The Mammoth Mountain Junior Snowboard Team still has spots available for young riders.
Train with coaches from around the world to progress your snowboarding and meet individual goals in a team atmosphere. The team trains on weekends and holidays. Learn more…
That’s Mammoth Team Rider Chris Benchetler on the cover of Powder Magazine’s January 2008 issue.
Mammoth Mountain is in full swing. Here are my tips for making spirits bright.
…but the snow is so delightful.
It is windy out there today but if you can cinch up your hood and brave the chairlift ride you’ll feast on windbuff snow at its finest.
Powder day but I forgot my snowboard at home, so I decided to take out my roommate’s old park skis. These things have won contests before, but that was a past life for them. They don’t do as nearly fancy things under my control, especially because they needed a wax so badly that they froze to the snow. But I waited until I was out there under the falling snow to find out that they are the driest skies that Evan from Big Bear has ever seen. Thankfully he rode the lift with me and scraped ice off one base while I scraped the other. Evan just moved to Mammoth for the season so if you see him around say thank you for me. I made my way down the snowy run next to Chair Six thinking it would have been such a fun day – knee deep with decent visibility and calm afternoon wind – if I had thought ahead for one second about ski wax.
Pray for snow so that Cloud Nine Express can open on schedule, Friday, Dec. 21, 2007.
The Ski Area is planning a Grand Opening complete with ribbon cutting by Woolly. Will he ride the new six-pack and shred the deep pow with the rest of the Chair Nine enthusiasts?
If all goes according to schedule, the new chairlift will open to skiers and snowboarders around 9am (conditions permitting), with the ceremonial event at 11am. More Cloud Nine Express info.
The next winter storm is expected to hit Mammoth in the middle of next week. If you’re heading here for the holidays (and if you’re anything like me, who didn’t know what the defroster was when I moved to Mammoth from L.A.) bring these tips for winter driving along with you:
Simple checklist:
Perform a safety check of your vehicle checking snowtires, chains and wiper blades. Plan your morning for weather, parking and traffic. There is no passing allowed on Minaret Road from the Village to the Main Lodge. Warm up your vehicle, turn on your defrost and scrape all windows, inside and out before driving. California law requires you to wear your seatbelt.
California law requires you to turn on headlights:
Take curves at slow speed and avoid sharp turning. Braking as you turn on ice may cause you to skid straight ahead. Braking too hard may result in brakes locking up (unless you have ABS brakes). Make a test stop when safe to do so to get an idea of how far it takes to stop. Brakes can become wet in rainy and snowy conditions. Light, steady pressure on the pedal will warm and dry brake pads. When roads get icy your tires’ ability to stick to the road can be reduced to 5%. Going slow is very important. Leave plenty of space behind the car ahead of you. The empty space between your vehicle and the one in front of you should take you 2 to 4 seconds to travel. For ice and snow, three or four times as much space is needed. Keep a high visual horizon; watch the foreground of the vehicle in front of you or several hundred yards ahead if the road is clear. In whiteouts, look for snow stakes to find your way. Slushy days and freezing nights make for frozen brake cables so avoid using your hand or parking brake in winter conditions. Use first gear when parking a manual transmission vehicle. A good defensive driver drives to avoid accidents according to conditions. Always be ready to surrender the right-of-way, slow down, or change direction according to what the conditions dictate.
Mammoth Mountain plans to open more terrain, chairlifts and facilities throughout the next week.
Thursday, Dec. 13: Roller Coaster Express, Chair 5, Gold Rush Express and Chair 12 scheduled to open.
Friday, Dec. 14: Canyon Lodge, Canyon Express, Schoolyard Express, Chair 8, Chair 22 scheduled to open.
Thursday, Dec. 20: Eagle Lodge, Eagle Express, Chair 13, Chair 14 scheduled to open.
Mammoth Mountain looks nice and frosty this morning as it revels in a fresh coat of white. Cold, light and fluffy, there are bound to be places where the snow is deeper than the reported two inches. Now to find it…
Oren Tanzer just sent over this photo of Julien Lecorps, taken this morning (Monday). Some people might think the freshies would be all gone by now, but if anyone knows where to find them, Julien and Derek Shea do.
