Yes, this is what Mammoth typically looks like for late March. Apparently 2012 is no exception.
MAMMOTH CONDITIONS REPORT | Good things come to those who wait. If you were patient and you were able to wait ‘til spring for winter, you were rewarded. 6-8” fell Sunday-Monday, permitting Hangman’s Hollow to be open and to stay open. Yes, it’s March 27th and Mammoth is 100% open.
Conditions today were outstanding: partly sunny skies, temps in the 30s and a steady south/southwest wind. The wind continually buffed up the snow on the upper mountain which made for some of the best conditions we’ve seen all season.
Eventually winds hit hard enough that several upper mountain lifts had to close. Up ‘til then the top was the place to be. Soft wintery snow, best coverage of the season… yeah, if you waited ‘til spring for winter, you’re pretty stoked (and lucky).
Per usual Cornice Bowl was the most popular run off the top. Remember, popular does not necessarily mean best.
THE CONDITIONS
The PROS:
- Fresh 6-8”, steady south/west wind = hero snow up top once again.
- Spring-breakers keep coming and going. If your spring break landed on this week, you’re stoked.
- Are schools on spring break? You wouldn’t know it by the complete lack of lift lines.
- Coverage is excellent – Hangman’s Hollow is open and all upper mountain runs, from Dave’s to the Paranoids have skiable access.
- Temps are forecasted to stay in check (30s-40s) well into the coming weekend, which means we’ll be skiing great mid-winter snow at least that far out.
The sign/post at the top keeps getting shorter.
Dave's Run was dreamy today. Does the light look flat here? Believe it or not, it wasn't.
The CONS:
- Not a big fan of big gusts of wind? You perhaps would be turned off by days like today. Just remember there’s a big plus side to all that wind. Bundle up and you’re good to go.
- By early afternoon lower mountain runs were a little “tacky” (temps for 9,000′ and down were enough to slightly impact the snow). Yet, what does that matter when you should be up top anyhow?
- Although the winds can do a great job of depositing snow into pockets they’ll also strip snow from other spots. For example, the top of Solitude was stripped as well as the connector from Chair 9 to Chair 10.
With temps in the 40s down here the snow got a little "tacky" by mid-afternoon.
Clouds/storm rolling back in this afternoon... What will it bring?
PARK REPORT:
- Main and South Parks are looking great… Yet with high winds and fresh snow, conditions are not conducive to good park riding right now.
- Remember, the more snow we get now the more time come May and June we’ll have to sesh the parks.
Oakley O as it's currently set up in South Park. Sweet pic thanks to http://www.MammothSeasonaires.com
The STATS:
- New Snow: 6-8” fell Sunday-Monday.
- Base: approx. 7’+
- Weather: Temps look to remain low well into the weekend which translates to great quality snow all week. That mixed with a “trade” wind and we may have the best string of days for riding the upper mountain all season. Oh yeah… it’s supposed to snow some more tomorrow too… couple inches?
- Conditions: Powder, packed powder, slightly tacky on the lower mountain, all-around excellent.
- Lifts: All lifts except for Chairs 20, 21, and 25. A few lifts did close early due to high winds.
- Runs: 100% of the Mountain was open today… really!
Bottom line: Crowds are scarce, the snow is about as good as it gets, coverage is great… and it’s March 27th. Hey conditions are normally great for late March, why would we expect anything less?
