Carvin' It Up at Mammoth Mountain

Discussion about winter adventure sports in the Sierra Nevada mountains including but not limited to; winter backpacking and camping, mountaineering, downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, etc.
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MooseTracks
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Carvin' It Up at Mammoth Mountain

Post by MooseTracks »

Someone will say it's cheating. That's OK: for once I took the 'easy' way to the top, and spent myself in the descent. Richard suggested I trust the skis more, let them do the work of turning, finding the line. But there was NO way my legs were going to relinquish control: you will turn and turn NOW, dernit! That philosophy apparently works well on the groomed corduroy, not so much on the traditional Sierra Cement.

Richard and I hit the slopes by 0830 Saturday morning, brilliant sunshine and clear skies overhead with nary a trace of wind. We spent most of the day cruising, with one pass at the Cornice Bowl to test the waters. I tested how hard I could fall and how big a hole I could leave up there... Somewhere around 1300 or so, we dismounted the lift to hear two people yell: "LAURA!" It was Rick Kent and Tina, up snowboarding for the weekend as well. Our duo became a quad, and we continued to play through the afternoon. That evening, we headed for Canyon Lodge to watch the "Night of Lights" festivities, complete with a fantastic fireworks show and skydivers plummeting through the frigid evening air.

Sunday brought cooler temps, and a brisk wind whipping spin off the top as Richard and I eyed the newly groomed Cornice Bowl. I watched him dive in and glide effortlessly to the bottom. I waited for the group in front of me to move on, then, with a kick in my own pants, dropped in, looking for the first turn. With a stout bite, the skis grabbed the snow, and I found a gorgeous line, powder flying behind me. I laughed out loud, whooping as I flew by Richard and headed back to the lift. "Again! Again!" I giggled, clapping my hands in glee. I could have ridden that high all day. We hit the run six times in succession, once flying all the way to the base and then riding the gondola all the way back up to the summit again. The last two runs we both could feel our legs getting tired, the technique getting a bit sloppy. Besides, the clouds were encroaching on the summit and the wind strengthening, announcing the arrival of the predicted storm.

At lunch, we met up with Rick and Tina again, and decided to go out into the snow for a bit to cruise around and basically get a few more runs in on tired legs. By 1400, the wind and blowing snow finally drove us back to the TOF and Richard and I headed for B-town.

Great: something more to add to the gear list...

A few moments from the weekend:

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Rest of the pics are here.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

From the luckiest girl in the world: Climb Hard, Be Safe!

-L :cool:
"Why do I climb? Quite simply because the mountains and I had to meet." - Colette Richard

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moosepics621
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trav867
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Re: Carvin' It Up at Mammoth Mountain

Post by trav867 »

Looks like a lot of fun! How much did Mammoth get dumped on in this last storm? I spent Thursday and Friday at Mt. High in Wrightwood, where there was (not exagerating) at least 3 feet of new powder.
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