Mammoth Mountain Snow Report & Operations: Happy Thursday morning, the corn snow season is in full swing now. Early mornings at 7:30 AM, when the lifts open, you will find crisp, firm-groomed Snow. The grooming crew is using lots of salt at this time, so even with the warmer overnight lows, the groomed Snow has been setting up well.

The snow surface on the lower runs that get direct sun is quickly turning over to soft corn by 8:30 to 9 AM. The slowness effect down on the lower runs has been setting in just after noon around the Mill and Main Lodge. The Snow slows faster in the East Bowl, aka the Chair 9 area.

The Snow over the Top is changing to soft corn around 10 AM to 11 AM on most days. On chair 23, The Drop Outs thaw first, with the Wipe Outs following shortly with some nice thawing corn snow turns. The sign Line and Climax proper is good, with smaller bumps in the Sign Line and a decent bump line on Climax. 

For those that like the steep groomed runs, Cornice Bowl and Scotties are getting groomed several times a week and get soft around 10 AM. The Snow does get all bunched up in about an hour on Cornice once it gets soft.

Scotties run has been staying flatter and offering better turns. Just wait until 10:30 AM to ski Scotties so you don’t encounter the race detour and miss the St Anton corn snow. 

The Face of 3 is also offering up some fun turns. Crews continue to groom the center bowl nice and wide every night. Over on West Bowl, there are minor bumps with one extensive bump line right down the skier’s right. Over on the skier’s left is a long banked slalom course carved out by some local shredders.

Locals Choice is to hit up St Anton, and the Race Runs around 10 AM when the racers finish their training sessions. The Snow is flat soft corn surface when those runs open to the public. Silver-lined corn snow is so much fun on that flat, groomed surface.

With the conditions now wet and warm by mid-morning, waxing your gear up at least every other day is mandatory. I wax nighty to help prevent that slow and sticky snow feeling. Fast Ski Sports is doing a FREE hot wax, so check them out if you cannot wax your gear.

Coverage on the hill is excellent, with a 150-200+ inch base being reported from 9000 feet to the Top. Starting on Tuesday lifts hours will shift to 7:30 AM to 1 PM with these lifts expected: 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 23 and the Panorama Gondola. No idea if any other lifts will run mid week or the following weekend.

Lift Tickets for Spring are in the $99 to $139 range and can be purchased online at this link. The best deal on lift tickets is to purchase an IKON Pass at this link. You can buy one today and start using it right now, and it’s good through next season.

Hours and Operation Dates: 7:30 AM to 3 PM Daily through Memorial Day, with reduced hours starting in June. The Ski Area is expected to stay open through the end of July and possibly into August this Summer. 

Also, if you’re looking at the Canyon Lodge webcam and you see dirt, crews are removing chair 16 so they can replace it with a new high-speed 6-pack chairlift.

Shuttle Buses: All winter bus routes are now closed. The Town Trolley runs to the Village. At that point, you must get off the bus and wait for the mountains shuttle bus to take you to Main Lodge.

Mountain Biking: If you’re into Mountain Biking, the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park opening will be delayed big time this season. The good news is that for those who love to pedal and are fit, there will still be many places for you to ride in the Eastern Sierra.

I am working on a brand new website for Mountain Biking that lets you know where and what the current conditions are on those trails. You can check out that website project at this link.

Local Tip: Now that the area has moved into full Spring mode, you want to adjust your plans when you come up. It’s a good idea to have multiple things to do planned out when you travel up during the springtime. Nothing like a great ski or ride session till mid-day and then 18 holes of disc golf down at Mill Pond in the later afternoon hours.

Memorial Day Weekend: This will be a fantastic time with skiing and snowboarding, possibly from all three base lodges. Canyon will be open with the chair 9 area expected for the weekend morning hours. Beyond the winter sports on the hill, I would expect areas below the 7500-foot level to be all melted out.

You will find limited hiking, fishing, and some areas of Mountain Biking. If you like to drive the dirt roads of Inyo County, all those routes that did not get washed out below the 7500-foot level will be open. There will be lots to do and explore. There is even a chance that the June Lake back beach could be available for sunbathing; however, the water will still be cold.

July 4th Holiday: The big holiday weekend will feature winter sports at Mammoth Mountains Main Lodge. These lifts are expected to be open: 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, and 23, along with the Panorama Gondola to the Top. The Mountain Bike Park is not expected to be open for the Holiday due to Snow. If the weather stays warm, there could be some lower runs that are open for biking.

On July 4th, down in town at 11 AM, they have a big parade with a 5 K run that goes off at 8 AM. There will also be July 4th Fireworks at Crowley Lake and a small July 2nd Fireworks show at the Village at Mammoth. Up on Mammoth Mountain, there is a summit party on July 1st. There is no mention of a firework show like in 2017 so we will see.

Camping by this Holiday will still be limited to elevations below about 8500 feet, with the Lake Basin above Twin Lakes still expected to have several feet of Snow on the ground.

Ski you Later, Snowman…

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