Local developer buys ski resort property

Southern California skiers and snowboarders could soon have another resort, now that a Newport Beach developer has bought the old Mount Waterman ski area.

Developer Richard Metcalf purchased the property, contained within Angeles National Forest. Mt. Waterman, developed as a ski area, has been closed for about four years, said caretaker Mark Ogden.

“It’s one of the only private places up in the national forest,” said Ogden, who works at nearby Newcomb’s Ranch restaurant, an original homestead on the mountain about 25 miles north of La Cañada Flintridge and the 210 Freeway.

Metcalf could not be reached for comment Monday. Nor could U.S. Forest Service officials.

The mountain could still be a good ski area, Ogden said, because there was 32 feet of snowfall last year before heavy rains washed it away.

The ski area is near a campground and has good terrain, but it needs new ski lifts and overall renovations, Ogden said. “It will be a really nice spot for people to come ? no crowds,” he said. “No one really comes that way from Wrightwood [ski resort].”