Mammoth Mini-P4/Paranoid 4, Philippe's, Kiwi Flats/Star Chute/Frenchies photos wanted

[Skis4Fun]

Mammoth Mini 2006 - P4/Paranoid 4, Philippe's, Kiwi Flats/Star Chute/Frenchies photos wanted. Please post all steep Mammoth run photos on this thread.

I am also interested seeing photos posted on this thread of other steep runs at Mammoth (entrance photos looking down, exit photos looking up, photos of the entire skier/boarder standing on the entrance that show the steepness of the run - similar to the Dragon's Tail photo by Descender, and action photos of the skier/boarder in the middle of the descent). I like the stoke from seeing photos of steep lines.

After seeing the Star Chute helmet cam video in Dwanis' outstanding post "A Nervous Star Chute Run" http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=29847 I am inspired to learn more about these Mammoth runs.

If anyone has a camera this upcoming weekend at the Mammoth Mini 2006, I would be interested in seeing current photos of the following:

Also, if you have these photos or know of links for photos from current or any previous years, please post them on this thread and identify the date to the best of your recollection. I would like to see how these Mammoth runs change during the course of a season and over the years.


P4/Paranoid 4/Noid 4

A) close up of ridge out to P4 showing how narrow it is from the top of Paranoid Flats/P3 area

B) entrance of P4 looking down

C) view of P4 from top of Philippe's

D) looking up P4 from exit area


Philippe's

A) entrance of Philippe's looking down

B) looking up Philippe's from exit area


Kiwi Flats/Star Chute

A) path from top of Paranoid Flats to entrance of Kiwi Flats/Star Chute

B) entrance of Kiwi Flats/Star Chute looking down

C) views of Kiwi Flats/Star Chute looking up & looking down from choke stone

D) looking up Kiwi Flats/Star Chute from exit area


Frenchies

A) path from top of Paranoid Flats to entrance of Frenchies line

B) entrance of Frenchies looking down

C) looking up at Frenchies line in Kiwi Flats/Star Chute from exit area



MAPS/NAMES OF MAJOR MAMMOTH LINES

Bullet has a great post "PSA - A Guide to the Lines at Mammoth" (see quote immediately below) with a lot of excellent close up photos showing the lines and their names http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=48646

I'm still learning the names of many of the lines at Mammoth. Sometimes I just make them up, such as "Gun Site" and "Green Rock", and "Something Easy".

But I found an interactive photo of Mammoth on the Patrol.mammothmountain.com site. It shows the Avy bomb and shot placement on many of the lines that get skied a lot. The site lists the Patrol's name for the lines. I figure there are many other names out there, but this may represent the most accurate nomenclature for stuff.

Being quite bored, waiting to head up to Mammoth, I took the time to screen grab, edit and post the various pictures in my Various Lines at Mammoth - Scenics http://billhenry.smugmug.com/gallery/1048065 album on my smugmug account. http://billhenry.smugmug.com. As a general service to the community, I'm posting some pic here for your viewing pleasure. Let me know if this is helpful and that the time I spent on this worthwhile to the community. Thanks.

The Top:


Dragon's Back East



Dragon's Back West



Dragon's Head


Kiwi Flat


Starr Chutes


Around the Corner


Chair 1 area


Avy Chutes


Avy Chutes

MAMMOTH MAP OF MAJOR LINES WITH INCLINATION (STEEPENESS IN DEGREES)

Also Mammoth Ski Patrol has an excellent interactive map http://patrol.mammothmountain.com/Atlas/Atlas.html.
By moving the mouse pointer over different areas of the map, you can click on a highlighted area to bring up a new page with more information. By moving the mouse pointer over the Shot Placements text on the new page you can see where the avy bombs are placed for each run. By moving the mouse pointer over the Path Information text on the new page, you can see elevation, vertical, length, inclin. start (initial steepness in degrees), inclin. path (steepness in degrees of the run), and aspect (direction in which the run faces in degrees).






KIWI FLATS/STAR CHUTE & FRENCHIES LEGEND

I believe that the correct name is Kiwi Flats or Kiwi Flat but many people refer to it as Star Chute. According to the Mammoth Ski Patrol map and Bullet's post, Starr Chutes actually are above Whitebark Bowl to the right of Kiwi Flats.

The legend as to how the run got the Kiwi Flats name was that John Armstrong (PSIA President & VP HR at Mammoth) who is a Kiwi first skied this line and said "Oh, it's flat" even though he entered the line on a rappel.

Supposedly after Mike McGrale dropped into this run, people started referring to this as Star Chute. The International Free Skiers Association (IFSA) posted results from the 2002 IFSA Footloose Sports Freeride North American Tour #2 Mammoth stop http://freeskiers.org/article.php?sid=92 also used the Star Chute name.

...Footloose Sports Freeride NA Tour #2---
Brilliant day-warm sunny and spectacular-- Mammoth Lakes, CA
Top of the World for one run and then over to Philippe's and Star chute with the top 10 men. Brett Deuter, Aaron Estrada, Elija Lee and Josh Sadaj all skied variations of Guelain's Gravity Games line.


Also in a Skiing Magazine article "Huck to Live" http://www.skiingmag.com/skiing/feat...329177,00.html writer Stephan Drake refers to this line as Star Chute when talking about the Gravity Games Big Mountain event held at Mammoth. I believe that the line that Guerlain Chicherit took in the Gravity Games 2000 at Mammoth (1/20-23/00) has become known as Frenchies.

....The snow doesn't faze Guerlain Chicherit, a steely-eyed young Frenchman and the 1999 winner of the World Extremes. This kid is incredible. After seeing Chicherit ski in New Zealand, a pro skier friend of mine said, "Okay, I quit." And did.

I watch Chicherit descend a line on Star Chute that looks not only unskiable, but lethal. He drops a 20-foot ledge down to a pocket of snow about the size of a Persian rug, then launches another cliff onto a similarly exposed piece of white. Unflinching, he moves out onto the biggest drop on the face. He sails off the 50-footer and lands perfectly on the course's lower slope. Carrying serious speed, he hits another rock, goes airborne, and rotates a huge, laid-out front flip. His run turns out to be one of the highest scoring in big-mountain history, a 48.2 out of 50. Stellar runs usually score in the low 40's.

At the finish line, people are laughing, hooting, and clapping uncontrollably. Chicherit skis into the finish with a bloody, swollen lip, the result of his knee slamming into his face on one of the landings.



There is a good photo sequence of part of Chicherit's line from the Gravity Games Big Mountain event at Mammoth http://web.archive.org/web/200011211...t-Sequence.htm

Thanks in advance for your help.

[tarkman1]

Don't be surprised to see phots of people dropping everything you mentioned, except maybe Frenchies.

[PNWbrit]

Are you writing a guide book?

Do you know Martin Bell?

[AntiSoCalSkier]

I didn't get an up-close view, but last weekend, Star looked skiable. The drop at the top looks to be about a 10 foot cornice, and the rock in the middle is exposed, but could easily be skied around. Also the traverse in from the side (I think it's called pussy traverse) looks to be pretty clean. I'm actually thinking that I might be able to knock Star off my list this coming weekend (although it probably won't count since I'll definitely use the traverse). Chicken Balls is also looking interesting.

(I figure the entire point of a big snow year is to let me ski lines that are usually beyond me so that I can then name-drop them in the bar during low snow years.)

[Skis4Fun]

Are you writing a guide book?

Do you know Martin Bell?

I skied Mammoth last Friday 4/28 for the first time ever. In the late afternoon I had a chance to drop into P4 and Philippe's and was very impressed with the steepness of the slope. I also thought that the ridge going out to P4 from P3 was fairly narrow and would make a great photo showing the narrowness and drop off.

According to Ski Stats Slope Ratings http://www.skistats.com/slopes_detail.asp?lowest=30, Philippe's max is 50 degrees and min is 40 degrees. There are no slope ratings posted for P4, Kiwi Flats/Star Chute, Frenchies.

It would be great if someone from the Mammoth Mini or other Mammoth skier had a LifeLink Slope Meter/Inclinometer http://www.avalanche-center.org/store/ll-inc.html or www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C8F0NC or http://gearx.com/product_info.php?products_id=791 which can be used in conjunction with your ski pole to actually measure these slopes at their steepest (probably near the entrance) and minimum (further down the chute).

Perhaps someone who has a LifeLink Slope Meter could lend it to one of their friends who is going to the Mammoth Mini?

I am not writing a guidebook. I am just a decent skier (not a rockstar like many folks on this forum) who enjoys having fun on steep slopes. I like the stoke from seeing photos of steep lines.

Are you referring to this Martin Bell www.skimartinbell.com?

[45hill]

P4

[SponsoredByDuctTape]

Holy shiiiiiit! There is not a single rock or twig in P4. And it looks like it's about 30 degrees. I don't know if I've ever seen that before. It looks like a damn roll-over into P3.

[comish]

Ya, what SBDT said. Amazing. Wild. There is gonna be snow on that for a good while...

[tuffy109]

Holy shiiiiiit!

i was like, that's not it.

[50kLeg]

P4 scared me until I was in it. Its a cake walk. Same with Phillipes. Not saying I rip them or anything but they aren't that bad.

Was very misguided when I first went out there and though that Kiwi was Phillipes. Jumped into it and did saftey turns (more or less) the whole way down but did it clean and confidently.

Star Chute is really nothing and the helment cam run was actually Kiwi not Star. Star chute is just below the rock face above White Bark Bowl.

Frenchies from what I under stand is just ricockulous and more of a billygoat 20-20-50 footers than a line you ski.

http://patrol.mammothmountain.com/Atlas/Atlas.html

[Skis4Fun]

Bullet - Great photos. Thanks for sharing. I seem to remember the P4 entrance being more like your photo than 45hill's photo.

When were your photos taken? Can you add approximate photo dates (month/year) to your post?

Also can you draw a line on one of your photos to show the complete Frenchies line?

I like this Frenchies entrance photo showing Bullet doing a mute



http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...%20in%20P4.jpg



Does anyone have a sense as to the slope (max & min degrees) of Kiwi Flats, Frenchies, Philippe's & P4? Do you own or have access to a LifeLink Slope Meter www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C8F0NC? Do you agree with SkiStats Slope Ratings www.skistats.com/slopes_detail.asp?lowest=30 that Philippe's has a maximum of 50 degrees and minimum of 40 degrees? I believe that these are user submitted ratings (Just click on Add a slope). For some reason, Philippe's didn't feel quite that steep perhaps due to the fact that I skied it on 4/28/06.



Is this Guerlain Chicherit Gravity Games sequence http://web.archive.org/web/200010252...nChicherit.htm the beginning of Frenchies line or the regular Kiwi Flats' line?



Am I correct in thinking that this Will Burks Gravity Games photo http://web.archive.org/web/200010260.../WillBurks.htm shows the drop into the regular Kiwi Flat's line?



This Chris Davenport Gravity Games sequence http://web.archive.org/web/200104280...n-Sequence.htm looks like Philippe's.



Is there a name for this line from Gordy Peifer Gravity Games photo as it does not look like the standard Kiwi Flats entrance?


Does this Chris Davenport Gravity Games photo show the standard Kiwi Flats entrance as it should show Pssy Traverse from this angle if it was? If not, what is the name for this line?




Are there any photos that show how big the patches of snow are that one has to land on as one billygoat's down Frenchies line?

Thanks for your help.

[Long duc dong]

The philippe's rating sounds about right to me. It maintains it's pitch pretty well. It always feels steeper to me than hangman's, although I quess Hangman's might be steeper at the very top. That steepness list though...The only two squaw lines they had were silverado and KT, and they just rated the whole areas. There are countless lines on those peaks which are MUCH steeper than 37 degrees. Middle knuckle, Eagle's nest, those are probably 60 to 65. Still a nice list though. Squallywood is the authority on squaw.

[descender]

Hangmans groomer:







I think this is near P4 Kiwi area:

[descender]

Dragon tail area:

[SponsoredByDuctTape]

Hangmans groomer:

That's ridiculous.

I think this is near P4 Kiwi area:

That's actually P3. Again, ridiculous. Did they put a Blue Square sign at the top yet?

Edit: That is P3, right? So hard to tell with that much snow.

[Skis4Fun]

Dragon tail area:

Descender - I like this photo. This reminded me of an excellent photo from above of Todd Miller descending in Rock Chute at Mammoth that provided a great sense of the steepness/scale of the run. The Rock Chute photo was on p.201 of a coffee table type book called Mammoth: The Sierra Legend by Martin Forstenzer.

Do you/anyone else have any other photos of other steep Mammoth runs similar to this showing the entire skier/boarder standing on top of the run or view from above of a skier/boarder descending which provides a sense of the steepness/scale of the run and/or entrance photos looking down steep Mammoth runs.

[Skis4Fun]

Bodhi posted a good shot of P4 from the Mammoth Mini




45Hill - Approximately when were your photos taken (month/year)?

[Tap]

sounds like you're asking for info for a Squallywood type book

cool thead

[descender]

A couple more pics from about 1 week ago...

P4 area from far away:



Looking down P4:



Phillipes enterance is on the left:



Looking down Phillipes:



Some random in Phillipes:

[descender]

The traverse out to P4 (always scares the shit out of me):

[Meathelmet]

This Chris Davenport Gravity Games sequence,looks like Philippe's.

He´s dropping in parallel!!!! STONE HIM!!!! [/angry mob]

[Skis4Fun]

The traverse out to P4 (always scares the shit out of me):

Descender/anyone else - Do you have more shots of the traverse out to P4 past the jutting rock in the middle of this one?

This shot almost feels like the top of the P3 ridge just before one gets to the rock jutting out in the middle of your picture. After the rock, I believe that one descends down the traverse/ridge (which I remember as being fairly narrow with nice dropoffs) to the P4 ridge.

I'm looking for top down shots of the path on top of the P4 ridge that show this area from the CS shot of the Mammoth Mini 2006 rockstar lineup on P4



down to this area of P4 from the Skier666 shot of Squirrel at the Mammoth Mini 2006 turning on the face at the end of P4

[hairy]

the originator in video
http://www.gomammoth.com/videos/dangravity256.rm


the line

[hairy]

[comish]

That vid was pretty dang cool. Now that is how that should be skied, not how most of us ski it...