Welcome to MammothSnowman.com – Fall 2023

September 21st, 2023 @ 9 AM – Good morning from the Mammoth and Bishop area. Cooler days have arrived, and everyone is excited about Fall Activities. There is a lot to do at this time of the year, with hiking, road biking, mountain biking, and fishing the main activities. Note that the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park and the Scenic Gondola Rides have closed for the season.

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 should be on in about 7-10 days in the higher elevations, with the peak of colors in the area 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.

Mammoth Mountain Weather: An inside slider is now affecting the weather over Mammoth Mountain and throughout the Eastern Sierra from Mammoth to Bishop. This low will bring a 20% chance of a few snowflakes falling above the 9500-foot level today, with clear skies expected Friday into the weekend.

For the next few days, expect mid temperatures up on Mammoth Mountain in the 40s with nighttime lows into the upper 20s to lower 30s. SW winds will be blowing in the 20-40 MPH range right through the weekend. It’s time to layer up if you’re going to be out for early morning activities.

Use this link to get our full Mammoth Mountain & Eastern Sierra Weather Forecast along with the Long Range Outlook.

Area Roads: 395 is open north and southbound with no restrictions. Tioga Pass is also open. The Reds Meadow Road is open on Saturdays and Sundays only due to major road construction in the area. All other roads and passes are open at this time.

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area Update on Summer and Fall Upgrades

Chair 16 Replacement – 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 buildout 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.

Opening Day is set for Friday, November 10th, weather permitting. I have only seen them miss the opener once by just a couple of days over the last 25 years. If you plan on coming up for that three-day weekend, you should expect very limited terrain to be open.

Snowman 🙂

PS: Images from 9-14-23 out on Mammoth Mountain are posted down the page.