MAMMOTH 23/24 - WE ARE READY FOR THE SNOW NOW

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Curious. Did you have skin?

Those runs over by 9. How did you get back to Chair 4? Or was Schoolyard runnings this past weekend? But even with that option, that is a long traverse, and some side stepping, to all the way back to Canyon.

I parked my truck in the Eagle lot and then took the Yellow line, got off at the village, walked across the street and got on the Red line to Main Lodge. Then it was Unbound chair to Gold Rush to ch 5. Then traverse out. I was getting in about two runs per hour. Finished at Eagle and skied to my truck.


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[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Yesterday’s (Mon) winter snow is a distant memory as it’s firm out there this morning.

As of 10:30 the wind chill over the Top is 11 degrees. The snow transitioned yesterday and set up last night. Hasn’t softened much yet. Good if you’re here to race train. Took three runs and now waiting for the sun to do its thing.


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[El Chupacabra]

It's that time of year when I ask: anyone know what conditions are like along the scenic loop for camping there? Planning on going next week, probably Thurs-Sun.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Big change in the snow over the last two days. Sundays winter pow made for some great groomers on Monday with good skiing in places off the top. But with Mondays warm temps the snow transitioned back to spring and it set up overnight. A cold wind kept the snow firm until noon today, with some runs just getting good at 2:00 p.m. closing. Here’s a few pics from Mon & Tue.

Monday morning with hero carving snow on the groomed.


More early morning groomers from Monday.


Good skiing on the Top Monday. Under Juevos & the far skiers right on Dave’s skied well.


Got in a couple May laps thru Hangman’s.
Looking South off the top of Dave’s with tracks visible in Red Cone Bowl.


Looking South off the Top.


Snow was much firmer today
(Tuesday). Broadway at 12:30 hadn’t softened at all. Rock hard.


At 1:45 the face of Chair 3 got really good just as the Mtn was about to close.


Last run on Chair 5 at 1:59 just as the face got good.


Last run I traversed out past chair 9 and found some untracked snow with the consistency of cream cheese.


I should have gone out there earlier in the day, but the snow was still fun to ski.

Hopefully Wednesday’s snow softens sooner in the day.


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[Eastern Sierra Skier]

It's that time of year when I ask: anyone know what conditions are like along the scenic loop for camping there? Planning on going next week, probably Thurs-Sun.

I’ll swing by the scenic loop after skiing and take a quick look.


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[El Chupacabra]

I’ll swing by the scenic loop after skiing and take a quick look.


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Thanks! I appreciate it. Hoping for some dry dirt somewhere on the loop.

[CS]

Looking South off the top of Dave’s with tracks visible in Red Cone Bowl.

Those tracks look familiar......





Snow in the bowl was excellent. Snow below that was all sorts of heavy mank.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Quote Originally Posted by Eastern Sierra Skier View Post
I’ll swing by the scenic loop after skiing and take a quick look.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk QUOTE=El

Chupacabra;7078951]Thanks! I appreciate it. Hoping for some dry dirt somewhere on the loop.[/QUOTE]

Yo! I took a quick drive out the scenic loop to the
Inyo Craters Rd and back on the way down from the Mtn. Here’s what I saw.


This is turn out where the Van Lifers park during the winter. Only two vehicles currently parked in it and the snow is patchy next to it.


This is the Mammoth Knolls Rd 1/2 mile farther out on the right. You can pull in and park. Road is blocked by snow as hill starts.


Another 1/4 mile out on the right is this snow free pull in.


Across the road somebody drove thru the snow to get to clearing in the back.


3/4 mile down the road the snow is patchier, with this spot just uphill of the Craters road.


The craters road is clear as far as I could see. The farther down the Scenic Loop you go, the thinner the snow pack.

I was out off of the Green Church Rd by the tubs a few days ago and it’s completely dry out there. Hope this helps and the skiing is worth the drive from Galena for sure.


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[El Chupacabra]

Thanks! I'm fine with driving a ways down low on the scenic loop. With the warm temps coming, it'll help dry out some more of that by next weekend.

[Bosco]

I was one of the lucky ones to ski Mammoth on Monday, which was great. Tuesday, not so great, but we made the best of it. After skiing on Monday we went down and rode a couple of the Rock Creek trails.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

Those tracks look familiar......





Snow in the bowl was excellent. Snow below that was all sorts of heavy mank.

No way, that’s really cool. Nice turns by the way. I was on the top of Dave’s just staring out to the towards the Lakes Basin and beyond when I noticed your tracks. They’re easily visible from Mammoth.
Well done.

[G]

This is neat. What app did you use to make this?

[Bosco]

^ you might want to try Peakhunter.

[Eastern Sierra Skier]

I was one of the lucky ones to ski Mammoth on Monday, which was great. Tuesday, not so great, but we made the best of it. After skiing on Monday we went down and rode a couple of the Rock Creek trails.

I agree. Both Sun & Mon were really good. Tuesday’s rock hard snow was a bit of a let down in comparison. Today (Wed) was much better. Snow was firm early on then transitioned into a fun corn cycle. A cool breeze kept the snow fast even as it got soft it never got sticky. Here’s a few pics from today.


Cornice Bowl at 10:15 a.m. was skiing well. Wind blown snow on the lookers right side made for really good turns.


11:00 a.m. was prime time on Stump Alley Wednesday. That’s two hours earlier that it softened than Tuesday.


Did an afternoon lap thru Hangman’s. Trying to stay out ruts, I skied the smooth wall on the left side. The snow much firmer than I anticipated a I nearly wrecked on my 1st turn. Not good.


Better snow was after throat.


Finished the day hiking up to the top of ch 22 and skiing
Avy 2. Snow in the upper half was just ok. Kind of chunky & funky.


Below the choke the snow was much better.


It was warm enough for an evening MTB ride. Good to see Mammoth Creek with healthy water flows in it.

Get out and enjoy the snow before a big warm up begins this weekend. Bishop is forecast to be in the mid to high 80’s by Sunday and staying that way for all of next week. Mammoth temps may not drop below freezing next week putting an end to the corn snow cycle we’ve enjoyed.


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[Eastern Sierra Skier]

This is neat. What app did you use to make this?

PeakFinder


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[Long duc dong]

As has been reported, Cinco De Mayo was nuts!!

It's always great to get pow in May.

I drove up Sunday AM, and got to the mountain in time for a warm up on Stump Alley before heading up chair 23. P1 had some tracks in it, but was still awesome. You could occasionally feel the crust, but 15 inches of pow is great in May. It was a bit crowded, so I only got 6 top laps, but they were fun. Hangers was great, a bit of crust in the upper chute in spots late in the day but not bad. I wanted to go into Philippe's, but by the time I got there it was very late in the day and there were two guys who were taking a long time, so I headed to the bottom to get one more hangers lap instead. Hangman's and P1 were the stars of the show, for me at least.

Monday was fun. There was still nice, cutup snow around. It was crusty in spots, but still lots of nice turns. I got an okay lap in under TOTW, a not great sign line lap and a fun Hangman's lap off the gondi. P2 was pretty fun, but the best snow we found was in P1, and I ended the day with three great P1 laps, you could go in to skier's right of the fence, then make a turn off the top and then settle into the cutup stuff. There was still crust, but the turns were nice.

On Tuesday it was still fun in P1. Hangman's was a bit firmer, but still okay, but P1 was really nice, with the wind starting to fill it in later in the day. My last 4 laps were P1 laps, nothing else seemed all that great, and I thought Wednesday might be a classic wind buff day.

Wednesday the wind wasn't really working the way I had hoped it would. I did some groomer laps, then went up to P1, which wasn't as nice as it had been on Tuesday, the wind had changed direction and it was a bit firm in there. The groomers down low were nice an slushy, but after being disappointed by P1 I figured it was time to call it a season, as I had to clear things out and go home. It was a great last trip, and I feel lucky that both of the last two seasons I have had great final trips in May.

Here are a few shots. The first two are from Cinco De Mayo, a P1 clip and a clip from Hangers later in the day. The next two clips are P1 clips, the first from Monday, and the second from Tuesday.

I hope the rest of you get some turns in. The ski house is done for the winter, and I'm over the drive anyway. It should be a nice May, as the coverage is great. It's a shame they are shutting it down. If anyone is thinking about going up I would highly recommend it if it is warm enough for some slush turns. Hangman's and the noids should be really nice if things corn up.

[tgapp]

Met up with Fleaches for four days of world-class skiing in y'all's neck of the woods. Don't want to put any of your incredible skiing on blast, but it's not like we were skiing anything super secret either. Hope this is an appropriate trip report.

On our first day we went for a great lap up at the highest trailhead we could find. Starting at 9500 feet was rough, but it was great to be able to skin from the car. Primo corn harvest in Virginia, especially in the early afternoon.



The next day we decided to go for a peak at the southern end of the range (pictured). The skinning and travel was... character building, and the snow on the line itself was transitional at best. After gaining the ridge we decided to ski another line down, in hopes of finding better corn. Our instinct was right, and our glass ran over with amazing corn. A few winedregs at the bottom of the glass - lots of rock, one big core shot - but fantastic snow for 95% of the route.





After the bullshit skinning of our second day we were feeling fairly low energy, but with kid #1 in the oven, there was no time like the present for skiing something that might take me a while to get back to. We decided to go for Cody's last line in the 50 project, and we were pleasantly surprised with a super chill skinner, amazing corn, and overall a very low stress, relaxed day. Ended the day at some beautiful hot springs.




Our last day was a beautiful morning spent riding chairs at Mammoth, where we had a great time. What a cool hill!

Huge shout-out to Fleaches for making this trip happen. Y'all have some incredible skiing, was psyched to get to experience some of it

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[mcski]

Great TR and Pics!

[Long duc dong]

Great shots and Nice TR tgapp!!

You certainly picked an awesome time to be in eastern Sierra. I hope the trip was as much fun as it looks.

I sometimes think this part of our continent is overlooked, as the Mammoth area can be tough to get to. Then I see the parking lot at Stump Alley in May, with everyone from other places in their campers and I realize they've got it pretty wired. May is a great time to come, for corn, nice weather and the quiet of the shoulder season.

[GiBo]

Sucks they're closing the 27th. Looks like they have some maintenance to get started. Have a trip planned and was going to ski it the 30th-31st.

Been meaning to drive over to the bristle cones for ever. Guess we'll do that instead.

[Long duc dong]

Sucks they're closing the 27th. Looks like they have some maintenance to get started. Have a trip planned and was going to ski it the 30th-31st.

Been meaning to drive over to the bristle cones for ever. Guess we'll do that instead.

Yeah, that sucks, and that's coming from a guy burnt out on the drive whose ski lease ends today. They've got plenty of snow to continue. But Broadway, the lift they're replacing, is essential for the June/July operations. You could even feel the effect i Cinco De Mayo, unless you take the gondi up from Main you can't get to chair 23, unless you take the park chair and then go down to Stump Alley. That is really not convenient on a crowded day.

I'm not thrilled with the safety bar locking automatically, like it does on the new Canyon lift, and that's coming from a guy who almost always puts the bar down. I talked to patrol a couple of times on lifts this year and they aren't thrilled with it either, but that's just the way they are making them now. I'm hoping, futile I know, that they won't put the locking safety bar on the new Broadway lift.

[PB]

Yeah about that chair 16 locking bar - seems like half the time I rode it, it didn't drop down, and once it didn't release - I hate that thing.

[Ottime]

Agree on all counts.

We were planning to camp, ski, bike the first week of June out there. Our usual for the first week off from school. Oh, well. Maybe bike in Tahoe and skin around Kirkwood if the temps are cold enough.

The lock is kind of sucky. What if you need to shift something? But it does keep the bar down nicely, until you actually need it to go up. So often I'm on a lift where the bar is down and then someone lifts it up a full minute before the top and across the most exposure. I'm like, what's the point? It's like people are afraid that suddenly the bar is going to be stuck, and you'll be un able to unload, when in reality, it takes two seconds to lift a bar.

I usually put the bar down. I like to lean against it. Or clip my pack to it while I dig out food, or switch goggles. I also wear a pack, so like it down with that as well. Started putting the bar down when I started skiing with my kid and now it is just habit.

How has the snow been? Anyone out there? Looks like no hard freeze, but wondering if there is any freeze or just slush from the start.

[tgapp]

Snow was getting pretty gross by 11am on Monday. Looking at the weather, it's only getting worse it seems. Grabby and soft.

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[Eastern Sierra Skier]

How has the snow been? Anyone out there? Looks like no hard freeze, but wondering if there is any freeze or just slush from the start.

Hey Ott,
I skied SV on Tuesday. It sucked at 9:00 a.m. and proceeded to suck more throughout the morning. Snow was rotten first thing, hadn’t froze at night, super sticky. Only decent skiing I found were the short, North facing groomers off Shirley Lake. Made the mistake of not downloading the Funitel to the bottom at 11:00 a.m. and took the Mtn run. The bottom of it was paste. Not good.

Skied Mammoth yesterday and again today. The difference in snow quality is night & day. Regarding your question about if it’s freezing at night, the answer is yes.

Circled is yesterday morning’s temps when the lifts opened.


Here’s today’s, slightly warmer but still freezing. Corn cycle has been in effect yesterday and today.

Noon on Wednesday and Broadway was just getting good.


Far West at 1:00 pm Wednesday and …


Far West both skiing well late in the day. Smooth, corned up and really fun.


Terry’s at 1:45 p.m. with its Northern aspect was perfect.


The Course under ch 23 today is really fun as usual.

Sure, if you ski to the bottom of Ch 2 late in the day it’s sticky, but at the same time there’s been good skiing to be had other places on the Mtn. The higher elevation and cooler temps here are a game changer. In my opinion, well worth the drive. Cheers.


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