Skiers and snowboarders woke up to several inches of fresh snow on the ground the morning of Thursday, May 22. With the official announcement that Mammoth will close on Monday, May 26, that leaves four more days of shredding.

Most of us thought it would be four days of 70-degree days in the park, but behold, snow falling softly from a windless sky…and in the forecast for the next few days, too. Not huge amounts – just enough to make some lucious powdery turns, and just enough to cover up those bare spots, so be careful for what’s underneath that powder. Have fun remembering what winter feels like. Peace.

FUEL TV will air the 2008 Roxy Chicken Jam seven times during the next month. This is one of the world’s biggest female snowboarding events and all the biggest names in slopestyle and halfpipe were here at Mammoth Mountain March 28-30 for the event. Tune in to see what Jamie Anderson, Chanell Sladics and of course, the halfpipe-riding mascots brought to the sunny slopes of Mammoth.

FUEL TV Schedule:
Sat. May 17: 9amET/ 6amPT
Fri. May 23: 12:30pmET/ 9:30amPT
Sat. May 24: 3:30pmET/ 12:30pmPT
Mon. June 23: 8:30pmET/ 5:30pmPT
Weds. June 25: 1:30pmET/ 10:30amPT
Weds. June 25: 1amET/ 10pmPT
Fri. June 27: 4:30pmET/ 1:30amPT

Tracks of Passion is a new coffee table book by Robin Morning that traces the story of Eastern Sierra skiing and Dave McCoy in pictures. Available at Mammoth Memories in the Village and the Mammoth Ski Museum.

View the complete WCI Video.

Mammoth Mountain, CA – Chaz Guldemond continued his winning streak by taking first place and $10,000 in the rider-judged West Coast Invitational (WCI) Rail Jam at the Village at Mammoth Mountain on May 3, 2008. This win followed his rider-awarded $5,000 first place win at the Vans Fiesta de la Pipa on May 2, 2008.

Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra had a record-breaking season in 2007/08, teaching 20 percent more lessons than in their previously-busiest season. In the 2005/06 season, DSES taught 1,331 disabled skiers and snowboarders. This season the goal was set higher, with aims to reach 1,600 lessons. The program exceeded expectations by teaching 1,704 lessons. “I think the word is out,” said Kathy Copeland, director of DSES. She attributes the rise in lessons to more school programs and the Wounded Warrior program, which put the non-profit organization in national news coverage in February. “We actually could have done more, but there were times we had a waiting list because we didn’t have enough trained volunteers,” she said. For more information about DSES visit DisabledSportsEasternSierra.org.

May 2 – Fiesta de la Pipa
May 3 – Village Nighttime Rail Jam & concert

More Info!

On Sunday, April 20 nearly 75 skiers and snowboarders attempted to cross a 100-foot-long pool of icy water in front of Mammoth Mountain’s Canyon Lodge. Some made it, some sank to the tops of their boots in water. The Pond Skim event is an annual kick-off to the spring ski season. The winners, in no particular order:

Best Crash – Cindy Wilkinson
Best Style – Jordan Agnew
Best Costume – John Demasse
Best Overall – Tori Cardon & Bob Van Gelder

Weekend of April 19-20 – Pond Skim!
Canyon and Eagle Lodges’ last day open for the season will be Sunday, April 20. We’ll be celebrating the occasion with the annual Pond Skim at Canyon Lodge at 2pm, along with live music on the sundeck. It’s going to be a fun spring party so get your runs on the corn snow early, then close out the Canyon Lodge season in the afternoon. Rock band Still Time will be playing until 5pm at Canyon on both Saturday and Sunday. Other live music around the mountain include country rock band Magnolia at Main Lodge (2-5pm Saturday and Sunday), singer/songwriter Brad Laina at Eagle Lodge (2-5pm Saturday and Sunday) and singer/songwriter Chrissy Depauw at the Mill Cafe (4-7pm Friday and Saturday). Don’t miss Earth Day celebrations at the Village at Mammoth on Saturday with organic food and activities for the whole family.

Weekend of April 26-27 – Spring Fest!
Even though you see boats lining your condo parking lot (for the Fishing Season Opening Weekend) doesn’t mean that winter’s over on the mountain. Slather on the sunscreen and ski Mammoth out of Main Lodge on fun spring snow. The top of the mountain, Main Park and the halfpipes are all looking like they’re in great shape to be open. Lift tickets go down to spring value season prices, $64 a day, on April 21. Saturday, April 26 will be a great day to be a spectator on the Main Lodge sundeck with the Volcom Peanut Butter and Rail Jam Championships going down in the morning and the Ski Club Appreciation Day pirate-themed Dummy Downhill in the afternoon. Live music at Main Lodge from 2-5pm Saturday and Sunday.

Visit MammothEvents.com for details.

Today it really feels like spring on Mammoth Mountain. The snow is soft and it’s that no-gloves kind of weather that just makes skiing so nice. It’s definitely park season with features getting serious and riders congregating for some of the season’s best-looking sunny shots. Here’s Dan on Forest Trail at 2:25pm, Thursday, April 10. The Main Park features (Forest Trail, Discovery, Super Pipe, Super Duper Pipe) will continue to be shaped nightly; South Park is still charging it, but hurry, because it probably has just a few more weeks. Wonderland Park by Canyon Lodge is already closed for the season.

Adapting As the Sierra Changes
Monday, April 14, 2008, 5-6pm
Open to the public
Mammoth Lakes Community Center on Forest Trail
Hosted by the Andrea Lawrence Institute for Mountains and Rivers

The event will feature presenter Marion J. Gee, an AmeriCorps member serving with the Sierra Nevada Alliance. “Currently, there are hundreds of resource planning process at work that will affect the future of the Sierra, but almost none are taking climate change into account,” she said in a press release. For more information contact andrea@alimar.org.