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Climbing Temperatures End Southern California Ski Season

Snow enthusiasts ski down Bear Mountain at Big Bear Resorts thanks to powerful snow-making machines that have kept the slopes open during California's extreme drought, December 30, 2013.
Susan Murphy
Snow enthusiasts ski down Bear Mountain at Big Bear Resorts thanks to powerful snow-making machines that have kept the slopes open during California's extreme drought, December 30, 2013.

Ski lifts are coming to an early stop in Southern California.

Climbing temperatures and a lack of snow have ended the ski season at the Bear Mountain and Snow Summit resorts.

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Even at 7,000 feet elevation, temperatures over the weekend threatened to hit 70 degrees.

California Ski Industry Association executive director Bob Roberts tells the Press-Enterprise of Riverside that California resorts are ending the fourth consecutive season of below-average snowfall.

Roberts says it's the first time he can recall four consecutive years when snowfall levels dipped dramatically.

The National Ski Areas Association says skier visits plunged nearly 28 percent from the previous season at California, Nevada and Arizona resorts.

California is in the midst of a long-running drought.