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Bringing the blog out of off-season hiatus for this story…  from an email I received today:

Mammoth and Horizon Air proudly introduce non-stop flights from LAX to MMH (Mammoth Yosemite Airport.)  That’s right, the wait is over. Horizon will offer daily flights departing LAX at 2:20pm and landing at MMH at 3:25pm. The planes will depart MMH at 4:05pm and return to LAX at 5:10pm. Once at MMH, you’re only fifteen minutes from the mountain*. So you can make more turns, get more air and have more hot tub time than ever before.

Looks like the flights will start on Dec. 18 this year, and they’re kicking off the service with introductory fares. Very excited at the prospect to not drive for 5+ hours any more! Read more here…  now the countown begins till snowboarding season is back again!

Well, this weekend was pretty bittersweet - it was my last trip to the mountains for the season.  The conditions were really bad at Mammoth - very windy and icy on pretty much the entire mountain.  I had probably the worst fall of the entire year on Sunday, with a fist-sized bruise covering my entire right elbow to show for it.  Not the greatest way to end the season, but oh well.  It was a fun one, and I look forward to next year!  I may possibly continue to post through the spring/summer, but since I won’t be doing any boarding, I doubt it.   I’ll pretty much be putting the blog into hibernation.

Now it’s time to focus on biking, hiking, BBQing, and surfing for the summer!

Well, our most recent Mammoth weekend was somewhat bittersweet. We were so excited because there was 21″ of new snow from earlier in the week, and we figured with the grooming that Mammoth Mountain does every day, and continuing cold temps, the conditions would still be good.

We drove up late afternoon on Friday, and saw some amazing light in the mountains and high desert as the sun set.

Little did we know that by Saturday morning, winds in town were 40+ MPH and on the top they were reported to be nearly 80MPH! Our condo-mates headed up to the hill right at 8am so they could be in line when the lifts opened, while Jessie and I did our usual, wake up after 8 and relax a bit with a good breakfast and some coffee. This turns out to be for the best… Mammoth only opened 3 of the “beginner” chairs due to the winds all over the mountain - bummer. So basically you could pay $79 and only access the beginner chairs.

With this in mind, we didn’t go up to the mountain until 12:30 - we bought a half day and snowboarded all afternoon on Sat. They still didn’t open half the mountain (the higher chairs) due to the continued winds, so we were more or less restricted to the Canyon Lodge runs and occasional Chair 5 and Gold Rush.

It wasn’t a great day - overcast with flat light, crunchy conditions, freezing wind, and crowds because all the people were clamoring for the same chairs and runs. Check this out… you couldn’t even see the top!

We did Whiskey Creek for half price food and $10 pitchers for apres-ski on Saturday afternoon when we got off the hill, then Saturday night we went out to Hennessey’s where they had a dance floor cleared and a DJ in there. It was pretty fun, definitely an older crowd than our former haunt, Lakanuki. We danced and met some cool people (yes, some hotties on the hill!)

On Sunday we were on the hill by 10:30, and by then conditions had vastly improved!

A gorgeous bluebird day, but sadly, the winds on the top on Sunday were A HUNDRED MPH! Even worse than Sat.! So they still didn’t open the top gondola or Chair 23 (our fav runs) all day. Here’s a pic of the gondolas parked at McCoy; they couldn’t go higher than that cuz of the winds.

Nonetheless, we enjoyed a really nice day on the rest of the mountain - Spook off Gold Rush down to Lower Dry Creek was awesome, we did it at least 4 times in a row. The snow was nice and soft, not even hardpack in many places. A little icy on some of the runs, but we still rocked it.

And capping off the weekend, at the end of one of those runs we ended up seeing Woolly at the Mill Cafe! Sunday definitely made up for Saturday.

Juicy is headed back up for the Roxy Chicken Jam at the end of the month; I won’t be able to make it… but I expect a full report! Look for her post in a few weeks.

More pictures from the trip are available at our Flickr page.

More details on our recent Mammoth weekend to come, met lots of fun people and had a great day on the hill on Sunday, but the best moment of this trip was MEETING WOOLLY!!

We got to the bottom of Lower Dry Creek and I was bent over unstrapping my binding to get back in line, when Jess screamed out “There’s Woolly!” We both started freaking out, making a scene, and yelling “WOOLLY! WOOLLY! OH MY GOD!” like the nerds we are… everyone in the lift line was laughing and pointing, even the lifties! Woolly came over and was dancing with us and taking pics, totally hamming it up. So cute!

Highlight of the trip! WE LOVE YOU WOOLLY!

Jessie and I are headed up to Mammoth again this weekend (March 1-2) for a last-minute trip. We just decided on Tuesday night that it was time to hit the mountain again, since Mammoth has recently received another 20+ inches of snow!

After deciding that we were going snowboarding again this weekend, the next order of business was finding a place to stay. And with that came the idea for this post. Here are some of the resources that I use to find Mammoth condos, hotels, or house shares online. Or any other resort for that matter!

Vacation Rentals sites: These sites are good if you want to book a house/condo specifically for a getaway with a group of your own and you want more amenities (e.g. full kitchen, a private hot tub) than what a hotel would offer.

• VRBO.com - You can find anything from small studios for rent, up to giant 12-person houses in the Mammoth area. Typically you need to look pretty far in advance from when you want to travel, especially for the nicer places. Handy availability calendar lets you check for vacancies.
• VacationRentals.com - Their user interface is a little friendlier than VRBO; icons on the listings page let you see at-a-glance what each listing offers without a lot of clicks.

Snowboarding/Skiing Groups: Just yourself or a few people, and need to find a place to stay without the hassle/expense of renting a condo or hotel for a few nights? Check for groups/message boards of like-minded snowboarders or skiers in your area; oftentimes group members will post vacancies in their properties. (ps - That’s how Jessie and I found our place to stay this weekend!) These are some of the Mammoth groups we belong to.

• Mammoth SnowLovers - Active message board on Yahoo Groups for SoCal skiers and snowboarders; lots of rideshares, houseshares, trip planning, and advice is regularly posted.
• Mammoth Ski and Boarder Group and Mammoth & Beyond Ski and Snowboard Group - two Meetup.com groups of Los Angeles-based snowboaders and skiers. Sometimes I see special trips posted in addition to the usual carpooling, vacant condos, and other notes.
• Time-Outdoors - our friend “Uncle Krusty’s” site; the site is ‘an online community for outdoor enthusiasts.’ Fun group of members, he organizes many trips per season to Mammoth, Utah, Colorado and other snowboard/ski destinations.
  

Hotel Booking Sites: Sometimes you just want to get a hotel and be done with it, or you have a last-minute need for lodging. I recommend using metasearch travel engines to find cheap hotel rooms in your favorite ski destinations.

• Kayak.com - This site does all the legwork for you; searches 140+ travel sites at once and lists them, then you can pick the cheapest one! No need to go to other sites.

Now get out there and book a trip - it’s only the end of midseason and we’ve still got a few months of good snow left!

Continuing our new search for both female AND male hotties on the hill, we bring you Megan and Katie! We met them on Saturday morning at Mammoth in the Canyon Lodge outdoor bar enjoying noontime beers.

Megan is 24, Katie is 25. Both are from Laguna and consider Mammoth their home mountain. Megan was skiing that day, but had boarded in the past and went back to skiing. Katie has been riding 11 years and is regular foot. Both were on K2 gear.

Megan caught our eye because she was rockin’ this 686 Gaper onesie suit that was totally taking the piss out of those 80s one-piece suits. She was even wearing the fanny pack that came with the outfit… oh, the irony!

The back of it said “Totally Radical!” Love the sass of the outfit, and Megan rocked it big time. Fun girls and most definitely some Hotties on the Hill!

What do you think of these Hotties on the Hill? Rate them below - I’ve installed a rating system for our Hotties. 5 = hottest! Rate away, and enjoy!

(6 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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This past weekend, Jessie and I were in Mammoth again. We drove up EARLY Saturday morning, mostly at my insistence. In spite of a rough start to the weekend, we ended up having a blast!

We left my house in Los Angeles at 5:30am and made it to our condo by about 10:45. By the time we unloaded the car, changed into our gear, and walked up to Canyon Lodge, it was almost 11:45. So we decided to wait the extra hour-ish, and save $20 by doing the afternoon pass.

Well, we found a way to spend that $20 we each saved… “let’s pass the time by drinking some bloodies & beers!” We were at the Canyon outside bar till about 1:30 when we finally motivated to the mountain… but not until after we met some new Hotties on the Hill (more on them later!)

The snow conditions were great - it was about 40 on the mountain and beautiful blue skies on both Saturday and Sunday. It got a little mushy/sticky near the end of the day on Saturday, but we were determined to stay on the hill til the lifts closed, considering we got out so late that day.

It was definitely best at the top, where it stayed coldest - the snow was nicer up there but by the late hour we got up there it was pretty chopped up and mogul-ey. But even on top, on Saturday it was 20 degrees with only 10 MPH winds… a far cry from a few weeks ago when it was gusting as high as 75 MPH!

Saturday night we made it a mellow one… we did apres ski at the Austria House (not the greatest… decent beers but the food selection was crap… we missed Whiskey Creek!) We barely had any time to nap after returning to the condo, doing the jacuzzi, and then cleaning up and heading out to eat. We had dinner at Angels BBQ with the rest of the gang from the condo, and then went out for a beer at the Auld Dubliner. We were sleeping by 11:30 that night! It felt great after 4 hrs of sleep the night before due to our early drive.

Sunday was another bright, beautiful day - thankfully, today we were on the hill by 9am and enjoying the freshly groomed, uncrowded runs. I guess everyone kinda leaves Mammoth early morning for the long drive home, so Sundays stay pretty mellow. Great for us! Luckily, today we went straight to the top, and enjoyed the most amazing snow on Cornice & Scotty’s Run. Once again it was about40 on the hill, and very little wind, with bright sunlight (perfect conditions.)

Midway through the morning, we met up with Chad, Bob, and Wade from the condo and got to do a few runs with them before they had to leave.

It’s always so fun to ride with guys, they make us step it up and ride that much harder just to keep up with them! We did a few runs from Cornice and Climax down Lower Dry Creek… I had my most spectacular wipeout of the day with them. Let’s just call it an “on the mountain 720″ - I did 3 full somersault rotations coming down Climax and hitting a mogul wrong

The guys had to leave at noon; Jess and I headed up Chair 23 and took Road Runner down to Chair 14.  We did a few runs on the backside but agreed that top was better so we headed back up there for a few more Scotty’s and Cornice runs.  The  snow stayed pretty good through the day - we were on the hill until 2:15 then we decided to come down, get changed, and hit the road for our long drive. We both agreed that today (Sunday) was the best day of the season so far! All in all in spite of a rough start to the weekend (the 4:30am alarm clock on Saturday), we had a GREAT time and thanks to Dave for inviting us. Great people, great snow, and all in all great fun! Can’t wait for the next one.

Oh, I almost forgot! We even got to see WOOLLY, the Mammoth Mountain mascot, skiing down to Canyon Lodge as we took the chair up. We love Woolly! Seeing him is always a silly fun highlight of any Mammoth snowboarding trip. We’ll see you again soon Woolly!

Check out the full set of this weekend’s Mammoth photos on Flickr.

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Our first snowboard trip to Mammoth this season!

Had a great time with Stacey (”Miller Time”), Leila, Stacy C., and of course the Juice.

As usual, we stayed in Viewpoint because of its proximity to the village and the gondola.

We arrived on Friday night and chilled with some wine; made it an early night so we could hit the mountain the next morning and be fully rested. Saturday was a gorgeous bluebird day - not a cloud in the sky and no wind. Mammoth had not had new snow in a week or more but it was pretty cold and so the snow stayed nice; there wasn’t too much ice. The mountain wasn’t even crowded! We got a lot of runs in and capped off the day with a break for beer & bloodies at the Mill Cafe.

Saturday evening was a big night of dancing at Lakanuki, where we pretty much owned the dance floor with our party posse of 5. But first, some shopping at Wave Rave - some new
brown Burton Women’s Rodeo Pants for me!

Sunday was freezing cold and it quite frankly sucked. It was 70MPH winds at the top and the temp was listed at 10. (Check out this video of the wind at the top of Mammoth!) The conditions were bad - flat light, lots of ice, and the aforementioned wind. But, we stayed out for a few hours and got a lot of runs in anyways before calling it a day.

Jessie: “It’s how cold at the top?”

Sunday evening was a fun night out starting at Hennessey’s where we met two new Hotties on the Hill who were Navy pilots and in town for a weekend of skiing. Chilled there for a bit and then headed to the Auld Dubliner for irish music & black and tans and a shot of Rumple Minze courtesy of the very friendly bartender. Yikes!

The ride home was uneventful except for our delicious lunch at our new favorite pit-stop - the Country Kitchen! This place was great - definitely a better bet for stopping for a diner meal on the ride home vs. the crazy-busy Schat’s in Bishop. Check it out sometime!

As usual, a fun trip with a great group. And lots of Hotties on the Hill that we’ll be adding to the site soon. Mammoth, we love you… we’ll be back in two weeks!

Check out photos of our Mammoth snowboarding trip this weekend at our Flickr page.

From a Mammoth Dump Alert email this morning:

Snow Report for Thursday Jan 10

At 6am at Main Lodge it is 33 degrees. Temps should stay comfortable today in the upper 30’s. Clouds are hanging around and the winds are low. We may be in for a few scattered snow showers during the morning. At the summit it is 27 degrees with mild winds.

The 7-10 feet of fresh snow the last few storms left behind has made for excellent riding conditions all across the mountain. The coverage now allows for more exploration to find powder stashes and exciting natural features. If that’s not quite your thing, Mammoth also offers nearly 900 acres of smoothly groomed terrain on 89 runs with soft snow.

I’ll be there next weekend with Jessie, Leila, Miller Time and others; let’s hope the mountain gets even more snow between now and then!

Our next two Hotties on the Hill are two guys we met on a huge group trip to Mammoth in January 2006. Eileen had organized a big group and we were in two separate condos - 6 or 7 people each! It was an amazing 3-day weekend with TONS of snow and lots of fun. Here is Little Jenny, me, and Eileen on our first night out with the big crew, at Dublins in the Mammoth Village.

Greg is from San Diego, and Wade is from Orange County. Eileen knew Greg from playing softball with him, and then he ended up bringing Wade along in the 2nd condo. These guys are awesome snowboarders - super fast yet always in control, and look good while doing it!

They took us all up to Cornice, Dave’s Run, and all those insane runs way at the top of the mountain. Only after a little “Liquid Courage” at McCoy were we ready to tackle these double blacks!

Luckily there was a lot of snow this season, so the runs were pretty manageable… once we got over our initial fear. We ended up taking the gondola up to the runs quite a few times. Here is a pic of the whole crew in the gondola…

But I tell you those guys ALWAYS beat us down the mountain, no matter how fast I felt like I was going!

Of course no trip to Mammoth would be complete without a night of craziness out dancing… here’s Wade dancin’ a fool, with Stacey to his left.

They were as good of dancers as they were snowboarders! Really fun, all-around good guys. (That’s me, Wade, and Greg.)

And a precursor of things to come… Wade & Little Jenny the next morning, as we cleaned all the new snow off Little Jenny’s car…

To finish the story - a happy ending! Now Wade and Little Jenny are dating, mainly as a result of this trip! She has her own personal hottie on the hill. Go Little Jenny!