Mammoth Mountain Information

Footloose Sports in Mammoth Lakes - 760-934-2400

May 21st, 7:45 AM Good Friday morning from Mammoth Lakes and the Eastern Sierra. 

Today’s window cast shows a dusty of fresh snow over the upper elevations of the Eastern Sierra. Skies are partly to mostly cloudy from Bishop to Mammoth Mountain.

It’s cooled down big time overnight with a temperature of 10 up top this morning and a 21 down at Main Lodge. 

Winds at this point in time are out of the NE up top at 13 MPH with gusts to 32 MPH. Down at Main Lodge, the winds are out of the NNE at 2 MPH with gusts to 10 MPH. 

The moderate winds gusts to 30-40 MPH that both Mammoth and Bishop had on Thursday have now backed off to being just light at times.

Taking a look at the Weather Forecast a spring storm system is in the process of moving through the area over the next 72 hours. That system is expected to bring us moderate to strong winds into Saturday.

After last night’s snowfall, we are now waiting for the main snowfall event to take place later today into the evening hours. 

The snowfall forecast is still showing a good 5-10 inches of snow possible above 9000 feet. 

The snow that does fall is going to be heavy and wet with highs on Friday at 9000 feet in the low 30s. Snow levels look to be around the 6500-7500 foot level through Saturday. 

Get my fully detailed weather forecast and outlook with highs, lows, winds, and more at this link.

Road Conditions all roads are clear this morning. We might see the chains required sign come out in Mammoth Lakes and on the roads up to Mammoth Mountains Main Lodge, Rock Creek Lodge, and up to South Lake once the snow moves in. 

Be prepared, if roads do become snowy it’s going to be slick with the wet snow we expect to fall. By Sunday mid-day any roads that do have snow should have melted off quickly once the sun comes out. 

Mammoth Lakes Basin View Point - 5-18-2021 - Photo by the Snowman Go Pro 9 Footage Capture
Mammoth Mountain Snow Report

5-21 Update – A hard freeze has hit the Mountain and it’s not looking like any of the runs will thaw up top today or on Saturday. 

If the sun can come out for a bit the open groomer runs down to Main and the Mill could soften up with some nice corn. 

Once the forecasted snowfall comes in today into the evening it will be back to winter conditions this weekend. 

**Beware as much of the snow off the runs from Mc Coy Station down to the Mill and Main Lodge have melted off. So if we happen to get 6-8 inches of heavy wet snow it’s will be on top of dirt off the main groomed runs.** 

Below is the webcam shot this morning so you can see that 23 still has some good coverage. Just avoid the tops of the Drop Outs and Wipe Outs as it is down to the dirt. 

If this storm does pan out today there will be some fun powder turns to be had this weekend off the Top and on the Face of 3. Please note chairs 5 and 10 are now closed for the season. I expect the Mill to close after Sunday as well, so plan accordingly. 

For my full detailed Mammoth Mountain Snow Report use this link.

Mammoth Mountain MC Coy Station Webcam Shot of the Top of 23 and Cornice Bowl
Mammoth Mountain MC Coy Station Webcam Shot of the Top of 23 and Cornice Bowl

Mountain Biking Report

There is some really good mountain biking going on up here on the East Side. If you’re into peddle power now is the time to come up and get some miles in before Summer hits.

All the Inyo Forest Trails and Roads you can ride are open and not too dusty or sandy at this time. It’s still cool in the high country so you can ride all day still without overheating.  

If you’re planning a mountain bike trip up to the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park the opening day is set for Friday, May 28th. 

Check out my full and very detailed mountain bike report here. In that report, I include a list of trails that are now open in the Eastern Sierra for you and your family to ride.

Eastern Sierra Recreation Report – May 17th, 2021 

Right now we are in the middle of some perfect spring weather with a good amount of people in the area enjoying the final days of skiing and snowboarding out on Mammoth Mountain.  After morning turns many people are then taking in some hiking, mountain biking, scenic drives, and fishing action.

The snowmelt is happening very fast and has moved into the high country now. From my own sight and others, we have learned that the snow line has gone up to over 10,000+ feet in some areas of the backcountry.  Had reports from Gem Lake (as seen above) to Crystal Lake in the Mammoth Lakes Basin that the snow was gone this weekend. 

South of Mammoth Lakes you can drive up Rock Creek Canyon all the way to Rock Creek Lake and the snow is all gone from this area as well. It’s the same on highway 168 up to South Lake the snow is gone and everyone is prepping for a big Memorial Day Weekend.

One thing I want to stress is we are in the second year of drought, this was one of the lowest snow years in the last 50 years. Fire Danger in the area and over the entire Sierra Nevada is extreme and will remain that way until we get the first snows next Fall. 

Campgrounds Open: In the Mammoth Lakes area the Mammoth RV Park and the New Shady Rest Campgrounds are now open. Most if not all campgrounds in the Mammoth area should be open by Memorial Day.

For June Lake and North the campgrounds that are now open are Aspen, Lower Lee Vining, Oh Ridge, Silver Lake, June Lake, and Gull Lake.

For Southern Areas of the Eastern Sierra: Bitterbrush, Four Jeffrey, Cedar Flat Group, Grandview, Convict Lake, French Camp, McGee Creek, Tuff, Big Pine Creek, Big Trees, Bishop Park Group, Forks, Intake 2, Sage Flat, and Upper Sage Flat are all open.

Eastern Sierra Roads: First up, the road down to Reds Meadow will not be opening early as there is a large amount of road work and tree thinning to be done in that area this spring. What I am hearing is, at the latest, the road should be open by the July 4th holiday. And yes, the shuttle buses will be back this Summer, operating under some sort of reduced capacity.

Rock Creek Road is open to Rock Creek Lake, Hwy 168 is open to Lake Sabrina and South Lake, Sonora Pass opened on Friday 5-7-2021. Tioga Pass is closed at this time and the process to clear the road has begun, there is no opening date yet.

The Mammoth Lakes Basin is open via foot/bike traffic The snow line is now up to above 9500 feet, you can hike all the way to Crystal Lake with just a few patches of snow.

Yes, the road is melted out, but road crews are still working to clean the area up before the road opens. It’s a perfect time to walk or ride your bike into the Lakes Basin before the road opens and the crowds hit the area. 

Hiking:  The snow line has come WAY up now over 9500 feet, so lot’s of hiking trails opening up in the high country. Take advantage of the low snow year and get out for a spring hike, I am sure next year at this time we will be buried under feet of snow.

Mammoth Creek and Mammoth Meadow  The creek is running at moderate levels right now spring buds are out and everything is starting to green up. 

Shady Rest Area & Park: The park and all the forest roads in this area are in great shape. The playground is open as are all the ball fields. All the trails and forest service roads are open.

The Disk Golf Course at Shady Rest and Mill Pond are open and ready for a round of fun. Going to hit the Shady Rest course up next week, I love the sound of the wind in the trees above your head while you’re getting some disk fun in. 

Mammoth Paved Trails are melted out and cleaned up. Take and walk, run, or bike ride today. (The Lakes Basin Trail still needs full clean up but it’s melted out.)

Snowman

Karen Akiskalian Daves - Gem Lake 5-16-2021
Photo by: Karen Akiskalian Daves – Gem Lake 5-16-2021

Recent Posts from Mammoth Mountain and the Eastern Sierra

Advertisers - Tell Them Snowman Sent You