Mammoth Easter
The vibe at Mammoth has been a little off this year—so I've heard, and so it seems to me from my few visits. In addition of course to the weather, the big difference is apparently people.
Because so many western resorts have had such a poor snow year, Mammoth has apparently been getting a lot of visitors who don't usually ski here. How much exactly that is true rather than mere anecdote, I can't say, but the place has felt different this year, particularly in terms of crowding and crowd flow.
With Easter behind us, perhaps people will shift to golf and mountain bikes—or perhaps not. Mammoth, with its unique upper mountain (steep, north-facing, tons of snow), is going to be in the game for a while yet, so it will continue to draw skiers who aren't ready to give up on the season.
I tend to think Mammoth is a terrible resort for your garden-variety skier. Such skiers are, in my opinion, far better served by the terrain and modes-of-operation of the Colorado ski industry (and for that matter, Colorado's typically non-savage winter weather).
But Mammoth is special indeed for those who like their lift-served angles sharp—unmatched, I'd say, and especially so for t-shirt extremists like myself who reject the notion that steep skiing and summer can't be friends.
When the whole mountain is open, tribes can sort at least somewhat gracefully into east/west upper/lower divisions; when things begin to compress, as they are now, things do get a bit sticky.
In terms of variable conditions, this past Easter week at Mammoth was a doozy: ice, ice, baby, plus a winter freshening of fluff that accumulated here-and-there in pockets and offered really good skiing in between scary skitters.
The hardness plus the crowds made for quite a combination, but I can at least report that the upper mountain is currently stacked. In years past I would have confidently predicted they'd easily make it to their Memorial Day closing. This year, I'll just say, baring any more big surprises, they should be okay.
— April 6, 2026
Andy Lewicky is the author and creator of SierraDescents
Dan Conger April 7, 2026 at 7:32 am
I love Mammoth. When I was in high school in Bishop, the McCoy's did something amazing for local kids. $1/day lift tickets, no holiday blackouts nor exceptions. I skied my brains out during my four years of high school averaging 50 days per season, plus we had a high school ski racing team (slalom and giant slalom) that I was on. It was so much fun.
That has all changed now. For better or worse, Mammoth has been fully corporatized. We still enjoy heading there a couple of times per year for the winter sports and then the summer fishing and 4-wheeling, but the town has felt different to me for a very long time.
Wonder if they'll ever fulfill Dave McCoy's ultimate dream of building the ski area north and linking it to June Mountain?
Norman Clyde April 11, 2026 at 11:11 pm
better to leave san joquin ridge untouched and just tour to get the goods