Mammoth Mountain Snow Report from the Snowman

11-13-21 @ 9 AM – Snow Conditions got out first thing on Friday and went right to chair 3 and saddle bowl. The snow was still a nice packed powder that lasted almost all the way back to 3.

Right after that, I hit the top and Cornice Bowl, the run was groomed to perfection again with a nice mid-winter surface to ride on.

I found taking 23 to Cornice and then down World Cup was the call for fast groomers.

The Drop Outs have been getting some good traffic and most of the crusty snow is packed out now. You will find some flat turns and some small bumpy turns on the Drop Outs.

The lower runs are getting a bit spring like now, so expect conditions to be firm early and soften up as the morning goes on.

As if now I will be back out on Monday, if you’re going to be out on the hill be prepared to ride the parking shuttles. It’s a bit of a wait but worth the early-season fun. Parking on Friday went all the way past chair 4 so expect cars father down the road Saturday and Sunday.

11-12-21 – Video Snow Report in 4K from MammothSnowman.com on Vimeo.

Snowmaking: Temperatures have been too warm to blow snow. The outlook into the weekend shows more warm overnight lows.

Mountain Operations: Mammoth Mountain is now open out of Main Lodge with chairs 1, 3, 6, 11, 23, along with G1 and G2. Lift hours are 8:30 AM to 4 PM. Ch 11 and 23 will close again after the weekend.

Unbound: Chair 6 is opened for quick laps in the park. Right now the top of Main Park is open with several features but no big air.

The lower section also has some features set up. Starting next week there will be weekly images from the Unbound in our Photo Snow Report albums.

The Parking Shuttle is running as needed each day. The Red line is Open to the Village.

Canyon Lodge and the Village Gondola are closed and are scheduled to open the week before Christmas weather permitting.

11-11-21 Snow Conditions Overview: It’s been a fun couple of days, Tuesday was a blast in the heavy wet powder. While it’s low tide the heavy snow-covered up a lot of the junk and you could get some thick freshies in.

Fun early season pow turns to get the legs ready for the deep and dry days. Had my best tracks on the Wall and then on the Face of Three.

Yes, you had to be light on your feet and beware of the rocks and stumps in the fresh. I did hit a few of those with no damage, just a burred edge.

First Tracks down the Wall on Tuesday morning… see the Video Snow Report for the live-action of this shot.

Wednesday was also a blast, most everyone thought there would be some good powder off the top. What everyone found was several inches of crusty new snow.

Ski patrol indicated that they thought some rain had fallen on the fresh snow later in the day on Tuesday. With it being the early season and my 3rd day out I took a pass on the conditions up top. Let the youth pack it out and I can live to ski tomorrow.

The interesting thing about that crust is once it was skied and boarded over on the Face of Three, the snow-packed out into some really nice skiing and riding. I am hoping that will be the case up top once the snow gets packed out.

Center Bowl – By the time I got to Center Bowl the crest had been all packed down to some really nice packed powder. The surface was all sugary and super fun to turn on.

Saddle Bowl – Got first turns down in perfect corduroy snow, the cat crew had delivered perfection. There is footage in today’s video from that first run.

Christmas Bowl – Great coverage in Christmas Bowl, looks like they should be able to groom in here over the next few days.

West Bowl – Is all filled in now with a flat surface with some softer surface snow to ski on.

Andys Double Gold was in prime race format, Fast and Firm.

After taking a pass on the top I did watch it all go down and anyone on a snowboard bombing it seemed to be enjoying their run a lot more than people on skis. The good news for the top is once that snow gets packed out it should ski and ride great.

Shot of Climax from Eric Nowlan

The Face of Five – While it was not open take a look at these photos below. Lots of base on 5 I have no doubt they could open they train if they wanted. The only problem is getting back to 2, they could open and send you back over to 3 via the groomed track over to Christmas Bowl

 
 

Ideas of Things to Do in Mammoth & the Eastern Sierra at this time.

There are lot’s of things to do besides skiing and snowboarding the the Eastern Sierra.

During the winter one of the top questions we get is what can people that don’t ski do and what can I do when I take a day off the hill? Below are just a few ideas to get you started.

Mammoth Mountain Scenic Gondola Rides Taking a ride to the top of Mammoth Mountain is an amazing experience. The views are breathtaking as you ride up and beyond compare once you’re standing at the top. Here is the link to learn more.

Mountain Biking Once the snow sets in over the high country the lower elevations are the place to ride. Lower Rock Creek and several areas out of Bishop will keep you busy riding on all winter if you like. Here is the link to more information on Mountain Biking year-round.

Fall Colors Bishop and the Round Valley have a mix of peaking and past peak colors right now. The colors show this year at the lower elevations has been just amazing.

Walk the Mammoth Lakes Paved Trails Over the years my kids and I have put in miles and miles on these paths. The paved paths have great views and also take you thru the forest and the Mammoth Meadow.

Mill Pond Park & Disc Golf A great place to hang out below the snowline. There is a full 18 hole disc golf course to keep you busy for hours. Got Kids? The park has a playground for energy output. Here is a link to the disc golf course map.

Snowshoe to Lake Mary When the road is closed you can snowshoe up into the lakes basin. Right now the Cross Country Skiing is closed so you have the road to yourself. Go mid-day when the snow has loosened up. You can rent snowshoes at a discount from Black Tie Ski Rental, use this link.

Hiking Here are some ideas of great places to get out and hike right now. Lower Rock Creek Trail, Convict Lake Trail, Sherwin Lakes Trail, Inyo Craters, Hot Creek Geological Site. The only place you will find snow is in the upper sections of the Sherwin Lakes Trail.

Sponsor Plug Do You and Your Family have Season Passes for the Upcoming Season? Get you’re Ikon Season Passes before they close the door on sales. Use this Snowman Season Pass link to get more information.

Sledding The Mammoth area is a wonder land to sled in. Right now to get the sledding season going we need a decent storm will snow levels below 7500 feet. If want want some ideas of were to sled when the next storm hits check out my write up on sledding in Mammoth Lakes.

Cross Country Skiing The Mammoth Lakes Basin is the prime spot with the Tamarack Cross Country Ski Area taking over the area each winter. Down at Shady Rest when the snow levels are low the forest service will groom out a network of trails. Learn more on the cross country skiing page.

Those are just a few ideas, use the To-Do menu at the top of the page for more ideas.

Website Update

WeatherGuy is back with his Powder Outlook posts on Tuesday and Fridays. Snowman is also doing a Recreational Weather Forecast so you know what to expect each day from winds to temperatures to snowfall out on the Mountain and around the Eastern Sierra.

Expect video production to go up in the next couple of weeks with our Video Snow Reports and Video Weather Reports coming out. Once that is all dialed back in and flowing the plan is to add in a live stream hang out sometime in December.

Many of you have signed up for the snowman newsletter that never came out. That’s been fixed and you can expect the email newsletter to come out every Tuesday starting on November 8th. Just opt-out if you don’t want the emails.

At this time a Mobile App is also under construction and the basis version will be out in a few weeks.

We will do a beta test drive for paid subscribers and donors when it first comes out and then open it to the private Facebook group. Hope to have it in the play store by the first of the year.

PS: If you like all the posts, photos and videos here at the website please consider becoming a monthly subscriber to our website and the secret newsletter list.

Mammoth Mountain Photos from 11-10-21

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