This weekend I finally made it to Mammoth to see the results of the record October storms. On Saturday I didn't see much as a thick fog shrouded the top so chair 23 and the upper gondola were closed all day. Chairs 3 & 5 were open but they were in the cloud all morning. Fortunately Mammoth expanded the lower mountain terrain a bit by opening chairs 4 and 10 and I spent most of the morning there. I ventured into the trees once but the October snow had long since set up. This cement-like base will hold up for a long time even if it doesn't snow much more. The cloud rose a bit after lunch, so I spent some time on chair 3. I left at 3PM as the legs were burning after 25K and weather was predicted to improve Sunday.
Sunday was indeed clear, with a breeze only at the top, about as perfect as weather can get at Mammoth. So I had 6 great runs up there, the last on Paranoid. Crowds seemed less than Saturday, but much of that is due to people spreading out over the whole 2000+ acres that were open. The other 1500 acres will be open by Thanksgiving when all of the seasonal employees arrive. Overall I skied another 25K, but I needed more rest breaks than normal when skiing the steeper runs.
Stump and Gold Rush liftlines Saturday when upper slopes were in the cloud:
Chair 3 fumarole:
Impressive gondola to chair 23 coverage from the October storms:
Chair 4 area with view up to 5 and Climax:
Saddle Bowl view from Cornice:
View down Drop Out 1:
View up Wipe Out 1:
Smooth and fully covered Rockgarden, later determined to be an early season phenomenon:
Sunday was indeed clear, with a breeze only at the top, about as perfect as weather can get at Mammoth. So I had 6 great runs up there, the last on Paranoid. Crowds seemed less than Saturday, but much of that is due to people spreading out over the whole 2000+ acres that were open. The other 1500 acres will be open by Thanksgiving when all of the seasonal employees arrive. Overall I skied another 25K, but I needed more rest breaks than normal when skiing the steeper runs.
Stump and Gold Rush liftlines Saturday when upper slopes were in the cloud:
Chair 3 fumarole:
Impressive gondola to chair 23 coverage from the October storms:
Chair 4 area with view up to 5 and Climax:
Saddle Bowl view from Cornice:
View down Drop Out 1:
View up Wipe Out 1:
Smooth and fully covered Rockgarden, later determined to be an early season phenomenon:
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