Conditions Report
Report from Thursday, February 1 and Friday, February 2, 2024
What. A. Treat.
The storm moved in on Wednesday night just as we arrived in town and boy did it deliver.
We woke up Thursday morning around 6:30 to roughly six-eight inches of fresh, fluffy snow in town; and it was still coming down hard.
It was shaping up to be a fantastic storm day skiing and riding at Mammoth Mountain.
After a quick breakfast, I checked the Mammoth App before we loaded up the car and made our way over to The Mill around 8:05, where we found a prime parking spot.
Our only other time skiing here was last July and August, so with winter now in full effect, this was going to be an entirely different experience getting mid-winter freshies at Mammoth.
Starting the day right at first bell on Stump Alley Express (Chair 2), we traversed under McCoy Station and immediately found an abundance of knee deep, glorious powder.
“This is going to be an amazing day,” we said to each other.
A few laps later, we worked our way over to Broadway Express (Chair 1).
Thankfully, we found the slightly steeper and deep snow we were hoping for around the Glades and Wall area.
The snow was still dumping, the wind was howling, and we were completely socked in for the grunt of the storm.
However, face-shots and some small drops into knee-deep powder enhanced the “woohoos” and the day really started to ramp up.
With the upper mountain lifts closed for the day, it was hopefully just a matter of time before mid-mountain started spinning lifts.
I noticed Chair 22 opened around 10:30, but unfortunately it would have been a trek for us to get over there from Main Lodge.
Instead, we went up the Panorama Gondola to McCoy Station and decided to wait in line for Face Lift Express (Chair 3) to open.
We were the only people waiting, but right at 10:45 the short-lived wait was over, and we got first chair up Face Lift.
Less than three minutes up the lift before two terrific minutes down through powder-town, over and over.
Center Bowl and West Bowl were phenomenal.
Eventually, as that started to get tracked out, we continued to explore and were treated finely to more magnificent fresh snow in China Bowl.
At one point, I white-roomed myself a split-second before a small drop with a few sharks in the take-off and the tip of a pine tree in the run-out yet skated away unscathed.
That lead us down to High Five Express (Chair 5) where I found a slightly bigger Hollywood air to send.
On my first attempt, I landed in a bomb hole, as I always manage to do, and slid out.
When I went back for my redemption, I lined it up slightly to my left and found a nice, soft landing into a long choppy run-out.
Success!
“Now it’s time for a quick lunch,”
After a quick bite to eat for us and our cat at the AirBnb, we arrived back to The Mill around 1:45.
At that point, the plan was to venture around in terrain we had yet to see.
We took Gold Rush Express (Chair 10) up and over to go check out Chair 22.
It still looked a little bony in there, but after this next storm cycle starting Sunday, I imagine the entire mountain is going to fill in beautifully.
For another two hours, right until last bell, we found some mellow, soft turns in the trees.
Smiling, laughing, and wondering how we got so lucky making it down here for our first time during the winter on such a stellar storm day.
The clouds started to break, and small pieces of blue skies and bright sunshine mingled with the remaining storm clouds and snowflakes.
Although the day of skiing was coming to a close, a quick 20-minute drive to the hot springs then a soak in the hot tub proved to be a great way to relax and rejuvenate.
After all, we planned to be back for a couple hours of skiing first thing in the morning before hitting the road.
Friday morning, we arrived at The Mill again just after 8 o’clock.
This time, we were able to see the groomed run glistening in the morning sun, after more than 20 inches of snow fell over the past 36 hours.
We ripped some fast, smooth, and playful, groomers in Stump Alley a few times before heading over to Main Lodge.
With the Toyota Snowboard and Freeski Grand Prix going on this weekend, we had to check out the monstrous jumps and halfpipe under Unbound Express (Chair 6).
The DJ was spinning some early morning jams at the base of the halfpipe as crews were putting their finishing touches on this outrageously huge park.
We took a few more laps, bouncing around on little side-hits as the cold temps and semi-cloudy skies kept the snow immaculate.
As we were leaving Main Lodge, we saw athletes geared up from Japan arriving for the weekend.
They looked ready to throw down their best bag of tricks and provide some great entertainment for everyone watching.
For just a quick two-day trip, this was without a doubt one we’ll remember and cherish for a long time.
Thank you Mammoth and see you again soon!
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