This article brought to us by the Mountain Rider’s Alliance.
Passionate ski bum, Gary Jeong, updates us on his feelings about Lake Tahoe area ski resorts being closed despite record amounts of snow sitting idly in wait on resort slopes…
Since my home ski resorts stopped running the lifts, I have driven approximately 700 miles to take advantage of “spring” skiing at Mammoth. Even though I had to drive down and back twice, for a total of 4 ski days, it was worth every cent spent in lift tickets, fuel, food on the road, and lodging. And I’ll probably do it one more time before my regular ski resorts open back up for the 4th of July weekend (although I’ll probably opt for camping out in the back of my truck instead of forking out dough for lodging).
Some would say that I have an obsessive compulsive disorder, I can live with that. I can’t help it, especially when I look up and see a lot of snow still covering the upper elevations around here. I can’t be the only one!
A phat June snow pack in the Sierras
Now I know what some of my detractors are going to say. Things like “get your skins on and hike for it”, or “break out your mountain bike, it’s time to ride”, etc, etc. blah,blah. Well, I want more than a couple laps in a day, and I refuse to break out the bike when there’s so much skiing left to do, it’s why I live here!! I applaud Mammoth for knowing what it is that makes their place so special..IT’S THE MOUNTAIN!!
When the snow finally melts (and it could be august this year) the powers that be will open the trails for mountain biking…but the big point here is WHEN THE SNOW MELTS. Until then, skiing is king!
Riders enjoying open lifts at Mammoth
It used to be that way around here too, but those days have been long gone. Giant corporations took over and decided money is king, not skiing..at a ski resort. Need to keep shareholders happy, not the skiers…at a ski resort. Ok, I can already hear some people saying things like, “well, they are a business. Do you expect them to lose money?” Lose money? Seems to me that they are losing money by not doing what Mammoth is…attracting lots of southern Californians to the community by embracing the record snowfall of 2010-2011.
Crowds gathering for spring skiing at Mammoth
How about this idea: the two North Shore giants getting together and alternating spinning the lifts on weekends until the 4th of July? Is that too much to ask coming from a person with an obsessive compulsive disorder?
Alpine Meadows, June 23, 2011