Welcome to MammothSnowman.com – Fall 2023
October 1st @ 4 PM – Good evening, Mammoth Mountain picked up the first decent dusting of the Friday night and then a second dusting last night. Looks like there could be some more snow into the evening hours, and then the Mountain and the Eastern Sierra clear out for some fabulous days ahead.
Currently, in the area this evening, you will find cloudy skies with rain and snow showers under numerous thunderstorms from Bishop up to Mammoth Mountain. The snow level at this time is around 8500 feet, and nothing is sticking below 10,000 feet that I can see on any cams around the area.
At the Summit of Mammoth Mountain, the temperature is 28 degrees with an S wind at 13 MPH, gusting to 16 MPH at times. Down at the 9000-foot level near Main Lodge, the temperature is 33, with a W wind at 2 MPH gusting to 9MPH.
If you’re wondering if this is an excellent time to come up to Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra, once we get past this weekend’s storm system, much of October looks dry and warm again. There will be much to do with hiking, road biking, mountain biking, and fishing under Indian Summer skies and with a dash of white on the surrounding high peaks.
The Fall Color Show has also started to get underway, with some strong Yellows appearing around Rock Creek Lake. The rest of the area, from Mammoth to Bishop, is showing signs of massive change, with lots of colors just starting to show now. Some places will be at peak in the high country above 9000 feet by next weekend, with all other areas still about two weeks out from peaking.
Mammoth Mountain Weather: Dry and Warming conditions will be the rule through the next 2-3 weeks. To get our specific none AI generated Mammoth Mountain & Eastern Sierra Weather Forecast and the Long Range Outlook, use this link.
Area Roads: 395 and All Roads Remain Open and Clear this morning, except for the Reds Meadow Road, which is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, weather permitting.
Roads possibly affected this weekend are Highway 203 near Main Lodge and Vista Point, the Upper Mammoth Lakes Basin Road, Upper Rock Creek, and Bishop Creek Canyon Road. Tioga Pass could also close for 12-24 hours over the weekend and then re-open.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area Update
The Mountain Bike Park has closed for the season as has the Scenic Gondola Rides. You can still ride you Mountain Bikes out on the hill, however be mindful of snowmaking and chairlift construction crews. You can bike uptown and downtown and the trails over by Main Lodge, but all the trails are closed by Canyon due to the deep open trenches and new snowmaking lines waiting to go in. If the trails re open in this area I will let you know.
There are just 42 days until the official set date of November 10th for the start of winter activities on Mammoth Mountain. I hope you’re doing your preseason warm-up exercises and stretching.
Snowmaking crews start laying down snow every chance they get from Late October onward to hopefully have at least several runs open by opening day. Significant upgrades have been made to the Snowmaking System recently so they can take better advantage of the waves of cold air that come later in October and throughout the latter half of Fall.
Mountain Summer and Fall Upgrades
The New Chair 16: Replacement of Canyon Express (Chair 16), an existing high-speed detachable quad chairlift with a new state-of-the-art Doppelmayr D-Line Series 6-Pack detachable high-speed chairlift.
The new chairlift will provide up to 25% more uphill capacity, helping to reduce lift line waits at Canyon Lodge. It will also feature enclosed top and bottom terminals, allowing carriers to be parked out of the weather during storm cycles and help ensure on-time openings on bluebird powder days.
The new chairlift will feature 90-degree loading on an automated loading conveyor, providing a more precisely timed and safe loading at each chair lift. Finally, the new chairlift will be slightly realigned to the north of the existing alignment to reduce snow slide impacts from the adjacent Avalanche Chutes on Lincoln Mtn.
Snowmaking System: Ongoing improvements to Mammoth’s extensive snowmaking system include a $5.5 million investment to expand, automate, and maximize efficiency.
This includes the purchase of 22 new SMI Super Puma fan guns and 15 HKD Klik snowmaking guns, replacing thousands of feet of snowmaking air and water pipe, and installing a new control system.
Woolly’s Tube Park: Embarking on Phase 2 of the master-planned build-out of the Woolly’s Adventure Summit, improvements will include beginning a two-year construction cycle of a new full-service Day Lodge, along with a new Wiegand Alpine Coaster and the addition of summer tubing lanes for Summer 2024.
The new Wiegand Alpine Coaster will provide a thrilling ride through the forest down through exciting curves, spiral twists, and roller jumps through the forest as they descend 3,550 ft of downhill track back down to the Woolly’s Day Lodge.
In addition, synthetic summer tubing lanes will be installed to provide a year-round tubing experience for guests to enjoy in conjunction with the alpine coaster and other improvements slated in the coming years. When complete (expected Summer 2024), the new Woolly’s Day Lodge will feature 6,000 sq. ft. of guest-serving facilities.
Snowman 🙂
Eastern Sierra Travel Information & News
Welcome to the Shoulder Season in Mammoth Lakes and across the Eastern Sierra. Things get quiet as the summer travelers return to their Fall routines. If you’re not tied up, now is an excellent time for Early Fall fun. Do take note that it’s getting chilly, with morning frosts possible by this upcoming weekend.
Now that Fall is here are some ideas of what to do from Mammoth Lakes down to Bishop:
The Fall Color Season is on everyone’s minds as many of the local Aspens and Cottonwoods from Mammoth to Bishop are starting to show some yellowing of the leaves. Most of the ground cover in the area has now changed over to Fall yellows.
The full-color leaf show seems like it was going to be early but has not changed much over the last week. With the cooler temperatures, there should be some decent colors in about 7-10 days in the higher elevations.
The peak of colors in the area is expected in the 2-3 week time frame. In most years, the peak of the colors starts in the highest elevations and slowly works its way down to the Bishop area.
I will keep you updated and post images right here on what I see from Mammoth to Bishop over the next few weeks of Fall. For the Full Mono County Fall Color Report, try this link.
Mountain Biking: Single Track Trails and Forest Service Roads are now open at all elevations. Get the full details of what’s available and what conditions are like at our new website, Eastern Sierra Mountain Biking.
Mammoth Paved Trail System: Is wide open at this time for walkers, bikers, and E-bikes. The Speed limit on the path is 15 MPH, so please slow down and watch for others on the path if you’re riding a bike.
The Mammoth Lakes Basin: All services remain open in the Mammoth Lakes Basin. Some marinas have gone to Fridays and Weekends only, so take note if you’re up midweek. All hiking trails out of the basin are open and snow-free for the time being.
Mammoth Lakes Shuttle Bus: All routes are open, as is the Mammoth Lakes Basin Trolley. Due note the Bike Park Shuttle to Main is Closed for the season.
Hiking: All hiking trails in the area are open for a Fall hike. Mornings are chilly, with frosts expected by the weekend and lasting for the foreseeable future. If you plan on hiking or backpacking next week, keep an eye on the local weather forecast, as a deep fall trough is showing up on some of the weather models today.
Golf: The Sierra Star Golf Course in Mammoth Lakes is now open along with the Bishop Golf Course off of 395 in Bishop.
Disc Golf: You will find complete Disc Golf Courses open at the Shady Rest Park in Mammoth Lakes and the Mill Pond Recreation area near the bottom of the Sherwin Grade. These courses are right next to parks for the kids and picnic tables with shade for lunch and snacks.
Camping Season: All campgrounds are now open and should stay that way through most of October.
Fishing Season: The Water flows are down to normal flows now, and the fishing on Creeks and Streams is decent in the early mornings and late afternoons. Crowley is still fishing well, with many early-morning anglers out on Crowley Lake. Check out the Troutfitter Report at this link to get a full fish report.
Scenic Gondola Rides: Closed Until November 10th.
Rock Creek Canyon: The Canyon is open, with all campgrounds open. Fall Colors are expected to get going in about 7-10 days. Upper Rock Creek Trail and Sand Canyon are available for hikers and mountain bikers.
Bishop Creek Canyon: The Road is open to Lake Sabrina and South Lake.
Laws Rail Road Museum: I recommend everyone visiting the Eastern Sierra to experience this unique museum setting.
You’ll find 11 acres of indoor and outdoor exhibits, including the original depot and steam locomotive, the Slim Princess. Experience what life was like over 100 years ago in Owens Valley.
Here is the link to get more information https://lawsmuseum.org/welcome-museum
Bishop City Park: Here is the link to get more information on Bishop City Park.
Snowman 🙂
Mammoth Mountain September 24th, 2023
Website Author – Steve Taylor – Mammoth Snowman – Over the last 35+ years, Snowman has spent countless hours studying and learning about Mammoth Mountain Weather and Snow Conditions first hand. He has been skiing around the hill with marked ski poles since March of 1991 so he can measure the fresh snowfall amounts out on the hill.
Snowman started blogging this information back in 1990 on the old Mammoth BBS system, then the RSN Forums and then on to MammothSnowman.com in 2004 with the Video & Photo Blog report. (No YouTube back then). Facebook got added to the fold back in 2008 and then the Facebook Group in 2016.
Reports, videos, and photos from the website have been featured on both local TV Stations here in Mammoth, along with AP, Fox, ABC, CBS, and NBC News. You can learn more about the MammothSnowman.com team here.
