Mammoth Mountain Ski Area To Close For Season Following 275 Day Run

The Mammoth Mountain Ski Area announced on Friday that the resort would be closing on Sunday for the season, marking the end to  second-longest season in the resorts history and one of the largest snowfalls that California has ever seen in a year.

Before a series of atmospheric river event storms struck the state in late 2022 and early 2023, California was still in severe drought statewide. Reservoirs across the state were at under 30% capacity and projections by many weather services showed that the mega drought was likely to continue. However, those early projections were radically altered by the near constant storms that struck California between December and March. In February, snowpack levels in the mountains were at 174% the average amount. In early March, levels were above 200%. By April, the statewide average was at 237%, with the Southern Sierra Range, a main feeder for both the Central Valley and the Los Angeles area, levels were close to 300%, with snowpack at 283%. So much had fallen that many ski areas extended ski season until early July due to the sheer amount of snow. Along with snowpack, reservoir levels across the state had been rapidly approaching full levels as well.

By the times the storms finally ended in the Spring, they had brought along both destruction due to floods and hope for the state, with meltwater expected to come down from the mountains throughout the year and most reservoirs being over capacity. For ski resorts, the news was exceedingly good as well. Years struggling and lower attendance due to shortened ski seasons and COVID years shutting down the resorts ushered in a long, and profitable, 2023. And this was no more visible than Mammoth Mountain, the state’s highest ski resort at over 11,000 feet in the Sierra Mountains in Mono County.

While snowpack elsewhere was above 200%, Mammoth Mountain received nearly 900 inches of snow, amounting to over 500% snowpack on average. Opened for the season early on November 5, 2022 due to favorable conditions, Mammoth Mountain quickly received large boosts from the snowfall, with early projections showing that the resort could make it to July. However, as Spring turned into Summer, operations didn’t wind down. On July 4th, usually considered a date weeks or even months into the off-season, the resort was still going at full strength due to all the snow.

A near-record year at Mammoth Mountain

“This year on July 4th, almost the entire upper mountain was open,” said Mammoth Mountain spokesman Tim LeRoy. “It was basically full go. That’s very unusual. What separated this year from past seasons is how well the snow held up as spring transitioned to summer. Mammoth was planning on closing sometime at the end of July, but then when we got close to that we realized we could go a little further.”

In mid-July, snowpack was still at above 500%. But higher temperatures in recent weeks quickly brought the resort to the norms of the season, and on Friday, the resort said that the last day for the season would be August 6th. While this wouldn’t be Mammoth’s longest resort season span in history, with the 1994-1995 benefitting from both high snowfall and cooler summer temperatures allowing it to be open from open from October 8, 1994, through August 13, 1995, it did wind up being the most visible.

Mammoth Mountain was used as an example by many lawmakers this year in the push for new reservoir and water system bills and laws. With much of the meltwater this year going to waste, as in not being stored in reservoirs or used to recharge groundwater, the images of so much snow on top of a mountain rallied many in county seats across the state and Sacramento.

“I would say that the flooding earlier this year definitely brought more concern,” said “Dana,” a Capitol staffer  to the Globe Friday. “But those images of so much snow still being in the mountain and the state not having enough to fully utilize it when it melts was something of a rallying cry. And for Mammoth specifically, California needing to rethink summer tourism in future years when that much snowfall comes down is being addressed, because that is something to really capitalize on. The ski industry is huge, and it is a potentially huge advantage. Most of the big Colorado resorts closed in April this year. California had open resorts in May, June, July, and in this case, even August. That is something that needs to be advertised and something lawmakers need to think about the next year we get storms like these.”

Mammoth Mountain is currently scheduled to open for the 2023-2024 season on November 11th.