Mammoth Mountain Snow Report from the Snowman

12-27-23 @ Noon – Surface conditions are machine groomed with a firm, fast base. With the windy conditions, at times, there is some off-the-groomed wind buff and some soft sugar snow blowing around once the crowd turns up the snow in the morning. 

The grooming crew is doing a great job getting you a nice flat surface to carve on. When the mountain opens in the morning, you will find some softer carve-able corduroy mixed in with the firmer snow out on the hill.

The holiday crowds are a no-show with the low tide base, so it’s like a mid-winter weekday this week. All the lodges are open, with Little Eagle having access via the Bridges Run only the last time I checked.

The base is low tide with 17.6 inches at the 9000-foot level with an estimated 20-30 inches up top and on the faces of 3 and 5. With the lack of base, you’ll encounter some obstacles out there.

The opened groomers have decent coverage with just a few floaters, but off the groomed, you will find large rocks sticking out, stumps, blow-downs, and branches you’re not used to seeing mid-winter. This is why most of the mountain is still closed, for the amount of snow and cold air Mammoth has picked up; it’s incredible there is as much open as there is now.

If you plan on heading out on the hill this week, I advise you to ski and ride the groomers out of the Main Lodge area early when the mountain opens before most people show up. Take a break at ten and then head to the top for laps off of 23; if you’re not into the top, give the runs off of Chair 12 a try during the mid-day.

Lifts running daily are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 23, Gondolas 1 and 2 and the Village Gondola. To note, I would avoid the chair 14 area until it snows more, and do know that the East Bowl and chair nine are closed now.

Taking a more detailed look at conditions out on the hill.

Cornice is getting groomed out nightly and offers a fun, smooth surface early on. Watch for the soft snow piles that build up during the day, and yes, the run starts very firm and slick, so be ready for it. I prefer the skier’s left side on Cornice Bowl for the best snow.

The mid to lower Drop Outs have some decent lines you can traverse to from the top of Cornice Bowl. We need more skier and rider traffic in here, but the snow is slowly getting packed and buffed out with some stop-and-go lines.

You can get into the Wipe Outs from the top of WP 2; there are some decent turns in both 1 and 2. Watch out for the lurker rocks out there, especially at the top of the Wipe Outs and the Drops Outs. Once you’re out of the chutes, I would traverse over to the Drop Out side if you want more packed-out snow.

I have not ventured out to the Noids or Monument yet; they looked a bit chunky for this old fart when I had my chance a couple of days ago. From the photo of that area, you can see those runs really could use some more snow. If they end up getting packed out, I might venture over there after the New Year hits.

Off of G2, Climax and Dave’s Run are both too low tide to open to the public. Some kook poached Daves the other day, and that’s the line you see in the image below.

The Face of 3 is now all small to medium bumps in both the Center Bowl and in West Bowl. Crews are unable to groom Center Bowl as there is not enough snow at this time. I would wait til mid-day to ski both Center Bowl and West Bowl, as the snow will be a bit softer.

While chair five is closed, you can still access the Face of 5 and pick your way through to the good lines. I have not skied it this week, but I saw a lot of people on the Face and in Upper Dry Creek the other day. 

St Anton – Last time I skied down, the snow was decent in here, but it was not groomed. I would avoid this run until there is more base on the ground and the grooming crew can get the run cleaned up. Right now, there are still some large rocks sticking out and some small tree tops.

Broadway – So far this season, overall, the best groomer run has been Broadway, top to bottom. Firm fast carvable fun that puts a smile on my face just typing this report up. I have not seen any floaters or bare spots on here for several weeks now. The snowmaking crew has run the fixed fan guns a bunch to get great coverage on Broadway.

Chair 14 Area – The snowpack over here is really too low tide right now. You can get some turns in, but there is a significant amount of small tree tops sticking up on all the runs, especially the lower down you get. I would avoid the back side until there is at least a foot of additional base out on the hill.

During the later part of the day, the race runs, Andy’s Double Gold and Fascination sometimes open up, and the snow in there is always good for some laps.

Saddle Bowl – This run is an old standard that just keeps giving up the goods for a groomer day after day this season. Laps early in the morning are all nice carvable corduroy.

Lower Solitude – The snow in here has improved with nightly grooming and some additional snowmaking. You still need to watch for floaters, especially on the skier’s right side of the run.

Happy New Snow Year – Snowman