Report from May 23, 2024
Starting the morning with a 4 a.m. alarm after getting off work at 10:30 p.m. the night before is never fun.
Unless, of course, you’re day-tripping down to Mammoth Mountain, California, for spring skiing on closing weekend.
We hit the road around 5 a.m. as the skies shifted from pitch-black to a bright, beautiful sunrise in less than an hour.
Smooth sailing from South Lake Tahoe down scenic Highway 395 led us to the Main Lodge at Mammoth shortly after the lifts started spinning.
The brisk morning air, paired with the warm California sun, felt like reawakening after an almost three-hour drive.
We geared up at a snail’s pace, made our way over to the Panorama Gondola, and rode up to the summit.
As we stepped out of the upper terminal, we were immersed in absolutely incredible views of the Minarets.
The iconic Dave’s Run summit sign was buried what appeared to be more than half-way up to the top.
I never thought I would be relieved feeling firm and icy conditions right when we strapped in for the first time.
However, I knew that meant the day would just progressively get better and softer.
We traversed over to Cornice Bowl, where a line of young ski-racers awaited their turn to drop in and make some fast and fluid turns down a perfect training course.
To say that the snow was impeccable would be an understatement: freaky fast, perfectly soft, smooth, creamy corn that was 110% rippable.
Our plan was to explore a bit while obviously trying to chase the best corn as the day went on.
A lap up Face Lift and down Christmas Bowl took us to High-Five where we hot-lapped a few different runs.
For someone who has only been here a handful of times, I really appreciated how easy it was to navigate the mountain with the help of the Mammoth app.
At this point, we figured we should go and see all of the future Olympians and World Cup athletes throwing-down in the massive Unbound Terrain Parks.
It really is jaw-dropping watching what these skiers and snowboarders can do on so many different rails, three ginormous jumps, and a huge halfpipe amongst so many other features.
It was time to go check out Chair 23 and see how well the snow was softening up high.
I was foolish earlier in the day when I thought we would have to ‘chase the best corn’ as the day progressed.
The snow was fantastic everywhere throughout the entire day.
Getting off of Chair 23, we went skiers left on Skyline which was melting out rapidly, but still made for a fun time picking our way over to Scotty’s.
Finally, the part of the day I was looking forward to most was upon us: hot-laps on Chair 23 until our legs tell us to stop.
A few minutes up the daunting face in return for a glorious, steep, speedy, and satisfying lap back to the bottom.
While hitting a variation of Drop Out Chutes for the fourth or fifth time, I ran into Miles Clark and had a quick conversation with him.
After this day-trip, I fully understand why he and so many people love spending the month of May at Mammoth Mountain.
The Chair 3 wiggle was calling our name for a couple more runs as our day, and our season, was unofficially drawing to a close.
Looking back at the Mammoth App, we rode 19 lifts and just about 20k vertical; a solid spring day in the Sierra Nevada for day 110 of the season.
As always, the trip wouldn’t be complete without a detour to the hot springs on the way home.
We opted for a quick stop at Travertine, where we enjoyed soaking in solidarity and revelling in an awesome day.
The 2023-2024 season is going out with a bang this weekend with the Mammoth Yacht Club and a slew of activities to send off the season in style.
Go get your final turns and celebrate another amazing year skiing and riding during Mammoth Mountains closing weekend.
Snow Conditions
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