Put away the skis

Rumors and local chatter during the July 4 holiday weekend that Mammoth Mountain Ski Area might have been trying to extend the ski season turned out to be untrue. According to MMSA’s Joani Lynch, the Mountain had queried some ski teams as to whether they would like to get some summer practice time in at MMSA, but had no takers and decided that July 4 would indeed be it for the winter season.

Lynch said that while there may be a few feet of snow still clinging to the Mountain’s upper regions, the warm weather has erased much of the mid- and lower-level coverage. As of July 6, there were about 5 to 6 inches at the base of Chair 11. “Lots of brown [dirt] is showing through, and when that happens the snow goes pretty fast,” Lynch commented.

One thing unusual about his year, however, is that Chair 2 [Stump Alley] and The Mill were open all the way through July 4, a rarity in most ski seasons at this time of year. By July 5, however, what was left of the narrow run was deemed not skiable. Lynch said the focus now is to get the Bike Park trails fully online and press on into summer.

Mammoth was one of a handful of ski areas in California that made it to July 4, including Alpine Meadows, Kirkwood, Sugar Bowl and Squaw Valley. It’s only the fourth time Squaw has operated that late in the year since it opened in 1949.

Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood in Oregon is salting its best two runs and is forecasting being open through Labor Day. For you hardcore snow chasers, north of the U.S. border Whistler B.C. is reportedly open daily for glacier skiing/riding. –AG