Big Bear Caught Scratching Against Idle Ski Chairlift

Originally posted on Powder | By Matt Lorelli | Last updated Jun 27, 2025 12:59 PM ET

It's summer in Lake Tahoe, which means the following are in season: bikes, boats, and bears.

Many of Lake Tahoe's bears have become nearly domesticated due to the large influx of tourism and residents that flock to the region during the warmer months, but there are still plenty of big bears lurking high up in the Sierra.

Sierra-at-Tahoe, one of the region's popular ski resorts, popped on social media on Thursday, June 26, 2025, to share a funny video presumably captured on one of the resort's various webcams.

Watch as the big bear saunters towards the chairlift, gives it a sniff, and then rubs its head and ears for what appears to be a satisfying scratch. Tap or click to begin playing the video.

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The video is racking up views by the thousands across Sierra-at-Tahoe's social media channels with a clever joke repeated in the comments—"I’m here for first chair!” writes one Instagram user.

Lake Tahoe is home to hundreds of black bears, but the majority of them sport a cinnamon-color coat like the bear in the video above. This causes confusion, on occasion, amongst tourists who confuse them with the larger and more aggressive grizzly bear.

Regardless, black bears can still be dangerous to humans if not respected. Tahoe Bears, a website dedicated to educating the public about black bears, says that the majority of black bears will avoid humans entirely, but don't test your luck. You should never approach a black bear under any circumstances.

Lake Tahoe black bears investigating a trash bin in the snow. Note the cinnamon color.Photo: caliburn103/Getty Images

Sierra-at-Tahoe will have to keep their eyes peeled for more chairlift visits from their furry friend in the future. Here's hoping we get a clip of the bear actually climbing onto the chair at some point.

The resort was currently featured in POWDER for planting 16,000 trees to reforest its slopes. Sierra-at-Tahoe was ravaged by the massive Caldor fire that swept through the Lake Tahoe are in the summer of 2022.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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