Hollywood Chute
The great Al Preston and I took a short break from the chairlifts last weekend to ski Hollywood Chute, the modest but aesthetic diagonal cut through the Mammoth Crest headwall over McLeod Lake.
With the road open all the way to Horseshoe Lake, access is ridiculously easy—a half-mile on-trail approach to McLeod Lake, where we found skinable snow just above the south shore.
Hollywood Chute is prominently visible from atop Mammoth Mountain and for that reason certainly qualifies as a local standout.
It's also in easy range of Red Cone Bowl, one of the Crest's most popular ski destinations.
The chute itself is short and not too steep. We comfortably climbed it in soft snow without axe or crampons; with ice, a fall would be nasty but not necessarily fatal.
So I'd put this in the good "starter crest options" category.
Notable also for me was a distinct lack of bullshittyness up and down. Easy to get to, easy to ski, easy to get back. It's a little more complicated if you try to hit the chute straight from Horseshoe Lake, so I guess pick that approach if you need a little more adventure?
Atop the Crest you get gorgeous views of the Lakes Basin and the backside of Mammoth Mountain. For the chute proper, the angle stays within 35-40 degrees and that plus relative protection from sun and wind meant surface texture was not a problem for us.
Good clean fun!
— June 11, 2026
Andy Lewicky is the author and creator of SierraDescents