June Lake, California — When you think of ski areas in Mono County, you think of one place… June Mountain. Yeah, not really, because Mammoth exists. Which is a shame, because June Mountain is an underrated gem.
Like the relationship between Killington and Pico, Mammoth tends to see upgrades as the infrastructure at June Mountain ages (Pico has been getting some love in recent years). However, upcoming enhancements could mean that Alterra’s strategy for this hidden gem is changing.
Yesterday, Mammoth Lakes Tourism and Mammoth Mountain announced the improvements for the 2026-27 season. The announcement also includes improvements at June Mountain, which is operated by Alterra.
The first upgrade regards snowmaking. The Canyon trail is the easiest way down from the mid-mountain, but it relied on natural snow. This offseason, June Mountain added snowmaking to Canyon, extending the operational calendar. While June has snowmaking, it’s limited and wasn’t available for the lower mountain. This now gives skiers and those afraid of heights an easier way down.
Also noteworthy is the addition of the Remote Avalanche Control (RAC) system. One RAC was installed on the mountain, which will lead to safer and more effective avalanche mitigation. The “boom-woosh” system will also lead to quicker terrain openings. Mammoth also acquired five snow groomers, with at least one of them planned for use at June.
J1’s On Deck
June Mountain has struggled to draw the crowds major California ski resorts do, which is why locals love it so much. The struggles got so bad that Mammoth kept June closed for the entire 2012-13 season to cut costs. Locals weren’t happy, so Mammoth reopened the mountain during the 2013-14 season.
The only lift out of the base is a 1960 Yan double chairlift (J1), which can intimidate less experienced skiers and riders. It can also lead to long lift lines. While the lift has its fans, PeakRankings went so far as to call it the worst chairlift in North America.
In 2013, Mammoth Resorts owner Rusty Gregory said they promised two big changes for June: adding snowmaking and a new lift to the face. The snowmaking delay was due to the need to secure water capacity, which was recently resolved. The project that hasn’t happened is the chairlift replacement. C’mon Rusty, you promised!
In his defense, Mammoth and June changed hands when Alterra took over in 2017. Rusty was CEO of Alterra for a while and is back in a key leadership role after Jared Smith left earlier this year.
On a 2025 episode of the Storm Skiing Journal & Podcast, Mammoth & June Mountain President & COO Eric Clark said priority one was snowmaking on Canyon, and then replacing J1 would come next. A parking expansion is also being considered. Now, we’ll see how long the chairlift replacement takes.
Image/Video Credits: PeakRankings, June Mountain
