Perhaps this is becoming the California resort version of a social media trend. A week ago, Tahoe ski resorts started posting images of chairlifts buried in snow. Mammoth Mountain has has seen one of its biggest seasons on record in terms of snow depth, and after a fresh 16-20″ fell in one 24-hour period over the weekend, buried chairs, lift towers and ski patrol shack made for more head-turning images.
On one hand, the images have been a way for resorts to update guests on mountain conditions as well as the snow removal their crews have been tasked with nonstop as California has been hit by storm after storm for weeks now. On the other hand, a 50-plus-foot pole and the tops of chairs barely peeking out of the powder is fantastic perspective on just how big this winter has been.
The most recent storm pushed Mammoth’s season snow total over the 600″ mark, now reaching 634″ (52.83 feet), according to the resort. The average winter typically totals 400″, so this season stepped into special territory weeks ago. According to Snowbrains, this is just the second time in the past decade that the area has seen more than 600″ in a season (617 in 2016-2017) and the all-time record sits at 668.5″. With another series of storms in the short-term forecast this week and no predicted end in sight, the Eastern Sierra could be sitting within reach of a new all-time record.
