There’s still time to go skiing at Mammoth Mountain, although this may not be the best weekend to do that. I just returned from a super short excursion. It was my intention to get in the last three days of my ski season this week. Mother Nature threw a curveball. The weather over the next few days includes all day freezing temperatures, a few inches of snowfall and high winds. Those are not great things when you are hoping to camp and enjoy spring corn.
Still I rallied down and managed to get in one last day of skiing on Wednesday, before the storm rolled in. Was it worth it for just one day? Yes it was. The skiing was still very spring-like, and it was nice to finally get a chance to catch up with my Mammoth and June Lake friends in a post COVID vaccine world, where we all felt just a bit safer.
In case you were wondering, Mammoth did not have all that great of a snow year either. It’s only through a very concerted snow farming campaign that they can even consider staying open until Memorial Day. Although I have skied the returns to both Chair 1 and Chair 2 on a smaller WROD, that would have been during the month of July. What’s more shocking was the thin coverage on the upper parts of the mountain.
There’s essentially only three routes down from the top of the gondola right now: Cornice Bowl, Dave’s or Scotty’s. Each of those offer continuous snow, but all of them are peppered with rocks that have been kicked up by groomers or skiers. Many popular routes are burnt out near the top, including Wipe Outs, Drop Outs, Hangmans, Monument and Paranoids.
Lower down on the mountain, the groomed trails were offering fun and fast turns with far fewer rocks, thanks again to some serious snow farming. There’s still rocks to be found, especially as you near the base areas. The off piste areas down low are either stripped of snow or loaded with sun cups.
Park features are usually a big part of any spring trip to Mammoth. There’s not much left. Much of the Forest park is already burnt out. The large bag jump used by the US Freestyle teams is usually up by Chair 5, but due to a lack of snow, it’s right near the top of Chairs 1 and 2. That would be fun to watch from the chairs, alas, nobody was training yesterday due to high winds.
What’s awesome is that Mammoth opens at 7:30 AM during the late season, which gives more hours of skiing before you get the dreaded spring stickies. Those stickies got pretty serious by 11 AM yesterday. It’s probably best to plan for a separate afternoon activity.
I chose to head for the Lakes Basin area, where the road has not yet opened past Twin Lakes. That reduction in vehicle traffic made it much more pleasant for a long walk up to Mary Lake. Once we get beyond Memorial Day, that area gets crazy busy.
Pro Tip: If you’re considering a quick road trip to Mammoth before they close, plan your gas stops carefully. The cheapest gas is found in Minden, at $3.24 a gallon at the Maverick. From Bridgeport onward to Mammoth, most stations are priced at $5.25 to $5.75 a gallon! I filled up only in Minden both ways, making my total cost for gas about $30 for the trip.
Memorial Day is the last day for skiing and riding at Mammoth Mountain for the season. Now that I’ve got skiing out of my system…it’s time to start enjoying summer activities in earnest…except for that snow that is in the forecast for the next few days. And now, it’s time to re-winterize my camper van…