goldsbar
New member
If you're looking for some great spring skiing, this is the place to go. The mountain is incredibly well rounded, with intermediate terrain off just about every lift. Temps were hitting 60+ at the base but the snow wasn't sticky with the ironic exception of one cooler but cloudy day. The mountain faces north so sun damage is limited even in high temps. I'm not generally a park guy at at age >45, but the parks here are amazing. Really well constructed jumps and lots of fun berms and various sizes of half pipes.
The place really is Mammoth. Not as big as Big Sky or Whistler, but it felt bigger than any other area I've been to (Jackson, Alta, Bird, Solitude, Steamboat, Canyons & DV). The lifts are generally "only" 1000 feet vert, but the skiing was incredibly varied so the runs never felt even remotely short. The steeps weren't fear inspiring, but I'm jaded from the other places I listed. There might be some exceptions and there was certainly plenty of short cliff bands where you could make up your own stupid lines if desired. Overall, it's more about how fast and well you can ski the steeps - think some of the steeper marked trails in VT or perhaps longer versions of K27 and steeper parts of Hunter West (in great condition with tons of snow).
Downsides: Advise avoiding on a mid-winter weekend or holiday period as all of LA will be there. Though, I'm sure the more expert dominated lifts rarely get crowded. The main blue trails always had some traffic on them, even midweek (believe many CA public schools were off for spring break). Black bumped bowls - you're generally all alone. Food prices were fairly outrageous even for a ski area. $11 hot dog - it was mammothly long. Food at the "village" was expensive and sub par.
The place really is Mammoth. Not as big as Big Sky or Whistler, but it felt bigger than any other area I've been to (Jackson, Alta, Bird, Solitude, Steamboat, Canyons & DV). The lifts are generally "only" 1000 feet vert, but the skiing was incredibly varied so the runs never felt even remotely short. The steeps weren't fear inspiring, but I'm jaded from the other places I listed. There might be some exceptions and there was certainly plenty of short cliff bands where you could make up your own stupid lines if desired. Overall, it's more about how fast and well you can ski the steeps - think some of the steeper marked trails in VT or perhaps longer versions of K27 and steeper parts of Hunter West (in great condition with tons of snow).
Downsides: Advise avoiding on a mid-winter weekend or holiday period as all of LA will be there. Though, I'm sure the more expert dominated lifts rarely get crowded. The main blue trails always had some traffic on them, even midweek (believe many CA public schools were off for spring break). Black bumped bowls - you're generally all alone. Food prices were fairly outrageous even for a ski area. $11 hot dog - it was mammothly long. Food at the "village" was expensive and sub par.
