The leaves may still be falling, but the snow is ready at Mammoth Mountain in California where the ski season is starting on the weekend, a week earlier than expected. By Alison Fox
The mountain, which sits west of San Francisco and just south of Yosemite National Park, officially opened the slopes on November 5, a spokesperson for the mountain confirmed to Travel + Leisure. The mountain initially expected to welcome guests on November 11, but was able to push it up thanks to a dumping of snow.
Head to this California ski mountain for fresh snow
“Thanks to the hard work of the Mammoth Mountain operations team and a little extra love from Mother Nature in the form of cold temps and 8 inches of new snow, Mammoth opened for the season a week early, this Saturday, November 5,” Lauren Burke, a spokesperson for Mammoth Mountain, told T+L. “Snowmaking will continue around the clock as conditions allow.”
For opening day, the mountain expects to operate two to three lifts with access to two or three runs as well as a small Unbound Terrain Park. To start, there won’t be any beginner terrain available.
And things are looking up for the week after with another “significant storm” in the forecast for Sunday into early next week, Burke said. The area is expected to get 6 to 11 inches of snow on Sunday, an additional 10 to 16 inches on Monday, and 11 to 17 inches on Tuesday, according to Weather.com.
This isn’t the first time Mammoth Mountain opened early. Last year, the ski mountain opened in October thanks to another dumping of fresh powder. Mammoth Mountain is on the Ikon Pass, which now covers more than 50 destinations.
In addition to Mammoth, several other Ikon Pass resorts have opened for the season, including Banff Sunshine in Canada, which opened on Thursday, and Winter Park in Colorado, which opened on Monday.
This story first appeared on www.travelandleisure.com
Main and Feature Image Credit: mammothmountain/Instagram
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