Last Week to Ride June Mountain

The last day to ride June Mountain will be Sunday, April 6, 2008.

It’s always pleasantly surprising how different the weather can be just 30 minutes north on the 395. On Sunday the sky was stormy at Mammoth but clear, sunny, and beautiful at June. At the ticket office we couldn’t help commenting, “It’s crappy in Mammoth,” and the guy behind the counter said with a smile, “That’s our motto.”

This week you’ll see a HUGE series of jumps built on Schatzi for a private snowboarding event. You can’t miss it – a cool thing to see.

2008 Roxy Chicken Jam at Mammoth – Schedule

All Roxy Chicken Jam events take place in front of the Main Lodge sundeck, on a special slopestyle course built on Broadway, right next to the Main Park Super Pipe.

Friday, March 28
10am-noon – Slopestyle Qualifier
1-3pm – Super Pipe Qualifier

Saturday, March 29
10am-noon – Super Pipe Main Event Session
2-3pm – Super Pipe Super Finals
3-3:30 – Mascot Super Pipe Contest GO WOOLLY!
7-10pm – FREE Silversun Pickups & Alberta Cross Concert (the Village at Mammoth)

Sunday, March 30
10am-noon – Slopestyle Main Event Session
2-3pm – Slopestyle Super Finals
3:30-4pm – TTR World Champ Presentation

Day on Discovery

Discovery Chair (11) – you either lap it all day or you never ride it. Discovery is the bunny slope at Mammoth’s Main Lodge serving three trails: Sesame Street and Sesame Street West, and one beginner terrain park, Disco Park, with features like speed-bump jumps. Here are some photos from a day on Discovery:

Look for Woolly Mammoth this weekend at the Mascot Halfpipe Contest! Saturday March 29 at 3pm in the Main Lodge Super Pipe.

Check out his skills in the video on the homepage of MammothMountain.com, now playing.

Mammoth Dog Teams start their trip at the bottom of Discovery.

Happy First Day of Spring!

A Season for Spring Skiing, says USA Today

USA Today: Don’t bury your skis in the closet just yet. “Near-record snowfall at ski areas across North America, coupled with Easter’s early spot on the calendar this year, is sparking forecasts for an extended spring ski season…” writes Jayne Clark in USA Today (March 14, 2008). “Spring skiing aficionados enjoy warmer temperatures, lighter crowds and, at many venues, a more relaxed atmosphere…Even with optimal conditions, however, ski resorts are forced to offer incentives to lure skiers whose fancies are turning to warm-weather pursuits. Live music on weekends and offbeat on-slope competitions are among the inducements. So are price breaks.”

Mammoth Mountain Spring Events and Deals
March 15 – Demo Sale begins
March 19 – Sippin’ & Jibbin’
March 23 – Easter Egg Hunt on the Snow
March 26 – Sippin’ & Jibbin’
March 28 – Roxy Chicken Jam Begins
March 29 – Mascot Halfpipe Contest & Roxy Chicken Jam
March 29 – Silversun Pickups live in concert at the Village at Mammoth (free)
March 29 – MVP Early Ups (members only)
March 30 – April deals begin – $129 lift & lodging; $64 advance-purchase lift tickets
April 1 – Season Passes go on sale
April 4 – last day to book $129 lodging deal
April 5 – last Snowcat Dinner of the season
April 6 – Mammoth Marathon at Tamarack
April 13 – last day Snowmobile Adventures
April 16 – last day Tamarack
April 19 – Earth Day at the Village at Mammoth
April 20 – Canyon Lodge Pond Skim
April 20 – last day to get advance-purchase $64 lift ticket deal
April 21 – $64 lift tickets every day, no advance purchase required
April 21 – Spring Fest lodging deal
April 26 – Volcom Peanut Butter & Rail Jam Championships
April 26 – Ski Club Appreciation Day featuring a pirate-themed Dummy Downhill
April 26 – Fishing Season begins
April 30 – Last day to buy a season pass for half off
May 1 – start using your new season pass
May 2-4 – WCI featuring Village Nighttime Rail Jam and Fiesta de la Pipa
May 10 – Midweek Passes valid seven days a week

Photo: In the park on a Wednesday afternoon…Sippin’ and Jibbin’ at the Main Lodge sundeck.

Mammoth Team Rider Bretz Wins in Quebec

From the U.S. Snowboard Team:
Bretz Grabs First World Cup Win
“Stoneham, Quebec (March 9) – Snowboarding prodigy Greg Bretz (Mammoth Lakes, CA), who’s so hot he’s been lighting the halfpipe on fire since he landed on the scene, grabbed his first career World Cup win Sunday in Quebec. Bretz threw down a huge run composed of a frontside 900, backside 540, air to fakey, cab 7, frontside 7 to win the pipe competition…”

Read more about Greg’s win at the 2008 Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup on USSnowboard.com. Photo: Associated Press

Help Save Skiing – Every Little Bit Counts

A fair amount of magazines make their way through the Mammoth marketing department, even ones from far away lands like Oregon. I have to share what Wend Magazine writes about Ski Wax: “Estimates suggest that over just one ski season, more than 2 million pounds of wax scrapes off skis and snowboards and is deposited in mountain ecosystems around the world.” The magazine recommends all-natural waxes by Purl, Bluebird, Enviro Mountain and OneBallJay.

For more ideas on how you can help save our slopes with enviro-friendly practices, visit the Village at Mammoth on Saturday, April 19, for Mammoth Mountain’s Earth Day.

Night Crawlers on Mammoth Mountain

Building Mammoth’s Terrain Parks
As night falls on Mammoth Mountain the headlights go on and the world closes in on the snow that needs to go from choppy to beautiful. Soon it’s just the cat, a playground of snow, and some really loud music. Mammoth grooms all its parks meticulously every single night, even when it’s snowing a lot. Especially when it’s snowing a lot. Starting at 4:30 in the afternoon the terrain park builder works as the sun sets behind the Minarets on an empty slope. Mammoth’s parks are known for being so great because of consistency. Everyone who operates a cat in the parks was taught by one person — Mike Gerstner, who is so incredibly good at his job — he’s been doing it for as many years as parks have existed (at resorts). On any given night there are a couple of drivers building Main Park, a couple cutting pipes, and there’s still more work to do when their shift ends at midnight. That’s when more builders show up to work the graveyard shift. Before you say, “that sucks,” remember they are the lucky few, along with some other trail groomers and a couple of ski patrol avalanche controllers, who get to watch the sun rise from the top Mammoth Mountain every morning — and welcome in a new day of fresh park riding.