May skiing from LA

jkamien

jkamien

Member
Gee, Tony, that's tough luck!! Hope you feel better soon.

I agreed to go to LA for Mother's day with my wife and new daughter. But I've only agreed to extend my visit from the bare minimum to the following Thursday if I could leave Sunday after the Mom's Day festivities and ski Mon, Tue and Wed (May 12, 13, & 14).

Here are my options.

1) Hightail it outta LA and drive to Mammoth.
2) Fly somewhere else:
2a) Utah
2b) Jackson
2c) Big Sky
2d) Pacific Northwest
2e) Whistler
3) Something I haven't considered.

What should I do?

P.S. Admin: should this be cross-posted under it's own thread to maximize answers? TIA.
 
A moderator can split a topic but not x-post. As this represents a significant topic drift I've opted to split it.

With regard to option 2a, above, IIRC Snowbird will be down to weekends only by that point, so if you want lift service that option is off the table.
 
If you're in LA, I would say Mammoth it.

If you feel rich and don't mind flying, Whistler would make some sense...however flying elsewhere after getting to LA from the East doesn't make much sense to me.

edit: Pacific Northwest would also make sense, easier logistics (shorter flight and drive to the snow) than Whistler. I'll let Tony comment on the snow aspect.
 
Mammoth.

Too much hassle to Whistler (especially if you are crossing the border).

Colo is down to Abasin by then and might be good skiing, but too hard to say ahead of time if Pali or East wall would be open by then (even if open a few days earlier, if a big warm-up occurs right then, they would be closed quickly). Leaving only the upper bowl & lower groomed slopes open for sure... (plus the added hassle to fly & drive again here in Colo).

You'd have to hike Big Sky or JH or etc... as they are already closed. But then if they are on your list of potentials, maybe you are looking for hike to terrain?
 
Cost is irrelevant as I have plenty of United and Continental miles. Flying Sunday evening and back on Wed PM should be available on one or the other carrier.

I am only going to LA out of familial obligation. The drive to Mammoth is long and tedious. I can be in Reno from LAX in an hour and a half or so, and at Mt. Rose within 45 minutes of wheels down in Reno. That opens the possibility of leaving Monday morning and skiing a full day, saving one night's lodging expense. Will Rose be open 2nd full week in May? I couldn't figure it out via their website.

Whistler is much more of a haul, given the airport to mountain transfer. One has to cut short skiing on the getaway day there (done by noon) to get back to Vancouver Airport in time for PM flight.
 
The Sierra has had a mediocre season, with little new snow in March and none in April. Tahoe deteriorates faster than Mammoth, so I would stick with Mammoth within the SIerra.

Whistler is probably the best of the fly-in destinations in terms of scale of terrain available.

On the basis of snow I would say Mt. Bachelor no contest this year. Bachelor does have to stay open for the May 17 Pole, Pedal, Paddle event. But I would call to make sure they will run midweek before then. Never assume with Powdr Corp.

I skied Bachelor on May 3-4, 1990 under the likely parameters you would have: just Sunrise and Summit chairs open from 8AM-1PM. Both days I skied 25K and the corn was amazing. YMMV. 1990 was a similar situation to yours: I had a business trip back East (I went the weekend before and skied Tucks) and could get away with a free stop on the way home.
 
Tahoe is going to wrap up by May 11th. At least Squaw will. Alpine likely will follow. And Squaw and Alpine are the only ones who stay open May 1st +. As Tony mentions, snowfall has been sparse this spring.

Whistler is much more of a haul, given the airport to mountain transfer. One has to cut short skiing on the getaway day there (done by noon) to get back to Vancouver Airport in time for PM flight.
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Only other option is Portland, OR. Timberline is about 1.5 hrs from airport. Not the steepest hill, but they should have the entire mountain open. Bachelor another 1.5+ beyond that.

Given everything, the drive to/skiing at Mammoth is not that bad of an option. Factoring flight/rental car, it might be hard to beat a 5-6hr car ride from LA door-to-mountain.
 
My understanding is that jkamien has a free flight stop if wants it.

I think Bachelor's skiing will be better than Mammoth's, even with the 8AM-1PM hours. So if he can get into the Redmond airport, I'd say go for it. If Portland, then it's a 3 1/2 hour drive each way. Timberline is not as good as Mammoth, but if you have to fly to Portland, one day Timberline and 2 days Bachelor could work.
 
Tony, this is most helpful! Thanks especially for the tip about RDM, because Mapquest shows RDM as being only 24 min driving time to Bachelor. This probably allows for shuttle transportation and obviates the need for a rental car. Will food and lodging be available this time of year at Bachelor (again, I am one lazy SOB!)?

I can depart LAX at 7:10PM on Sunday and connect through SFO, arriving RDM at 11:23 PM.

Return on Wednesday, departing RDM at 5:22 and connect through SFO, arriving LAX at 9:39.

These times are ideal in terms of the familial obligations.
 
jkamien":37ye5pvl said:
Will food and lodging be available this time of year at Bachelor (again, I am one lazy SOB!)?
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Food/lodging? I guess you may not understand how Bend-Mt. Bachelor is set up.

Mt. Bachelor is 20 miles from the small city of Bend. The ski area is all on Forest Service land -- and there is no development at the base. Outside of some condos in Sun River, there is nothing for 20 miles.

And it looks like the shuttle is done for the year.
http://www.mtbachelor.com/winter/servic ... index.html
 
Yes, RDM is convenient, but you definitely need a rental car to get around. Bend is a sprawling town, not a compact resort. I would always advise having a car there.

Summary of Charges
Note: No payment is due until pick-up
Daily Rate (2 x $23.99): $47.98 (USD)
Subtotal: $47.98 (USD)
Rental Car Taxes and Fees: $6.65 (USD)
Estimated Total Charges: $54.63 (USD)

The above were my car rental charges at RDM for the weekend of April 14-15 last season.
 
Dunno what the OP's ability level is, but every May you have experts traveling from Colorado, Wyoming, and Tahoe to Mammoth, not the other way around LOL.

Never been to Bachelor, too flat and too many horror stories. Good luck!
 
schubwa":3bm22ahc said:
Keep up the good work!
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Your ears must've been ringing today. As I was reading the latest posts in this thread at lunch I found myself wondering what happened to you, as we haven't heard much from you lately.
 
Admin":1uhtbrt2 said:
I found myself wondering what happened to you, as we haven't heard much from you lately.
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Hey Admin,
I'm flattered you noticed. It hasn't been due to the lack of great conditions here, I've just had a little photog's block. I'm kind of bored with my current compact camera and had some "mechanical" problem with the home computer. Hopefully I can snap out of this and post some corn pics if it ever stops snowing!
 
No more full days of corn, since Powdr Corp cuts back the hours while it's still winter. Nonetheless conditions most of us would envy having in our back yards.

Mammoth varies its spring hours based upon day-to-day conditions. I've seen Memorial Day closings anywhere from 1PM to 4PM.
 
I for one would not envy having a mountain full of snow in my back yard that I couldn't touch. It is too much of a tease. However, I suppose you could fix the problem with touring gear.
 
Tony Crocker":209a9dnw said:
No more full days of corn, since Powdr Corp cuts back the hours while it's still winter. Nonetheless conditions most of us would envy having in our back yards.
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This weekend is the last weekend they run Pine Martin, Skyliner, Northwest and Rainbow (if Summit doesn't open,guaranteed due to storm cycle). Monday the schedule goes to Sunrise Lodge and lift, and Summit Chair through "PPP Weekend", Sunday May 19th. This isn't all bad as the access to Summit is directly up Sunrise. They're both high speed quads.
We're going on our eighth month of snowriding, and with the short shelf life of corn, it's hard for me to imagine skiing all day. I say hit the goods and then head to town for Pilsner, Pedal, Paddle, etc.

rfarren":209a9dnw said:
I for one would not envy having a mountain full of snow in my back yard that I couldn't touch. It is too much of a tease.
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We're expecting powder both days this weekend, with snow levels down to the floor in the Willamette Valley. There are very few ski areas even open in the continental US, few will offer completely uncrowded pow lines all weekend.
Well, I guess we'll be forced to drive to Timberline if we're too lazy to skin up right from the road. Then there's the Gorge for windsurfing, probably no swells this year with all the water! (just kidding) I knew I shouldn't have moved here.
 
ShiftyRider wrote:
Dunno what the OP's ability level is, but every May you have experts traveling from Colorado, Wyoming, and Tahoe to Mammoth, not the other way around LOL.

Never been to Bachelor, too flat and too many horror stories. Good luck!
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I hate rating my ability level."I keep up pretty good", is what I say.
Admin, what is the OP's ability level?

BTW, we are now lobbying for my mother-in-law to come here to NJ instead of us going to LAX. This still opens an opportunity for me to ski the same days. Perhaps Europe from EWR would be a better option. UA frequent flyer miles are plentiful. \:D/ Any May snow in Verbier or St. Anton?

Maybe I should just cowboy up and go to Tuck's?

Decisions Decisions.
 
Tony Crocker":yoe3zmr6 said:
No more full days of corn, since Powdr Corp cuts back the hours while it's still winter. Nonetheless conditions most of us would envy having in our back yards.

Mammoth varies its spring hours based upon day-to-day conditions. I've seen Memorial Day closings anywhere from 1PM to 4PM.
Click to expand...

I dunno, wouldn't 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. be better than 8 to 1?
 
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