Welcome to MammothSnowman.com – Fall 2023
October 2nd, 2023 @ 8:45 AM – Good morning, Mammoth Mountain picked a third wave of snow on Sunday afternoon with 2-3 inches of heavy wet snow falling from Main Lodge up to the top.
Expect most of the new snow to melt in the next few hours and absorb into the ground. You will probably see some of the snow that fell on N to NE-facing slopes above the 10,000-foot level hang around for a while.
Mammoth Mountain Weather: Currently, in the area, skies are clearing out with ridge tops, and parts of Mammoth Mountain are still experiencing clouds and some ground fog.
At the Summit of Mammoth Mountain, the temperature is 23 degrees with an E wind at 16 MPH, gusting to 26 MPH at times. Down at the 9000-foot level near Main Lodge, the temperature is 30, with a NE wind at 1 MPH gusting to 5 MPH.
Dry and Warming conditions will be the rule through the next 2-3 weeks. Use this link to get our specific human-generated Mammoth Mountain & Eastern Sierra Weather Forecast and the Long Range Outlook.
Area Road Conditions: 395 and all area 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.
The Fall Color Show has also started with some strong Yellows around Rock Creek Lake. The rest of the area, from Mammoth to Bishop, shows signs of massive change, with many 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 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 38 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 🙂
Things to Do in the Eastern Sierra this Fall
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: There is snow in the Mammoth Lakes Basin to start October, with 2-3 inches on the ground. Most of it should melt off today, but do expect some slick hiking conditions through the week above the 9500-foot level.
Hiking: All hiking trails in the area are open for a Fall hike with 1-3 inches of snow above the 8500-foot level.
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: The season is winding down; make sure to check with the USFS before heading out to your favorite campsite.
Fishing Season: The Water flows are down to normal flows, 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 the resort now closed and the campground starting to shut down. Fall Colors are out above the 8500-foot level and will peak at those elevations this week.
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 October 2nd, 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.