Mammoth 2019-2020- Welcome back my friends

[squawk]

The lines were about ~15 minutes at their worst today. I haven't skied Mammoth much in past years so I don't know if that's a good or bad for opening weekend. It definitely felt pretty crowed though.

[PB]

For the love of Dog, would somebody please clean off the McCoy Station cams?!?!?

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Taking a break at McCoy. Skiing good, beautiful day, but hoping the crowds thin out this afternoon as people start to drive home.

[Ottime]

Oh fuck that is crowded. Tomorrow I bet it will be thinner. Damn, never saw a line like that all of presidents week last year. Not even close.

[TahoeJ]

I don’t see many resort days on weekends in my future. I bet mid week the lines won’t be 1/5th as long.

[mmmm...pow!]

How were they loading lifts? Were people sharing chairs, or were they mostly empty?

[Long duc dong]

It honestly was not that bad. I was lapping facelift and I would say the lines were maybe 10 minutes. It was not as bad as that pic makes it look.

[SkiHick]

Wow. So much for limiting capacity?

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

It honestly was not that bad. I was lapping facelift and I would say the lines were maybe 10 minutes. It was not as bad as that pic makes it look.

I disagree, for most of the day it was that bad. Here's a McCoy cam shot from Saturday. Pretty much the same. It didn't get much better as the winds increased in the afternoon on Sunday closing chair 3, chair one was stop and go. To be fair, it was busy with cars parked down to chair four.

How were they loading lifts? Were people sharing chairs, or were they mostly empty?

Chairs were loaded according to who you were with. Groups of four were loaded four to a chair, groups of three were loaded as a triple etc.. I saw lots of singles riding alone. I skied with my kid this weekend and we rode every chair as a double, never had anyone else loaded onto the chair with us.

Oh fuck that is crowded. Tomorrow I bet it will be thinner. Damn, never saw a line like that all of presidents week last year. Not even close.

I know right? Check this out....

Stump Alley at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday looking very empty. The reason? The reduced uphill lift capacity with the chairs not being fully loaded. One of Mammoth's strengths its its lift system and the ability to move people up hill. Not the case right now when it's two people per chair or singles riding alone now matter what the lines are like. I do agree that tomorrow (Monday) will most likely be much quieter. Still a fun day overall with good coverage on the runs that were open.

[Long duc dong]

I disagree, for most of the day it was that bad. Here's a McCoy cam shot from Saturday. Pretty much the same. It didn't get much better as the winds increased in the afternoon on Sunday closing chair 3, chair one was stop and go. To be fair, it was busy with cars parked down to chair four.


Chairs were loaded according to who you were with. Groups of four were loaded four to a chair, groups of three were loaded as a triple etc.. I saw lots of singles riding alone. I skied with my kid this weekend and we rode every chair as a double, never had anyone else loaded onto the chair with us.


I know right? Check this out....

Stump Alley at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday looking very empty. The reason? The reduced uphill lift capacity with the chairs not being fully loaded. One of Mammoth's strengths its its lift system and the ability to move people up hill. Not the case right now when it's two people per chair or singles riding alone now matter what the lines are like. I do agree that tomorrow (Monday) will most likely be much quieter. Still a fun day overall with good coverage on the runs that were open.

I'm just reporting what I experienced on Sunday. On Sunday I basically lapped Facelift from around 10 am until it closed due to the wind. Then I went down and did a few more Broadway laps and a gondi lap. I would say the worst line I experienced on Sunday was around 12-15 minutes. I timed a couple of the lines and they were typically 10-12 minutes. I remember being amazed that the lines were loading as quickly as they were. I think the fact that there is a six foot buffer in between each line means fewer columns and longer lines in each column. Honestly the biggest complaint I would have would be waiting in a 10-12 minute lift line to ski a run as short as the groomer off of Facelift. If I was to wait in a line for the upper gondi on a typical (non-pow) Saturday in February I would be okay with that. I'm not saying I would be HAPPY with it, but the gondi line can get pretty long when they put in the snake on those crowded Saturdays.

The worst line I waited in was the line at Stump Alley on Saturday. I arrived around 115, and I think it was probably 20 minutes. Saturday I just lapped Broadway and it was not as bad as Stump Alley. It is possible that Facelift was worse on Saturday than Sunday, I wouldn't know, but Sunday I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly Facelift was loading.

I was skiing alone and they were loading me alone. Like you said they were loading groups who had driven with each other. There are signs about that. I'm going to make more of an effort to ski with other people this year than normal, just to help with the lines.

Honestly, I am worried about what is going to happen when the real crowds show up. I skied that gondi once, and that line was maybe 10 minutes, but that was close to 2 on Sunday when things were starting to thin out. Obviously later in the season there will be far more lifts open, but with even a 70% crowd the way they are loading now will make things difficult. I was pleasantly surprised this Sunday by how quickly I was able to load Facelift, but think again to those upper gondi laps on a crowded February Saturday: If Facelift was 10-12 minutes on a day like yesterday, which granted was opening weekend, how bad is the upper gondi going to be in February on a shoulder weekend Saturday with the full snake? I grew up back east, and there were times I would deal with 1/2 lift lines at Hunter or places like that. I handled it because I didn't know any better. I'm not used to crazy lines any more, unless it is a pow day and something is going to open.

Sometimes on crowded weekends I will forgo the gondi/chair 23 and go over to chair 22. It is typically not as crowded there, unless it is a pow day. It is possible that this season I will do more of that. I honestly don't see myself loading on the upper gondi on crowded Saturdays.

This was my first opening weekend. For those that have been before, were these crowds typical? I don't have anything to compare it to so it is hard for me to know. In think the earliest I have skied Mammoth was late October, but that was after a huge series of early storms and the whole mountain was basically open.

[45hill]

Taking a break at McCoy. Skiing good, beautiful day, but hoping the crowds thin out this afternoon as people start to drive home.

And yet youth sports are all on hold or canceled. 5000 people on the hill Saturday is somehow better than 12 kids on an ice rink. Makes sense. I bet we don't make it to Christmas.

[SkiHick]

Taking a break at McCoy. Skiing good, beautiful day, but hoping the crowds thin out this afternoon as people start to drive home.

I know we are all concerned about how long the lines are, but that doesn't look like distancing is being very well enforced either. For those of us who are more concerned about being packed close together with people from all around the state, and concerned with how this type of image looks to the folks making the decision about what can stay open, this doesn't bode well IMO.

Maybe it's just a bad perspective though, I wasn't there.

[Long duc dong]

And yet youth sports are all on hold or canceled. 5000 people on the hill Saturday is somehow better than 12 kids on an ice rink. Makes sense. I bet we don't make it to Christmas.

People on the hill were masked up, and from what I saw the social distancing was reasonably good in line. I saw lift ops tell people who had their masks down to put them on when in lift lines.

I would think that if kids can play with masks on they should be able to play hockey. I would not have wanted to wear a mask when I was playing, but I guess if it is a choice between playing with a mask and not playing I would have done it.

They are fine with people skiing without a mask, obviously, but when in common areas and lift lines they were pretty tight about it. You can ski without a mask and put it on when you get to the bottom.

I would think youth sports like soccer, played outside, would be easier to get going than hockey. It is indoor areas that are most dangerous for the spread.

Inside McCoy they were social distancing the tables. I did not see any groups within 30 feet of each other. Obviously this will be a bigger problem as crowds increase. I think the greatest issue for spread with skiing would be eating lunches indoors. If all the tables in McCoy were filled, even spread out as they were, it would be an issue.

[KillerMonkey]

I liked that the lifties were assholes to people who had their masks down. People are always super butthurt when they get called out on it too.

Crowds definitely looked bigger than they were. Lines were moving quickly as people above have said. Probably less people than past opening days. All in all, I am hopeful they still open.

[comish]

I think the greatest issue for spread with skiing would be eating lunches indoors. If all the tables in McCoy were filled, even spread out as they were, it would be an issue.

This is the crux of the issue. The reality from everything I have read from Yurp and other areas is that this thing is transmitted largely indoors, especially in stagnant air with no ventilation. Therefore I think lunch, bars, restaurants, etc. are going to be the real challenge of this year and likely where spread is bound to happen as the temperature drops and people yearn for their apres beer, lunch, or dinner.

I think the prospects of catching this thing while riding a 5 or 10min lift, while masked up, moving through the air, while it's mixing are highly unlikely. I'm not sure how much I will ride the Gondi this year, but ski lifts really aren't going to be the problem.

This was an "interesting" weekend. Yes, lines were kinda long, but sorta moved if that makes sense. With 6' between each line, and only the people you arrived with next to you, yes, they did extend out quite a ways. Think super busy holiday weekends long, but maybe moved faster since there were fewer, longer lines if that makes sense. I would bet on average 10 to 20 minutes. Ch2 on Saturday was likely longer during primo times, but I always avoid 2 then anyway so can't confirm.

We did the picnic at the car lunch program. Worked fine this weekend, but it's not going to work great when everyone is wet and certainly kills the fun of having lunch with friends. Gonna be a tough year and I unfortunately think the virus will spread once people are indoors eating and drinking. Could be in one of the lodges, could be at a restaurant in town. Once that happens, the resort will have a lot of pressure to close Be surprised if they would operate without food and bev. service.

[bry]

My plan has been as follows:

Ski weekdays and chase weekday storms when possible/practical. Treat each day like a bc or euro experience, but with the lifts.

Prehydrate/limit hydration during the day so I don't ever have to use the facilities.

Carry energy rich food/energy blocks, no lodge use or gondi rides. If the lifts aren't well distanced or seem highly inconvenient, I am out.

Keep bc stove, chair in car if I want to try and chill out for a bit and the lot/car areas aren't crowded. Often do this anyway, but grabbing a slice a lunch has been nice in the past.

Anyone that goes in the lodge or chills on a deck with others nearby is asking to get sick IMO.




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[frorider]

Prehydrate/limit hydration during the day so I don't ever have to use the facilities

Why not piss in the woods like god intended?

[bry]

I will just didn't want it to be so obvious when you see me.

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[Long duc dong]

I know we are all concerned about how long the lines are, but that doesn't look like distancing is being very well enforced either. For those of us who are more concerned about being packed close together with people from all around the state, and concerned with how this type of image looks to the folks making the decision about what can stay open, this doesn't bode well IMO.

Maybe it's just a bad perspective though, I wasn't there.

I would say distancing was being (somewhat) well enforced. There was a buffer between each line that seemed like it was roughly six feet. I would say most people were at least around 5 feet behind the people ahead of them, although that is not a remotely scientific observation. It would be nice if that were slightly larger. It seemed like people were giving slightly more distance than usual to the person ahead of them. Those shots make it seem like the line is slightly more compact than what I experience in person on Sunday. They are still trying all of this out. I do think they are going to have to work a bit harder on the distancing, but it certainly did not feel normal. If they do get the distancing right the lines will obviously seem longer, but the amount of distancing that was going on was definitely greater than normal.

Like I said, I am really worried about what is going to happen in the cafeteria. People take off their masks to eat. Lots of the data coming in is tracing spreads to people who eat at restaurants, even ones with socially distanced tables, so even if you spread the tables out you are going to have issues when people take their masks off to eat. This whole thing is not going to be easy. I will give the mountain credit for trying.

[yogachik]

Can we start a new thread for the season please?

[Ottime]

Being a two week a year hopeful, I'll let someone else start a thread. But be wondering when it might show up.

People on the hill were masked up, and from what I saw the social distancing was reasonably good in line. I saw lift ops tell people who had their masks down to put them on when in lift lines.

I would think that if kids can play with masks on they should be able to play hockey. I would not have wanted to wear a mask when I was playing, but I guess if it is a choice between playing with a mask and not playing I would have done it.

They are fine with people skiing without a mask, obviously, but when in common areas and lift lines they were pretty tight about it. You can ski without a mask and put it on when you get to the bottom.

I would think youth sports like soccer, played outside, would be easier to get going than hockey. It is indoor areas that are most dangerous for the spread.

Inside McCoy they were social distancing the tables. I did not see any groups within 30 feet of each other. Obviously this will be a bigger problem as crowds increase. I think the greatest issue for spread with skiing would be eating lunches indoors. If all the tables in McCoy were filled, even spread out as they were, it would be an issue.

What was considered a mask? Thick gaiters/buffs? Or actual masks?

[TWINS]

I liked that the lifties were assholes to people who had their masks down. People are always super butthurt when they get called out on it too.

Crowds definitely looked bigger than they were. Lines were moving quickly as people above have said. Probably less people than past opening days. All in all, I am hopeful they still open.

Yep.
Some knucklehead tried to load Chair 2 without a mask Sunday afternoon and got pushed out of the loading area.
The crowd mentality was put a fucking mask on asshole.
Lines were fine, social distancing was fine.
Went into all three lodges.
Things looked like the new normal.
Bonus points for getting the outdoor fireplace working at the Mill.
It was a good opening weekend.

[PB]

Why not piss in the woods like god intended?

Catheters, baby, catheters!

[Long duc dong]

Being a two week a year hopeful, I'll let someone else start a thread. But be wondering when it might show up.



What was considered a mask? Thick gaiters/buffs? Or actual masks?

From what I saw it had to actually cover the nose. I think they were fine with thick gators, but I saw people wearing typical ski masks, ones where the the nose is not covered, get told to put a full mask on. I saw this a couple of times. I don't know exactly what their definition is.

Here is a link with some info on what constitutes a mask:

https://www.mammothmountain.com/covid

Single layer neck gators are not allowed.

[Ottime]

Thanks. Read the website, but was curious about actual practice.