As I write this little update, the second big storm of the season is dumping light, fluffy snow right outside my window. We’re having an amazing start since it’s only early December!

I will be teaching again this year and look forward to seeing you up the hill.

And as usual, happy to answer any questions you might have about skiing, Mammoth Mountain, the town of Mammoth Lakes, things to do with kids, and so on! Drop me a line at andrew@kiwiski.net.

Phew what a few years it’s been! Since I last wrote, my wife and I welcomed our baby daughter to the world in January of 2017, in the middle of the snowpowcalypse that was the winter of 2016-17. Luckily we live close to the hospital and the birth went well – the nurses told us afterward that they weren’t sure what would have happened if there were any complications – travel out of Mammoth was very dicey due to the storms.

Our sweet baby is now 14 months old and I’m not quite sure where the time went. Between her, her high-energy brother (we append his name with “Hurricane”), work, and life, it’s all been a happy blur!

This year hasn’t been quite as good as 2017 with snow, but the conditions on the mountain are still fantastic – especially after the last storm that rolled through last weekend, dumping 5-7 feet.

Hope you are enjoying the winter!

On our evening walk, my wife, son and I happened upon a bear! This is the closest I’ve been to a black bear since moving to Mammoth. He definitely knew we were there, but just slowly ambled across the path… occasionally turning his head to stare at us as we played silly humans and took as many photos as possible.

We had the famous “10 feet of wind” last weekend… but luckily, along with all of that wind came NEW SNOW! The mountain is looking nice and white now. We got 4-6 inches at Main Lodge and 1-2 feet up top! Mammoth Mountain opens on November 10… just a little over 3 weeks away. Dust off those skis!

Photo courtesy Mammoth Lakes Tourism.

Wow how time flies! Had a great 2015/16, with some amazing snow, fun lessons, and the mountain open until July 4. Now we’re in full-swing summer. I’ve been busy working, hanging out with my wife and 2-year-old, camping, and training for the grueling Tioga Pass Run (12.4 miles – only one hill!).

See you for the 16/17 season!

Gidday,

We’re off to a great start for the 2014/15 season! Fingers crossed the snow continues to fall. I’m instructing again this season, it’s hard to believe this is my sixth at Mammoth! Please contact me for my availability if you’d like to take a private lesson; all bookings need to be directly made through the Mammoth Ski School. Remember you can have up to five skiers in a private lesson at one time or split your time up how you wish, you get to cut the general lift line too.

See you up the mountain!

Hello,

Just wanted to write and let everyone know that I will be teaching again at Mammoth for the 2012/13 winter. It will be my fourth season and I’m really excited for this one as I’ve had a nice long break from skiing over the summer. The summer in Mammoth was exceptional by the way, lots of great weather to enjoy the local outdoors including mountain biking, golf, outdoor music and plenty of hiking.

The season is off to a wonderful start, I haven’t skied the top yet but it looks like there is as much snow up there as any point during last year! Terrain will open as Mother Nature and snow making allow, Canyon Lodge is set to open around December 14th but there will be fun skiing to had before then. Drop me a line if you would like to find out about current conditions before you head up.

See you on the hill!

Cheers Andrew

NASA just released a fantastic high-res image of Earth from space, and it happens to include a cloud-free view of our little area of California!

You can clearly see the trough or depression in the mountains that creates a perfect funnel for storms (well, most years). The Long Valley Caldera is also easy to spot. How cool is it that we live in a day when these amazing views are available to us?

Last weekend the skies finally opened up and we got some natural snow falling from above. Two storms rolled in and provided a much needed boost for the season. Mammoth Mountain is claiming four feet of new snow which I’d say is about right. It is enough to have all lifts open and most terrain somewhat covered. I say somewhat because there are still rock and tree hazards that you would expect to see earlier in the season.  Having said this the skiing has been fantastic! It is awesome to get off the groomers for the first time this season. I wasn’t lucky enough to get out right after the top opened but Marc Gallin, an instructor at Canyon Lodge, kindly supplied some photos.

Top of 23 (photo Marc Gallin)

Chair 23 opened for the first time and from reports there was good skiing to be had down Dropout and Wipeout. Unfortunately an easterly wind was blowing the new snow over to Fresno. The run in the photo above is called Skyline; one of the least pleasant ski runs in Mammoth.

Looking up Drop Out to Chair 23 (photo Marc Gallin)

Last year snow buried the roof of Chair 23, not so much this year! This picture gives a pretty good view of Drop Out, a nice steep pitch and a double black diamond.

Snow Fence at Mammoth (photo Marc Gallin)

It wouldn’t be Mammoth without a little wind. Usually it blows from the west producing some legendary wind blown powder snow know as ‘the buff’. Like on this day, when it blows from the east, it tends to strip the snow though.

Minarets (photo Marc Gallin)

What a difference a week and a bit of snow can make. Last week the same view would have been more like a summer scene with very little snow. This week it is unmistakeably winter!

Temperatures have been on the increase since the storms and the word in town is for another dry spell at least in the short term. However, the skiing right now is the best it has been all season so get up here and make the most of it.

The last time we got a decent snow fall was last year back on November 20th. We have finally received some new snow exactly two months later! It was only an inch so far but enough to cover the dirt and at least make the mountain look like a picture of winter. The skiing won’t change too much and we will need a lot more of the white stuff to get any more terrain open. But at least it is a step in the right direction. Here’s a couple of pictures hot off the press from this morning.

Stump Alley

Main Lodge

There is more snow in the forecast for tonight, as much as 25 inches. Fingers crossed that this comes to fruition and winter is finally here! Man made snow you have been great but it is time to get excited.