June Lake, CA – On days when crowds or Sierra weather make Mammoth Mountain frustrating or unpleasant, nearby June Mountain ski area has long been a respite where lift lines are short and powder lines are long. That has also meant, however, that in its 25 years of ownership of June Mountain, Mammoth has annually lost money operating its sister resort.

Rusty Gregory, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area Chairman and CEO, on Thursday announced that the company will not operate June Mountain this summer and for the upcoming 2012-13 winter season.

“June has operated at an annual deficit each year since its purchase in 1986,” said Gregory. “It is time to invest some of this subsidy into the analysis and planning required to position the resort for a sustainable future, then secure the approvals and financing required to create it.”

Mammoth purchased June Mountain with the intention of significantly increasing the size of the resort by building new facilities, extending new runs to the June Lake Village, and fostering additional developed ski areas along the San Joaquin Ridge, ultimately resulting in a connection between Mammoth and June Mountains. For a number of reasons, these plans were never realized and June Mountain has, in turn, suffered from an identity crisis that has both stifled its ability to achieve its full potential and required substantial financial subsidy from Mammoth on an annual basis, company officials indicate.

“Everyone is very sad about what has occurred,” said Patrick Kerr, 58, of St. Louis, Mo., a skier who has frequently visited the Eastern Sierra over the years.  “For me personally, the best powder days I ever had were at June.  It was amazing how long the freshies would last due to lack of crowds.  But I guess that was June’s undoing.”

June Mountain operated seven lifts spanning 2,590 vertical feet at the 500-acre ski area. Snowmaking covered 20 percent of terrain to supplement an annual average natural snowfall of 250 inches, allowing the ski area to operate from mid-December to mid-April. Mammoth’s Unbound terrain parks extended to June with an in-ground superpipe and other features.

Mammoth officials indicate that cessation of operations will help the company dedicate its focus to a new future for June Mountain. They say that they will be working with the U.S. Forest Service to reach the best possible result. After years of dormancy, however, the Forest Service’s practice typically includes removal of ski lifts and other facilities to return the mountain to a more natural state.

In the weeks to come, Mammoth will be working to determine if and to what extent it can absorb June’s year round workforce. Low snow conditions this past winter, however, forced Mammoth officials to lay off staff and as a result, Mammoth’s staffing model may be already too strained to accommodate those affected by the closure of June.

Despite his affinity for June Mountain, “There are plenty of locals with way more at stake, ski-wise and employment-wise, than me,” Kerr acknowledged.