Considering that we haven’t had snow here in Mammoth for over a week the skiing is still really good. I had the day off today and went skiing with my wife Katy and friend Jo. It was a great day and Katy did really well to tick off Cornice and Scotty’s for the first time, skiing them in style.

We have had a little wind over the last couple of days which has been creating some awesome wind blown snow in places. Other areas have been scoured a little but are still very much skiable. There isn’t a great deal of snow in the forecast for the next week but with the base we have conditions should make for nice skiing over the next wee while.

Here are some photos from today:

Jo, Katy and I on Chair 23

Getting some nice wind blown powder on Huevo's

Gravy Chute was the run of the day!

Jo getting a carve on

If you would like to check out more photos from today visit my gallery.

Ski School for children is a great way for them to learn about skiing, make friends and have fun. But what actually happens during the day?

The Ski School Day

Here I’m talking about the lessons I give, some other instructors may do things differently but at the end of the day the kids should be safe, have fun and learn something from every lesson.

The Ski School day begins at 09.00 for classes, it is a good idea to get there 15 minutes early and if you need rentals at least an hour before at busy times. Instructors will be there earlier to organise the meeting area and talk about the day ahead. Sometimes we are lucky enough to get a quick ski before work. Instructors are assigned to different levels although this can often change at the last minute. Basically we have to be prepared to teach anything to anyone anywhere.

The first part of the day involves getting the kids into groups. I want to make sure the kids are about the same level and can ski roughly the same speed on the same terrain. To put the children into the appropriate groups we first ask the parents and child questions, it is therefore important to give a realistic description of their skiing ability. Once this is done we then watch the kids ski and make adjustments as necessary.  Sometimes organising groups can take a little bit of time but it is important to get it right. I’ll write more about the levels for groups in another article.

On Chair 15 with Zoe, Alexis and Brian (aka student)

Once my group is finalised I establish some ground rules on what is expected to ski in my ‘team’ and let kids know what the day has in store for them. This first part of the day is also a chance for the kids to get to know me and each other. I then decide on what the class is going to focus on in terms of skill development for the day based on how they ski. Usually I will then work on that skill for the morning keeping terrain fairly low key. If the weather is bad or I have younger kids I will take a hot chocolate break before lunch as required. During this time I want things to be fun and interesting, I’ve found that bored kids don’t learn much!

Lunch time is either 11.30 to 12.00 or 12.00 to 12.30, this is my chance to have a break! I drop the kids off to the lunch room and they are well fed and looked after by our great Ski School support staff. If your child has dietary requirements let your instructor know and this can be catered for. After lunch it’s time to explore the mountain and put the skills worked on during the morning to use. From Canyon, Eagle is a favourite place of mine to go, or popping over to Chair 21 and back. Here I’m looking to up the terrain a little or try to challenge the skiers in trees or bumps etc. Once again I’ll take a break in the afternoon if appropriate. Also throughout the day I work on safety with the kids, the goal here is that they learn good ski etiquette and make ‘safe’ decisions on their own.

Exploring new terrain is an important part of the day

The day finishes back where we started at 3.00. When I meet parents I brief them on what we have worked on where we have skied, I also let parents and children know what level to come back to at Ski School next time. Each child in Ski School is given a card listing skills worked on and achieved which they keep and bring back next lesson.

At the end of the day hopefully the kids have had fun and learnt something. If they want to come back to Ski School and ski with me again then I reckon it’s been a great day!

Top of Chair 16

The first busy holiday period of the season is over and it’s time to catch my breath. I had a great time and a big thank you to all the great people I got to ski with over the last couple of weeks. I hope to see you all back at Mammoth sometime soon.

It was a challenging time for the Mountain with December having a record snow fall and Mammoth being able to boast the most snow in the world for any resort! That does come at a cost though as some days getting around town was a mission and I got a sore back from digging out the car everyday. Also there were days with lifts being affected by the snow and weather, a big thanks to ski patrol, grooming and lift crew for working so hard to get things going.

January is my favourite month at Mammoth. The snow is awesome, there are no queues (lines in american) and I get a few days off to ski, giddy up! It’s the perfect time to visit Mammoth if you can get the time off school or work. You can still buy super cheap January mid week passes for $209 until Jan 5th. Hopefully I will also be able to catch up on some posts and get some more photos up, watch this space!

It is a very busy week at Mammoth with lots of people enjoying the holidays and some fantastic snow. However, things can get a little crazy at times so here’s some tips to make the most of your time at Mammoth this holiday.

1. Be early for everything! This applies to parking, first lifts, lunch and apres ski. Lifts open at 8.30am and usually the lift queues are not bad for the first half hour or so. Having an early lunch has two benefits; the first is that you might find a table and second when you head out skiing afterward the slopes will be quieter with others having lunch between 11.30 and 1.00. Consider finishing skiing a little early too if you want to grab something to eat or drink apres ski before restaurants get super busy.

2. Avoid skiing down to base areas in the morning. Once on the hill it is best to avoid chairs 1, 2, 15 and 16, especially in the morning, as these are the main access points onto the hill. Instead head to chairs on the mid mountain like 12, 22 and 25. Also the back side is often less busy if you are an intermediate or above.

3. Try to seek out runs that are not main thoroughfares. Runs to avoid are Broadway, Stump Alley and Cloverleaf. Good runs to head to are St Anton, Round Robin (although this now has a terrain park much to my disappointment) and Sleepy Hollow. If you are on a busy run ski or board to one side and don’t make random turns across the hill.

4. Go to the Village for lunch. You can either ski or download from the village gondola to the Village for lunch. Here you have the choice of several restaurants that may be less busy than those on the hill. If you are eating at McCoy Station there is additional seating downstairs that a lot of people don’t know about.

5. Pick up rentals or lift tickets the night before. Most places will let you get rentals the night before you go skiing. Even better is to get them delivered to your door. Ski Valet is one such company and they can even set up a locker for you on the hill.

6. Book lessons in advance. During this period private lessons almost always sell out. However, so long as you are on time you should always be able to get a group lesson.

7. Be safe on the roads. Traffic can get quite congested, for Mammoth that is! But driving on icy roads can be tricky so keep speeds down and following distances longer.

Hopefully these tips will make your trip to Mammoth at busy times a little easier. Have fun on the slopes and see you on the hill!

I’ve had a few people ask me why the top of the mountain is not open for skiing. Probably something to do with the 16 feet of snow we have had over the last few days burying things. They say a picture paints a thousand words:

Chair 23

This is the top of chair 23, normally you ski out of this structure down onto the snow, obviously not at the moment though.

Patrol on top of chair 23

Word is they had to dig to find the top of the Top of the Sierra directional sign…

And it’s still snowing! It’s expected to let up late tonight, with beautiful weather leading up to the Christmas holiday. Couldn’t ask for a better gift than loads and loads of fresh powder.

Mammoth Lakes has received record snow for the month of December! Up on the mountain there is 12 feet and counting. Town has gotten a bit less… maybe ten feet! Word from the weather report: it’s not going to let up until Tuesday, and then start again for Christmas! Let it snow!

Digging out the car… it was totally cleared off at 10pm the night before.

Driving on Minaret Road, R3 chain controls! Only saw one car stuck.

We are in the middle of some great snow-bearing storms that are hitting Mammoth at the moment. The official website is reporting between 4-6 feet on the ground so far and from what I have seen in town today I believe it. It looks like another couple of feet at least to come through to Tuesday. However it was also raining a little bit in town today so it may be heavier powder for tomorrow on the lower slopes.

Unfortunately I had some critical things to do in town today (like buy a house) so missed out on any powder skiing but I’m sure it was epic.

Here are some photos from town today.

Tomorrow sees an expansion of flights into Mammoth which is pretty exciting for the town and visitors alike. Horizon Air will have three daily flights, two from LA and one from San Jose.  New for this year United will be flying direct from San Fransisco to Mammoth starting tomorrow.

What does all this mean for Mammoth Mountain?

Hopefully skiers and boarders that would usually go elsewhere will come here. From the airport it is only a 15 minute drive to town; in theory you could be skiing within 30 minutes of touchdown. Where else can you do that? I also hope it will attract people to come to Mammoth during the week. Midweek at Mammoth (outside of holiday periods) is awesome; there is hardly ever a lift line and you can enjoy town without the crowds.

I teach a lot of people from the San Diego area and word on the street is that an air link from down that way is on the cards, not this year but soon perhaps. With these flights Mammoth can be accessible to anyone from anywhere!

A Horizon plane in action at Mammoth during the summer

‘Spring-like’ sums up conditions at the moment. We had quite a bit of rain at Mammoth on Thursday which put bit of a damper on things. The snow in the morning is quite firm but softens during the day particularly on sunny aspects. The Eagle side of the mountain will generally be the first area so soften up so head there first. Expect runs that are in the shade to be icey so be careful. I didn’t get to ski the top today but heard there are still pockets of good snow to be found up there.

Having said all that the skiing is still fun and the coverage is excellent for this time of year. There is a little bit of snow in the forecast this week and it wouldn’t take much to spruce things up. On the other positive side crowds are still minimal and will be for another week or so. So grab your skis or snowboard and hit the slopes.