MAMMOTH 22/23 - LIFE'S A BEACH

[TahoeBC]

What a a difference! Great perspective on different seasons, I’ll take the later 🤣

[Ottime]

I'm just looking at that snowbank at the lot edge and thinking there is months to go.

[supermodel159]

How is coverage? I'm headed up this weekend, not sure if I need a rock board yet.

[Vitamin I]

How is coverage? I'm headed up this weekend, not sure if I need a rock board yet.

Coverage is great. Absolutely no need for your rock board yet.

I'd say the main spot with rocks is the ridge from top of CH23 down to Scotty's, where the troughs between moguls are shallow enough that you would scratch your bases. The easy workaround for that section is to just leave the ridge early, drop down the face 10 yards, then traverse the deep snow over to Scotty's.

Then again, the daily report keeps saying Kiwi Flats is open, but there are huge sections of dry rock to downclimb just so you can ski 2 small patches of snow on that line. That's "not skiable" in my opinion, but cool that Patrol doesn't close it, I guess.

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[altabrig]

Coverage is great. Absolutely no need for your rock board yet.

I'd say the main spot with rocks is the ridge from top of CH23 down to Scotty's, where the troughs between moguls are shallow enough that you would scratch your bases. The easy workaround for that section is to just leave the ridge early, drop down the face 10 yards, then traverse the deep snow over to Scotty's.

Then again, the daily report keeps saying Kiwi Flats is open, but there are huge sections of dry rock to downclimb just so you can ski 2 small patches of snow on that line. That's "not skiable" in my opinion, but cool that Patrol doesn't close it, I guess.

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Worth going next (M-Th) week? Looks like rain and the gondola is closed. ? Not sure if the McCoy to Main Lodge will freeze at night? Don't want to waste a trip for skiing only til 1:30 close if it is mank from the git go.

The race training sure is nice for clean corn if it is cold enough next week and the racers are still training. Seeing ominous data on NWS saying low at mainlodge will be 40s at night and other models showing a big warm up.

[Long duc dong]

ESS,

Thanks for the shots as always. It is amazing to see the difference compared to years past.

I've thought about trying to get one more trip, but I've been getting back in the water on weekends, with some mid-week sessions mixed in. I think I'm done with the drive. Not only that, but I would prefer not to have to pay for a hotel after having the house all winter. I'll live vicariously through you guys.

I skied closing day at Baldy, which was May 20. That's absolutely insane. It was still fun too, lots of fun slush turns and bumps in the Emile's Bowl area, and not too grabby. I don't think I've ever skied my last day of the year at Baldy, let alone on May 20th with good turns.

[Ottime]

Backside open for the first weekend of June.... unreal.

[bodywhomper]

So awesome!

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

A hard freeze last night should make for an solid corn cycle shortly.


Chair 5 looking smooth & glassy this morning.

[altabrig]

Looks super cruisy today. Should be fun til 1. Canceling next weeks trip due to the rain forecast. If that changes to lower probablity of rain and thunderstorms, I'll go.

Looks a bit wet and warm at night next work week. Enjoy today.

Main Lodge NWS
MondayA 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Snow level 10900 feet. Partly sunny, with a high near 58. Breezy, with a northeast wind 10 to 20 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Monday NightA 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Snow level 11100 feet lowering to 10600 feet after midnight . Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. South wind 10 to 15 mph becoming north after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.
TuesdayA 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Snow level 10500 feet. Partly sunny, with a high near 54.
Tuesday NightA slight chance of showers before 11pm. Snow level 10800 feet lowering to 10200 feet after midnight . Partly cloudy, with a low around 37.
WednesdayA chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Snow level 10100 feet rising to 10700 feet in the afternoon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 55.
Wednesday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 37.
ThursdayA slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Snow level 10200 feet rising to 11000 feet in the afternoon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 56.

SUMMIT NWS
MondayA 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Snow level 10800 feet. Partly sunny, with a high near 52. Breezy, with a northeast wind 10 to 20 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.
Monday NightA 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight. Snow level 11100 feet lowering to 10500 feet after midnight . Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. South wind 10 to 15 mph becoming north after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.
TuesdayA 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Snow level 10500 feet. Partly sunny, with a high near 48.
Tuesday NightA slight chance of showers before midnight. Snow level 10800 feet lowering to 10200 feet after midnight . Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35.
WednesdayA chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Snow level 10100 feet rising to 10700 feet in the afternoon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 48.
Wednesday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 35.
ThursdayA slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Snow level 10200 feet rising to 11000 feet in the afternoon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 49.

[MTT]

I skied Mammoth This past week, It just sucks, stay home, play golf, go fishin. I'll be back next week.

I sat up off chair 23 about 12:30 and watched it dump rain way off in the distance to the south. Patches of clouds started to shade Bradway as I took off my skis for the day. And it's kinda like that most days

[altabrig]

Ouch. Sarcasm aside...Sounds like you had a great time and luckily missed a soaking and t-storm lift holds.

Back for more Tuesday despite the T-storm chance? Must be luving it. Spoke to a guy who did not like the snow last Monday up Paranoid way due to heavy wet slides he was calling sluffs. Sounds par for the course this time of year.

I have always had a blast last week of May/first week of June. 18" powder day once on June 1st. Mixed blessing as it put the corn off for days.

I would rather be skiing right now than surfing summertime SoCal. No golfing for this hombre. Nunca. Fishing...spent 60 days camping in AB and BC last year doing that in spots that don't get stocked. Not jonesing for BFTs, broadbills, or calicos...Just want some more turns.

I can always rebook tomorrow and hope to dodge the morning t-showers if the probability drops below 50%. If it don't re-freeze...napes.

[Vitamin I]

...Spoke to a guy who did not like the snow last Monday up Paranoid way due to heavy wet slides he was calling sluffs. Sounds par for the course this time of year...

I can confirm that. At 12noon, Paranoid steeps are soft enough that the snow can't hold me up (220 lbs) at that steepness. It wants to slide me down even if I try to stand still.

So...just hit Paranoids earlier in the day, duh.

At 7:30am, it's racer ice pretty much everywhere, every day for me so far.

I'm a rookie at making the connection between the local forecasts and the actual real weather, so ask the real locals here, but... So far to me, forecast keeps saying Chance of Rain/Thunderstorms a million times, but it only actually rained twice (and one of those 2 was after lifts closing time anyway). So...might be worth it to ignore it when forecast says Rain/Thunder??? Maybe real locals will chime in here.

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[altabrig]

I can confirm that. At 12noon, Paranoid steeps are soft enough that the snow can't hold me up (220 lbs) at that steepness. It wants to slide me down even if I try to stand still.

So...just hit Paranoids earlier in the day, duh.

At 7:30am, it's racer ice pretty much everywhere, every day for me so far.

I'm a rookie at making the connection between the local forecasts and the actual real weather, so ask the real locals here, but... So far to me, forecast keeps saying Chance of Rain/Thunderstorms a million times, but it only actually rained twice (and one of those 2 was after lifts closing time anyway). So...might be worth it to ignore it when forecast says Rain/Thunder??? Maybe real locals will chime in here.

.

Much appreciated. Kind of what I was wondering. Sound like a big mush up top later. Look like the weather is getting a bit more active the next 2-3 days.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

I can confirm that. At 12noon, Paranoid steeps are soft enough that the snow can't hold me up (220 lbs) at that steepness. It wants to slide me down even if I try to stand still.

So...just hit Paranoids earlier in the day, duh.

This was yesterday (Sat) at 12:15 p.m. Looking down P1, which looked the best from ch 23.


Ended up skiing P2 just to the left of the rocks. Line choice off piste is huge right now. I skied where the snow looked like it had been skied more recently. I thought P2 skied pretty good and the slush wasn't rotten underneath. Worth the hike up to it for sure.


Saturday afternoon Ralphies was rippable.


Anyone else notice the grooming this morning? It sucked. I take for granted that Mammoth's is good everyday and this morning the mtn had these ridges/cat grooves all over. Not fun when they were frozen first thing. Hopefully this was just a one off.


Ch 5 just as it was softening up this morning. Again you can see the ridges left from the Cat's all across the run. It could definitely be improved.


On Saturday the talent level in the pipe was intimidating. Today was another story. Empty and with slush this afternoon (slow) it was a good time to get some "Dad" laps in it. I sent my 19 yr old son a text that I was the "Best 50 something yr old Dad skier" lapping the pipe today. He nailed it when he texted back "You were probably the only 50+ yr old Dad skiing it." Not wrong today.


With rain threatening, I was just able to get in an evening run on Sherwin Creek rd tonite.


As soon as I finished my run it rained hard and has been showery for the rest of the evening so far. See what tomorrow brings.

[Vitamin I]

...Anyone else notice the grooming this morning? It sucked. I take for granted that Mammoth's is good everyday and this morning the mtn had these ridges/cat grooves all over. Not fun when they were frozen first thing. Hopefully this was just a one off...

Sorry to break the news to you, but... The morning groomer ripples/ruts/seams are pretty much an everyday thing for the past 2 weeks. Maybe a groomer operator here can chime in about how maybe these seams are more likely with afternoon slush? Anyway...I'm thinking the groomer cats might be putting extra TLC into smoothing out the race training runs, but maybe no extra TLC for the public runs?

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[GiBo]

I was amazed at how well the snow held up Friday. Snow didn't get good until about 9 so no need to get there early. Even got a leisurely Roadrunner cruise/safety meeting in. On June 2nd. Amazing.

[~mikey b]

fkna

[Skeeze]

The grooming is a result of having the cats on extremely soft snow -- it's difficult to avoid if the snow is slush when the cats go over it. They definitely put more work into the race courses, but I think the main reason the race course grooming is better is that they aggressively salt the entire run, meaning it never gets as slushy and is more supportable when the cats pass over.

Ideally all grooming would happen early in the morning when the runs are at their firmest, but that's probably not realistic with current staffing.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Active weather in Mammoth right now at 6:45 pm.

That red blob on the radar just came thru.


We have rain.


Hail.


And lots of lighting in the area.

[hutash]

I was there all last week and she we did get some rain after closing it always skied fine the next day. It is June after all, so the snow is firm in the early AM soft med morning and slush by closing. Yeah, the snow is wet from the rain, but the light breezes dry it out enough for it to be great spring corn, and the overnight freeze is down to Mill and Main.
The season has a long way to go, but don't be fooled by the snow banks, they are melting extremely fast. In some places nearly a foot a day. It is June after all.

[Vitamin I]

Yesterday and today have been the first days for me that weren't frozen in the sunlight at 7:30am at 9000ft Main Lodge.
Yesterday was frozen only in the shade of the Lodge building.
Today, not even frozen in the shade at 7:30am.

Maybe this cloud cover is trapping heat and hindering some radiative cooling...
Still fun to ski!

.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

The grooming is a result of having the cats on extremely soft snow -- it's difficult to avoid if the snow is slush when the cats go over it. They definitely put more work into the race courses, but I think the main reason the race course grooming is better is that they aggressively salt the entire run, meaning it never gets as slushy and is more supportable when the cats pass over.

Ideally all grooming would happen early in the morning when the runs are at their firmest, but that's probably not realistic with current staffing.

Hey Skeeze,
Thanks for the informative reply. That makes sense regarding the slushy conditions and the best time to groom possibly being at odds with current staffing levels etc..

Sorry to break the news to you, but... The morning groomer ripples/ruts/seams are pretty much an everyday thing for the past 2 weeks.
.

This was two weeks ago.


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

[buckethead]

What a difference from Memorial Day two years ago. I tried to take the 2023 shots from as close to the 2021 photos as possible.

Attachment 460191
Memorial day (closing) weekend May 2021. Some epic snow farming to be able to ski to the bottom of Stump Alley. Note mtb'er in the bottom right corner of pic. Uptown, Downtown & Paper Route were fully rideable.
Attachment 460197
Memorial Day weekend 2023.

Attachment 460193
May 28, 2021.
Attachment 460194
May 26, 2023

Attachment 460195
2021. By the end of that day the "Strip" was equal parts mud & snow.
Attachment 460196
2023. Good times and another two+ months of skiing left.

wow, quite the contrast. guessing 2021 was worst snow year recently?
was there early june 06 and it looked a lot more like this year (base was at 7-9' when i arrived june 4)

can't get back out there this summer but have certainly thought about it!

[PB]

Hey Skeeze,
Thanks for the informative reply. That makes sense regarding the slushy conditions and the best time to groom possibly being at odds with current staffing levels etc..




This was two weeks ago.


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

Yesterday's shot is especially surprising because that's St. Antons i.e. race/training prepped surface. I wouldn't want to pushing my limits on that surface until it softens up some. The regular groomers must be horrific.