Date: 04/18/98
Days: 1
Resort: Mammoth Mtn.
Hours: Day
Equipment: Alpine
Rating: 8
Primary-Surface: Packed powder
Secondary-Surfaces: Granular, Slush
Gender: Male
Age: 45
Ability: Expert
E-mail: crockeraf@aol.com
Loved: Nice weather, deep coverage
Hated: Fastest transition to spring conditions in 1 day
Closed: None
Liftline-Waits: 15 min. gondola; 5 min. 1,3,5; minimal elsewhere
Moguls: outstanding, first day of spring snow

I assume Wed. through Fri. had midwinter conditions by temperature reports and our first couple of runs. It was pretty warm (maybe 50 midday) with no wind until about 2PM. By then everything had softened to spring conditions except the most sheltered runs up top. There was also some junky avalanche control debris up there: Paranoid, west side of Cornice, below Huevos. This is the most swift transition to spring I have seen in one day at Mammoth in 160+ ski days over 20 years. The spring snow was only sticky down by Canyon Lodge. 3 and 5 were excellent, and thanks to the new lifts you don't have to wait long to ski there any more. The higher lift capacity means moguls form more quickly, but they were soft, well spaced and very enjoyable.