Journeys›Photograph

Spring Skiing and Blue Skies at Mammoth

·Mono County, California·#winter#family trip#skiing#mountains#spring-skiing
Three people in ski outfits stand on a snowy slope with mountains, pine trees, and a gondola overhead.

Spring skiing at Mammoth, and the sky did not produce a single cloud all day. The girls lined up with their mom at the top of a run early on, a gondola sliding overhead — the mountain runs 25 lifts across something like 3,500 acres, and we barely dented it.

Mid-March here doesn't feel like the end of anything. The summit sits at 11,053 feet with 3,100 feet of vertical down to the base, and they'll keep it open into June, sometimes later. It was warm enough by midday that jackets came off. I skied part of the afternoon in a quarter-zip and a beanie, which felt like getting away with something.

We stopped at a bench near one of the overlooks where you can see the lakes below the mountain, still mostly frozen over, and the ranges going white to the horizon past them. The younger one is getting steadier on her skis every run. The older one already wants the harder trails.

Three people in ski gear stand on a snowy mountain with distant peaks and pine trees under a clear blue sky.An adult and two children in ski gear stand on a snowy slope with mountains and a clear blue sky.A person takes a selfie with two children and another person on a sunny ski slope.A wide view of a ski resort with a groomed slope, skiers, pine trees, and distant snow-covered mountains under a blue sky.Two people in winter gear pose for a selfie on a sunny, snowy mountain with a frozen lake and distant peaks.Two smiling people in winter gear pose on a snowy mountain with a frozen lake and distant mountains in the background.Two people wearing ski helmets and sunglasses are on a snowy mountain with a frozen lake and distant peaks.A person in an orange helmet and blue sunglasses smiles on a snowy mountain with distant peaks.

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