5 stars for the mountain itself, 2 stars for the management.
I was fortunate enough to ski here on January 26th, 2020, the last day the lifts were spinning for the public at the time of this review. It was one of the best days I’ve ever had skiing in SoCal. It wasn’t a powder day but there were incredible spring conditions all day.
The mountain has a really nice old school vibe. You can park in the turnouts across from the mountain. Chair 1 is only about 20 feet from the Angeles Crest Hwy. The bottom part of the mountain served by Chair 1 is really steep and is the main attraction here. Approx. 800 vert of steep fall line but it skis like more than that. There are few cut trails and plenty of off-piste glades to ski here. No two runs are the same.
At the top of Chair 1 is the main lodge which is very quaint. Chair 2 can be accessed by a cat track but this lift only serves beginner runs. It’s basically flat. They do have a Chair 3 but it hasn’t operated in years and if you wanna ski it, you have to hike out. It should be noted that there is a ton of side country terrain accessible from Mt. Waterman.
Now onto the management…quite frankly, the owners of the mountain should be ashamed of themselves. I know it’s very difficult to operate a ski area that has to rely on natural snow in very inconsistent SoCal. However, when Mother Nature delivers, the owners consistently drop the ball. They offer excuse after excuse from their phone line not working, to lift issues, to lying about the road not being opening (check their Facebook page). These are things that should be taken care of during the summer. The owners continue to make excuses until the snow melts.
I give them credit for opening in 2020 when they did, however, there is no excuse when you’re the closest ski area to the 2nd biggest city in the US during times of ample snowfall. Here’s to hoping the management will get their act together and open this incredible mountain in 22/23! – via 
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