Friday, May 3rd, 2024 @ 9:45 AM – Good morning; it’s the last day of clear skies with spring snow as the next Spring Storm system heads our way on Saturday into early Sunday.
The last few days the corn snow has been great for those willing to get out and search for it. Here is a link to all the fresh photos that just got edited up from the last few days out on the hill. If you’re looking for a taste of Powder Sunday is looking like your day while Spring gets put on hold for a bit.
Travel & Road Forecast: Winter Roads are open and clear. The weekend system looks to only affect roads above the 7500-foot elevation. Tioga Pass, Sonora Pass, and the Mammoth Lakes Basin are closed for the Winter Season. For current webcam road conditions on 395 and 203, visit our road conditions page at this link.
Mammoth Mountain Weather Forecast
The next upstream system is now set to move into the area on Saturday and affect the weather into Sunday. The high country from 9000 feet up could see 6-12 inches of fresh snow, with some areas of the Sierra Crest expecting up to 18+ inches of fresh snow.
For today Friday, temperatures at the ski area will be in the low to mid-50s by mid-morning, with overnight lows down into the upper 20s to lower 30s. Winds will be out of the Southwest @ 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph at times over the higher elevations.
On Saturday, expect cloudy skies with moderate to strong winds out of the SW at 25-35 MPH, increasing during the daytime hours to 40-50 + MPH. Wind gusts at Main Lodge could be up to 75+ MPH at times. Wind speeds up top will be even stronger in the 80 – 100 MPH range out of the SW.
By Sunday, clear skies return, but the SW winds will still be with us at 25-35 MPH with gusts in the 45-55+ MPH range. Temperatures will also be chilly, with highs in the mid-twenties.
>>> For Snowman’s More Detailed Recreational Weather Forecast & Outlook, click here.
Mammoth Mountain Snow Report from the Snowman
5-1-24 @ 9 AM – It’s a chilly spring morning out on the hill with a temperature of 28 up top, along with a south east wind of 17 to 23 MPH. Down at Main Lodge, the temperature is 42, with WSW winds at 2 – 10 MPH at times.
Here is what’s running this week: Lifts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 23, and Gondolas 1 and 2. Lift Hours this week will remain 8:30 AM to 4 PM. Starting next Monday operation hours will shift to 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM.
Chair 1 is closed for the season as they are replacing this lift with a new 6-pack chair lift. Crews need to start construction now, so the new lift will be ready to run by mid-December.
Snow Conditions: Spring conditions mountain-wide today. There has been a bit of a cool down so the top will take some extra time to thaw out the next couple of days.
If you’re not used to spring skiing and riding, the snow starts to get soft down on Stump Alley first. As the sun does its magic, the other lower runs get soft, and then the mid-mountain, with the top being the last to soften up.
The ski area also spreads a snow freeze product on the runs to help keep the snow from getting too soft and sticky. During the warmer days moving forward, you will see the cat crew spreading that mix out like fertilizer on the slopes.
Next week as the freeze and thaw cycle is underway again, my advice is to wax up nightly with a clear universal wax. Having some texture added to your base for a small charge at Fast Ski Sports can also help channel the water and snow from creating that sticky feeling underfoot on warm days.
The other option is the Free Hot Wax Coupon you can use at Fast Ski Sports in the Vons Mall. Just take your gear and tell them the Mammoth Snowman sent you in for a Free Hot Wax.
What’s up, Off the Mountain?
The current snow line in the Eastern Sierra is up to about 7800 – 8000 feet. Below that elevation, all forest roads and trails are now melted out and ready for hiking, mountain biking, and 4 x 4 adventures.
The Lower Rock Creek Canyon Trail is perfect for a hike or mountain bike ride during these early spring days. The lower and middle sections of the Sherwin Lakes trail are also ready for hiking if you want something close to town.
If you want to get into the full Spring zone, there is a lot to do in the Bishop area. The Disk Golf Course at Mill Pond and the Bishop Golf Course are open. Mountain Biking is also a blast right now, with all the trails and OHV areas in great shape from recent rains.
Fishing season opened county-wide on Saturday, April 27th, 2024. Crowley is over the top full, so beware, shore camping and fishing are out in some areas once again this spring.
Camping Season has begun with a limited amount of campgrounds now open for you early season campers. Beware, it’s still cold at night with lows near freezing each night. Here is a link the USFS Camping page.
The Mammoth Mountain Bike Park has no set opening date yet, but lower mountain trails should be accessible some time in mid-to-late May. I would expect most of the Bike Park to open by the July 4th Holiday Week, when they reopen the Gondola for the Summer Season.
Click here for a complete list of activities in the area other than skiing and snowboarding on Mammoth Mountain.
Have a great day, Snowman Out…
Mammoth Mountain Photo Snow Stoke
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 firsthand. 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 was 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.
>>>>If you find our content of value and enjoy my website’s daily updates, the information provided, the social posts, social FAQs, photos, and videos, please consider becoming a monthly or annual supporter today. Here is the link to learn more.
