This Sunday, August 6, 2017, Mammoth Mountain will officially close for the 2016-17 winter season. That’s right—after 270 days of skiing and snowboarding over the past nine months, the California resort will shut down its lifts until November 9, marking its second longest season on record.
Lift tickets are still available and there’s a 50% discount for individuals who show a season pass from any other resort. Skiing is available from 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. every day this week, and for those seeking a different kind of thrill, mountain biking trails are open with access off the summit at the top of the scenic Gondola.
If you’re close enough to make the trip, prepare for fast, snaking lines in a paradise of slush bumps. The snow is soft, the sun is expected to keep shining and the current base depth ranges from a whopping six to 20 inches.
This winter season in the Sierra Nevada range was one for the record books. Statistics from resort officials estimate that Mother Nature blessed Mammoth with 800-plus inches at the summit and 618 inches of snowfall at the base lodge, the second-most snowfall in a single season, yielding to 2010-11, which boasted a total 668 inches of fresh flakes at the base.
However, this winter provided the most snowfall ever for Mammoth in the month of January—an amazing total of 245 inches fell in just 31 days—providing seemingly endless fresh tracks across the mountain’s 3,500 skiable acres. Before operations close for the season, let’s take a moment to relive the glory of Mammoth’s bottomless powder from an extra-memorable 2016-17 season:
