Once the climb begins, we can work our way up the rising ridge, above a series of strip mines on the north face, eventually turning south toward Big Bear Lake. There are almost always robust cumulus ahead from here, marking clusters of lift on a broad shearline. (In most cases, lakes are bad places to look for lift, but we usually find strong stuff to 15,000' or higher directly above this 5 square mile lake whose surface is 6700 feet above sea level !)