Toward the end of summer, Mammoth Mountain set a tentative opening date for Nov. 13. Though this time of mid-November is typical for when skiers and snowboarders should expect the ski lifts to start running for the winter season, things were a bit different this year.

The Mammoth Lakes area was hit with many heavy storms earlier than expected, which brought quite a bit of fresh powder to the mountains with them (18 inches to be exact). As this weather and snowfall continued, a decision was made to open the mountain two weeks earlier. Just a little over a month ago, on Oct. 29, Mammoth celebrated its opening day with its annual banner breakthrough at Broadway Express. This was one of only nine other times that Mammoth had ever opened in October.

The ski resort has been up and running for a number of weeks now, however, more runs are expected to open later on in the season as they continue to receive more snow.

Junior Mafi Corral is one student who visited Mammoth in late November with a few of her friends. While talking to her about her time on the mountain, she mentions “there were only five or six lifts open, but it snowed the week before we went so the snow was surprisingly good.” 

She adds, however, that “because it was around sixty-five degrees in the day, the snow did turn a bit icy at the top of the runs and slushy at the bottom of the runs toward the end of the day.”

Weather reports predicted that this season would be one with record-level snowfall, sparking excitement for all of Mammoth’s annual visitors, yet, with no snow on the forecast for the following weeks and temperatures in the high fifties, recent weather reports expect otherwise.

While there have been some students who already took their trips up to Mammoth, Winter Break is only a few weeks away and is a time many Sea Kings use to travel up north to hit the slopes. This year more than ever, getting up to the mountain as soon as possible may be the way to go for those looking to experience the fresh snow this season.

Senior Jake Danon went to Mammoth over Thanksgiving break and commented on this. 

“The snow is definitely limited,” Danon said. “Some runs are harder than others because there are exposed rocks, but the snow machines are on so if you do go up soon, it should still be a great experience.”