It's been a couple of days and I think I'm recovered well enough to report on our weekend excursion to Mammoth. I may be a little sore and a little exhausted still, but it's only been our first trip of the year.
Anyhow, we took off Friday afternoon under a hazy California sky with the promise of snow in our hearts in a decently packed minivan. This winter's been unkindly dry so far in Mammoth, especially after the goldmine of powder the resort was blessed with last season. Upon getting into town, we could already see a difference in seasons. There was brown to be seen everywhere, not all the lifts were open, but it didn't mean the weather was any less cold. With the highs in the 20's all weekend, we were very lucky to have packed plenty of layers.
Saturday. We woke up for a continental breakfast and run-down of the day's conditions. Scattered snow showers were promised and they finally opened the remaining two lodges (Canyon and Eagle) as a result of earlier fallen snow in the week. A quick shuttle ride later, we were sitting at the bottom of Canyon lodge and staring up at what looked to be a fresh crop of untouched snow. Other than a few tracks already left, we'd made it early enough that there were only a few people ahead of us for the Canyon Express lift.
Trust me, I fell many times on that first trip down. The warm up was worth it though, as I felt much more confident the second time down. Although the snow was a bit crunchy and icy in patches, it was good enough for a few runs before heading over to the Main Lodge after hearing the snow was much better on that side of the mountain. At this point, it's starting to come down a bit and each trip up the lift gets a little bit colder.
Coming down Broadway, we knew it was going to be a good trip. There was plenty of packed powder, but I created enough snow clouds and fresh tracks that it felt like floating. We ended the day exhausted and freezing from the flurries, but were rewarded the next day as the trails accumulated about 12" overnight.
The second day was the best. As you can see from the inset picture, there were blue skies everywhere and the runs were wide open. I didn't care that I had to wait an extra 5 minutes to get on each lift, it was as close to perfect as one can get. While I had a minor flame-out after riding the Facelift chair and coming down the Saddle Bowl, the day encapsulated the whole weekend and gives me many, many high hopes for the coming season.
We're already booked for another trip up next weekend (and more snow is falling this week and next) and I'm very excited to be getting my new board in this week, so this last trip was the perfect tune-up. I wish we could make it elsewhere this year, but Mammoth is always great, so here we go, pray for snow!
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