We wanted snowboarding. Summer in the Southern Hemisphere was becoming a drag and with borders now pretty much open globally, it was time to pack the bags and get back to it. Game on.
We wanted it all – sunny days, pow days, park laps, good crew and…après. The crew was Aussie Pro Rider Luke Harvey and King of the Kiwi’s RMB. A match made in heaven.
Using the Ikon Pass, we figured a California resort strike mission would tick all those boxes. The main goal being…board our brains out. Back in December, the Sierra Nevada region received the most snowfall ever recorded, over 5 metres of good stuff. The historic snowfall, good base and rad terrain was enough to have us on a plane in a few days. Peace.
We packed the bags, jumped on the first flight out of Sydney to San Francisco with a connecting flight into Bishop and were in Mammoth Mountain before we knew it. Rough trip was just under 21 hours and seamless. Hot tip – fly into Bishop, it’s a breeze!
Mammoth delivered nothing but sunshine, good times, hot laps aplenty and even some solid snowfall on our last day, allowing us to explore the off-piste terrain. Boy do we love it when the stars align. According to the locals, that happens a lot. If it ain’t sunny, it’s snowing. Perfect.
First things first, the mountain is HUGE. We did 4 days, first to last chair (or close enough) and still were exploring new runs and terrain on our last day. It will leave any type of snowboarder entertained for…ever. Whether you live for park, search for side hits or just soak in the good vibes. Mammoth has it all. 3,500 acres of rideable terrain, 28 lifts, 940m of vertical and you can get to an elevation of 3,371m. That’s pretty mental. It also boasts one of the longest ski seasons in North America – November to April/May. So you know it delivers on the snow front.
The terrain parks are world class. They actually set the standard of what world class is. Every new zone we explored, there was another park. And…it’s not your stock standard down rails and mega booters. They have these for sure, but there’s over 100 creative types of jibs, up to 50 jumps, volcanoes, nipples and natural style features to jive out on. Plus…2 halfpipes! A mini one, which is legit and a mega 22ft one, which is extra legit. We opted for the mini.
Off the mountain, Mammoth is a vibe. When we weren’t riding, we were watching other people ride from the sun deck whilst enjoying some crisp California après. Living the good life. For food and drink, there’s a bucket load of options on the mountain and in-town for night moves. Our favourite was the Shelter Distilling in town. Hot tip order the Nachos and lots of beer.
After 4 days of non-stop boarding, boarding and boarding our empty hearts were content and stoked. We packed our bags and headed to our next destination to continue on the Cali strike mission in true transfer style.
Stay tuned for stop number two dropping soon…
