My previous four trips to Mammoth Mountain in the SE Sierra Nevada have all been outstanding. I seem to luck out with some combination of fresh powder, clear skies and crowd-free weekdays each time I visit. This streak has led me to believe either that I'm the resort's lucky rabbit's foot or the conditions are so consistently stellar that it just appears that way to everyone.
As much as I like Tahoe resorts like Squaw, Alpine Meadows, Sugar Bowl and Kirkwood, none of them can match Mammoth's combination of acreage, altitude and diversity of terrain. Squallywood comes close but it's interlaced lifts and canyon-like feel is a sharp contrast to Mammoth's wide open spaces. Even through there were ~5,000 skiers and riders spread across Mammoth this past Tuesday, I felt like I had the resort to myself. Even on holiday weekends, Mammoth is still able to spread out and move upwards of 20,000 daily riders. In addition to great terrain, Mammoth's high elevation and dry climate delivers on average drier, fluffier snow than it's cousins to the North. When the weather allows, Mammoth's Panorama Gondola unloads right onto the 11,059ft summit (pictured below), giving riders and gapers alike an awesome view of the serrated skyline above the Mammoth Lakes basin.
I'm always amazed by how many die-hard skiers and riders I talk to who have never skied Mammoth, but have been all over the country and even the world. The main excuse tends to be that Mammoth is too hard to get to or not worth the extra time from Tahoe. I'll be the first one to admit that it's a long drive, especially from the Bay Area but I have never regretted a single trip. Last ski season Alaska Airlines trialed direct flights from L.A. and were so successful that this season they added daily flights into Mammoth from San Jose and Reno. The town of Mammoth Lakes has been working to improve their airport infrastructure for years in order to make it easier for those of us without private jets to come for the weekend. Alaska only runs this route from December through April 11th but even so it's a much needed alternative to the long road trips that had been the only option (7hrs from the Bay Area, 5hrs from LA, 7hrs from San Diego).
As you plan your next ski vacation, consider skipping Tahoe or the longer (and often more costly) flights to Denver or Salt Lake and hop on a flight to Mammoth. Better yet, take me with you to improve your chances of a powder day;)*
On my 28th birthday I wrapped up what was a short but memorable 2009 ski season at Cerro Catedral in Bariloche, Argentina. The two person celebration was the smallest birthday party I've ever had, but left me feeling very much alive and inspired. After a 3-day powder extravaganza in Las Leñas a few weeks prior I was just starting to break off the rust and regain my ski legs. Unfortunately the cost, complexity and time required to go skiing in Argentina and Chile limited me to two long weekends this season. I was extremely fortunate to have such good conditions for the two weekends I got to ski - Las Leñas just after a big storm followed by two of the last blue bird days at Catedral before the snow melted away.
The photo above was taken on one of my half-dozen trips up Nubes, Catedral's highest lift (see full trail map). Due to high winds Nubes was closed for at least a week prior to our visit but fortunately the lifties got it running during the afternoon of our last day. Given that we had to go half-way up the mountain before we could put on our skis and start skiing, the quality of the snow at the top was impressive. The high winds had groomed and filled in the top sections, leaving a thin spring crust that is typical for end of season conditions (September). Throughout the afternoon we hit almost all of the chutes in the headwall pictured above. By 3:00 my legs were jello, but I couldn't allow myself to pack it in with barely skied lines to be had.
I took the above picture of Karen coming out from one of the chutes early in the afternoon. This one was particularly exhilarating due to the commitment required at the entrance followed by the sweet powdery goodness below. When I took this I remember my heart was racing so fast that I could barely hold the camera still. For the remainder of the day, we would pick our next line during the lift back to the top, traverse the ridge, stop to catch our breath while admiring the view below, and then do it all over again.
Aside from getting to ski in such an impressive place on my birthday, the part that made this weekend particularly special was the Llao Llao Resort. I can't say enough good things about this place. The Llao Llao is a true 5-star mountain resort/spa located on the crest of a peninsula that's also a national preserve. The rooms are expensive, especially if you don't get the local Argentine rate, but worth every penny. Even with all the things to do in the Lake District, we found it difficult to leave the hotel's plush rooms, lavish breakfast buffet, pools, spa, and activities. The Llao Llao peninsula is blessed with impressive views of the surrounding mountains, glaciers, lakes and forests. Below was the view from one of the private decks in the new lago moreno wing. Not too shabby when the view from your bathroom looks like it belongs in a "best of the Patagonia" calendar.
Danger, freshies ahead! A nasty storm had shrouded Las Leñas in a soupy haze for 3 days prior to our arrival. When the storm cleared on Saturday and the main quad (Caris) opened, there was knee to thigh deep pow covering the upper sections of the mountain. I took the above photo in front of the off-piste gate about 10min after Caris started running to show how momentarily untouched it was. An hour later the entrance to this gate was so frenzied that it looked like the patrollers were handing out free beer. The pic below was taken on our third run from directly below the off-piste gate. I wish I took one after the first run, but I was way too distracted with getting back up for another untracked line.
(above) Between the rock formation on the left and the ridge above, there are numerous chutes that collect heaps of wind drift snow. (below) Karen floats through some shelves of snow cut by people traversing back to the main lodge.
Those who have been to Las Leñas know that when it's clear and the snow is soft, the next logical question is: did they open Marte? In our case, unfortunately they did not. Not even once. It was buried in snow too deep to dig out. Now that's a problem you can't be mad about. Plus, I imagine the strong winds would have made creaking our way up Marte something less than enjoyable. When I looked up the rock and shale lined chute that Marte ascends, it occurred to me how ridiculous of a location it is for a ski lift. On my first trip to Las Leñas last season, as my chair rose above the ridge and unloaded, the view made me forget about the unnerving way up. The ride down made me want to do it all over again.
But alas, Marte never opened. On our second day we lucked out with a handful of sporadic windows where Volcan was running. We found all sorts of barely skied goodies on the far side of the lift. Right place, right time, but with a couple hundred similarly motivated peers who didn't get the chance to ski Volcan all weekend. During the last run (pictured below) an ominous storm started to eclipse our sunny afternoon, which made for some excellent but surreal 4pm night skiing.
At least we thought we took our last run at 4pm. Neither Karen nor I could remember who, but someone told us that there was a 1hr time difference between Mendoza/Las Leñas and Buenos Aires. Seemed logical given Mendoza's proximity to Santiago, which is also an hour behind Buenos Aires. On our last day, just as we returned our gear, the clock on the wall read 5:15. We realized that we may have just spent the entire 4-day weekend on a one hour delay. Looking back, it made perfect sense. We were the last ones to dinner in a country where people commonly start eating at 11pm. The hotel breakfast was half gone when we got up "early" for first tracks. Those slacker lifties kept trying to shut the lifts down early. Oh well, if we had set our watches correctly, we would have never gotten that last sweet, solitary, powder-filled run.
The photo above shows the types of lines you can get from the front side of Marte, when it's running of course. Some are wide, steep and fun while others are narrow, exposed and generally unnerving. Below a view from Caris towards an intimidating, lift free range that hardly contains any flat sections. The guys who own the Las Leñas resort envision it becoming the ski center of South American. These guys will have more than a few competitors for that claim, but at least they are not going to be lacking for good terrain.
Te extrañare Las Leñas. Interactive trail map
Before attempting to climb Aconcagua, many mountaineers head to a small, local ski resort ~1.5hrs outside Mendoza called Valles del Plata (a.k.a. Vallecitos). As the snow melts, the rusty, 1960s era lifts at Vallecitos grind to a halt and climbers begin to replace skiers. The 6 old lifts and beginner slopes make Vallecitos far from an international skiing destination, however summertime draws a completely different crowd. Climbers, hikers from all over the world come to tackle some of the more challenging routes in the High Andes. The trails starting from Vallecitos' main lodge lead to scenic high camps from which you can access dozens of peaks, some above 6,000 meters.
The above image was taken from the Vallecitos ski area site and shows just how expansive and varied this resort really is! Seriously, I think I would be bored to tears if I came back in the winter to ski groomers there. However, the slopes on either side of the valley where the lifts have definite backcountry skiing/riding potential. Their lifts would not help out much in terms of access, but given my experience at other Argentine ski resorts, you would be the only one not following a cat track.
“Pol”, one of the mountain guides at the lodge gave us a bunch of options for what we could hike in 4-5hrs. We ended up choosing a 3 peak traverse from Andresito to Arenales to Lomas Blancas (3650m). Before setting out on the 7-10 day ascent of Aconcagua, Vallecitos seems like the perfect place to test our gear and comfort level with heavy physical exertion at such high altitude. When I asked Pol how long he had lived in the area he told me "8
I should be well versed in Backcountry options near my hometown, but unfortunately that's not the case. This past March some friends of mine introduced me to one of their regular BC spots that's accessible from the mouth of the popular Pocket Creek XC trail head. As a small kid I lived just 30min down the road in Rhododendron, but having recently learned to telemark in the Sierras, this was like rediscovering my own backyard.
After reluctantly checking out of our awesome surf side hotel in Vina del Mar, we headed back across Santiago to a small mountain town called Farellones located at the base of a group of 4 local ski resorts.
Looking at the trail maps and photos, I don’t see how La Parva, Farellones or El Colorado can even compare to Valle Nevado. The only downside of Valle Nevado is that the road to the main lodge is a treacherous death-trap. It’s a narrow, ribbon of a road, littered with potholes and rocks that slowly and steeply winds it’s way up to the main lodge. We were driving a Pugeot 203 – a small 4 door, 4-cylinder compact car that required chains to get through the last 4-5mi.
Next to my van driving debacle in Mallorca, this was the scariest driving experience of my life. I can’t imagine doing this drive once a year, let alone on a regular basis. Vans routinely come speeding up and down this road with little to no regard for the other cars on the road. They literally played chicken with me, except that I’m not even sure you could call it chicken when you have no intention of moving over to avoid the other. It was definitely a “my (car) is bigger than yours” moment. This caught me off guard because in general, Chileans drive really conservatively and courteously compared to their Argentine neighbors. People at the ski resort were even fairly mellow and didn’t try any of the line cutting or ski tip crossing bull shit like we encountered at Cerro Catedral near Bariloche.
If I go back it will be for at least a week and I would most certainly look to share a house/cabin rental with a group of friends. That way you could avoid all the lodging pitfalls as well as the need for a rental car and still explore all the lift accessible terrain surrounding the areas mapped out below. With the right gear, skins and maybe a guide, you could get to some epic spots.
Lassen Peak is the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade range, secont to Mt. St Helens in recent volcanic activity. At just under 10,500ft, Lassen is by no means a huge peak, but it consistently gets some of the deepest snowpack in the West (CA for certain) due to it's location. This makes it an ideal destination for spring backcountry skiing.
