Mammoth to stay open longer

Mammoth Mountain says it will keep skiing and snowboarding going through at least Memorial Day after a weekend storm buried the Eastern Sierra in fresh snow. (mammothmountain.com, usnews.com) The Associated Press reported more than 3.5 feet of snow fell in California’s eastern Sierra Nevada, and the University of California, Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab measured 42.5 inches from Friday through Sunday. (usnews.com) Mammoth’s operations page listed expected lift hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily on April 15, with Eagle Lodge closed for the season and Main Lodge, Canyon Lodge, tickets, rentals and lessons still operating. (mammothmountain.com) The extension comes after a lean winter across California. On April 1, the Sierra snowpack stood at 18% of average, the second-lowest reading for that date on record, according to the Associated Press. (usnews.com) That same April storm hit just weeks after a March heat wave melted much of the state’s snow and pushed many ski areas to close. Interstate 80 also shut down Sunday in Northern California because of blizzard conditions. (usnews.com) Mammoth had already been planning a long spring. In late February, the resort said it would stay open through at least Memorial Day after February snowfall topped seven feet, with 87 inches for the month and 243 inches for the season to date. (powder.com, easternsierranow.com) That helps explain why Mammoth can keep lifts spinning when other California mountains wind down. The resort markets spring operations as its “Second Season,” and its high elevation has historically let it hold snow into late May and, in stronger years, into June or beyond. (mammothmountain.com, theinertia.com) Last season, Mammoth stayed open into mid-June, according to The Inertia. This year’s Memorial Day target would make for a shorter run, but it still leaves Mammoth among the last big California resorts still skiing this spring. (theinertia.com, rgj.com)