Mammoth mountain

A snowHead

Is the best airport for this San Francisco and is the drive ok end of Jan beginning of Feb.
Looking at doing a 4 night stay at Mammoth either before or after a stay in Tahoe, which would we be better doing first for the ease of route.

Any one been here - is staying at the base the way to go? Any other tips or advice welcome!

Ta.

A snowHead

If you're doing a circular route, does it mater which you do first, or have I misunderstood? We drove from LA to Mammoth, very enjoyable, easy day's drive. I suspect that if you're going toTahoe too, SF is better (or possibly Las Vegas?).

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

richmond,thanks, was Mammoth good? Any accomodation recommendations in Mammoth, better in town or ski in/out?
Yes we are looking at a circular route or we may be able to fly back from Reno. Just worried as I have read you sometimes have to go the long way round from San Francisco to Mammoth if there's lots of snow, so it may be easier going from Tahoe to it ???? Not sure.

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Mammoth was good. We were there 10 years ago in late April, and the snow was excellent. We stayed at the Mammoth Mountain Inn, which was great. I understand that the town has changed a lot since then, but there was very little going on in those days.

We drove from Mammoth to Yosemite. The direct route was closed, and we had to drive a long way north and then south again, but not as far as we feared (in late April, mark you). If you go from SF to Tahoe then Tahoe to Mammoth, you'll have the closed pass problem driving from Mammoth to SF, won't you? You could fly into SF, drive to Tahoe then Mammoth and fly out of LA, perhaps.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

We were there 10 years ago in late April too! Tons of snow. We flew in and out of LA, and it was a great drive up to Mammoth. We drove up to Heavenly for a day's skiing, which was easy, except for getting arrested for speeding - we didn't have our passports or any id on us. And we went to June Mountain another day - well worth a trip.

We stayed in a motel type of place in the town, and drove to the slopes every day, but as richmond says, the town's change a lot since then.

Mammoth is high, over 8000 feet, and we all had problems with headaches and bad sleep. If I went again, I'd ask my GP for something to help me sleep at altitude.

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Thanks both. Will look at LA richmond.
A bit more research into the route/itinery will be required I think, essentially want to try to do 2 nights in SF, 4 nights Mammoth, 3/4 nights South Tahoe, 4/3 nights North Tahoe and then home but will need to plan which way round to do this will be best. Hoping some snowHead

based over there will come to my rescue later!
RachelQ good point about the altitude.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

395 is pretty much always open up the Eastern Sierra from Bairstow to Mammoth to Reno but the cross Sierra passes only 88/89 through Carson Pass and 50 through Echo Summit are open. SO if Mammoth is your first stop fly to LAX or Vegas drive up to Tahoe thenout of Reno or SFO or stop in Tahoe and bank on a return trip down and backup 395.

After all it is free

If it was me then I would fly into LA, hire a car, drive to Mammoth, 4 days there, carry on up 395 to Tahoe, spend some time there, drive down to SF, drop the car off and fly home from SF.

What they call "open jaw" airfares ie into 1 airport and out of another are very common for California trips. Similarly one way drop offs with the hire car should be no problem.

Another option would be to do the above but drop off the car in Reno after you finish at Tahoe, get a 1 way flight from Reno to SF, then fly home from SF after your time there.

In good weather the drive from Tahoe to SF is pretty easy and takes 3-4 hours but if you dont want to do it, then flying is an easy option.

Or you could flip that round, fly into SF, have some time there then pick up the car and go on a road trip, ending up in Mammoth from where you go down to LA to fly home.

They have been developing the base (or bases since there is more than 1) since I was there but I wouldnt pay extra to stay there. Mammoth itself is pretty sprawling ( very American) and nobody walks anywhere so you are always going to have to use the car to get about. Most of the accomodation is in condos and is usually within a 5 to 15 min drive of one of the lifts

Simple. Just remember don't try to drive from Mammoth to SF (or reverse) directly. You'll be fine. Any other combination would work.

(the SF/Tahoe/Mammoth/LA four points are like a box, you don't want to cut in the middle, it's the longest anyway. Plus trying to cut through the middle involves passes not open in the winter)

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Stayed in Mammopth 4 years ago - flew into LA, and stayed at the Alpenhof lodge - very covenient location, directly opposite the gondola and the 'new' ski village.....snow was fantastic in mid-April, you'll have a great time

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Thanks all, so Mammoth to SF or reverse is a no-no. What's the approx drive time Mammoth / LA ? Will plan the route accordingly Very Happy

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From memory, LA to Mammoth was about 6 hours straight.....and we made the mistake of doing it right on the back of the 11 hour flight - I'd recommend either stopping in LA for a night or at least en route - we were truly knackered by the time we arrived in the middle of the night...

You know it makes sense.

Avoid Friday afternoon SF to Tahoe and Sunday Tahoe to SF (and likely the same times LA-Mammouth which also gets more crowded with weekend skiers). There is really no good airport for Mamouth, but I think Reno may be a bit closer than LA...for Tahoe, Reno is 1 hour, Sacramento 2 and SFO about 4. Using Sat or Sunday as a non ski travel day between Tahoe/Mammouth might help you miss some of the weekend crowds on the slopes.

If you are doing it late in the season, I would tend to do Tahoe first as Mammouth stays open later, but either way would likely work this year as they have gotten a lot of snow so far.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

richmond, yes it was a funny place. The skiing was fantastic, but the town was just a bit hicksville. We had trouble booking restaurants for 8.00 in the evening - it seemed that everyone was out for dinner by 6.00, and then spent the rest of the evening at the shopping malls Shocked

We found some very good food, and some excellent micro-breweries though.

A snowHead

minx, we drove from LAX to Mammoth in a very comfortable day, probably around 6 hours of driving, IIRC. It's an easy, pleasant drive, great scenery, with some funny little towns en route. We spent the night of our arrival at LAX in the Wyndhams hotel there, which was good; big pool and excellent brekkie.

A snowHead

We did pretty much the same as Richmond, arrived LAX in the afternoon, got the hire car, checked into the Airport Marriott (another big pool and good breakfast)and relaxed for the rest of that day. As we were still on UK time we had an early start the next day (a Sunday) when the traffic was very quiet. It was, as said, an easy and quite interesting drive to Mammoth. We didnt push it speed wise (having been forewarned that speed traps are very prevalent on the road, especially near the towns you pass through). With a stop to stretch our legs and a lunch stop I reckon it was 6-7 hours.

The drive from LAX to Mammoth is only a bit more complicated than take the freeway next to the airport going north, turn right at the appropriate place then drive for 250/300 miles and do not turn off the road

Going up on Sunday was a good way to do it as we then first skied on the Monday onwards when it was relatively very quiet. We did notice a difference between weekdays and weekends.........meaning weekdays you walked onto any lift, weekends you had to stand in line for a few minutes.

The snow pack was phenomenal the year we were there. The night we arrived over a foot of new snow fell and more fell later that week. Largely however the weather was clear blue skies and California sun.

Mammoth the town is nothing to look at but we found some good restaurants. It is however nothing like any European resort you may have been to.

Reno is closer than LAX to Mammoth but Reno adds another leg to your flight so you would go (from London) LHR-LAX-RNO. With transfer times within the airport etc you will find that a pretty long day...........again my preference would be LHR-LAX, stop at LA, get to the hotel, have a beer, go to bed and drive up the next day. I think the road trip from Reno to Mammoth, in good weather, may be 3-4 hours so it depends if you want to spend that time driving or hanging round LAX on the day of your transatlantic flight and then flying up to Reno.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Spot on, malcolm1. Reno maybe closer but it's hard to find a direct flight. So you don't end up saving any travel time after all. And the road from LA to Mammoth, unlike SF to Tahoe, is not affected by snow.

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malcolm1, Yeah good post... I did it about 15 years ago, the road trip was better then the skiing, although I was coming back from a bad knee injury.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks for the info everyone
I can actually get a Delta flight from Manchester to Reno, via Atlanta. I did however fancy seeing SF which is why I'm thinking of flying into there first and spending 2 nights before heading off to the mountains.
So does this look any good.....
Mainly from malcolm1's good advice

SF - 2 nights - golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz etc.
Early start - drive to North Tahoe location - stay 4 nights.
Move to South Lake location - 4 nights.
Drive to Mammoth - 4 nights.
Drive to LAX - fly Home.

Any thoughts? one base or 2 for Tahoe as we will have a car. All info and opinions welcome Shocked

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Sounds good to me; when do we leave?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Agreed re Tahoe on 2 bases. In good weather it would be doable from one base but you would spend more time than you need to in the car, in bad weather you limit your options a lot.

That apart sounds fine to me.

Book the Alcatraz trip before you go as if you turn up on Day 1 you may find out it is sold out for Days 1 and 2...........may not be an issue in Jan/ feb but why take the chance?? We went on it in summer and we were lucky to get a slot on Day 5 of our stay.

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malcolm1

Not even skiers enroute to their skiing holiday will always remember to bring their ski jacket for the tour of Alcatraz! Very Happy

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malcolm1

I'll have you know Manchester has been gloriously sunny for over a week now Shocked

I know the rest of the uk has too but that's not the point.

abc

Okay I'm pretty well placed to help on this one Tahoe-wise, kinda been my playground for the past 3yrs!...

For a north lake base, Tahoe City or Truckee are your best bets. I've done both and prefer Tahoe City, as it leaves Squaw / Homewood / Alpine Meadows / Northstar / Mt Rose all within a 25min run tops. There are about 4 or 5 motels and the rates are reasonable n'all, plus hit up the supermarkets for food as each has a hot deli counter that'll do you major munch for not much cash.

Resort-wise, Squaw is the nuts. It has everything, and KT-22 is the sickest lift on God's white earth. All 4 West Face alternates can be sessioned all day without boredom, and there's also 75 chute, rock Garden and 'dead tree' (not on the trail maps, but drop down Saddle and look for the dead tree on the right... beware the first 10m!!!). Headwall is jokes too if there's not too much wind, gets sketchy a bit quick and the lift is a chiller if it's blowy, and Granite Chief peak has cracking tree lines skier's right when leaving the lift and a selection box of cliffs under the liftline for the gawpers to marvel at! Shocked

If you really love the buzz go chill with the Gaffneys on the Palisades, 60 degree stuff... only dropped one of the chutes so far but trust me it's worth the hike... you'll be pounding the adrenaline for at least 2hrs afterwards!

Of the rest of the resorts Alpine Meadows is okay, bit small but a few quality steeps up top, Mount Rose has some super-sick 45 degree chutes overlooking the desert (trust me it's a freaky view from the top!), Homewood is great as a backup as it tends to avoid wind-hold and open even on the worst storm days (just be prepared to put up with half the lake blowing up in your face!), and Northstar is nae bad n'all albeit a bit infested with park rats if you're not on the ridges. Squaw has a good set of parks too, with three parks and two pipes most years, but Northstar is the best for that kind of thing.

Haven't spent as much time in south lake, as it's kinda hard for me to leave Squaw... wink

but Heavenly was a lot of fun. Bit more cruiser orientated than the north lake, but scenic and fun nonetheless. Good trees on the stateline between CA and Nevada, and check out Emerald Bay for scenery too on your way round the lake if the road's not shut.

Hope that's helpful, might be working over there next season if my mates at SV can get m the visa application sorted so if you fancy a tour drop me a line and see where I'm at.

Enjoy. Peace

You know it makes sense.

Hello Dante, West Wycombe eh? I work just up the road from you. Smile

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Dante thanks for your post, I think and welcome to snowHead

A snowHead

Anyone doing a motoring trip to Mammoth might care to consider a side trip to Death Valley afterwards. On my final day skiing at Mammoth I skied in the morning until lunchtime, then drove to Death Valley and by the evening was relaxing in the thermal waters of the swimming pool at Furnace Creek Ranch and enjoying the mild February temps (70s deg F)

A snowHead

There're thermal springs right in Mammoth and surrounding area!

That said, Death Valley is quite an unusual sigth and well worth the side trip. But so can a lot of other places nearby...so you'll quickly run out of time (or cause smoe to start planning a second trip IMMEDIATELY)

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

My trip highlights from Mammoth.....

A day at June Mountain - never have I skied anywhere so empty - great for a day of something different....
The hot springs - skied in the morning, then drove down the valley for a few miles, parked up, and walked up the creek before stripping off and jumping in - lying in the open in hot springs surrounded by mountains and snow is a strange experience!!
Fishing - drove down to Bishop, bought rods, licences, bait etc etc for $20, were given directions to a local hotspot and sat fishing for the day. To be honest, we could have walked in and clubbed the fish to death, more trout than the local Roxy on a Friday night....
Then drove down the valley, off the highway at Lone Pine, then through the Paramint valley, into Death Valley, and out the other side to Vegas, where I met up with some mates for a stag weekend...a road trip well worth the time. Views like you would not believe...

Help!!

Mammoth mountain

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