Something is occurring to the males of Southern California.

It occurs every October. The seashores are still lovely, folks are strolling around in shorts and the climate is completely suited to doing completely nothing.

Yet a certain inhabitants of males has begun getting ready for winter as though they’ve acquired categorised intelligence about an approaching invasion.

Something is occurring to the males of Southern California. Getty Images

The snowboarders are mobilizing, and I know this because there’s one in my life.

He’s been procuring for new snowboard pants, securing his Ikon Pass and finding out winter forecasts with the depth of a man getting ready to launch a satellite tv for pc.

Apparently, El Niño is coming, and every snowboarder in California would like to know precisely what that means for powder.

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Not rain. Not flooding. Not whether the gutters want cleansing.

Powder.

Suddenly, the climate has become a matter of monumental private significance to males who spent the summer time sporting flip-flops and forgetting to put on sunscreen.

The solar shines on Snow Summit in Big Bear Lake, Calif., Thursday, March 12, 2026. While Los Angeles basks in 90-degree warmth, skiers and snowboarders take to the slopes to cool off. David Buchan for CA Post

I have discovered more about projected snowfall in the Eastern Sierra than I ever expected to know.

Mammoth is no longer a mountain; it’s a growing scenario.

Big Bear is on standby, and every storm system forming over the Pacific is being evaluated for its potential to intrude with strange human relationships.

This is one of the nice contradictions of residing in Southern California.

We have seashores, palm bushes, year-round sunshine and folks who pull out their UGG boots when the temperature drops under 65 levels.

Yet the second snow seems in the forecast, an whole subculture begins planning to drive several hours into freezing temperatures, strap themselves to a board and repeatedly throw themselves down a mountain.

Skiers trip a ski chair elevate during snowfall at Palisades Tahoe in Olympic Valley, California, Friday, March 14, 2025. Anadolu via Getty Images

Voluntarily.

For enjoyable.

My goodness, the preparations are in depth.

There are boards to wax, bindings to modify, boots to examine, jackets to consider and apparently pants that are no longer ample for the upcoming season despite wanting precisely like last yr’s pants.

The Ikon Pass must be secured.

Group chats must be activated.

In an aerial view, a individual shovels on a snowy roadway lined with snowbanks piled up from new and previous storms in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Mammoth Lakes, California, Sunday, March 12, 2023. The japanese Sierra Nevada at the moment is holding 243 % of its common snowpack for this time of the yr, with California bracing for another highly effective atmospheric river occasion starting tomorrow. Getty Images

Road circumstances must be monitored.

Then there is the most extraordinary improvement of all: the return of the sleeping-in-the-car dialog.

“What do I need to sleep in my car?”

Excuse me?

We are adults.

Some of us have mortgages, retirement accounts and most well-liked manufacturers of orthopedic pillows.

spunky’sphotos – inventory.adobe.com

Yet grown males are once again discussing whether they can comfortably spend the night time folded into the back of a car so they can wake up at daybreak and chase recent snow.

Apparently the reply entails sleeping baggage, insulated pads, layers and a willingness to disregard several a long time of private consolation.

All I know is that the reply does not contain me.

I am completely keen to accompany someone to the mountains.

I take pleasure in snow. I take pleasure in lovely surroundings. I notably take pleasure in sitting beside a fire with a scorching toddy while watching other folks interact in vigorous out of doors actions.

I will even put on a cute sweater.

However, I will be staying in a resort or a ski lodge.

Somewhere with a rest room, a mattress and ideally a individual whose job entails bringing me drinks.

Skiers and snowboarders take to the slopes to cool off as Los Angeles basks in 90-degree warmth, Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. David Buchan for Ca Post

You and the boys have enjoyable in the parking zone.

I’ll see you at après-ski.

What fascinates me most is the sudden transformation in these males.

The same individual who can not commit to dinner plans three weeks in advance will fortunately manage an elaborate mountain expedition primarily based on a climate forecast that might change by Thursday.

He may not know what he’s doing for Thanksgiving, but he knows precisely where his snowboard is. He’s already purchased it a new roof field.

A person who ordinarily considers a two-hour drive an unreasonable burden will cheerfully depart Los Angeles in the center of the night time to attain Mammoth before the lifts open.

Traffic on the 405? Unacceptable.

Hours on the street to attain recent powder? A sacred pilgrimage.

Steamboat Springs is rising as the discreet various to Aspen and Vail for ultra-wealthy consumers, drawing more than $1 billion in luxurious improvement from names like Discovery Land Company and Auberge Collection, whose 95-unit Stockman venture breaks floor this yr at the base of the ski resort. Josh-Lehew – inventory.adobe.com

It’s the annual migration of the Southern California snowboarder, a creature uniquely tailored to residing at sea degree while emotionally residing at 9,000 ft.

I have to admit, there’s something great about it.

In a metropolis where so many of us spend our lives staring at screens, worrying about work, and making an attempt to optimize every waking minute, these males are genuinely excited about going outside and enjoying in the snow.

They have discovered something that makes them really feel like kids again, even if that means sleeping in their automobiles like school college students who have misplaced their dorm keys.

So I support the annual migration.

I support the new pants, the Ikon Pass, the climate obsession and the spontaneous departures when a storm rolls through.

I support grown males having something they’re ridiculously excited about.

I’ll even be part of them in the mountains.

Just perceive that while they’re chasing powder, I’ll be pursuing an equally vital winter sport.

Finding a comfy chair close to a fire.

Mary Kay Holmes is a Los Angeles author masking tradition, trendy relationships and the more and more absurd enterprise of being a individual.