Mammoth 2021 May

Spring Skiing

One of my favorite trips is heading to Mammoth. I've been going there for 20+ years in all seasons. Spring is one of the best times. The weather is great; so is the skiing. 

I drove up Friday morning, and stopped in Lone Pine at Dos Hermanos taco truck. Legit. After I checked out the Alabama Hills, an Instagram popular camping spot just west of Lone Pine.  

My next stop was Keough Hot Springs. Located just south of Bishop about a mile off 395, it is a campground with access to geothermal waters. They built an Olympic size pool with naturally heated water. The pool was crowded and noisy. They had a huge 2-3 foot shallow hot tub that could fit a couple dozen people easily. I swam a couple laps and went in and out of the hot tub. Forty five minutes was enough. 

I arrived in Mammoth around 4:30. I was the first to arrive. After settling in, I headed to Mammoth Tavern for some dinner. The restaurant was quiet- it was early. I ate at the bar. Aside from the large plexiglass barrier in front of me, it felt almost normal. They have great views of the mountains. 

Back at the condo I read on the couch until the others who arrived around 8. We sat around with wine, whiskey and beer telling stories until 1 or so. I left Cam with Rose Ann and Darrell and was getting updates. It looked like Cam was in great hands living his best life. 

The next morning we managed to get on the mountain and on the first chair by 9:06. It was a bright, bluebird day; the ski conditions were as expected- crunchy in the morning, but rapidly softening with some bare spots. We skied hard until 11, had a beer and a protein bar, then skied until 1:30. 

The girls didn't ski, just Johnno, Dom, and me. Jeremey and Michelle skied with us the last couple hours. We ate lunch at the Mammoth Brewing Company. They have a great outside patio with fantastic views of the surrounding peaks. 

After we picked up the girls and headed to Little Hot Creek. There's a man-made tub next to the creek which is scorching hot. The tub was packed when we arrived so we waded for a bit in the creek, but slowly people left and we took over much of the tub. The hot springs are popular now with Instagram and Google. This site is a little harder to get to so it keeps the crowds at bay. But it was social with people coming and going, beers, and being in nature after a good day of skiing. We stayed for a few hours. 

That night we went to Giovanni's to celebrate John's birthday. We were loud, but the restaurant seemed to handle it pretty well. The food was good, we brought our own wine (they didn't charge us corkage), and we had a lot of laughs. 

The next day we slept in a bit, and didn't get on the slopes until after 9:30. There were few people on the mountain and we got a lot of runs in. Jeremy and Michelle met us and we found a really good run that took us from the near the top to the bottom with great conditions. We were off the hill by noon so John and Jen could head home. 

Dom, Kristine and I took a drive up to June Lake; Kristine had never been there. We stopped at June Lake Brewing. Years ago Dom had discovered these great places to camp for free right on one of the lakes, so we told stories and it brought back a lot of good memories. 

I dropped them off at the Side Door in Mammoth Village and went back to the condo to nap and read. That night we had a really nice meal at the Mammoth Tavern with a table near the windows to get a front row view of the mountains at sunset. 

The next morning I did some work while they slept in. We cleaned up the condo, packed our cars and left by 9. I made it home in 5.25 hours with only three stops for gas, a piss, and lunch.