Mammoth Lakes

As we left Lake Tahoe the weatherf was getting bad. They shut down the mountain until the weather let up. Thank God we got there a day earlier.
Mammoth Lakes is just a few hours drive away from Lake Tahoe. The difference with Tahoe and Mammoth is that there were other things to do besides skiing at Tahoe.

Mammoth had a laundry mat, Thai food, and Quiznos. Sure we stayed at a Motel 6. Needless to say No Fridge, No WiFi. But that is besides the point. We were there to ski and board. The first night we did laundry and met up with some friends to dinner. Thai at "Thai'd up" was actually not bad. I think the name is just cute.

The next day snow was falling and the mountain was calling. Snow was falling hard. Too Hard! For the same amount of snow fall in NYC the plows would have been out with salt and closed schools. In Mammoth it was just another day. Seriously I did not see a plow for hours. By that time snow was up to my knees.

However, the mountain was SWEET. I couldn't see it, the mountain, but the powder was fresh. I paid and got the "winter advisory" warning. What are the odds that they would have to shut it down right?


As we get off the lift the powder felt like....I don't even know how to describe it. First of all I don't even think I have ever been on real fresh powder before. It was like floating on air. Almost like surfing. Hard to control because I couldn't feel it firmly. It was shifting under my weight. But it was light as air. The major problem was I was in the middle of a snow storm. Wind gusts made it snow blind at times. The trail in front of me was no where to be found. Just then I heard a scream from behind me and turned just in time to see my girlfriend take a mean tumble. Not like a little fall either. A little fall would make me laugh. This fall made me worry. She had cracked her goggles and twisted her ankle. It took us a long time to get down and if she were anyone else I probably would have thought about leaving but it never entered my mind. It took us up to 1/2 an hour. I would have stayed as long as it took.

We came down on the wrong side of the mountain though. I went back up the mountain and it still was beautiful. By the time I got back to the car to move it closer to her it was partially snowed/plowed in. Time to go.

Have you ever heard of snow chains? I have heard the news reports say that the plows were getting them ready but I have never heard of any on cars. That is until I tried getting off of a mountain covered in snow. I must have driven 10 mph going down the mountain but 1) I could not see and 2) I did not know where the road was when I could see.

Word of advice...If you are going to ski or board during a snow storm make sure your room is on the mountain or a shuttle can take you there. You never want to drive in that crap. We spent the rest of the night inside eating crappy Subway sandwiches. Remember when in Mammoth "Thai'd up" and 4wd good and "Subway" and no shovel or ice scrapper is bad...To be continued.