Forecasters were calling for 2-4 inches at Mammoth Wednesday night into Thursday, but it turned out to be 6 at the patrol site and likely more in upper and/or leeward areas. The snow was very dense and windpack/windsift to no surprise. This was very helpful in generally covering up the old snow, as there had been a hot spell last week, resulting in melt/freeze to the top of the mountain.
Thursday's wind was obnoxious even by Mammoth standards, not only were the upper and middle (chairs 3, 5 & 22) tiers closed but also chairs 1,2 and Gold Rush in the morning. I had Andrew with me, and due to various delays did not get on the hill until 10AM, but in that weather that was no loss. I inquired about June Mt. and it took a while to even find out whether it was open. It was, but the 2 upper lifts there were also closed for wind (a rarity) so not worth relocating.
The new snow was sufficiently dense that it skied smoothly in the low angle trees between the chair 15 runs. This is the lowest part of Mammoth, also east facing so usually hit hard by spring sun, but not a problem Thursday morning as it was still cloudy. After lunch it started to clear up a bit, so chairs 1,2 and Gold Rush opened, though it was still too windy for anything higher. This did open up some steeper areas for dense powder skiing, like the trees near the old chair 10. From Gold Rush I also traversed into the lower part of Avy 3 and the lower part of Face of 5.
Some more energetic people hiked Lincoln and skied the steep runs up there. Late in the day I used chair 2 to ski Roger's Ridge, and recalling one of Staley's posts, traversed across the face of 3 to ski the short but steep Bear trees.
I used this trip to continue my search for alpine touring boots. On Thursday I was on the Black Diamond Quadrant, and the experience was somewhat similar to 4/8 at A-Basin. The balls of my feet were like being in a vise and my toes were numb most of the morning. As at A-Basin evaluation was complicated by the BD Verdict skis, which are at home in soft snow but not so much when it's firm, even windpack. And not all that great on the groomers either. So I do understand why I got them from dissatisfied easterners. I finished Thursday with 14,400 vertical, maybe 3K of powder.
Friday promised to be good, with enough letup in the weather to open all that had been closed Thursday. I nonetheless took another shot at AT boots, this time the Scarpa Maestrale. Finally an acceptable comfort level in the toebox, as long as I kept the lower buckles on loosest settings. The middle buckle I first cranked too hard and had arch cramps, but after a few runs got that adjusted OK. The Maestrale has a very beefy power strap, desirable for my thin ankles.
This was not the ideal situation for a typical first-opening-of-the top-after-storm feeding frenzy but I managed OK. I got up chair 2 and over to 3 just as the first upper gondola loaded at 8:45AM. So one quick run down the face of 3, then up the gondola to Climax. I got my first look at the likely deepest Mammoth coverage since 1995. You now ski down 5+ feet to top of the buried 10-foot stairway at mid-station. Riding up I got a good view of someone skiing the rarely covered Varmint's Nest, looker's right of Hangman's.
I looked at Varmint's from the top, decided I should not be skiing DFU runs while adjusting to new equipment and opted for MJB instead.
I moved over to chair 23, which had just opened. Some first tracks there:
I skied Drop Out 2 (completely wide open now) and Wipe Out.
Then Monument down to Main, where I took a break riding the gondola from the bottom. I skied Huevos from the top, and like Drop Out 2 it has an easy entry with the usual constrictions well buried. The aprons of the top runs were skiing very well, and the similarly pitched chair 5 area even better as it had more soft snow blown in.
Next time up top I headed out toward the Paranoids.
By this time I had figured out that the Verdicts prefer soft and chopped snow to smooth and windpacked and so skied Paranoid 3.
For my last morning run up top I went past Dave's to check out the Head Chutes for the first time.
This was deliberate skiing because in some places the skis would go through to the firm base underneath. I took the Ricochet traverse fairly far out. The snow was more slabby out there, and since it was 11:45 probably heavier from morning sun. From chair 9 I skied to mid-station, needing a good lunch break after nearly 16K vertical before noon on the AT gear.
The afternoon was short. I skied MJB and Dave's (excellent smooth but soft windpack there). It was clouding over on that run. After skiing down through 5 and riding 2 up, it was 2PM and the cloud had lowered onto the mountain and the top lifts were shut down. I skied Gravy Chute, then called it a day at 2:30 to pack up, return various rental items and drive home. 22,700 vertical, maybe another 3K of dense powder.
It was snowing by the time I left the mountain, and there's another 1-2 inches overnight. At least 60% of the area was still winter conditions at the end of Friday. Adam is up there for the weekend, though as of midday Saturday the upper lifts are closed.
Thursday's wind was obnoxious even by Mammoth standards, not only were the upper and middle (chairs 3, 5 & 22) tiers closed but also chairs 1,2 and Gold Rush in the morning. I had Andrew with me, and due to various delays did not get on the hill until 10AM, but in that weather that was no loss. I inquired about June Mt. and it took a while to even find out whether it was open. It was, but the 2 upper lifts there were also closed for wind (a rarity) so not worth relocating.
The new snow was sufficiently dense that it skied smoothly in the low angle trees between the chair 15 runs. This is the lowest part of Mammoth, also east facing so usually hit hard by spring sun, but not a problem Thursday morning as it was still cloudy. After lunch it started to clear up a bit, so chairs 1,2 and Gold Rush opened, though it was still too windy for anything higher. This did open up some steeper areas for dense powder skiing, like the trees near the old chair 10. From Gold Rush I also traversed into the lower part of Avy 3 and the lower part of Face of 5.
Some more energetic people hiked Lincoln and skied the steep runs up there. Late in the day I used chair 2 to ski Roger's Ridge, and recalling one of Staley's posts, traversed across the face of 3 to ski the short but steep Bear trees.
I used this trip to continue my search for alpine touring boots. On Thursday I was on the Black Diamond Quadrant, and the experience was somewhat similar to 4/8 at A-Basin. The balls of my feet were like being in a vise and my toes were numb most of the morning. As at A-Basin evaluation was complicated by the BD Verdict skis, which are at home in soft snow but not so much when it's firm, even windpack. And not all that great on the groomers either. So I do understand why I got them from dissatisfied easterners. I finished Thursday with 14,400 vertical, maybe 3K of powder.
Friday promised to be good, with enough letup in the weather to open all that had been closed Thursday. I nonetheless took another shot at AT boots, this time the Scarpa Maestrale. Finally an acceptable comfort level in the toebox, as long as I kept the lower buckles on loosest settings. The middle buckle I first cranked too hard and had arch cramps, but after a few runs got that adjusted OK. The Maestrale has a very beefy power strap, desirable for my thin ankles.
This was not the ideal situation for a typical first-opening-of-the top-after-storm feeding frenzy but I managed OK. I got up chair 2 and over to 3 just as the first upper gondola loaded at 8:45AM. So one quick run down the face of 3, then up the gondola to Climax. I got my first look at the likely deepest Mammoth coverage since 1995. You now ski down 5+ feet to top of the buried 10-foot stairway at mid-station. Riding up I got a good view of someone skiing the rarely covered Varmint's Nest, looker's right of Hangman's.
I looked at Varmint's from the top, decided I should not be skiing DFU runs while adjusting to new equipment and opted for MJB instead.
I moved over to chair 23, which had just opened. Some first tracks there:
I skied Drop Out 2 (completely wide open now) and Wipe Out.
Then Monument down to Main, where I took a break riding the gondola from the bottom. I skied Huevos from the top, and like Drop Out 2 it has an easy entry with the usual constrictions well buried. The aprons of the top runs were skiing very well, and the similarly pitched chair 5 area even better as it had more soft snow blown in.
Next time up top I headed out toward the Paranoids.
By this time I had figured out that the Verdicts prefer soft and chopped snow to smooth and windpacked and so skied Paranoid 3.
For my last morning run up top I went past Dave's to check out the Head Chutes for the first time.
This was deliberate skiing because in some places the skis would go through to the firm base underneath. I took the Ricochet traverse fairly far out. The snow was more slabby out there, and since it was 11:45 probably heavier from morning sun. From chair 9 I skied to mid-station, needing a good lunch break after nearly 16K vertical before noon on the AT gear.
The afternoon was short. I skied MJB and Dave's (excellent smooth but soft windpack there). It was clouding over on that run. After skiing down through 5 and riding 2 up, it was 2PM and the cloud had lowered onto the mountain and the top lifts were shut down. I skied Gravy Chute, then called it a day at 2:30 to pack up, return various rental items and drive home. 22,700 vertical, maybe another 3K of dense powder.
It was snowing by the time I left the mountain, and there's another 1-2 inches overnight. At least 60% of the area was still winter conditions at the end of Friday. Adam is up there for the weekend, though as of midday Saturday the upper lifts are closed.
