in business and don't give away snow play for free. A woman who answered the phone at a regional resort said bluntly, "No self play is allowed at any of our resorts. You can pull off the side of the road if you find a place."

A meeting for parties interested in discussing the snow visitor issue is scheduled for Mon., Jan. 11, 6 p.m. at the Golden Hills Community Services District, 21415 Reeves St., Tehachapi.