Hemlock @ Mammoth controlled/patrolled?

[Philadendron]

Does anyone know, is the Hemlock area (pictured below) off of chair 14 at Mammoth controlled for avalanches?

I was there yesterday, conditions were fantastic. I rode out above Santiago, right to the gate to where you start the Hemlock ridge hike. Then, I saw these signs:

It's tough to read from the GoPro cap, but it says "No lift access. Not Patrolled. Use at own risk". It was painful, but I decided not to enter the gate. I draw the line at boundary gates, and this is what the sign seemed to indicate.

However, there are a couple reasons to think that it IS patrolled:

1. it is on the trail map
2. Mammoth Patrol actually indicates on their site where they blast (http://patrol.mammothmountain.com/Atlas ... lock.html#)

Perhaps this is kind of a "dual purpose" gate, which leads to both the backcountry, AND the patrolled Hemlock area?

Anyone with more Mammoth experience know? I played it safe, and I'm proud of my decision, but damn, those turns would've been good.

 

[Tony Crocker]

The groomer coming back to the Chair 13/14 base could be exposed to a big slide from the Hemlocks. How far to looker's right of that picture they would need to control is a good question though.

 

[Philadendron]

Well, according to the link I posted, they definitely bomb it:

My question really boils down to, "Is it as safe (avalanche-wise) to ride/ski as the rest of the inbounds territory at the resort?"

After seeing their shot placement photo, to me that confirms that it would be safe to ride and I'm leaning toward doing it next time. I was just wondering what others' thoughts were.

 

[Skiace]

Perhaps this is kind of a "dual purpose" gate, which leads to both the backcountry, AND the patrolled Hemlock area?

This is the case, yes.

Hemlocks is controlled/bombed, and I have seen Mammoth patrol at the top of that ridge in the past on a powder day.

That "gate" is also used by some people for back country access to the west and south.

 

[Philadendron]

Thanks, I don't think I'll pass it up next time.

 

[schubwa]

I can still remember one of the finest lines I ever skied at Mammoth was on Hemlock one morning. I had been over there the previous day and it was sick. Hemlock was still a semi-secret stash known only to Patrol and a scattering of others. On my way back up Chair 14, I noticed a line, straight as a pencil that I hadn't seen before. But it was 82-83 and the ski area wound up with over 546 inches, so all the little trees were covered. It starts right at the highest point on the ridge and you can look at the pics in this thread and imagine a skiable route straight down to the chair.

So the next day they opened 14 after a very high quality overnight dump; I was all over it. I went straight to the gate, hiked up all the while nervously looking over my shoulder for others, but there were none. I lined up my skis, took a breath and shoved off. Pillowy soft face shots and bottomless blissful turns soon followed. When I poled up to the lone lifty, he remarked how he too had been eyeing that elusive line for the last few days. I smiled as I loaded on 14, mine were the only tracks on Hemlock, straight down the middle, they should call it "Schubwa's". Truly a memorable run of a lifetime.

 

[Philadendron]

That's a great story, I wonder if patrol bombed it back then. Either way, today is a much different story. All manner of people were lapping Hemlock all day. You can see there are several people starting the hike just in my Gopro snapshot. It was a bummer to watch such primo terrain get tracked and not participate, but at the time I was playing it safe due to the "not patrolled" sign.


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[schubwa]

Yes, they certainly did with ski runs and the base of 14 sitting in the runout zones. The route I hiked that day was side-stepped by Patrol on their way up to throw charges. Hemlock has always been accessible to ski once they installed 12, 13 & 14 (if I'm not mistaken, all three lifts were built during the same summer).