Date: 05/24/98
Days: 2
Resort: Mammoth Mtn.
Hours: Day
Equipment: Alpine
Rating: 8
Primary-Surface: Granular
Secondary-Surfaces: Packed powder, Slush
Gender: Male
Age: 45
Ability: Expert
E-mail: crockeraf@aol.com
Loved: A perfect spring day Sunday
Hated: Awful weather Monday
Closed: Open Sun:1-3,5,6,10-14,23 Open Mon: only 2&6
Liftline-Waits: Sun: 5 min on 3, occasional on 1 and 14
Moguls: Outstanding, soft and well spaced

I heard Saturday had a mix of weather including a half hour snow showers. Sunday was clear with light wind while riding the lifts. Snow had set up overnight, but softened most areas by 10-11 AM. Surface did not get sticky until about 2PM except in high traffic areas. Groomed and salted runs were in good shape all morning. Some areas of 14 had corn snow around 11AM. From 11AM on, the Chair 23 runs were excellent, with a solid but not icy surface up high and great moguls lower down. I expected a slightly degraded Memorial weekend with the gondola closed, but Mammoth more than made up for it by running 5, 12 and 14 and keeping the mountain open for a full day until 4PM. 31,400 vertical was my highest total for this late in the season. Monday was a different story: sleet, wind and fog. After the wind closed chair 1 at 10:30, only 2 and 6 were open. The surface was OK, as it had not frozen hard and was improving with the new snow. Unfortunately, there was NO visibility, so we bugged out at 11AM.