Sierra Summit Mountain Resort

first of all, this place is not in the same category as tahoe or colorado, etc. its small. but, for what it is, its great. quick drive from fresno. high enough to have good snow but not high enough that there is constant need for chains or all wheel vehicles. variety of runs in terms of difficulty and length. some moguls, a half pipe, rails, jumps. 8 or so lifts. reasonable prices. usually not overcrowded. probably just as good as anywhere else in ca outside of tahoe.

This is an OK ski /​snowboard resort, but considering it’s location, closest to the Fresno /​Central Valley area, your choices are limited.
Driving up to the resort, you pass by two snow parks. If you have people who don’t want to ski or snowboard, buy the plastic sleds before your trip, and stop by the public snow parks or on the side of the road to have fun. The resort does not sell the plastic sleds.
Food at the main dining facility is alright, but the kitchen staff are super slow if you want to eat something not too popular, like a veggie burger. I watched them over 10 minutes to grab a patty, then microwave it, forget about it, then assemble it.

ATTENTION SNOWBOMB TICKET HOLDERS — SEE BOTTOM OF REVIEW
My friend and I jumped on the mountain this past weekend after more than 10 feet of snow dumped the week before. As this visit was our very first time ever being on this mountain, we decided to start off at the top of the mountain and take the Academy Run all the way down.
Academy is a 2.5 mile run which starts at the top (off of chair 1 — Summit Chair Lift) and takes you to the bottom of the mountain.
Now remember that this review is strictly IMO (in my opinion) and should be taken with the grainest of salt. I feel that the mountain is a great place to visit. I was about to give 3 start, but after reviewing my breakdown and aside the problem with too many straight aways (especially at the bottom), I decided to up to 4 STARS.
Be careful at the bottom of Academy the dreaded long straigh-​away, I saw many people on snowboards who were scooting/​kicking/​pushing themselves when they got stuck at this straight-​away. I feel that there is a big delta from the beginner hills and carpet runs. there were times when i would get to a steep part and wonder if I went down the wrong trail only to find that it is indeed Academy.
If you are truly a beginner snowboarder, I would recommend that you stay on the lower half of the mountain until you are close to mastering the toe or heel stop. I would consider myself slightly above beginner and after the second run and memorizing straight aways and layouts, I was able to hit academy quite well from top until mid-​way when i hurt myself. The medic that came by was very friendly and empathetic to my «bummed» emotions about not making it down the hill. The snow-​mobile ride down was a bit sketchy because of the steepness of the trail at times.
OVERALL:
Parking: Easy and Free — get there early or else you might have to park off the highway
Ticket Redemtion — Snowbomb ticket holders need to go to guest services and fill out a form where you get issued a lift ticket. This process must be done every time you use a snowbomb ticket
SUMMIT Chair Lift 1 — manageable lines, friendly, joking staff, but the lift did stop occasionally and at times long periods
Academy Trail — 2.5 miles long, too many straight aways, and a couple of steep parts (go big or go home ;D)
Food — somewhat decent — bbq ok, Half taco salad ok
It’s a ski resort so remember it can be a bit pricey
5 dollar hamburger 9 dollar pulled pork w/​2 sides
Service — Overall very friendly and accomodating
I’ll have a different game plane to tackle the mountain which will most likely take advantage of more runs in a shorter amount of time.
In the end, I was happy with the place, had a great time and will come back again.

Had a ton of fun at this particular ski resort. Lots of intermediate level terrain for improving my beginner skills. Just like other places, there were a few too many flats sections, especially at the end of the big beginner run. Many snowboarders actually unclipped and walked this section! I used my ski poles pretty aggressively and tried to continue my momentum on skis.
Lifts are a bit old and slow and chair 5 is a bit scary. I’m not a big fan of lifts that you have to hold onto the center pole and don’t have side arms. I did fall at the end of a chair lift once but the crew at the end helped me up. It’s pretty hard to get up on skiis on flat terrain.
Parking was easy, people is our group who rented found it pleasurable, and lockers were easily accessible. You could ski right up to the outside ones!

A decent little mountain out in the absolute middle of nowhere.
The folks I went and saw Metallica with at the Save Mart Center in Fresno all headed up here to burn a few passes we had from the Bay Area Snow show.
The «lodge» is a bar on top of a room full of lockers. No one on the staff know how to redeem our passes for lift tickets so we were moving from one modular building to the next. The park had a tow rope running so you’d have l33t d00bds and brand new riders all on the some rope. Mirth and hilarity ensued, as I’m sure you can imagine. The hill itself was pretty cool and SUPER windy. Runs were pretty easy, no super gnarly terrain. If you’re a beginner or mild mannered rider/​skier from the central valley, this would be a great place. If you like to huck and bomb and pull steezey stuff, not so much.
One cool thing is we brought our backpacking stove and they have a great little patio to have your snacks that overlooks everything. That was pretty cool.

Skiers and snow snobs beware. This is where I learned how to snowboard when I was 16. I should hold this place dear to my heart, but after this week, well it’s difficult.
I face-​planted trying to do a switch-​foot to a switch indy tail grab off a box rail. Well, actually, who are we kidding — I was just trying to do a simple tail grab off a rail. Wait, no, not really, I can’t lie to you guys (but I will lie on occasion about certain things I’d rather not say coughcoughTHE ROSTERcoughhackcough what?). I was simply trying to carefully slide front-​side over a rail and land it without any funny business. Knock, knock, kelly, WAKE UP! YOU ARE NOT 16 ANYMORE. Blood, ski patrol, gauze, scared nephews. It was kind of a big deal. But overall — no broken bones, just a big fat reality check and a nice left shiner.
This place is full of teenagers on snowboards. It’s really not a bad hill. There’s 9 lifts, an equal amount of easy, intermediate, and difficult runs, and overall pretty diverse terrain. There’s not much choice as it’s the only mountain resort in about two hours radius, but I’d just drive an extra hour and hit up Mammoth if you’re looking for a good word of advice. There’s not much in the way of service and food places in the area if you compare it to other resorts, but that’s what you get with a mediocre mountain.

While this resort lacks some of the finer deatils that make Tahoe resorts such a hit with Bay Area skiers and boarders – eg haute cuisine and high-​speed lifts – Sierra Summit mostly makes up for it in spades with friendliness, convenience, and a genuine desire to constantly improve each season.
For Central Valley residents, there’s no better place to indulge your craving for the powdery white fluff; clocking in at just 90 minutes, the short travel time from Fresno is enough to make you feel downright sorry for all those SFers who will still be fighting Sacramento traffic while you’re sliding down that first run. And even on its busiest days, having to wait longer than 30 seconds for a lift is rare.
Simply put, I always have a great time here when I’m visiting the family in Fresno. I’ll bump them up a star if they expand their menu to include something besides second-​rate burgers and fries.

The second ski area I ever went to, it was either here or Dodge Ridge, memory is going in my old age. First place I ever snowboarded back in high school, when skiers really hated snowboarders. I actually hated it and didn’t try again until after college. Only one double black (maybe), the East Face. Not that I’m a park rat, but the superpark and pipe rivals some of the best.

If you live in the Central California area and you’re not afraid of pitched battle with wild, reckless high school punks on snowboards, then this is the winter sports resort for you. These kids will literally use you as a moving slalom course (some of them come down the mountain laying on stretchers pulled by snowmobiles, which gives one a twisted sense of satisfaction). Good snowfall levels here and its relatively moderately priced compared to the Tahoe area resorts, Kirkwood or Bear Valley.