Mammoth 2019-2020- Welcome back my friends

[hutash]

The groomers were skiing well when I was there. They have been blowing snow so those areas are good. A few places have some loose rock around which will beat up your bases a bit. The secret is to follow the sun around as if spring skiing. Start low and on the Eagle side and move skiers left around the mountain and up in elevation as conditions dictate. The Chair 9 area actually had good corn mid day...I checked my calender, and yes it was Feb 1st

Mammoth nearly always has fun cruising even if other aspects aren't up to par.

[Ottime]

^^^That was what I was hoping. We are actually pretty stoked to not be spending 8 days at Kirkwood, which can get pretty repetitive in these conditions. You find a run that that is working and stick with it until the sun/warmth changes. And all the runs are pretty short. Looking forward to letting the skis run for a bit with longer fall lines and some more acreage of not steep and icy.

We are staying near Vons. If we were to eat out one night, where would one suggest? We have an 8 year old. I like beer and the mrs. likes wine (and beer). Is the night shuttle realiable?

[Long duc dong]

The groomers were skiing well when I was there. They have been blowing snow so those areas are good. A few places have some loose rock around which will beat up your bases a bit. The secret is to follow the sun around as if spring skiing. Start low and on the Eagle side and move skiers left around the mountain and up in elevation as conditions dictate. The Chair 9 area actually had good corn mid day...I checked my calender, and yes it was Feb 1st

Mammoth nearly always has fun cruising even if other aspects aren't up to par.

I would agree about the groomers.

Ott,

My comment on the groomers had mostly to do with doing chair 5 laps on Friday when I did not get on the mountain until around noon. At that point the chair 5 groomers were not great, scraped off in spots and not quite as smooth. In general the groomers should be fine, I would not worry about it. It is a bit firm, the mountain desperately needs snow, but I would not worry about it. There has been a bit of a freeze thaw, so when it stays cold things are not great. But I don't think it should be a problem.

Saturday was actually REALLY fun, similar to Friday afternoon. I spent most of the day lapping Climax, which was once again firm, but still edgable and fun. If you gradually cut skier's right it is smooth and there are occasional pockets of wind buff. I did some laps on chair 23 too, skiing a Scotty's lap and a couple of laps in the area between Scotty's and Monuments. There are a couple of fun lines in that area, but is is also pretty rocky, you have to find the right section. It is firm, but still fun and edgable.

Sunday was very cold. I skied from around 9 until about noon and called it. I had hoped some pockets would fill in with the new snow, but that was not really the case.

I am almost definitely out for this coming weekend, it will be surfing and Baldy, but we will be back up the next weekend. I really hope this pattern changes, but I actually had MUCH more fun than I expected. The mountain needs snow, but I still had a blast. I grew up skiing Belleayre, Hunter and Catamount, so I won't complain about a weekend like last weekend.

The lines were actually not bad on Saturday. I was skiing solo, and I don't think I waited more than 8 minutes in line, granted I was using the singles line, for the upper gondi. They did break the snake out at one point, but I have seen things FAR worse. I did not see lines on chair 23 to speak of.

[bodywhomper]

Walking range: Pizza place at vons, sushi across street from vons, Thai place next little strip mall west of vons. With the current pickiness of my brood (and our general thriftiness) we'd walk to the pizza place maybe getting a half-baked.

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[Ottime]

Thanks all. Hoping for warmth while we are there, but we can have fun on frozen groomers for sure.

Thriftiness is the name of my game. Likely will just cook, but the chef might want a night off while we are there.

Is June worth a visit? Does June have much sun exposure on the upper slopes. It looks mostly north facing, but I’ve never been so don’t really know.

[bodywhomper]

I’ve always enjoyed skiing at June, from preschooler me to adult me. Need to keep expectations different than when at mammoth. Fun on powder days, fun for hot laps, fun in the spring. The kind of place where the lifties share pot brownies with the guests.

[hutash]

Gionani's in the Von's complex for pizza.

June is a fun little mountain a d a nice change of pace from Mammoth. Great for kids because you can just turn them loose since there really is no place for them to get lost, unlike Mammoth. It's worth an occasional visit, and I still like skiing there on occasion. Nice place to dodge Mammoth crowds as well.

There are a few breweries in town if you want to check them out for a pint or two. Best wine choice is Sidedoor in the village. Good paninis and crepes as well.

The night shuttle works quite well, but just about everything is walkable (within a mile or two).

[AKbruin]

Thanks all. Hoping for warmth while we are there, but we can have fun on frozen groomers for sure.

Thriftiness is the name of my game. Likely will just cook, but the chef might want a night off while we are there.

Is June worth a visit? Does June have much sun exposure on the upper slopes. It looks mostly north facing, but I’ve never been so don’t really know.

Mammoth is kind of a junkshow mid-winter, so there are places that I like in the spring that I avoid before April (e.g., Mammoth Brewery). I like Salsa's Taqueria, which is a very decent, no-frills cheap-eats taqueria. It's close to Vons. I also like The Stove for breakfast and general greasy-spoon food, which is also nearby. Black Velvet has good coffee and liege waffles.

I love June Lake. It's a nice break when Mammoth is crowded with the frosted tips crowd. It's strengths are its long moderate groomers and sidecountry, which is less convenient that Kirkwood's (you need to skin) but also bigger and better. It seemed sunny enough when I was there a couple weeks ago in mid-January. Maybe check out the Double Eagle Spa after skiing, where we ran into Glen Plake last year. Its bar has nice happy hour food specials. Anyhow, you should definitely check out June Lake if you haven't been before.

[bodywhomper]

Is salsa’s open at dinner time in winter? I thought they weren’t, at least a few years back. I like salsa’s.

[T-Boz]

Thinking of a quick spring break trip to Mammoth first week of April, coming from Truckee (Squaw). I have skied Mammoth 3-4 times. Curious, do they run the Canyon Lodge/Canyon Express Lifts into April? Even April on a year like this? Bringing the kids, most likely staying at a condo over close to the Canyon lodge. TIA

[Long duc dong]

Thanks all. Hoping for warmth while we are there, but we can have fun on frozen groomers for sure.

Thriftiness is the name of my game. Likely will just cook, but the chef might want a night off while we are there.

Is June worth a visit? Does June have much sun exposure on the upper slopes. It looks mostly north facing, but I’ve never been so don’t really know.

If you don't want to go anywhere you can try doorstep deliveries. I use them regularly when I am up there and they have been great.

http://www.doorstep-deliveries.com/wordpress/

[Long duc dong]

Thinking of a quick spring break trip to Mammoth first week of April, coming from Truckee (Squaw). I have skied Mammoth 3-4 times. Curious, do they run the Canyon Lodge/Canyon Express Lifts into April? Even April on a year like this? Bringing the kids, most likely staying at a condo over close to the Canyon lodge. TIA

Canyon usually goes into late April. If it were to be done in early April that would be VERY early.

[hutash]

Even if Canyon is closed (which is usually 2nd or 3rd weekend in April) The shuttle still runs so you can take the bus to the village and hit red line to Main. This also allows an out of bounds run back to Canyon if so inclined.

[snophoto]

Looks like April 19th is closing day at Canyon. Don't think I have seen them close Canyon early even in some of those really low snow years. Just got back from chasing some powder out of state and was really surprised how well Mammoth is skiing. The groomers were on point, a bit of wind buff around, and the parks are in amazing condition. There's lots of hard/icy spots around and off piste, but overall still good.

[LightRanger]

OTT, I'm a significantly bigger fan of June Lake Brewing than Mammoth Brew Co. Had a shit experience at the latter a few years back (glass lamp shade fell and almost nailed my kid in the head and shattered on our table, and they did not respond appropriately) and soured me a bit. Beer is good, but comparatively used to be better given how much the beer world has changed in just the last five years.

[TahoeJ]

Agree that JLB beer is significantly better than Mammoth Brew Co. Nice little spot that usually has a food truck parked out front.

[T-Boz]

Thanks for the info on the Canyon Lodge. We will have a good trip, kids will crush it. On the dining, last time we were there, we hit up Mammoth Brewing. Really like the beer. The best restaurant we had was The Mogul steakhouse, it was one of the best streak places I have ever been, awesome service. Not way cheap, but not to expensive.

[Ottime]

I think we are going to drive to June Lake from Kirkwood on Monday (President's Day) arriving around 12:30. Should we be concerned with parking at the resort? Plan to ski there, and we're thinking of eating afterwards. Food Truck and beer sounds great. Any other food options worthy of checking out if the food truck is absent?

I noticed Ricochet and Upper Goldhill were closed the past two days. Is that due to winds ripping the snow out of there? Wazoo is open, so I assume they are allowing you to traverse above Ricochet. Kid is a little bummed as he wanted to cruise some of those groomers. I assure him it is bigger than it looks and plenty of options.

T-boz, you'll be stoked there with the kids, and Cayon will likely be open, if a bit thin. They ran Schoolyard last Memorial Day, and the snow on the lower 300' of vert was limited, thin and brown. But they ran the lift, which was great as it allowed you to ski off any aspect of the mountain. 22 was not running, it was snowing hard up high and Riva (or there about) was filling in great, and you could ski it fall line all the way and still get lift back up without traversing/hiking. And thanks for the steak recommendation. I forget about steak and how happy it makes my carnivorous wife.

[nickbokhoven]

I have skied June quite a bit and have never had problems parking. Arriving later should allow you to score a spot for someone leaving early going home. Opening weekend this year - we showed up an hour after the lifts opened and parked in the second row. Mammoth- a whole different story.


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[comish]

I know their stated goal is to keep Canyon open till it's scheduled closing date. They are making snow to try to achieve that, but seriously hoping Ullr will help them in that effort. Never seen them not make the stated closing date, but who knows.

June parking will be fine on Monday. The only issue I have ever encountered is the lift line at the bottom chair in the morning when everyone evacuates Mammoth and heads to June. By mid-day you will be fine.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Looks like April 19th is closing day at Canyon. Don't think I have seen them close Canyon early even in some of those really low snow years.

Well just to refresh your memory, here's a pic of Canyon closing very early, and it wasn't that many years ago.



March 30th, 2015. Closing day at the Canyon Lodge.

[Fofo]

I think we are going to drive to June Lake from Kirkwood on Monday (President's Day) arriving around 12:30. ... Food Truck and beer sounds great. Any other food options worthy of checking out if the food truck is absent?

The Tiger Bar. Get their Tiger chips.

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[hutash]

June has a massive parking lot (relative to it's size), so no worries there. The downhill loading on J2 can be a nightmare, but you can ski the cat track down on skiers right (assuming there is snow.)


JLB food truck will be there, but they do run out of food at busy times. As noted, the Tiger Bar is the local eatery. There is also The Double Eagle for a nice sit down dinner that is more then the Tiger Bar, but still reasonable for a family dinner. It is a much nicer place.

[liv2ski]

Well just to refresh your memory, here's a pic of Canyon closing very early, and it wasn't that many years ago.



March 30th, 2015. Closing day at the Canyon Lodge.

Ooooof, thanks for the reminder of how shit is slowly going side ways. The season of my discontent is rearing its ugly head again.

[hutash]

Yeah, glad I got more then enough ski days in to pay for my pass. Who knows how this winter will finish up. Looking like February is shot. Let's hope for a March miracle.