Mammoth 4/20 TR (with pictures)

[Carnivore]

Hey, winter finally came back to Mammoth!

Here is how the last 4 days went:

Saturday April 17, 2004
Weather check: Cloudy, windy, and snowing, top closed.

Spent the morning on chair 22, moved to the high traverse off the back of chair 3 in the afternoon.

Sunday, April 18, 2004
Weather check: Sun is out, the rush is on.

8:30am. While waiting at chair 10, the view of Lincoln looked good. The Avy chutes were loaded and smooth.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-00.JPG

8:45am. View from chair 10 of the top which probably would not open for awhile so I gambled and headed for chair 22.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-01.JPG

9:00am. No matter how many times I am up on Lincoln, I never get jaded to the view of Ritter and Banner. Looking further left out of frame, I see the top is still closed.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...th0420-01a.JPG

10:00am. Sugary wind blown on West Bowl.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...th0420-01b.JPG

11:41am. Looking down P3. The top opened a little after 10:00am.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-02.JPG

1:08pm. Several new lines have filled in on MJB's and Varmints.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-03.JPG

[Carnivore]

Part 2:

Monday, April 19, 2004:
Weather check: Cloudy, windy, top closed.
Can't leave now, must ski, and work later.

1:00pm. Monday was all about Lincoln and the Avy chutes. This is the view looking down Avy 2.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-04.JPG

1:45pm Every lap our tracks from the prior run were completely gone.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-05.JPG

3:00pm The clouds lifted to expose Dragons Back.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-06.JPG

3:14pm Still lapping Avy 2. Each run was better than the last.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-07.JPG

3:56pm Sheebz on the apron between Avy 2 and 3.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-08.JPG

4:20pm. Back at the car. The clouds have lifted just enough for a glimpse of the top and a preview of tomorrow. I have the camera in my left hand, the cell phone in my right hand. Work will have to wait another day.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-09.JPG

Tuesday, April 20, 2004:
Weather check: Cloudy, windy, top closed. Damn.

10:00am. Waiting, waiting, waiting for it to clear.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-10.JPG

1:20pm. The high traverse from the back of chair 3 opened.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-11.JPG

1:30pm. Everyone else must have got tired of waiting as we were the only people on the entire face from the Paranoids to Cornice.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-12.JPG

2:00pm. The top opened! The Mammoth powder machine was running near full power, keeping things fresh for the 40 or so people who stuck around.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-13.JPG

3:00pm. Sheebz in a blaze of powder dropping into Hangers. The conditions were outstanding on every run.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-15.JPG

3:25pm. Last run down Climax. This is the view looking up Sign Line.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-16.JPG

[CaddyDaddy77]

Cool pics, really like the two ope shots of the wind swept snow.

How fast were the winds going? Looks a bit nasty but fun.

[Carnivore]

Part 3:

4:00pm. Looking up at the 'noid's.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-17.JPG

4:00pm. Chair 23, never opened today.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-18.JPG

4:00pm. White Bark Bowl.
http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...oth0420-19.JPG

Granted it was not the deepest or the lightest powder, but what made the day so outstanding was that there could have been no more than 40 people skiing up top. The usual rush, rush attitude that normally permeates the atmosphere during a powder day was completely absent. It was quite refreshing.

[tuffy109]

awesome

nice pictures C. very jealous.

[Carnivore]

Winds were running about 30-40mph, with gusts in the 60's.
Real time weather data for the mountain can be found at:

Mammoth Mountain Ski Parol

Edit: Woah, check that, current peak gusts (4/21/2004 3:00pm) at the top of chair 1 are at 125mph.

[tuffy109]

Originally posted by Carnivore
The usual rush, rush attitude that normally permeates the atmosphere during a powder day was completely absent. It was quite refreshing.

ummmm, but sheebz is like that even on hardpack days.

[mountainbored]

Nice Carnivore! I cant belive I left Tuesday at noon to go golf in Bishop and they opened the top! Oh well, had fun Sunday & Monday, saw Sheebz briefly and met Pillsbury and Llama; everyone was havin fun. Thanks for those pictures of some "so-so" days.

[skier666]

some of those pics are visually stunning!!!! Typical Sierra weather patern/conditions...I love it!!!!!

By the way, I hate you....lucky bastard.

[dipstik]

awesome pics!

[phUnk]

Kick

Ass

[yogachik]

great pics - thanks! Of course it snowed the one weekend I had to stay in LA for a family wedding! Thanks for the report and pics - even White Bark looked amazing.

[Endlessseason]

Carnivore-

Awesome photos! I love that place.
I sure had fun with you guys last month. Are you and Sheebz going to make it up here in the next 6 weeks so I can show you around?

[SponsoredByDuctTape]

I love that pic of Dragon's Back after the clouds lifted. Oh my filled in goodness.

[skier0178]

Wow, great TR and pics. Really wish I had gone up, damn you graduate education....

[Haus]

Hey, you two were supposed to leave Monday afternoon...that's not fair!!! Well good skiing with you guys on Sunday, it was tits. See you this weekend?? BTW, awesime pics.

[Carnivore]

Originally posted by Endlessseason
Are you and Sheebz going to make it up here in the next 6 weeks so I can show you around?

Looks like it will be next season before we make it out your way, but we are planning on a trip up to Hood this summer. Keep us posted on your schedule and we might just bump into you there.

Originally posted by Haus
Hey, you two were supposed to leave Monday afternoon...that's not fair!!! Well good skiing with you guys on Sunday, it was tits. See you this weekend??

If you start now, by the time you are my age, you can also arrange your entire life around skiing . . . oh wait, you already have! The trick is to get your employer to understand the importance of fresh snow and the effect it has on your mental health, ie: face shots = happy productive employee.

Yup, we will be up this weekend for a 10 day stint.

Originally posted by those who got some enjoyment from the photos

Thanks, I certainly had a lot of fun taking them. Over the summer I will post some more from this excellent season. I have over 2,000 images to choose from.

[Superstar Punani]

^