China Peak, previously known as Sierra Summit, is a

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

Central California Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the state, north of Southern California, which includes Los Angeles, and south of Northern California, which includes San Francisco. It includes the northern portion of the San J ...

, near

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

. It opened in 1958, named after the mountain, Chinese Peak.

Location and terrain

China Peak is located on the south shore of

Huntington Lake Huntington Lake is a reservoir in Fresno County, California on Big Creek, located in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of 7000 ft. The lake receives water from Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, as well as the ...

, about northeast of Fresno. It has of skiable terrain, with 40% of it covered by

snowmaking Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...

. The mountain has a vertical rise of 1,700 from base to top, and a maximum elevation of 8,700 feet. As of the 2021-2022 season, China Peak is on the Indy Pass.

History

China Peak opened in 1958. The original owner was Knut Flint. Flint recognized the skiers in the San Joaquin Valley would have to drive to

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

or Badger Pass, since there were no other resorts on the southwest side of the Sierras. He recruited Herbert Schwarz, an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

immigrant with ski industry experience to be the general manager. He coordinated the permitting, construction, start-up and operations. During this time the Forest Service was quite receptive to development in the Sierras. The first chairlift was installed during the summer of 1958. At the time it was the longest chairlift in the U.S. at over one mile, including a midway station. It was manufactured by Riblet Lift Company based in Washington state, using what was then some very novel design concepts. This included support towers that were not vertical but rather 90 degrees to the ground surface. The chairs were attached to the cable by weaving a bar into the center of the cable. This eliminated the uncomfortable bump when chairs passed over tower wheels due to the typical external clamp design. Since there was no power available in the area a large

diesel generator A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel Genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of engine generator. A diesel compression- ...

and fuel tank with fuel capacity for the entire season were hauled to the summit. This also required that someone either stay on top or take the Tucker snow-cat up to start the generator and chairlift each day. Boyd Turner was the construction manager, but not a skier, living in

Shaver Lake Shaver Lake is an artificial lake on Stevenson Creek, in the Sierra National Forest of Fresno County, California. At elevation , several smaller streams also flow into the lake, and it receives water from the tunnels of Southern California Edis ...

. He would volunteer with others to man the top station during that first year. The first year was relatively successful, but it had been recognized that the lack of sleeping and food facilities in the area limited attendance. Most people drove up from Fresno via the Toll House road which was a long haul. Schwarz had set up a very simple snack bar and rental hut at the base and lived in a cabin near Shaver Lake, some away. So a

lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...

was developed by architect Art Lavanino. Flint wanted a first class facility including an outdoor pool. A simple dorm was also added for staff and some guests. This was a costly investment closely following the original infrastructure. To give the resort greater presence, Schwarz recruited a well known Austrian ski school director to offer instruction on the latest skiing techniques The hotel was completed just in time for one of the heaviest winter snow falls in local history. Schwarz had become good friends with the road department, but they were not prepared for this. After one big snow fall he would have to follow a snow blower for many hours just to reach the resort. The dorm collapsed due to snow weight that year. Worst of all skiers could not reach the resort during much of the winter. Without the revenue the resort declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

and in 1960-61 was taken over by others. In 1964, Joe Weirick and his father purchased China Peak Ski Resort near Huntington Lake where he managed and operated the resort for nearly 15 years. During his time at China Peak, Weirick and his wife Joanna were able to significantly grow the resort, adding additional chairlifts, a snowmaking system, and new buildings. In 1981 the resort was purchased by the

Snow Summit Snow Summit is a ski resort that was established in 1952 and is in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. It is located by Big Bear Lake along with its sister resort Bear Mountain; these two resorts which operate under the same man ...

company and the name was changed to Sierra Summit before the 1982-1983 season. During this period, it was operated by Dick Kun. In the spring of 2010 it was sold to Tim Cohee and the original China Peak name was restored beginning in the 2010-2011 season. Since 2010 Cohee has been the CEO and general manager. In 2020, the Creek Fire damaged part of he resort, but it reopened on time for the 2021-2022 season.

References

* Recollections of Tony Schwarz, son of Herbert Schwarz

External links

China Peak official web site
* {{Sierra Nevada Ski areas and resorts in California Companies based in Fresno County, California Resorts in California Tourist attractions in Fresno County, California