We spent Memorial weekend at Mammoth for the 6th time in the past 9 years. Though season snowfall was dead average this season, coverage was well above due to a record 115 inches new since April 1. Both Saturday and Sunday were very warm without overnight freezing. Here I am at the top with the Minarets in the background Sunday morning:
My son Adam said only the top sign was above the snow on Thursday.
Here's a view of Mammoth's top runs from the top of Chair 1:
Adam is cruising Cornice, which is groomed by winchcat:
We skied Dave's Run next, and then spotted Glen Plake from below.
He had climbed through rocks into Huevos Grande, which has a continuous skiable line in bigger snow years.
Memorial Day skiing at Mammoth is not just for experts. There were 11 lifts and 2,000 acres open (vs. 6-8 and 1,000-1,500 in average or lower years) and I would estimate about 12 miles of salted and groomed runs. The salting firms up the snow on hot days like this, and most groomed runs have an hour or two of easy cruising, as shown by my younger son Andrew:
and me:
These pictures were from Chair 4, which had less skier traffic and stayed smooth longer. The remnants of Mammoth's second terrain park are in the background.
Off piste intermediate terrain was very grabby with the unconsolidated and unfrozen snow. But the steep skier-packed and mogul runs off the top were outstanding. Here's Adam in Hangman's:
and
And yours truly in Drop Out:
and
Mammoth's terrain park at the Main Lodge was still in full swing:
and
At this resolution the skier in mid-heli blends into the roof of the Main Lodge. He is between the flags and directly to the left of the satellite dish on the roof. Since the halfpipe will run out of snow soon, they are building another one at the base of Climax for June skiing.
As the Mammoth alpine is about 2 miles across at the top, a full view of the area is best seen from Highway 395:
Not bad for May 26!
My son Adam said only the top sign was above the snow on Thursday.
Here's a view of Mammoth's top runs from the top of Chair 1:
Adam is cruising Cornice, which is groomed by winchcat:
We skied Dave's Run next, and then spotted Glen Plake from below.
He had climbed through rocks into Huevos Grande, which has a continuous skiable line in bigger snow years.
Memorial Day skiing at Mammoth is not just for experts. There were 11 lifts and 2,000 acres open (vs. 6-8 and 1,000-1,500 in average or lower years) and I would estimate about 12 miles of salted and groomed runs. The salting firms up the snow on hot days like this, and most groomed runs have an hour or two of easy cruising, as shown by my younger son Andrew:
and me:
These pictures were from Chair 4, which had less skier traffic and stayed smooth longer. The remnants of Mammoth's second terrain park are in the background.
Off piste intermediate terrain was very grabby with the unconsolidated and unfrozen snow. But the steep skier-packed and mogul runs off the top were outstanding. Here's Adam in Hangman's:
and
And yours truly in Drop Out:
and
Mammoth's terrain park at the Main Lodge was still in full swing:
and
At this resolution the skier in mid-heli blends into the roof of the Main Lodge. He is between the flags and directly to the left of the satellite dish on the roof. Since the halfpipe will run out of snow soon, they are building another one at the base of Climax for June skiing.
As the Mammoth alpine is about 2 miles across at the top, a full view of the area is best seen from Highway 395:
Not bad for May 26!
