Thanks to a series of storms this week, Mammoth Mountain was reporting a whopping 10-plus feet of snow Saturday morning (Jan. 30).
Mammoth Mountain is located in the eastern Sierra range along the Highway 395 corridor, approximately 250 miles northeast of Los Angeles. It received 24 inches of snow Tuesday and that amount was more than doubled Wednesday when 52 inches was reported. The resort was hit hard again Thursday with 31 inches. It received another 18 inches Friday to surpass the 10-foot mark.
It wasn’t all good news for the large ski resort that services much of Southern California. An unidentified 52-year-old male skier from Oceanside (Calif.) was found dead Friday (Jan. 29) at Mammoth. SEE DETAILS BELOW.
Similar to Lake Tahoe ski resorts, Mammoth was mired in blizzard-like conditions at times this week. The snow at Mammoth was much more than Tahoe received – Mammoth was reporting 125 inches.
The snow was a blessing to Mammoth. Like all California ski resorts, it had little snow this season prior to the series of storms that painted the mountain white, making for an epic powder experience Saturday. Mammoth now has a season-total of 162 inches.
“The skies have parted and it’s a breathtaking bluebird (Saturday) morning. The new snow blankets the mountain after a truly remarkable storm,” a message on the Mammoth website said. “Prepare yourself for a day of bottomless powder turns and endless smiles under those masks. We will work to expand terrain as safely as possible this weekend.”
Much like Tahoe ski resorts, the storm at Mammoth eased up Friday and the weather was improving. However, less than half of the resort’s lifts were operational Friday and only 31 trails were open. Mammoth was sold out Saturday. But there are still lift tickets available for Sunday, selling for approximately $213.
Given the tragic skiing death Friday, Mammoth resort officials were warning skiers and snowboarders that the threat resulting from the storm will likely linger.
“It will take considerable time and extreme caution and care by our team to dig out and prepare the mountain to open the next few days,” the website message said. “Please be aware that lifts and facilities will be significantly delayed in the coming days. Snow Immersion Suffocation (SIS) danger will remain a threat through the weekend – ski and ride with a buddy and keep your buddy in sight at all times.”
Tahoe ski resorts and Mammoth can expect more snow next week. Mammoth could see 12-18 inches of new snow by Wednesday morning.
SKIER DEATH: The skier was discovered around noon time, buried in snow at Mammoth.
According to a statement from ski resort authorities, the ski patrol responded to a report of an unconscious skier who was found upside down in deep snow near the intersection of the Redwing and Hully Gully trails. The location is close to Chair 8, not far from the bottom of the mountain on its eastern slope.
When the ski patrol arrived, other skiers and snowboarders were working to dig out the skier. The Mammoth ski patrol began CPR and also used an automated external defibrillator because the man didn’t have a pulse. After being rushed to the nearest hospital, the skier was quickly pronounced dead at Mammoth Hospital.
A cause of death was not immediately known but is “related to the snow in some way,” Mono County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sarah Roberts said in an emailed statement to KTLA TV. No further details have been provided about the incident.
According to the National Ski Areas Association, snow immersion suffocation incidents are very rare. Statistics from the 2016-2017 season show six fatal cases and 41 total in the 10-year period.
A message on the Mammoth website noted the dangers of skiing in conditions like Friday. “This storm is another reminder about the power of Mother Nature. Conditions are currently dangerous,” the message said.
TAHOE SNOW TOTALS: It was indeed an epic week of snowfall for Tahoe ski resorts. Saturday morning Tahoe’s 13 resorts were reporting between 4 to nearly 7 feet of snow.
Sierra-at-Tahoe received the most snow at its summit this week among Tahoe ski resorts, reporting 82 inches – two inches shy of 7 feet. Boreal Mountain was only an inch behind at 81, followed by 80 inches from both Sugar Bowl and Soda Springs.
SEE TAHOE SNOW REPORT BELOW
TAHOE SNOWPACK: According to Bryan Allegretto, California Snow Forecaster for OpenSnow.com, the snowpack increased to 71% of average for the date in the Tahoe Basin.
“We are still below average with more catching up to do the rest of the season,” Allegretto wrote. “We will start off February on the right foot with a storm the first two days of the month.”
SUNDAY WEATHER: Outside of the avalanche danger, the weekend looks fairly nice. There should be partly to mostly sunny skies, lighter winds, and high temperatures in the 30s. There will be some clouds around this weekend from the storm that is spinning up off the coast.
MONDAY-TUESDAY STORM: Allegretto says the latest trend on the models Saturday morning is to slow the arrival of the next system until at least Monday night, with the GFS model feeling the snow will be holding off until Tuesday morning.
“We could see scattered light snow showers reach the crest Monday afternoon, but we may not see steady snow push into the Tahoe Basin until after midnight Monday night or even until Tuesday morning,” predicts Allegretto.
He believes the storm will drop 9-23 inches on Tahoe ski resorts. Sierra-at-Tahoe and Kirkwood could get 23 inches and the next highest is a possible 20 inches for Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows.
TAHOE SNOW REPORT (snow total Jan. 24-30)
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: 82 inches
- Boreal: 81 inches
- Sugar Bowl: 80 inches
- Soda Springs: 80 inches
- Kirkwood: 78 inches
- Alpine Meadows: 78 inches
- Squaw Valley: 77 inches
- Homewood: 75 inches
- Tahoe Donner: 71 inches
- Northstar: 68 inches
- Mt. Rose: 67 inches
- Diamond Peak: 51 inches
- Heavenly: 49 inches
