Mammoth

North America > United States

Spend a winter season on Mammoth Mountain
I wish they all could be Californian sang the Beach Boys, and you’ll have to wish no longer if you choose this mountain to be your winter home. One of North Americas leading resorts and a freestyle Mecca, if you are into jumping and jibbing then Mammoth is for you.

One of the other great things about Mammoth is its incredibly long season, with the lifts usually open well into June. Although the mountain can get busy with California’s weekend warriors, during the week you will find wide open empty pistes, all 150 of them snaking all around this long dead volcano. Another great thing about Mammoth is the weather, with an average of 95% sunny days and 55ft of snow per winter; you can see why it’s the new resort of choice for the up and coming breed of UK pro riders.

Riding wise, Mammoth deserves it’s reputation as one of the best in North America, don’t be put off by the heavy freestyle vibe here, there is more than enough to keep every standard of rider happy. BEGINNERS will be spoilt with nice easy blues and greens on the lower part of the mountain, as with everywhere in America, excellent ski and snowboard schools. Intermediates will be hitting up the various tree runs, natural bowls and hits at Hangman’s Hollow and the Huevos Grande. I know they sound crap, but that’s Americans for you, trust us, it’s all good! ADVANCED riders will check out Gondola 2, The Cornice and the amazingly shite named Wipe Out. You will also want to get into Mammoths famed parks.

Freestyle
Freestyle riding is taken very seriously at Mammoth, with a lot of money invested in the parks and pipes, and as such has facilities that cannot be matched by most other resorts world-wide. Literally with something for everyone, rails, jibs and kickers of all sizes and in every combo, it’s like being in a real life version of Coolboarders, or something. Check it out at the Unbound Snowboard Arena and for a smaller version, get over to the Roller Coaster area.