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My first visit to Mammoth this season!   I’ve only made it to Mammoth before Christmas, once before, for Thanksgiving.  Usually it’s still somewhat “early season” conditions with not a lot of snowfall until January.  This year, we were lucky in that there was that huge Western US snowfall earlier in the week which benefited Mammoth with an additional 2-3′ of snow for our weekend.

We were nervous that we were going to have to use chains once we got off the 395, but lucky for us, the roads in town were clear.  We arrived LATE on Fri night/Sat morning and gingerly made our way into the hotel parking lot (being careful to back in to the parking spot in case we needed chains to exit town on Sunday.)

We awoke on Sat. to the sound of avalanche blasting crews up on the hill - a good sign, this means fresh powder!  We enjoyed the empty carbs and coffee provided by the hotel’s “continental breakfast” and headed over to the Village to rent Stacy some skis.  Got on the mountain, finally, at about 11am, and it was amazing!

Now other Mammoth faithfuls will recognize this as looking up from Canyon Lodge towards Chair 22, with Chair 8 over to the left.  What’s missing you ask?  ALL THE PEOPLE USUALLY ON THIS RUN!! Because this run is the “collector” for all those other runs accessible from higher up the hill, this run usually looks like there’s a bunch of ants scampering around on the snow because it gets SO crowded.  We could not figure it out - the conditions were perfect (as you can see, totally blue skies), fresh snow, and no wind- was it the economy making people stay home?  Well, enough questions, let’s go riding.

I cannot remember a more perfect day than this.  No crowds, new powder, no wind - we were all riding confidently and fast. We stayed mostly over in the Chair 5, Gold Rush, & Stump Alley area.  Did not do the Upper/Lower Dry Creek run because it was still pretty un-covered this early in the season.  This is how empty the mountain was as we rode up Gold Rush.  What a perfect day!

Around 12:30 it was time for a Bloody Break at the Mill Cafe by Stump.  I can’t decide between McCoy and Mill, who makes them the best!  The crew enjoyed a little down time before we finallly decided it was time to go up in the gondola.

Cornice was in pristine condition.  A few little bumps, but otherwise incredibly soft snow and super easy to make turns even on the steepest part at the beginning.  I ended up bombing down most of it and continuing to get my “snow legs” back.  Feeling good about Jackson!  Here is the view looking down Cornice - again, NO crowds, love it!

The obligatory top-of-Mammoth shot, with Stacy wearing the “Save Trestles” t-shirt (which got a lot of attention later that day at happy hour!)

 We finished off the day, enjoying the conditions and riding all the way till closing time, and hit Whiskey Creek as usual for our happy hour.  Half price apps and $4 off all pitchers till 5:30, you can’t beat it!  It is the perfect way to wind down after your day on the hill.  Check out the sunset as we took the gondola back to the village:

Later that night we checked out the Night of Lights, which packed ‘em in at Canyon Lodge with a fireworks show and live music from Pinback.  It was really cute, they had rigged up red flares on the chairlifts so there was this cool effect of red lights heading up the mountain into the darkness.  Part of the show even had Red Bull parachuters that came down and landed right in the middle of the Canyon run.  Here’s a video snippet of the fireworks that I took (you can see the flare chairlifts at right).

Sunday was overcast and a lot more windy, and a lot more crowded!  It wasn’t the greatest conditions, flat light and it even started snowing around 12:30. We still got in a near full day of riding though.

We left the mountain about 2:30 to begin our drive home, and try to beat the snow from making us put on chains. Phew, luckily no chains were required and we were rolling down the 395 into sunlight before too long.  A great weekend, and a fun precursor to our soon-to-come Jackson trip!  By the way, inbetween snowfalls on Sunday, there was a rainbow over McCoy station.  What a great way to end the trip.

I will recap our Mammoth trip this weekend soon (recovering from slight bug I picked up) but wanted to make a quick post of our first Mammoth Hottie this year.  This is Steve - we met him on the gondola up to the top on Saturday.

He was a really good sport when I broke the ice in the gondola by saying I wanted to take a picture of him for my blog.  He was probably like, get away you internet stalking freak!  But then I explained about this site and I guess I convinced him I’m not a weirdo because he let me take his picture with Stacy. 

Super cool guy, lives in Malibu and comes to Mammoth almost every weekend.  He was riding a giant 168 Burton Canyon.  He rides regular and has been riding for over 14 years!  Steve told us his wife has now gotten into riding in the past two years, good that he has convinced her to share one of his passions.

Nice meeting you Steve, if you use that card I gave you to come check out this site, be sure to stop in and say hi!

Rate Steve:  (6 votes, average: 3.17 out of 5)

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I am really looking forward to this weekend even though I feel busy and somewhat stressed with the holidays!  Nonetheless, it should be a great weekend with all the new snow.  (However, I hope our drive up is clear, wish us luck!)

Real quick post because I’ve yet to pack!  Looking forward to:

•  72″ base (2′ of new snow earlier this week!)
• riding with Stacy and meeting new friends from SoCal Outdoor Adventurers group
• 3-7″ of new snow predicted for Friday!
• Night of Lights holiday lightshow on Sat. night
• and of course… hopefully some Hotties on the Hill… 

Have a great weekend everybody and I hope to have some great stories and photos from my first weekend on my favorite mountain when I return.

I just learned about this cool clothing company focusing on the outdoor/mountain lifestyle, from Twitter!  Check these guys out - Cloudveil - they’re based in Jackson Hole, WY and have a product line really focused around performance and quality.

One of their PR peeps asked me to pass along this opportunity - they’re recruiting “Ambassadors” for the brand.  Check out some of their current snow sport Ambassadors at the bottom of this ski & snowboard category page… the program looks pretty cool.

Here is the release they sent me:

Cloudveil Launches Search for Inspired Mountain Ambassadors

(Jackson Hole, Wyo.) Cloudveil, maker of inspired mountain apparel, is looking for a team of inspired mountain ambassadors and has launched a search for 25 men and women who personify the inspired lifestyle upon which Cloudveil was built.

The application process is open to anyone: athletes, outdoor adventurers, musicians, artists, environmental advocates, the list goes on. The application can be found online at www.cloudveil.com/ambassadors and includes a 150-word description of why you should be a Cloudveil ambassador. Video submissions are also accepted, just upload your video to YouTube and send us the link.

The winners will receive Ambassador Purchase Discount pricing, which will be 45% below retail. Chosen ambassadors will also be a part of Cloudveil’s online website, blog content and ongoing product feedback. The contest ends on December 31st, so send in applications soon!

“This program is a way for us to look beyond sponsored athletes and give other people who are getting after it in their own way a chance to be a part of our brand, “ Cloudveil Marketing Coordinator Nick Brosnan stated. ”Cloudveil inspiration comes from the culture of small towns like Jackson and the creative people that make living here constantly dynamic and interesting, and there are thousands of towns like this. We look forward to finding an eclectic team of ambassadors for the winter season.”

Founded in 1997, Cloudveil is credited with starting the modern day soft shell revolution. Cloudveil draws inspiration from its home base of Jackson, Wyoming with a focus on building innovative and functional apparel for the outdoor, snowsports, fly fishing and casual apparel markets.

For more information about Cloudveil, visit www.cloudveil.com

Just in time for the weekend, two of our local mountains are opening today.  They’ve been blowing snow like crazy, and both mountains will have 4 lifts open and a handful of runs.  You can use your lift ticket on both to transfer between hills.

I heard today on the news that there is an 8-12″ base at Snow Summit (and here I was making fun of Park City for having 18″.)

Lift ticket pricing is “early season” thru Sunday 12/14 so it’s still a little cheaper to go…

• All Day, Adult $35.00
• Yg Adult $28.00
• Child $15.00
• Half-Day Adult $30.00
• Yg Adult $23.00
• Child $10.00

I’m pleased to see Summit stepping in to the mobile age - text message snow alerts are now available - just text SNOW to 52406 to subscribe.

Anyone who goes, let me know how it is!  Oh, and I have one of those $19 vouchers from last season which expires on 12/19, so if you want it to use this weekend or anytime before then I will GIVE it to you as I don’t have a chance to use it before expiration.  Email me!  (erica at snowboard-women.com)

There are a bunch of little random, independently- owned ski and snowboard shops scattered around the South Bay and this past Sunday I checked two of them out.  The first was H&H Sports, which gets foot traffic in the store by using huge signs on trucks parked along the main drag out front sporting the phrase “SNOWBOARD OUTLET.”  It ain’t much to look at from the front, but I was still intrigued.

I believe the store gets its gear mainly as leftover inventory that they buy from the ski and snowboard shows, such as LA’s recent Ski Dazzle event, then they resell to customers at a markup that’s still less than retail.  Most of the items I saw had stickers which I recognized as coming from Ski Dazzle.  But that’s fine, there’s an almost neverending aftermarket for snowboard gear even from many seasons past.  Most people just want gear that looks good, is durable, and highly functional.  Not to mention at a good price.  Hey, not all of us are using Daddy’s credit card!

It’s hard to say the size of the store in square feet, but it was decent size, and it was pretty full of merchandise.  There were racks about 15 feet long of each size XS thru XL, and each gender, full of jackets & pants.  Quite a good selection of styles in each size.  One whole wall was devoted to layering materials such as fleeces & long underwear.There was a small selection of socks, a smattering of helmets, a good selection of gloves & mittens, and even some roller bags.  The store only had about 4-5 styles of boots available in either gender - the only category where there was a very limited selection.

Finally, the hardgoods.  Their board selection was a little thin, but there were enough different styles and sizes available that most people could probably find a new board to suit them.  The store also sold bindings & goggles, all kept up at the front of the store.

I talked to one of the store reps, who told me that their merch is mostly from the current season, it’s not overstock that’s left over from past seasons.  As proof of this, I took a picture of one of the jackets I know is from this season:  this Burton Slub.

He told me that these Andy Warhol limited-edition jackets & pants from last year are NOT moving because they are too expensive… indeed - the jacket & pants pictured here were like $320 apiece!

They have I’d say over 90% Burton goods - when I asked about this he said it’s because Burton is the best quality, has the best guarantees, and hads the best customer service.  I took this to mean it is most cost-effective for them to sell the best products because it’s less headache for them.   No worries w/ me, I like Burton!  Other brands I saw were some Forum boots, and Nordica & Foursquare jackets.

I’m sure you’re wondering about price!  Well, I guess the prices were OK.  Jackets ranged from $119-$179, boards that were $549 were marked down to $479, and gloves didn’t even seem to be marked down.  The Lexa bindings I bought last year at around $180 at the Burton store, were on sale here for around $110.  But overall I didn’t think these were true “outlet” prices.  I would have thought jackets would be more like sub-$100 and boards under $200.  Ahh well.

(Sidenote:  Randomly, they have a huge section of swimsuits for sale there… if you need something for the hot-tub after your day of boarding!)

If you’re in the area, it is worth a look, the staff is nice and there is a decent selection overall.  You can check out their web site for yourself, and they even have a link to their online store:  H&H Sports

Hat tip to Gurlryder.com for this - the Burton flagship store on Melrose in West Hollywood is hosting a Ladies Night this Thursday, 12/11/08 from 6-8pm.  Their store is amazing, and they will probably have some good deals since it’s so close to the holiday season.  If you’re in the neighborhood, you should check it out.

Click the image to see the full size flyer…  gift bags, prizes, and a raffle to be had… To RSVP, send an email to rsvp@burton.com.  Enjoy!

Now it wouldn’t be a trip to the mountains without the Snowboard-Women.com crew meeting some hotties!  This is Graham - he actually wasn’t on the hill but was a bartender at the funnest bar in Park City, the No Name Saloon.

He both skis and boards, and rides goofy when he does snowboard.  He is from Decatur, IL and has been living in PC for 3 years now.  Super nice guy and fun to talk to.  And he doens’t even get mad when you take pictures of the fake alcohol (it being Utah, land of teetotalers) with big orange stickers that said “Flavoring!”

Cheers Graham… thanks for being our first 08-09 season Hottie on the Hill and for those tasty beverages you served us.  ;-)  What do you think of Graham?

(2 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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Woke up to a pleasant surprise on the first full day of the conference I was in Park City for.  There was actually snow falling - a welcome sight considering the near-total lack of snow on the ground otherwise.

After the conference sessions were over about 1pm, I went up to the room and threw on my gear, then boarded the shuttle for the Park City Mountain Resort.  PCMR was the only resort open out of the three in Park City.  It only had 1 lift operating, the Payday.  From Payday, only a green run was open (I forget the name, Home Run?)

By the time I had rented boots and a board, it was already 2:30 pm and the mountain closes at 4pm.  By this point I had also lost all the other people who came on the shuttle from the conference to go skiing or snowboarding.  But I figured the crowds were so thin - after all it was a Thursday with no snow - and there was such limited terrain to cover, that I’d easily be able to find them.  No such luck though.

I ended up doing about 6 runs that day in that hour and a half.  It was good to get back out on the mountain and at least start to get my “snow legs” back before our trip to Jackson Hole in a month.  The conditions were not great but not as bad as I thought they’d be.

They had made a bit of snow - the machines were pumping the whole time I was out, and probably had  been blowing snow all day long, so there was good coverage on the trail.

It was slightly icy in spots but overall the snow was pretty soft (not too hard packed) and fast.  I did end up taking a header on my 2nd run of the day because I started bombing a steeper portion of the run and wasn’t used to the rental board, so I caught an edge and went flying.  Yard sale! My goggles and hat were about 10 feet down the hill.  If I saw myself do it, i probably would have thought “ouch!”  I did hit my head pretty good, :-(  (dammit, I didn’t bring my helmet so of course I crashed my head!)

The board I rented was a 155 Burton Cruzer.  I wasn’t too impressed with it - it didn’t have those deep side-cuts that make it way easier to link turns, and the board didn’t have much pop.  Overall I got used to it pretty quick though and was just cruising most of the time anyways.

The crowd mix was about 60/40 skiers to boarders.  I’m used to Mammoth where it’s definitely a majority of boarders. Is that because Park City and Utah in general are more “ski snobby?”  I mean, two of the remaining resorts that don’t allow snowboarding, are Alta and Deer Valley in Utah!  The resort did have a fun little terrain park set up, which I did not go through because honestly I was a little gun shy having fallen and not having my own safety gear on (helmet or wrist guards.)  Seemed like a lot of folks would cruise through and hit that up given the otherwise somewhat boring run, time after time.

All in all a fun and enjoyable day, good to get the confidence back and see that I hadn’t gotten that much out of boarding shape since my last session in April.  And now I have another pre-Jackson trip planned:  hitting Mammoth on 12/20!   Now that trip will NOT be a disappointment in snow, considering Mammoth already has as much as 48″ base in places.  Can’t wait!

p.s.  I did not catch up with my conference peeps on the hill, but they ended up having my camera (hence the crappy blackberry pics above) and here they are mid-trail!

Hmmm… so I’m off to Park City on Wednesday and was hoping to ride on Thursday and Friday when the morning sessions of the conference let out… however, the conditions are not looking too promising.   2 runs are open and an 18″ base?  Sounds like Snow Summit. 

I’m checking with the bloggers at the Park City Mountain Resort to see what’s up, but I am not even sure if those conditions are worth the extra baggage fee.   Sigh.