The Mammothites departed from eight locations on Feb 6th to arrive at Mammoth Mountain with 53 in person and several in spirit. The bus crew held their La Vostra Prosecco champagne trip toast in the sunshine outside Whole Foods in Reno after an enjoyable shopping and lunch experience in the Tap Room.
With rooms assigned, lift tickets, and a $100 resort gift card in hand, the crew met for a Hardy Breakfast Burrito welcome reception on the morning of the 7th. Shortly thereafter, we met our tour hosts to traverse “the beast” with 27 lifts, 3,500 acres of varied terrain, and 3,100’ vertical to explore. This was about a 4-hour worthwhile excursion because it is “Mammoth” after all. If you can’t have powder, you better have sunshine. Mammoth boasts 300 days. We did four in the sun with favorable temps that held the snowpack. The grooming was delightfully carvable. We let it rip the rest of the day and figured out how to make it back to the Juniper Springs Resort.
The 8th, saw the crew ripping it up and some ventured to the skiable steeps. Clusters crossed tracks all over the mountain. The “lifties” knew us by our red and black plaid trip streamers. They kept asking how many are in the group and if you were having a good time. Of course, we were skiing “the Woolly Mammoth” trying to shave a few centimeters from it. The 3 o’clock bell rang, and we ended up at the Canyon Lodge, Clover Leaf Room for a ski apre’s hosted bar with taco feed. The outside patio was the place to relax, enjoy the views, tell tales of the day’s adventure, and lift a glass amongst us to another great day of skiing.
Wednesday and Thursday, more ventured into new areas. Some tackled the Cornice, Scotty’s, and Dave’s Run. Some went to other steeps taking the Upper Panorama Gondola to the top. At the top of Mammoth is a 30’ tall signage post in the center picture here as a point of reference to the snowpack depth skied upon. Some crossed paths with “Woolly” the resort’s mascot. A delightful creature who skied without poles and did some tricks off the sides of the runs and the terrain parks.
All good things must conclude. And it did with the Farewell Partee Thursday’s evening culinary experience at the Mammoth Rock Brassiere. The awe of the past four days skiing was roundly discussed and several humorous or not so were passed around during the trip debrief. Several cheers to another great ski adventure were had. As we departed on the 11th, an “All-American” breakfast was provided at the Good Life Café to hold us over till we reached Reno. Not to let go so soon, a round of cheer was provided at the Reno Airport Tap & Pour pub to salute an unforgettable lifetime ski memory which exceeded expectations!
Thanks to all who lent a hand when needed. I couldn’t have done it without your assistance. And, it has sunk in, this was the best!
Thee Hawk Sends