Mammoth Mountain, Mammoth Lakes

Mammoth Mountain is overpriced for what it is. They rest their laurels on the size and diversity of their mountain. Like to ski during a snowstorm? Good luck. If any lifts are open, it will be only the bunny runs because of the wind and conditions. Like to pay through the nose for antiquated lodging? Then this is the place to go. Want things to do after skiing? Look elsewhere. Want a variety of family restaurants? Not here! I have skied Mammoth since the 70's. The mountain is challenging, to say the least, but everything else is about 40 years behind the times. The bean counters that own Mammoth now have done nothing to bring the mountain and the town into the 21st century. They think they can become a destination resort merely by adding a few flights daily or building a new airport in Bishop. Mammoth would never be able to hold a candle to other destination resorts. If they want to actually entice people to ski for a week, and contribute to the prosperity of the town, then how about some mid week incentives?. Forget going up on the weekends. Every yahoo from L.A. and Orange County drives their SUV up on Friday afternoon and then back on Sunday afternoon. You can watch them fishtailing up to the main lodge during a snowstorm while they tailgate the fishtailing SUV in front of them. Then, come Monday morning, the town, and the majority of their beds are empty for another four days. Hey, Rusty, how about a midweek pass? Keep the prices high on the weekends, gouge the weekenders like you do now, but give the rest of us (who have the time and the money) an incentive to come up mid week. The town migh just flourish! Don't worry, we'll gladly leave on Friday when the prices for everything double and the circus comes to town. If you must ski Mammoth, go Monday through Friday, non holiday. All you'll hear is crickets chirping, and there is never a lift line. For the immediate future, Utah continues to get my skiing dollars. They actually want people to visit their mountains. The drive is longer, but doable and every resort offers discounted daily lift tickets. Imagine skiing Snowbird, or Park City, or Alta for less than $70 a day. Imagine a hotel with free breakfast and dinner for under $100 a night. Imagine gas at a dollar a gallon less than California. Yep, it's all in Utah! And the people that live there are actually nice and genuinely appreciate your business. Are you listening, Mammoth? I guess not!

I have skied Mammoth for around 40 years and it still has the same problems as it ever did. The mountain is very challenging and also, recently, very efficient moving people around. If you live in L.A. it is the only reasonable option other than Tahoe which is a longer drive yet. But the town of Mammoth has always been dysfunctional and seemingly a separate endeavor from the mountain. The addition of the Village has improved this but there is still a long way to go. I have skied over 80 places here in the US and Europe (my personal favorite is Zermatt). To compare Mammoth to many of these major resorts -- as a destination resort you would spend a week or more at -- is ridiculous. The "experience" is just not there.

Like anywhere, when you hit it right, you wouldnt want to be anywhere else. Its my local mountain, I am biased. The guy who toots about Chamonix sounds stuck up. Sure there are 100s of great mountains out there. Mammoth is good for Cali. Enough said. You want to ski amazing peaks, its hard to beat Alaska or Europe. My budget leans towards Mammoth. Trois Valle, 286 chairs, where you can ski into different countries, yeah its amazing. Bottom line is live where you can hit the powder days. Dont even waste time on the LA ski HILLS

I noticed this previous reviewer saying MM might be the greatest ski resort in the world. No, I would not say that. I would give Chamonix, France that title. Hands down, that place blows everything else away. Any serious downhiller needs to visit Chamonix at least once in their life. It was the birthplace of alpine sports, and is still the greatest snow experience. I still get the willies thinking about it. But MM is a nice family resort with a lot of great terrain. I have skiied there for over 30 years and still love it, and the older I get, the faster I was. ; * )