The town of Mammoth is hopping with the Bluesapalooza music and beer festival starting tonight. We suspect each day on the mountain will get busier as the weekend develops, so we are probably done with skiing even though we will remain here through Friday’s music. Today Thursday was slightly less busy than Sunday. We got going earlier by 8:15, and in general the groomers (Saddle Bowl, Gremlin’s, St. Anton) remained smoother and skied better than on Sunday. Cornice was excellent too, and I skied that 4x before 10AM.
The mountain is in view from a distance driving in from the north Wednesday.
Overview pics show some loss of snow since Sunday. Chair 23 area:
The exit below the Drop Outs is getting rocky and probably won’t make it to the weekend.
On the gondola side, the Face of 3 was abandoned after Monday. You now also have to walk across dirt from McCoy to the base of chair 3. Saddle Bowl is the only chair 3 run open.
Cornice is wide open and you can see a couple of skier packed lines to looker’s left that were in good shape when I skied them late morning.
As on Sunday I continued up the gondola to Climax for my first run. Overview there, now only 2 clean lines though the rock band vs. 4 on Sunday:
Looking down at a skier in the choke of Sign Line, which I skied first:
With groomers in good shape I then alternated between chair 3 Gremlin’s laps and Cornice laps on 23. I rode the first gondola with a guy who didn’t mind skiing dirt connections between some of the snow patches. Here he is lower down on Face of 3.
Patrick should have met him in July.
Then I ventured into Drop Out 3, which was as good as on Sunday. But here’s the now sketchy exit from the Drop Outs:
Riding 23, nearly all the snow is gone from the Wipe Out side, just some patches at the top of Scotty’s and under the top of chair 14.
Note The Hulk is still on a rock at far lower left.
I have to step but not ski over some scree to get to Drop Out 1. View down from there:
Riding 23 here’s another view of the thinning exit from the Drop Outs.
By my third out of 4 runs there I figured out the skier at right has the best line. From the center skier’s position I stepped down 5-10 feet for a cleaner exit.
Near the top of 23 you can see most of the ski line from the top of Drop Out 1.
The Saddle Bowl to chair 3 strip is in the background.
Around 11AM we connected with Lonnie at the top of 23.
Lonnie tearing up Drop Out 3:
Below the choke Lonnie is skiing the narrow mogul fall line rather than traversing out.
I went that way once and it is clear of rocks but you end up in deep suncups if you can’t stay in the line.
We finished at noon and I skied 18,100 vertical.
The mountain is in view from a distance driving in from the north Wednesday.
Overview pics show some loss of snow since Sunday. Chair 23 area:
The exit below the Drop Outs is getting rocky and probably won’t make it to the weekend.
On the gondola side, the Face of 3 was abandoned after Monday. You now also have to walk across dirt from McCoy to the base of chair 3. Saddle Bowl is the only chair 3 run open.
Cornice is wide open and you can see a couple of skier packed lines to looker’s left that were in good shape when I skied them late morning.
As on Sunday I continued up the gondola to Climax for my first run. Overview there, now only 2 clean lines though the rock band vs. 4 on Sunday:
Looking down at a skier in the choke of Sign Line, which I skied first:
With groomers in good shape I then alternated between chair 3 Gremlin’s laps and Cornice laps on 23. I rode the first gondola with a guy who didn’t mind skiing dirt connections between some of the snow patches. Here he is lower down on Face of 3.
Patrick should have met him in July.
Then I ventured into Drop Out 3, which was as good as on Sunday. But here’s the now sketchy exit from the Drop Outs:
Riding 23, nearly all the snow is gone from the Wipe Out side, just some patches at the top of Scotty’s and under the top of chair 14.
Note The Hulk is still on a rock at far lower left.
I have to step but not ski over some scree to get to Drop Out 1. View down from there:
Riding 23 here’s another view of the thinning exit from the Drop Outs.
By my third out of 4 runs there I figured out the skier at right has the best line. From the center skier’s position I stepped down 5-10 feet for a cleaner exit.
Near the top of 23 you can see most of the ski line from the top of Drop Out 1.
The Saddle Bowl to chair 3 strip is in the background.
Around 11AM we connected with Lonnie at the top of 23.
Lonnie tearing up Drop Out 3:
Below the choke Lonnie is skiing the narrow mogul fall line rather than traversing out.
I went that way once and it is clear of rocks but you end up in deep suncups if you can’t stay in the line.
We finished at noon and I skied 18,100 vertical.
/ =D> August liftserve in California.