Category Archives: California, Central

It takes a village, and Mammoth Mountain has a great one

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Village at Mammoth offers many amenities for a great family ski vacation. (Mammoth Mountain photo)

By Richard Irwin
Savvy Skier

I love villages. Especially when it comes to skiing.

Quaint European villages have always intrigued me with their narrow streets and bustling market centers. I love to amble through these villages, stopping at a pub or beer garden to share a drink with friendly villagers.

Besides, I don’t need a car to get around these small towns. All the restaurants, bars and businesses are located within blocks of each other.

I still remember fondly a ski trip to Oberstdorf in Germany. The town center was blocked off for pedestrians. Only silent, electric buses cruised the main street.

American ski resorts tend to be much larger. Though most offer free public transit, their scale takes away the quaint feeling, as well as the convenience.

Intrawest became a leader in the development of ski resorts with a central village concept. The villages were designed from the ground up with restaurants and businesses on the ground floors, supporting three to four floors of condos.

Located at the base of the ski resorts, these ski-in ski-out properties quickly became a favorite with families looking for convenient ski vacations.

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Santa sightings on the slopes

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By Jerry Rice

Santa Claus has a big job to do come Dec. 24, so if the Big Guy wants to have some fun before the Big Day it’s probably best to cut him some slack — otherwise you may find coal in your stocking on Christmas morning. The Jolly Old Elf has been visiting several ski resorts during the last several days …

Santa offers a helping hand to the snow-making crew at Mountain High. (Mountain High photo)

One cameraman caught him making snow at Mountain High (www.mthigh.com). The Wrightwood getaway was in big need of the white stuff, as there was none of it on the slopes as recently as Dec. 12. That was just before a storm moved through and dumped 6-12 inches of snow, and also brought with it the below-freezing temps that were desperately needed for the resort to turn on its extensive snow-making system.

Santa carves up some fresh powder at Snow Summit. (Snow Summit photo)

Elsewhere in Southern California, Santa parked his sleigh for a fun outing at Snow Summit (www.snowsummit.com), where he pulled off a maneuver that yours truly has never attempted — at least not on purpose.

At that Big Bear Lake resort, St. Nick found favorable conditions — 12-18 inches of snow, with a surface that ranged from machine groomed packed powder to hard pack — to perform all sorts of acrobatics.

We’re not sure how Santa landed a second or two after this shot on the right was taken, but we would like to see how it scored with the judges.

We recall last winter when the ski/snowboard season got off to a disappointing start at resorts throughout California. Mammoth Mountain (www.mammothmountain.com), for example, didn’t receive its first significant snowfall until late January. By then, much of the lucrative ski/snowboard season was lost.

Santa jumps for joy at Homewood Mountain Resort. (Homewood Mountain Resort photo)

This winter, thankfully, has been different. Mammoth has a base of 7.5 feet, and since early November it has received nearly 13 feet of snow — with more on the way tonight and Saturday.

Snow also is in the weekend forecast at Lake Tahoe, where Homewood Mountain Resort (www.skihomewood.com) reports as much as 45 inches of it has fallen this winter on the slopes at the higher elevations. That news apparently has Mr. Claus, at left, really excited.

We figure there will be Santas galore at Whistler Blackcomb (www.whistlerblackcomb.com) on Saturday morning. That’s when the resort will be giving a free lift ticket to the first 75 people who arrive at the Garibaldi Lift Company in full Santa or Mrs. Claus attire. They will be invited to ride up the hill at 8 a.m., then board or ski to the bottom of the Emerald Express for a group photo.

At Whistler Blackcomb, lots of Santas will be checking their lists while riding the lifts. (Whistler Blackcomb photo)

It’s an annual tradition at the Canadian resort. A cameraman for the local Pique Newsmagazine captured last year’s festivities, and some of the highlights were edited into a cute 48-second YouTube video. It shows a sea of red suits and bushy white beards moving down the mountain, some more gracefully than others.

With that, we offer Santa this important reminder: There are only three more skiing/snowboarding days left until Christmas.

Mountain food delivers gourmet experience at Mammoth

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By Marlene Greer

As a friend and I sat on the sundeck of Mammoth Mountain’s Mill Cafe, we pondered how far dining on the mountain has come. He obviously enjoyed his pulled pork, while I sampled a heaping tuna salad wrap with a side of carrots.

The days of dry burgers or warmed over hotdogs are long gone. Today’s on-mountain dining is healthy, plentiful and delicious.

The menus at Mammoth’s four base areas and mid-mountain McCoy Station are very impressive. From artisan sandwiches and organic greens to fresh baked goods and fruit salad, skiers may choose from many healthy selections.

“We’re not a complete organic food service, but we’re trying to have as much fresh food as we can,” explained Bill Cockroft, a senior vice president at Mammoth Mountain.

And fresh food will also come to you. The old burrito snow cat has been renamed the Little Mill and will serve a variety of casual fare including pulled-pork sliders.

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Skier enjoys return to Mammoth Mountain

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Snow boarder carves up deep powder at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort. (Mammoth Mountain photo)

By Richard Irwin

Every spring, we used to ski at Mammoth Mountain. It became a tradition to hit the slopes near Bishop at the end of the ski season

We could drive to Mammoth Lakes, the price of lift tickets was reasonable and the ski resort offered a wide variety of terrain.

One year, summer arrived early, melting the snowpack and ruining the ski runs. Unfortunately, it also ruined my skis, so I began to look elsewhere for ski week.

Over the next decade, we tried Vail, Beaver Creek, Jackson Hole, Crested Butte, Alta, Snowbird. All offered unique mountain experiences as well as world class lodging and dining.

We even traveled to other countries, skiing Lake Louise and Sunshine in Calgary, Whistler outside Vancouver and Mt. Tremblant in Quebec.

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Mammoth Mountain is all in for skiers, snowboarders

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Four to 6 feet of new snow make for some spectacular conditions at Mammoth Mountain.
(Photo by Peter Morning/Mammoth Mountain)

By Jerry Rice

This is what winter is supposed to look like.

After an average start to the snow season, a series of storms slammed into the Sierra Nevada late last week and dumped up to 6 feet of snow at Mammoth Mountain. That bounty will allow the resort to open the entire hill — all 28 lifts and 150-plus trails — on Friday.

While the storms were too warm to do much good for resorts in Southern California, it was a different story elsewhere in the state. In the Lake Tahoe area, Squaw Valley reported 48 inches of snow and Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe welcomed 45 inches. Sugar Bowl received 44 inches, allowing the Donner Summit resort to re-open on Thursday.

Back at Mammoth, after receiving 113 inches of the white stuff since October, the resort is operating on a base of 50 to 70 inches. It’s a much improved story from last winter, when the resort didn’t see any significant snowfall until Jan. 20.

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Mammoth offers lift plus lodging packages

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Mammoth Mountain is offering a lift and lodging package – starting at $99. Stay two or more nights and get one lift ticket per day for each guest on the reservation.

The perennial Mammoth Mountain Inn sits high on Mammoth Mountain at 9,000 feet. It is slopeside near the Panorama Gondola.

Discounted lift and lodging rates also are available at Juniper Springs, The Village Lodge and Tamarack Lodge.

Book online or call 800-626-6684.

Mega storm dumps tons of snow at Mammoth and Heavenly

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Ho, ho, ho! Looks like the big mega-storm did the trick this weekend. Mammoth Mountain got from 4 to 6 feet of fresh powder, including almost 3 feet in the past 72 hours and a foot of the white stuff in the last day.

The massive mountain will open ALL lodges and ALL terrain this Friday, Dec. 7. Call it an early Hanukkah or Christmas present.

Heavenly reports a foot of new snow in the last 24 hours, adding 2 feet to 3.5 feet over the past few days. Today should be excellent with some nice corduroy and fresh snow.  They are opening Comet Trail and Comet Express today, offering 60 acres of open terrain.