MAMMOTH 22/23 - LIFE'S A BEACH

[MTT]

I posted it everywhere else
Chair 23 June 1st. Noontime
https://youtube.com/shorts/tTTyUojwkyE?feature=share

[Vitamin I]

...
Attachment 461064
This was two weeks ago.

Attachment 461065
This was yesterday. JMO, but their seems to be a noticeable difference. But I’ll certainly take it vs not skiing for sure.

Yeah, I don't know. Maybe each run has been different for 2 weeks...like maybe different runs got salted on different days and ended up smooth, while other runs ended up with seams/ripples. Today, Terry's Run ended up smooth and firm, but not some of the other groomed runs.

.

[m2711c]

I posted it everywhere else
Chair 23 June 1st. Noontime
https://youtube.com/shorts/tTTyUojwkyE?feature=share

nice day!

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Early Tuesday morning it looked like it might just rain all day.


Even with the flat light early on, ch 5 was skiing well.


After a couple laps the visibility got better.


This ended being my best run of the day, as well as my last.
Got to the bottom of ch 5 just as the Mtn went on lightning hold. About 30 of us were stuck there until the patrol came down and let us ski down thru the closure below Ch 5 and back down to the Stump Alley parking lot.


Ch 2 parking lot during yesterdays lightning hold. I got in a quick nine runs and called it a day. The Mtn did reopen just as I was leaving.


Rain held off and I got in evening MTB ride on the backside of Crowley.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

A few pics from Wednesday. The weather was a bit of clouds, rain, hail and sun.


I watched this guy do an epic early morning slider. I'm standing at both his skis, which a couple of skiers brought down to him. No injuries other than his pride.


I was doing some fun Cornice laps around 11:30 a.m. and noticed the black wall of clouds headed for the mtn.


Got in a run down P2. Not bad. The best snow is the lookers left right along the rocks. Beware of some big sun cups starting to form farther down.


The rain came and I was ready to call it a day.


Sun came back out just before closing and I goi back out for two quick runs. Good day overall and it seemed like the cloud cover kept the snow skiing fast til the end of the day.


The chair 2 parking lot is becoming quite the hangout spot. I recognized this guy, Lucas Catania, from his youtube channel that I randomly came across. Talked with him for 20 minutes or so. Seems like a chill guy and he's very stoked on Mammoth. Gave me a tour of his van which was really cool.


The thunder storms have made for some epic sunsets the last couple days. Here's another one from my evening mtb ride last night.
Good stuff.

[MTT]

I was at Mammoth today. It was pretty good. Lots of people for a Tuesday. Lots of out of state plates. Made a run off ch 23 with a couple guys from Upstate NY

Rode a lift with Vitamin I.
Hey
I’ll be here a few more days easy to spot. Yellow skis with Airplanes on the tips

[Vitamin I]

I was at Mammoth today. It was pretty good. Lots of people for a Tuesday. Lots of out of state plates. Made a run off ch 23 with a couple guys from Upstate NY

Rode a lift with Vitamin I.
Hey
I’ll be here a few more days easy to spot. Yellow skis with Airplanes on the tips

Was great to meet you for one brief chair ride.

Yeah, your PMGear skis looked brand new, like you just took the plastic off them earlier that morning. New-old-stock rules!

.

[Vitamin I]

Yo Mammoth Locals,

Do any of you know which local mechanic in town is most likely to charge a low/fair price...or maybe even give a discounted price to an old-timer ski bum? I'm trying to help out an old-timer who says his minivan is leaking way too much power steering fluid.

If no reply, I already wrote up a paper list for this old-timer to try Julio at Mammoth Smogs, and 2nd choice would be Mike at Mountain Motors. (...but I am a clueless transient, not a local.) I see this old-timer basically every morning before skiing, so I can easily tell him any advice you have.

This guy Dale is deserving of a hookup or low/fair price. He is 84 years old, skis every day, only at resorts that offer free passes to 80-year-olds, sleeps in his rusty beat-up Chrysler minivan with Minnesota plates, does not do Internet, does not even have a credit card, does cash only, obviously no smartphone---but he does indeed have cell phone voice capabilities (although I'd be surprised if his cell phone is capable of texting). His body can handle skiing ~2 hrs per day, still skis solo every day, can make it Top-to-Bottom from CH23 to the Mill without stopping, doesn't fall, but if he does fall he can get back up on his own if he first clicks out from his skis.

My car is basically a mobile ski shop right now, so I gave his 2 outdated pairs of skis a free edge & wax down at the Skate Park picnic tables. And the next time I saw him, his smile was lit up ear-to-ear and he raved about how much better his sharpened edges and slick bases were. Probably the first time he had sharp edges in years. Dude is a legend, and doesn't have a lot of cash to burn on a mechanic.

.

[TahoeBC]

Cold and windy there the last 2 days, took awhile for things to unlock, coverage still amazing

[byates1]

Yo Mammoth Locals,

Do any of you know which local mechanic in town is most likely to charge a low/fair price...or maybe even give a discounted price to an old-timer ski bum? I'm trying to help out an old-timer who says his minivan is leaking way too much power steering fluid.

If no reply, I already wrote up a paper list for this old-timer to try Julio at Mammoth Smogs, and 2nd choice would be Mike at Mountain Motors. (...but I am a clueless transient, not a local.) I see this old-timer basically every morning before skiing, so I can easily tell him any advice you have.

This guy Dale is deserving of a hookup or low/fair price. He is 84 years old, skis every day, only at resorts that offer free passes to 80-year-olds, sleeps in his rusty beat-up Chrysler minivan with Minnesota plates, does not do Internet, does not even have a credit card, does cash only, obviously no smartphone---but he does indeed have cell phone voice capabilities (although I'd be surprised if his cell phone is capable of texting). His body can handle skiing ~2 hrs per day, still skis solo every day, can make it Top-to-Bottom from CH23 to the Mill without stopping, doesn't fall, but if he does fall he can get back up on his own if he first clicks out from his skis.

My car is basically a mobile ski shop right now, so I gave his 2 outdated pairs of skis a free edge & wax down at the Skate Park picnic tables. And the next time I saw him, his smile was lit up ear-to-ear and he raved about how much better his sharpened edges and slick bases were. Probably the first time he had sharp edges in years. Dude is a legend, and doesn't have a lot of cash to burn on a mechanic.

.

Rad story. Go to the mobile. The dudes son who won xgames. And Olympic downhill.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Yo Mammoth Locals,

Do any of you know which local mechanic in town is most likely to charge a low/fair price...or maybe even give a discounted price to an old-timer ski bum? I'm trying to help out an old-timer who says his minivan is leaking way too much power steering fluid.

If no reply, I already wrote up a paper list for this old-timer to try Julio at Mammoth Smogs, and 2nd choice would be Mike at Mountain Motors. (...but I am a clueless transient, not a local.) I see this old-timer basically every morning before skiing, so I can easily tell him any advice you have.

This guy Dale is deserving of a hookup or low/fair price. He is 84 years old, skis every day, only at resorts that offer free passes to 80-year-olds, sleeps in his rusty beat-up Chrysler minivan with Minnesota plates, does not do Internet, does not even have a credit card, does cash only, obviously no smartphone---but he does indeed have cell phone voice capabilities (although I'd be surprised if his cell phone is capable of texting). His body can handle skiing ~2 hrs per day, still skis solo every day, can make it Top-to-Bottom from CH23 to the Mill without stopping, doesn't fall, but if he does fall he can get back up on his own if he first clicks out from his skis.

My car is basically a mobile ski shop right now, so I gave his 2 outdated pairs of skis a free edge & wax down at the Skate Park picnic tables. And the next time I saw him, his smile was lit up ear-to-ear and he raved about how much better his sharpened edges and slick bases were. Probably the first time he had sharp edges in years. Dude is a legend, and doesn't have a lot of cash to burn on a mechanic.

.

Rad story. Go to the mobile. The dudes son who won xgames. And Olympic downhill.

My thought as well, let me just tweak your post slightly. Go to the Chevron, not the Mobile and ask for Karl. He’s the owner and a long time local. Tell him your story and see what he says. Totally honest and won’t try to scam you. If that doesn’t pan out go across the street to Alpine Garage. Ask for Mike or John. It’s a family business and Mike is the owners son. The other mechanic is John T. A ripping skier.
John is Karl’s son, and Mike is his Uncle. Yes, it’s a small town. John won gold in 2011 X Games in skier Cross, got a Bronze in the skier cross World championship, and competed in the 2014 Olympics (didnt medal). There’s two options, hope it works out.

[davjr96]

That Chevron saved me when my alternator died coming down Sonora Pass on a Holiday weekend a few years ago. Only one in town who was even willing to take a look at it.

[bry]

If that thing won't hold fluid might be easier to find him a new forever car to tide him over the balance of his days or at least a few years for a few grand. If it's from Minnesota or wherever east it could be well rusted out etc

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

[crankplank]

dont replace a car because its leaking PS fluid

[byates1]

My thought as well, let me just tweak your post slightly. Go to the Chevron, not the Mobile and ask for Karl. He’s the owner and a long time local. Tell him your story and see what he says. Totally honest and won’t try to scam you. If that doesn’t pan out go across the street to Alpine Garage. Ask for Mike or John. It’s a family business and Mike is the owners son. The other mechanic is John T. A ripping skier.
John is Karl’s son, and Mike is his Uncle. Yes, it’s a small town. John won gold in 2011 X Games in skier Cross, got a Bronze in the skier cross World championship, and competed in the 2014 Olympics (didnt medal). There’s two options, hope it works out.

Thx it's been a few years..

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Thx it's been a few years..

Check this out. Back when I first started as an instructor at Main Lodge, John’s mom was in charge of Daycare, which is located downstairs at the Mammoth Mtn Inn. John or Johnny back then used to come over and jump into lessons (free for employee kids) when he was 5 & 6, before he went all in on the race team. He was already a ski prodigy and I remember taking him to the Top, with my boss yelling after me “Bring him back in one piece!” I had zero certification, didn’t really know what I was doing, but it was super fun skiing with him. I’m going to date the shit out of myself here, that was the winter of 1988-89, and I was 21 yrs old. Time flies.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix_GHM0Aquw&t=0h0m1s
Here’s a clip of him. Nice guy, good mechanic, stills says hi.

[byates1]

Nice. Yeah those guys were cool as hell when I was bumming around mammoth in 19.

[Vitamin I]

My thought as well, let me just tweak your post slightly. Go to the Chevron, not the Mobile and ask for Karl. He’s the owner and a long time local. Tell him your story and see what he says. Totally honest and won’t try to scam you. If that doesn’t pan out go across the street to Alpine Garage. Ask for Mike or John. It’s a family business and Mike is the owners son. The other mechanic is John T. A ripping skier.
John is Karl’s son, and Mike is his Uncle. Yes, it’s a small town. John won gold in 2011 X Games in skier Cross, got a Bronze in the skier cross World championship, and competed in the 2014 Olympics (didnt medal). There’s two options, hope it works out.

Thanks! Great advice, guys!
I will talk to those mechanics today and then recommend one or the other to the old-timer, Dale.
(...I also need a shop to grind the hell out of WAY convex bases on a used M-Free 108...makes me wonder if that PU core is extra prone to deformation/warping for bigger/powerful skiers...and I'm leaning towards using Fast Ski Sports at Von's parking lot for that work.)

.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Went for a Solstice MTB ride yesterday eve. Venus and a sliver moon hanging over the Mtn made for a cool view.

[4matic]

Skied yesterday and today. So good. Incredible.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Skied yesterday and today. So good. Incredible.

I'll add my agreement with 4matic's statement. Good skiing the last two days (wed-thurs). Colder nights with a hard freeze have made for good corn cycles the last two days and some great skiing. Here's a few pics.


Stump Alley on Wed at 10:00 am with fun corn snow.


Face of ch 3 with something for everyone. Half bumps, half groomers.


Skied Dave's on Wed for the first time in a while. Skied the white section on the lookers left. Fun.


Skied Climax as well Wed. It's holding more snow now in late June than its mid winter peak of many recent seasons.


It can't last forever and there are some noticeable signs of snowmelt. This was June 7th at the top of ch 23. First rocks I've seen since late December.


This was Wed, two weeks later. Big difference.


Thursday. This section off the back of ch 3 to the left skis well first thing in the morning with its SE aspect.


Top section of Solitude off ch 5 Thurs morning just as it was starting to corn up.


Wipeout 2 softened by lunchtime.


Same for Wipeout 1. This group of skiers was charging it.


My buddy was out on the burn Thurs and called me wanting to know where the winds were taking the smoke and if it was impacting the ski area so I sent him this pic.


Did some laps thru Hanger's today. First time I did the far skiers right line to the throat.


Next run I did the far skiers left line to the throat. Definitely a little trickier.


At that time, no one else was skiing it so I decided to stop just above the throat and get a pic looking down.


As I was doing that, out of no where comes a patrol dude as I'm hanging out, clogging the throat. He had his line dialed and went right around me and kept going. Good turns dude.


Just past the throat on the skiers left some big cracks in the snow have formed. This one was deep.


Did one more run off the top just as the clouds were rolling in. Light went flat and I called it a day at 12:30. It was another quality day of Summer skiing.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Enjoying the late afternoon sun, peace & quiet of having the whole deck at The Mill to myself. Not like this morning when it was BUSY!

[PB]

Assuming a great morning skiing, I actually enjoy those late afternoon moments with that special light and peaceful silence just as much.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Assuming a great morning skiing, I actually enjoy those late afternoon moments with that special light and peaceful silence just as much.

I’m not sure I would call yesterday (Sat) a great ski morning, and it had nothing to do with conditions. Versus skiing Tue-Fri, yesterday felt a little in the crowded side.

Apparently the demand for skiing is still strong. Saturday’s parking stretched well past Ch 2, past the chair 10/compressor house lot and crested the last hill and onto the downhill side towards chair 4. Business was good.


But a late afternoon ride on some empty single track was super fun.
Got onto DownTown at the garage. Snow free all the way down to the village with just one wet turn. Bonus-not a single group of E-Bikers stopped in middle of a switchback, clogging the trail✌️.

[PB]

Every year after my regular Spring pilgrimage week (M-F) I seriously consider extending the next year's trip to two weeks, but never go through with it because ...... weekend.