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Mammoth Is Interesting
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March 22, 2009
by Mammoth Local Staff
As you may have noticed, MammothLocal.com, the online arm of Mammoth Monthly magazine, has stopped updating its pages until the economic climate improves. Owners Jean and George Shirk decided to keep the site alive, however, just for the heck of it. The Shirks still have a thing about Mammoth, and may return there soon to stir up more trouble. In the meantime, enjoy the high country (who doesn't?) and stay safe and well.January 14, 2008
by Mammoth Local Staff
On one of the biggest weekends of the season Jan. 11-13, people crowded onto Cloud 9 Express, formed long lines at the McCoy Station gondola, filled the lunch tables and bars, skied, rode snowboards, skated at the new ice rink, watched football and generally had a great time on good snow. There's more coming.January 04, 2008
by Mammoth Local Staff
Visitors will hardly recognize the new layout and exhibits at the Ski Museum. If you haven't been there this season, now would be a good time to check it out.View image View image View image View image
December 20, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Everybody ready? Occupancy rates for Mammoth hotels, lodges and condos are expected to reach 63 percent of capacity this weekend, with more visitors on the way throughout the week that ramps up to the Christmas-New Year's holiday.by Mammoth Local Staff
Heavy snow has prepared Mammoth for a robust holiday season. More than three feet of new snow fell on Mammoth Mountain in the storm that ended Thursday night, following winds that gusted up to 107.6 miles an hour at the summit of the 11,052-foot peak.December 17, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
With snow on the way to supplement a base of manufactured snow, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area will open Little Eagle Lodge on Thursday, Dec. 20, a resort official said. The opening, which will affect Chair 15/Eagle Express and Chairs 13 and 14, is due to coincide with a storm system that began early Monday with light snowfall and will continue through Thursday night.December 14, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth is 82 percent sold out for Christmas Week, with 10 days left for visitors to scramble for available lodging, according to figures released by the Mammoth Tourism Bureau.by Mammoth Local Staff
Online tributes continue to pour into the Mammoth forums Web site for Dave Ebbens, a beloved skier from Encinitas who died of injuries suffered while he was skiing in West Bowl on Monday, Dec. 10.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area opened Canyon Lodge on Friday, Dec. 14, and snow made its way into the forecasts for next week.November 29, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Ain't nobody here. According to figures released by Mammoth's Visitors Bureau, the hotel, condo and lodge occupancy rate projection shows just 14 percent of the available beds will be filled on the weekend of Nov. 30, with the occupancy rate dropping to just nine percent during the weekdays following.November 26, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Bill Cockroft, the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area executive who has been a longtime champion for road cycling, underwent surgery for injuries he suffered Thanksgiving Day in a cycling accident in Palm Springs, a ski area spokesperson said. Cockroft, formerly on the board of directors of the U.S. Cycling Federation and a driving force behind Mammoth road cycling, crashed on a corner while cycling in Palm Springs.by Mammoth Local Staff
Horizon Airlines would begin twice-daily flights to Mammoth in December 2008, but would not provide summer service to Mammoth Yosemite Airport until 2012, the airline announced in a document submitted to federal aviation authorities.by Mammoth Local Staff
"Play On!", the oft-produced Rick Abbot farce about a theater company whose production has gone awry, opens at the Mammoth High School multipurpose room on Wednesday, Nov. 28 and continues its run through Saturday, Dec. 1.November 21, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Lack of early season snow has delayed the scheduled openings of the ski runs off Canyon and Eagle lodges, the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area announced Wednesday.by Mammoth Local Staff
More winter visitors to Mammoth are bringing kids than ever before, a new survey shows. The survey, by Leisure Trends from Boulder, Colo., showed that 58 percent of the visitors to Mammoth said they brought children, up significantly from 2004, when just 31 percent said they brought their children with them.November 20, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Permits to cut and remove Christmas trees are now available from the Bureau of Land Management and the Inyo National Forest. Cutting areas, permit prices and regulations are the same as in previous years.November 18, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
After nearly a week of warm, Indian summer weather, temperatures will drop and light snow will drop on Mammoth during the start of Thanksgiving week, the National Weather Service said. Temperatures that will rise to near 53 by 1 p.m. on Sunday will drop off the table, falling to around 40 during the remainder of the day. West winds between 5 and 15 miles an hour will kick up, with gusts as high as 25 mph.November 16, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's fire abatement program on a 10-to-12 acre site on Sherwin St. in Old Mammoth is nearly complete, town officials said. The project, which involved a crew of 34 people over the course of the summer and fall, was the first part of a $7 million project designed to protect Mammoth from devastating fires such as the Lake Tahoe Angora Fire last June."Before" image "After" image
November 14, 2007
by George Shirk
With all the attention focused lately on Steve Searles (L.A. Times, Boston Globe, NPR, etc.), we dug into our archives and brought out this profile. An in-depth look into the heart and mind of Mammoth's "Bear Man."View image
November 05, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
In spite of a balmy autumn and not much measurable snow, Mammoth Mountain will open for skiing and boarding as planned on Thursday, Nov. 8, a ski hill spokesperson said.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Town Council cancelled its regularly schedule meeting for Wednesday, Nov. 21, according to Town Clerk Anita Hatter. The meeting was to be on Thanksgiving Eve, and Hatter said the council has nothing on its agenda.by Mammoth Local Staff
The "fire use" fire that is burning in the Glass Mountains and which is easily visible from Mammoth and U.S. Hwy. 395, has grown to 230 acres and is eating 25 to 50 acres a day, according to Inyo National Forest District Ranger Jon Regelbrugge. Regelbrugge said fire officials will let the fire continue to burn for ecological reasons.by Mammoth Local Staff
Friday's scheduled ALIMAR Awards Dinner at Main Lodge has been postponed because the speaker, David Nahai of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, has to keep mum until he's confirmed as the new general manager of the department.November 03, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Updated 12:32 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3Ryan Hall, one of a contingent of marathon runners who train in Mammoth, on Saturday, Nov. 3 won a spot on the men's marathon team by finishing first in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials in New York City.
View image Mammoth's Meb Keflezighi, the silver medalist at the 2004 Olympics, finished eighth. The first three runners qualified. The race was marred by the death of Ryan Shay, who lived and trained in Mammoth with Team USA California before movin to Flagstaff, Ariz., earlier this year. Shay collapsed about 5 1/2 miles into the race, He was 28.
November 02, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Updated 2:15 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2Everyone in Mammoth got so used to seeing Meb Keflezighi running around town this season that it's something of a surprise to not see him. The reason is easy. Mammoth's silver medal Olympian has been in New York, training for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials, to be run Saturday, Nov. 3 in Central Park. He was joined by Running USA teammates and Mammothists Dan Brown, Josh Cox, Ryan Hall and Mike McKeeman.
by Mammoth Local Staff
The popular free Town Trolley, a success in the summer months, will offer visitors night service between 6 p.m.-1 a.m., beginning Friday, Nov. 16, a town spokesman announced. Stuart Brown, the community relations manager, said the route will be the same as in the summer, running from The Village at Mammoth to Snowcreek Athletic Club. He said it will operate seven days a week, with stops every 15 minutes.by Mammoth Local Staff
There's nobody in Mammoth except bears, birds and locals, according to figures released by the town's Tourism Bureau. Occupancy in the town's hotels, lodges and condos will reach just 15 percent this weekend and sink to 13 percent in the weekdays following.November 01, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
An earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale shook Mammoth on Thursday morning. Centered in the mountains 11 miles southeast of Mammoth and eight miles west of Tom's Place, the temblor was easily felt.View image
by Mammoth Local Staff
The long-awaited narrowing of Meridian Blvd. will occur in the summer of 2009, town officials announced. The project will involve bus turnouts, bike lanes and the removal the traffic light at Minaret Rd. In its place will be a roundabout, according to the plans. The four-lane road currently is 64 feet wide. It will be narrowed to 45 feet and will include two travel lanes and a center turn lane, along with bike lanes and sidewalks.October 31, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A strong Bay Area earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale swayed buildings in Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra on Tuesday night. The quake, whose epicenter was seven miles east of Milpitas, was centered along the Calaveras Fault, nine miles east of San Jose. It struck at 8:05 p.m.October 29, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Rain, possible thunderstorms and snow figure to hit Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra, beginning this afternoon, Oct. 29, and continuing through Tuesday, the National Weather Service said Monday. Accumulations are expected to be light, forecasters said.by Mammoth Local Staff
Updated 4:35 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29H. David Nahai, an environmental activist attorney who on Monday was nominated to run the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, will keynote Andrea Lawrence's ALIMAR Awards Dinner on Nov. 9, Lawrence announced.
View image
October 26, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The firewood season has been extended to Nov. 18 on account of fair weather and numerous "no chainsaw" days during the hot, dry summer, the Inyo National Forest announced on Friday, Oct. 26by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth is deep, deep deep into the fall shoulder season, with the town visitor occupancy rate continuing to hover at 22 percent for the coming weekend. That figure, which matched last week's number, will drop even further -- to 11 percent -- for the weekdays following.October 09, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Another earthquake struck a mountainous area near Red Slate Mountain early Tuesday morning, this one measuring 3.0 on the Richter Scale. The quake followed a summer in which numerous small earthquakes have struck the spot.View map
October 08, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth Monthly owners Jean and George Shirk announced on Monday, Oct. 8 that they will suspend publication of the magazine after publishing the November Ski and Snowboard Special. The free magazine began in November 2002. With the Ski and Snowboard Special, due on the racks and in subscribers' mailboxes beginning Nov. 1, it will have run five years and 49 issues.October 04, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The cables on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park are scheduled to be taken down on October 15, weather permitting, a park spokesperson announced on Thursday, Oct. 4. The cables, the scene of four deaths in the past two years, extend approximately 300 yards up the steep shoulder to the 8,842-foot dome.View image
October 03, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A forecast calling for wind gusts of up to 100 miles an hour on the Sierra crest prompted the National Weather Service to issue a High Wind Watch, beginning Thursday morning and extending into late Thursday night. Also, some areas may break records for low tempratures on Friday.by Mammoth Local Staff
Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Reno issued a winter storm watch for Mammoth and the southern High Sierra beginning Thursday, Dec. 6 and continuing into the early part of the weekend. Snowfall amounts that could exceed two feet are expected, the weather service said. After hedging their bets earlier in the day, the forecasters said the path of the storm on Tuesday afternoon became "a little more certain, and favors the central and southern Sierra, generally from Carson Pass south to the Mammoth Lakes area."September 28, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Yosemite National Park will waive its $20-per-vehicle entry fee on Saturday, Sept. 29, as part of the annual National Public Lands Day, a park spokesperson said.by Mammoth Local Staff
The U.S. Forest Service has proposed a new equestrian and hiking trail between Lake George and McCloud Lake in the Mammoth Lakes Basin, aimed at relieving the Mammoth Lakes Pack Outfit.by Mammoth Local Staff
Jim Upchurch, the new supervisor of the Inyo National Forest, will meet the public in a series of open houses throughout the Eastern Sierra, a national forest spokesperson announced.by Mammoth Local Staff
As the temperatures drop and the days grow short, visitor occupancy to Mammoth is taking its customary dive. This weekend, the Visitors Bureau said it expects lodges hotels and condos will fill to just 38 percent, with the figure dropping to 18 percent in the weekdays following.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth police will begin a crackdown on speeding traffic beginning Monday, Oct. 1, Chief Randy Schienle announced. "Officer Tim Smalley will be patrolling our streets," the chief said, "so please control your speed."by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth will be hit with gusty winds, snow and possibly rain today and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. One to five inches of snow could fall on Saturday as a cold front moves from the coast over the area.September 24, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's trail system, such as it is, will get some needed maintenance and signage this fall, according to Town Manager Robert F. Clark.September 21, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth could receive six to 10 inches of snow this evening and Saturday as a storm system moves into the area, the National Weather Service said in a winter storm watch advisory.September 19, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
An unseasonably strong low pressure system will drop out of the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday, Sept. 11 and gradually move south over Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra, prompting the National Weather Service to issue wind and fire warnings.September 18, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
As the population of the Sierra continues to grow, the threat of devastating wildfires is growing right along with it, a new study released on Monday, Sept. 17, shows. The report, by the Sierra Nevada Alliance, found that major wildfires like last summer's Angora Fire in South Lake Tahoe will become more common and more destructive if current growth patterns continue.September 17, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Call it an omen, or call it just regular seasonal weather; call it harbinger of things to come or just a simple tease by Mother Nature. Whatever, snow is forecast for Mammoth and the High Sierra later this week, according to the National Weather Service.September 14, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Bright autumnal weather is in the forecast for Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra, which is a big bonus for visitors this weekend. The Mammoth Visitors Bureau said it expects the town's lodges, hotels and condos to fill to 43 percent, with a drop-off to 27 percent during the weekdays following.September 12, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The National Weather Service issued a "fire weather watch" for Thursday, meaning that critical fire weather conditions are possible.by Mammoth Local Staff
Steve Searles, Mammoth's celebrated "Bear Man" who received overwhelming kudos from supporters attending a Town Council meeting on Sept. 5, is back working his magic on behalf of the town.View image
by Mammoth Local Staff
Officials of Vision Airlines last weekend had another visit to the Mammoth-Yosemite Airport, and Town Manager Robert F. Clark said he expects a deal to be finalized soon. "I expect that they will make a final decision very soon," Clark said, "and if they approve the service, begin selling tickets."View image
September 11, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday, Sept. 11 named Randy Moore as the new regional forester for the Pacific Southwest Region, which includes the Inyo National Forest. He will replace Bernie Weingardt, who is retiring at the end of the month.View image
September 08, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Road cyclists in Saturday's High Sierra Fall Century rode in drop-dead beautiful weather, with clear skies, warm temps and ... Greg Lemond.View image View image View image View image View image
September 06, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
With their natural food sources all but gone in the Eastern Sierra backcountry, bears are finding Mammoth a great solution. The bears' good fortune, however, is causing some problems around town.by Mammoth Local Staff
With the High Sierra Fall Century bike ride drawing upwards of 800 riders and their families to Mammoth this weekend, occupancy rates in lodges and hotels are expected to jump to 43 percent, the town's Tourism Bureau announced Thursday.by Mammoth Local Staff
The director of the fledgling Mammoth Lakes Theatre Company asked the Town Council for immediate financial help at the council's regular meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 5. Shira Dubrovner, who founded the company in the space formerly occupied by the Plaza Theatre (cinema), ssuggested the town divert development impact fees her way, the faster the better.by Mammoth Local Staff
The numbers of hatchery fish in Mono County dropped from 465,700 last season to just 389,000 this year, and due to the effects of the New Zealand Mud Snail in the Hot Creek Hatchery, the number of lakes that have been stocked dropped from more than 30 to just six.by Mammoth Local Staff
A 26-year-old Bridgeport man faces multiple felony counts after he was charged with breaking in to a Mono County Sheriff's Department vehicle and stealing a rifle and a flashlight.September 05, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Steve Searles, Mammoth's "Bear Man" who was fired from the Mammoth Lakes Police Department last March, sat passively among a throng of supporters at a Town Council meeting Wednesday night, Sept. 5, in the wake of this summer's burgeoning "bear problem." But Searles' apparent detachment was a total disguise.by Mammoth Local Staff
An earthquake measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale shook a mountainous region near Mammoth shortly before 6 a.m. on Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.September 04, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mono County Sheriff's Department has joined a massive regional search for a missing airplane said to be carrying aviation adventurer Steve Fossett, the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon.by Mammoth Local Staff
Unusually strong winds combined with unusually low humidity will affect Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra today, Sept. 4, the National Weather service said in a pair of warnings.September 03, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Greg Lemond, the legendary three-time Tour de France winner whose trip to Mammoth in 1987 was cut short by a horrific hunting accident, will be an honorary cyclist at the High Sierra Fall Century bike ride on Saturday, Sept. 8, organizers announced.View image
September 02, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Charter air service to Mammoth from Carlsbad, North Las Vegas and Mesa, Ariz. could become a reality if the town and the airline can agree to terms.September 01, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth police busted three men who are alleged to have been involved in a brazen midnight burglary at a mid-town residence.August 31, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The long-awaited construction of the 5.3-mile Lakes Basin bike path will begin Sept. 4, Mammoth town officials announced. A public meeting to explain the project also was scheduled, for Sept. 13 at 4 p.m.August 30, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Visitors to Mammoth on the last big weekend of the summer will fill lodging to 56 percent of capacity, according to projections released Thursday.August 29, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
An earthquake measuring 3.1 in the Richter scale struck a mountainous area south of Mammoth at 8:27 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 29, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.View image
by Mammoth Local Staff
The new supervisor of the Inyo National Forest is a 54-year-old bicycle commuter, a Capitol Hill insider and a former recreation specialist in the Aspen District on the White River National Forest in Colorado, with responsibility for some of the nation's largest ski areas.August 28, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Gary Myers, an active community leader who served as the chief of Mammoth Hospital for the last 13 years, announced his resignation from his post as CEO, effective Dec. 31. "It's been an immensely pleasurable time in my life to work alongside such intelligent and dedicated professionals and to have had the opportunity to learn so much from everyone," he said.View image
by Mammoth Local Staff
Fresno halfpipe specialist Andy Finch, who rides out of Mammoth, won the Australian Open halfpipe snowboarding championship last weekend, while streaking Mason Aguirre of Mammoth finished ninth.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth long-distance runner Deena Kastor was candid and introspect after her disappointing sixth-place finish in last weekend's 10,000-meter race at the World Track and Field Championships in Osaka, Japan. "I lacked fire, drive, ambition, fight," she said.August 27, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
After five years of contentious wrangling, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is about to close a purchase that will prevent most of a 110-acre portion of the west side of Mono Lake from being developed. Supporters of the Mono Basin Scenic Area were ecstatic about the deal, in which the ski area finally wrested control over the land from Bill Cunningham.View image
August 24, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
It's a little hard to fathom that the end of summer is approaching, but nature and numbers don't lie. There's the thud-thud-thud of pine cones dropping; the creeks in the high country are mere trickles and the town occupancy rate, surging throughout late July and August, will drop to 57 percent this coming weekend.August 18, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
High winds and extremely low humidity will combine this weekend, creating dangerous fire conditions, the National Weather Service warned. A "fire weather watch" is in effect for Sunday morning throughout the day, forecasters said in a statement issued Saturday morning.by Mammoth Local Staff
The political action group "Advocates for Mammoth" said its members will support the General Plan that the Town Council passed Wednesday night, Aug. 15.August 17, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's Town Council on Wednesday approved the General Plan Update document, ending nearly five years of wrangling, discussion and debate. But the one remaining hot-button issue, what to do with the open-space "Bell-Shaped Parcel", was left unresolved.August 14, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
An 80-year-old Indiana woman who was reported missing in Yosemite National Park was found dead on Tuesday, Aug. 14, in the Echo Creek drainage southwest of Tuolumne Meadows.by Mammoth Local Staff
Yosemite National Park rangers raided three large marijuana plantations on Monday, Aug. 13, seizing 7,428 mature plants. Law enforcement officials put a value of the planting operations at $22 million.August 13, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A 56-year-old Nevada man was killed Sunday, Aug. 13, when his glider crashed near Boundary Peak in the White Mountains, according to a spokesperson for the Mono County Sheriff's Department.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Town Council this week is expected to approve a $50,000 expenditure for Phase II of a project that attempts to unite the town and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area under a single identity.August 06, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The search for an 80-year-old Indiana woman in Yosemite National Park was scaled back on Monday, Aug. 6, with Ottorina Bonaventure still missing.August 04, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Armed with slides showing devastation caused by the Lake Tahoe Angora fire earlier this summer, Fire Chief Brent Harper told the Town council earlier this week that it would cost up to $100,000 to reduce fuel in Mammoth's most vulnerable area.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Town Council took a swing at approving the General Plan Update earlier this week but whiffed, postponing a final vote on the document until its meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 15.August 02, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The euthanization of a resident Lakes Basin bear has wildlife advocates in an uproar--and the California Department of Fish and Game on the defensive.by Mammoth Local Staff
Faced with higher than expected bids for Mammoth's new ice rink, the Town Council on Wednesday decided to build a temporary rink for this winter, with neither a roof, a permanent foundation, a finished parking lot nor fire sprinkler system.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth can't get a whole lot more full than it will be this weekend, according to projections released Thursday by the town's Tourism Bureau. Occupancy rates will swell to 79 percent, by far the biggest weekend so far this summer.August 01, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A monument memorializing the three Mammoth Ski Patrollers who died in a horrific April 2006 accident will be dedicated in a public ceremony on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 25, at the top of Mammoth Mountain.by Mammoth Local Staff
An 80-year old Indiana woman who has a history of memory loss and confusion was reported lost in Yosemite National Park, rangers said, and a large-scale search for her is underway.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's proposed $3.4 million ice rink could be a reality by this winter, but it would open at the end of December without landscaping, a finished parking lot or a fire-sprinkler system.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's Town Council was within one vote of approving the General Plan Update as it moved into its meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 1. Should the council adopt the plan, it would end a process that began nearly five years ago.July 27, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Roger Staubach, the Hall of Fame quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys and a real estate mogul in Texas, has bought the Hillside Project in Mammoth, with the intent in creating a Ritz-Calrton hotel there.July 25, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Some 50,000 marijuana plants were confiscated and two burned bodies discovered in a raid on a marijuana plantation in the Sierra foothills outside Independence.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Town of Mammoth Lakes will not buy the Snowcreek Athletic Club and owner Linda Dempsey will not donate the facility as a tax write off, the Town Council decided.July 22, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The National Weather Service issued a fire weather watch for Mammoth and the High Sierra on Monday, predicting "dry" thunderstorms and a chance for lightning-induced wildfires.July 20, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Just when everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly in Mammoth's four-year effort to redraw its General Plan, the Town Council hit a snag Wednesday, July 18, over the issue of how to zone the so-called Bell-Shaped Parcel.July 19, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Occupancy in town for this weekend is projected at a robust 55 percent, and will drop only slightly during the weekdays following, to 44 percent. The surrounding campgrounds report near-full occupancy, so watch out for errant lures, flies, hiking poles and water bottles.July 18, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A Sept. 8 tribute event in honor of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area founder Dave McCoy and his wife, Roma, will combine a gala dinner, a 100-mile road bike event and a golf tournament at Sierra Star Golf Course, organizers announced.by Mammoth Local Staff
Main Street would have two more traffic lights, at the Post Office and at Mountain Blvd., under a sweeping, town-wide traffic proposal crafted by Police Chief Randy Schienle and Public Works Director Ray Jarvis.July 17, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A light earthquake, measuring 2.9 on the Richter scale, struck a mountainous area near Mammoth Friday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.by Mammoth Local Staff
A bad snow year, coupled with a short ski season, sent Mammoth's tax revenues spiraling downward off budget, and it is expected the town will end the fiscal year $559,000 off budget.July 16, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A 56-year-old Fullerton woman, who was bound for Mammoth from Yosemite National Park, was killed last weekend when her car plunged 1,500 feet in a crash on the "Blue Slide" section of the Tioga Road, Mono County authorities said.July 12, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
With the Jazz Jubilee drawing its annual crowd, Mammoth is jammed this weekend, with lodging officials projecting 60 percent of occupancy.July 10, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Inyo Complex Fire near Independence is contained, according to U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Nancy Upham. In all, 35,176 acres burned.by Mammoth Local Staff
The National Weather Service on Tuesday issued a hazardous storm outlook for Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra, saying scattered showers and thunderstorms could produce locally heavy rainfall and strong winds through Wednesday.July 09, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Inyo Complex Fire near Independence is contained, according to U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Nancy Upham. In all, 35,176 acres burned.July 05, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth will fill to 58 percent of its lodging capacity this weekend, according to new figures published Thursday, July 5. The projection is well off the 70 percent capacities experienced around the Fourth of July last year, when the holiday fell on a Tuesday instead of smack dab in the middle of the week.by Mammoth Local Staff
As if hot, arid conditions aren't enough, the National Weather Service on Thursday, July 5 added lightning to its mix of warnings.July 04, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
It was hot. It was crowded. It had kitsch in spades. In other words, Mammoth's annual Fourth of July parade was just about perfect, from the 4-H Club's lineup of goats, sheep and llamas to Mammoth Mountain's elaborate, whiteout float featuring the ski hill's new "Cloud 9 Express" chairlift.View image View image View image View image
July 03, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Temperatures that threaten all-time records are forecast for Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra this week. Forecasters at the National Weather Service said temperatures could reach into the 90s, with the scorcher due on Thursday, July 5, when it is possible that Mammoth could graze the 100-degree mark.July 01, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
For years people have assumed that there was a churning, roiling, white-hot magma chamber deep under Mammoth's Resurgent Dome, and that it was responsible for pushing the geologic formation upwards. At any time, the assumption went, forces within the earth -- an earthquake? -- would push the magma to the surface. Ka-blooey! But it isn't so, as it turns out.View image
June 30, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Stringent fire restrictions were placed on the woodlands and deserts in Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra, beginning Friday, June 29, according to a joint announcement by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.June 29, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth will fill to just 42 percent of its lodging capacity this weekend and just 47 percent for the July 6-7 weekend, a far cry from the 70 percent capacities the town experienced last year during the Fourth of July week.June 28, 2007
by Andy Selters
I have a friend, Brad, who fled a middle-management career to find a more active life in Mammoth. With his multiple skills and optimistic attitude, he cobbled together a full plate of jobs, made a lot of friends, and found a lot of truth in a respectable amount of skiing and climbing. Brad became fit and enthusiastic about life, but one day he just announced that he had to leave. He explained that he'd been living half off of his credit card and couldn't make ends meet here, much less build a financial future. In a matter of hours he was driving to Sacramento to start over again, in commercial real estate. The Eastern Sierra has a rare beauty that calls as if from on high. But coming, like Brad, to find a freer life and then riding off on a horse of hard reality has become a revolving-door theme.June 27, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The National Weather Service issued a "red flag" fire weather watch for Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra, effective Thursday morning, June 28 and lasting throughout the day.June 22, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Updated Friday, 9:25 a.m.In the face of strident questioning from some residents of Old Mammoth Road, the Town Council on Wednesday slapped back a plan that would have initiated year-round bus service to the top of the narrow, winding street on July 1.
June 21, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Suddenly it's summer. Mammoth's otherwise sleepy streets are going to starting jumping this coming weekend, according to projections by the town's Visitors Bureau.by Mammoth Local Staff
A fire weather watch for Mono County was issued by the National Weather Service, beginning on Friday morning and lasting through Saturday.by Mammoth Local Staff
Kendra Knight has been selected as a contract curator for the Mammoth Ski Museum, according to Ruth Harrell, the development director of the Mammoth Lakes Foundation.June 20, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Updated 10:26 p.m. WednesdaySpeeding traffic and rumbling construction rigs on rustic Old Mammoth Road have become such a big problem that the Town Council is considering placing speed bumps, additional stop signs and increased enforcement on the road.
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth Town Councilmember Skip Harvey took over as the town's mayor on Wednesday night, and he walked straight into a hornet's nest. "God, I've lost about 10 pounds of sweat running down my back," he declared halfway through a lively council meeting.June 19, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The July issue of Mammoth Monthly magazine, featuring essays by Andy Selters, Wendilyn Grasseschi and Ghia Camille, have begun distribution throughout the Eastern Sierra and Southern California. The magazines can be found at all the familiar places, including the entryways at Vons.View image
June 18, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Six roads have been identified by the Mammoth Public Works Department for grinding and re-surfacing this year, with a proposed start date of July 9.by Mammoth Local Staff
A 37-year Japanese man on Saturday slipped and fell to his death while ascending the Half Dome cables in Yosemite National Park, park officials said.by Mammoth Local Staff
Representatives of the Mexican government in Northern California will be making their first diplomatic visit to Mammoth in what is called a "Consulado Movil" or Mobile Consulate, this Saturday, June 23 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Eagle Lodge, Mammoth Communications Manager Stuart Brown announced.June 15, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
With the Mammoth Motocross revving up this weekend and with the Mono Basin Bird Chautuaqua in full chirp, the first wave of summer tourists will hit town. Lodging in Mammoth will fill to 38 percent, according to fiigures released on Thursday by the town's Visitors Bureau.June 14, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A 51-year-old Onyx, Calif. man was arrested Thursday on multiple counts of arson, attempted burglary and vandalism, Mammoth police reported.June 12, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A series of at least 10 earthquakes shook the Mammoth area throughout the day on Tuesday, June 12, with the highest magnitude quake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale.June 10, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area cancelled its 2007 "Life and Wellness" conference on Friday, Aug. 10, a spokesperson announced.June 07, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The town's revamped shuttle service begins June 15, and members of local commissions and media outlets got a look at some of the new vehicles and a new route on Wednesday.by Mammoth Local Staff
Updated Thursday 10 a.m.The Larson Fire, which continued to burn in Coleville on Thursday, is approximately 50 percent contained, fire officials said. U.S. Hwy. 395 is now fully re-opened, as well.
by Mammoth Local Staff
The organizers of the popular Mammoth Jazz Jubilee, saying they lost a $50,000 sponsor for this year's event, won a $15,000 bailout from the Town Council on Wednesday.by Mammoth Local Staff
Led by a group that included Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory, Mammoth business interests on Wednesday, June 6 succeeded in convincing the Town Council to drive down the cost of developer impact fees.May 30, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
In honor of National Trails Day, the non-profit groups Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access (MLTPA) and Friends of the Inyo are leading activities in Mammoth Lakes on Saturday, June 2, 2007.by Mammoth Local Staff
For a small tourist town of just 7,000 permanent souls, Mammoth comes up big when it comes to trash. Volunteers collected a staggering 191,000 pounds of trash, plastic water bottles, construction debris, junk and other detritus in the town's annual cleanup day.May 24, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth will fill to 47 percent of its lodging capacity this Memorial Day Weekend, with fine mountain weather in the forecast. In Bishop, meanwhile, Mule Days crowds have packed the town.May 21, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Inyo National Forest, founded by President Theodore Roosevelt as a means to protect land for the Los Angeles Aqueduct, turns 100 on Friday, May 25. Since its founding, the forest has grown from 221,324 acres in 1907 to 2.1 million acres and is home to, among other things, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.May 20, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Skip Harvey, the Mammoth councilmember who is next in line to become mayor, is expected to take over from outgoing Mayor Kirk Stapp at the Town Council meeting on Wednesday. Councilmember Wendy Sugimura is expected to be named mayor pro-tempore.May 18, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Yosemite National Park put fire restrictions into place on Friday, May 18, in what officials said could be a "potentially long and severe fire season."May 17, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
With Town Councilmember Neil McCarroll saying Mammoth police "know the difference between kids waiting for a ride" and "Jacuzzi-hoppers," the Town Council rebuffed pleas by two local women for the council to quash the idea.by Mammoth Local Staff
It may have been a dismal winter for much of the local economy but the town escaped serious damage, according to Brad Koehn, the town’s financial director.by Mammoth Local Staff
Groundbreaking ceremonies for the first dormitory at Cerro Coso Cummunity College will be Friday, June 15 at one o'clock, with a champagne toast.May 11, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A state official said that the number of citations for selling alcohol to minors in Mammoth represented "a high violation rate, way above average."by Mammoth Local Staff
The Lake Mary Road opened Friday, May 11, but there are still plenty of vestiges of winter in the Lakes Basin. The only open water is on Twin Lakes, with snow and ice still clogging the upper lakes, Mary, Mamie, Horseshoe and George.May 10, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Tioga Road, connecting the west side of the Sierra to Lee Vining through Yosemite National Park over Tioga Pass, opened Friday, May 11. Because of the thin snowpack this past winter, the opening is among the earliest on record.by Monica Prelle
The chief of the Long Valley Fire Protection District has a new plan for fire protection in what promises to be an unusually dry summer.by Monica Prelle
The Inyou National Forest inteds to issue new maps of off-highway routes through the forest, according to Marty Hornick, who announced to plan at a meeting of the Mono County Collaborative Planning Team.by Mammoth Local Staff
Cyclists in Mammoth will participate in the national "Bike-To-Work Week" May 14-18, adding a "Ride of Silence" to commemorate cyclists who have been killed or injured on our roads.May 04, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Tioga Road through Yosemite National Park has been plowed, but the National Park Service has not yet set a date for its opening, according to the park's Web site. The road, Rte. 120, connects the West Side of the Sierra to the East at Lee Vining.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Inyo National Forest, Mammoth Ranger District, is proposing to implement a project to improve meadow wildlife habitat at Upper Crater Meadow in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, southwest of Mammoth Mountain, according to USFS spokesperson Nancy Upham. The primary objective is to improve meadow habitat for the Yosemite toad, a species of amphibian that lives only in high mountain meadows of the Sierra Nevada.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mike Schlafmann, who many in the Eastern Sierra know as the Winter Sports Specialist on the Inyo National Forest, has been promoted to the position of Deputy District Ranger for the Mammoth and Mono Lake Ranger Districts, according to Inyo spokesperson Nancy Upham.by Mammoth Local Staff
A “chip event” is scheduled in Mammoth Lakes for Saturday May 19, in conjunction with the Town Clean-Up Day, in order to assist homeowners in the disposal of fuels around their homes, the U.S. Forest Service announced.May 02, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Stacy Corless won third place for feature writing from the Outdoor Writers Association of California for her story about a trans-Sierra hike from Clover Meadow to Mammoth.May 01, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory in effect at 11 a.m. The wind advisory was part of a cold storm carrying snow that moved into the Seirra early today and is expected to end by Thursday.April 29, 2007
by Monica Prelle
Jeff Bailey, U.S. Forest Service Inyo District Supervisor whose June 30 retirement was announced earlier in the spring, said good-bye to his inter-agency colleagues on the Mono County Collaborative Planning Team.April 28, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Town of Mammoth Lakes announced a May 8 special joint meeting of the Town Council, the Planning Commission and the Tourism and Recreation Commission, focusing on resort economic development.April 27, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's notoriously slow high-speed internet access will get a jump start this year, thanks to a $1.2 million network upgrade scheduled to start in May.April 26, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
With the promise of excellent weather and the ice gone from many local lakes, Opening Day anglers will fill Mammoth's hotels, lodges and condos to 49 perccent capacity this weekend, according to the town's Visitors Bureau.by Mammoth Local Staff
After four years of often contentious discussion, the town's General Plan Update will move to the Town Council on July 18. The document's revision took four times as long as it took to build the Empire State Building.April 25, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Craig Olson, a senior planner for the Town of Mammoth Lakes, died suddenly Tuesday night, April 24, at his home, according to Stuart Brown, the town's community relations manager.by Mammoth Local Staff
Two earthquakes, the first measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale, rattled the Eastern Sierra early Friday afternoon.April 24, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Two hundred fourteen chairs from the old Chair 9 have been placed on sale, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area announced on Tuesday, April 24. The chairs will go for $100 apiece, and the proceeds will be a non-taxable donation to the Gena Hodges Fund.by Mammoth Local Staff
Unusually high temperatures throughout the state in March triggered an earlier than normal start to the West Nile virus (WNV) season, State Public Health Officer Dr. Mark Horton warned on Tuesday.by Mammoth Local Staff
A series of strange rock structures alongside U.S. Hwy. 395 in the lava beds south of Big Pine started showing up recently.View image 1 View image 2 View image 3 View image 4
April 22, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A noted expert in real estate development and trails will speak in Mammoth this week as part of "The Developers' Forum," a new organization among builders, developers and the Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access (MLTPA).by Mammoth Local Staff
The water department directed restaurants to not serve water unless requested by customers, hotels to post announcements asking visitors to not waste water and said officials will monitor high-use customers.April 20, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A request by Mammoth police to implement a 10 p.m. curfew won the approval of the youths it would affect, mostly because the kids thought there already was a curfew in place.April 19, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Whether it's at the lifts, the post office, Vons, wherever, there's no waiting. The town's visitor occupancy rate, which measures hotels, condos and lodges, is at 31 percent this coming weekend, and it will drop to 11 percent, starting Sunday evening.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth will get additional high-speed Internet access by the end of this year, a Verizon executive told the Town Council Wednesday night. "This is good for businesses and good for residents," said Michael Page, the director of government and external affairs for the company.April 18, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Town Council member Skip Harvey, a restrauteur whose Base Camp Cafe is adjacent to the town's Third of July "block party," on Wednesday took preemptive action against possible charges of conflict of interest. "I want to party," he said.by Mammoth Local Staff
The number of skiers and snowboarders at Mammoth Mountain is down by 23 percent, while revenue at the ski area is down by 18 percent, according to Rusty Gregory, the CEO of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.by Brandon Russell
Dave McCoy was the star at his College Classic, the annual fundraising event that this year drew Warren Miller, Darren Rahlves and MSNBC news anchor Alex Witt.April 16, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Ski Museum's 2008 calendar, featuring 12 vintage ski posters from its collection, was released on Monday, April 16, according to Mammoth Lakes Foundation development director Ruth Harrell.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's Deena Kastor won the U.S. Women's Marathon Championship on Monday despite a disappointing fifth-place finish at the Boston Marathon.April 14, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
An earthquake measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale struck the Eastern Sierra on Friday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed by a microearthquake on Saturday and was part of a weeklong series of small quakes along the Hilton Creek fault.April 13, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Lake Mary Road to the Lakes Basin is projected to open May 11, according to the Forest Service, and the Red's Meadow Road to Devils Postpile National Monument and the Red's Meadow Valley are tentatively scheduled to open May 29.by Mammoth Local Staff
Because of the light winter snowfall, Mammoth water officials are considering asking for conservation measures in the town this coming summer.by Mammoth Local Staff
Deena Kastor, Mammoth's Olympian long distance runner, multiple long distance record holder and marathon bronze medalist in the Athens Olympics, will have a day in her honor. A proclamation designating April 29 as "Deena Kastor Day" in Mammoth was approved by the Town Council.View image
April 12, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Tourism levels will sink to their seasonal lows this weekend in Mammoth, although the Snow Gods will be in town, apparently unwilling to give up on winter.April 11, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A small earthquake measuring 3.0 on the Richter scale lightly shook the mountains between Mammoth and Tom's Place Wednesday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake, which struck at 4:57 p.m., was exactly at the magnitude that people nearby might have felt it, according to the USGS.April 09, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A new storm that on Wednesday could dump as much as a foot of snow onto Mammoth Mountain began to take shape over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.April 07, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Dick Goetzman, a longtime member of the Mammoth Lakes Foundation and a U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association president, died this past week at his home in Long Beach, the USSA announced. His death followed a series of recent health and medical problems, USSA President and CEO Bill Marolt said.April 06, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
On the one-year anniversary of the deaths of three ski patrollers on Mammoth Mountain, the ski area on Friday, April 6 posted a "We Won't Forget" memorial on its Web site, while friends and family of James Juarez gathered for a short memorial at the top of the 11,052-foot ski hill.by Mammoth Local Staff
Starwood Capital's real estate branch announced that it would invest as much as $1 billion in new projects in Mammoth. Plus, the company unveiled a new Web site called Same/New.by Mammoth Local Staff
The road into Schulman Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest opened Friday, April 6 - the earliest road opening in 20 years.April 05, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Former Mammoth mayor Rick Wood spoke before the Town Council Wednesday night, urging his former colleagues to keep development moving forward for the sake of Mammoth's economy.by Mammoth Local Staff
Occupancy rates for the Easter weekend in Mammoth will be slightly above 60 percent, while any chance of a warm, sunny holiday is falling by the wayside. Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Reno on Thursday, April 5 projected increasing cloudiness and falling temperatures through the weekend, with snow possible on Sunday.April 03, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A small earthquake measuring 3.0 on the Richter scale struck Bishop late Tuesday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.by Mammoth Local Staff
The annual Mammoth volunteer cleanup day has been set for May 19, well before the Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer.March 30, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A federal judge on Friday, March 30, rejected Bush Administration rules that offered national forest managers less oversight in approving logging and other commercial projects, and which also curtailed some environmental reviews. U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled that the government failed to adequately consider the effects the rules would have on the environment and neglected to properly gather public comment on the issue, according to documents posted on the Justice Department's Web site on Friday afternoon.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth has a strong message for wildlife poachers: kill a bear, go to jail, which is exactly where James K. Brost is headed.by Mammoth Local Staff
The National Forest Service announced a new series of prescribed burns for the next several weeks, with the burns concentrated near Mammoth and the Mono Basin. Smoke may be visible at times from Highways 395, 120 and 203 as well as from Mono City, Lee Vining, June Lake, Mammoth Lakes, and Crowley Lake, the Forest Service said.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Sierra snowpack this spring is just 42 percent of normal, its lowest in the last 17 years, according to California Department of Water Resources. "If next winter is similar (to this one), then we could be looking at some tight times," said Frank Gehrke, the snow survey chief.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitor Center, located in Lee Vining, will re-open Thursday, April 5, the national Forest Service announced. The Visitor Center will be open Thursday through Monday 9-4:30 and will be closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Beginning Thursday, May 24, the Visitor Center will be open seven days a week through the Labor Day holiday.March 27, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Early indicators show that Mammoth wants a dog park, and residents who showed up for a meeting on March 25 said they wanted dog training programs, too.by Mark Schlenz
Supplied with only a tarp, some water jugs, and little if any food, the school's "students" cross thresholds in their lives through a carefully guided rite of passage known as a Vision Fast. Developing the Vision Fast, founders Meredith Little and the late Steven Foster may have achieved for passage rites what author Joseph Campbell accomplished for mythologies.March 25, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A public meeting on the Inyo National Forest master plan for developed recreation sites will be on Tuesday, April 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Bishop. At the meeting, which is at the Interagency Building on West Line Road at Pacu Lane, a presentation will be made on the Recreation Site Master Planning process that all national forests throughout the country are currently going through, plus public input will be sought regarding the developed recreation sites on the Inyo.by Mammoth Local Staff
Opening Day of the wooding season is May 1 this year, and permits will begin distribution one week earlier, the Inyo National Forest announced. Maps showing areas open to cutting are available with a purchased fuelwood permit. Fuelwood permits are $14 a cord with a two cord minimum purchase.March 24, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Forecasters at the National Weather Service said Mammoth could receive a foot of snow in a storm that will begin with high winds on Monday.March 23, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
For the first time ever, Mammoth post office users can recycle their junk mail in a new program instituted this past week. However, Postmaster Gary Fultz warned citizens to beware of privacy issues inherent in the program, and suggested people do not include documents containing "sensitive or personal information."by Mammoth Local Staff
Much of the money raised at the Dave McCoy Classic will go toward financing the first on-campus student housing at Cerro Coso Community College.March 22, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
With the vernal equinox now in the rearview mirror and with Easter Week coming into view, visitor numbers are taking their usual spring dive.March 21, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Smoke will be visible from Benton Crossing Road, Forest Road 4502 and several communities for "the next few weeks" as the Forest Service carries out prescribed burning in the Casa Diablo area.March 19, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Steve Searles, Mammoth's "Bear Man," turned in his badge last Thursday. "And I've been crying ever since," said the erstwhile wildlife specialist for the Mammoth Lakes Police Department. Was it good bear behavior or his extra-curricular crime fighting that cost Searles his job?March 16, 2007
by George Shirk
As he approaches the end of his career with the Forest Service, Inyo Supervisor Jeff Baily remembered what it was like at the beginning: " I couldn't imagine myself doing a 9-to-5 job or being in an office in some large city somewhere and not have access to the outdoors. So I checked into forestry. It just felt good to me - it felt like it was what I wanted to do." A 2004 Q&A from Mammoth Monthly.by Mammoth Local Staff
Members of Mammoth's lodging industry reported that they expect the town t fill to 87 percent of capacity this weekend before dropping to 45 percent next week.March 15, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Inyo National Forest is getting a new leader. Jeff Bailey, who has served as the Inyo's Forest Supervisor for nine years, has announced his retirement. June 30 will be his last day on the job. Plus, a 2004 Q&A from Mammoth Monthly, called "Seeing The Forest From The Trees."March 13, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Daron Rahlves, widely regarded as the most successful American speed racer of all time, will appear at the Dave McCoy College Classic March 16-17 at Mammoth Mountain.by Mammoth Local Staff
The body of a Thousand Oaks man was pulled from under the ice at Gull Lake on Monday, one day after he failed to surface during a "free dive."March 12, 2007
by Stacy Corless
Mammoth's iconoclastic "Bear Man," Steve Searles, is in trouble over his production and distribution of anti-crime bumper stickers.March 10, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Five years ago, a woman was tackled from behind and assaulted while skiing on Mammoth Mountain. Her attacker injected her with the human and animal anesthesia Ketamine and left her unconscious on the snow before fleeing on his snowboard. Last week, police arrested a suspect in the case.March 09, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Lodging industry participants anticipate that Mammoth will be 84 percent of capacity this coming weekend, according to the town's Visitors Bureau.by Mammoth Local Staff
An pair of earthquakes, the first measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale, shook the mountains northeast of Sonora Junction shortly after 3 a.m. on Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.March 06, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The "Top of the Sierra Interpretive Center," a long envisioned project for the 11,053-foot top of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, will open March 17 with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m., ski area officials announced on Tuesday.View image
March 05, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Bob Hattoy, the president of the California Fish and Game Commission who worked in the Clinton White House and as the Los Angeles regional director of the Sierra Club, died Sunday morning, March 4. He was 56. Hattoy died of complications of AIDS at the University of California, Davis Medical Center, said Adrianna Shea of the Fish and Game Commission.by Mammoth Local Staff
A weekend-long search for a deaf, 17-year-old dog produced no results, its human companion said Monday. Lisa Hunt, a Berkeley resident who said "Oofie" was last seen two weeks ago at the parking lot of the Lower Owens River Gorge, said she is holding out hope that the mixed breed dog is still somehow among the living.View image
by Mammoth Local Staff
A fundraiser to help with expenses associated with last January's high school flood is set for March 10 at Sherwin's Folly off Old Mammoth Road. The flood, caused by bursting pipes during a cold snap, caused heavy damage to the school's music department.by Mammoth Local Staff
Commercial air service to Mammoth, scheduled for the beginning of next ski season, has been pushed back to December 2008. The delay is due to Mammoth's inability to complete the Environmental Impact Statement, a requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act. The EIS is required if the town is to receive funding and approval of the project from the Federal Aviation Administration.March 03, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The search is on for an aging, beloved companion, last seen in the Owens River Gorge. Described as black and fluffy with a grey muzzle, 17-year-old Oofie’s situation is especially critical since she can’t hear.March 02, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The annual lecture series by the Sierra Nevada Research Laboratory (SNARL) begins May 2 with Dr. James Patton, curator of mammals at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California Berkeley's department of integrative biology.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Lakes Fire Department (MLFD), which has been an all-volunteer force with the exception of its two top officers, has hired two new full-time firefighters, officials said. Fire Chief Harper said Shawn Stacy and David "Dusty" Renner have been named as full-time firefighters.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth police busted 19 Mammoth High School students on alcohol charges last weekend, even though some of the students had earlier signed an "alcohol abstention pledge" in order to participate in extra-curricular activities.March 01, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's innkeepers and hoteliers say skiers and snowboarders will fill 84 percent of available rooms and suites this weekend before a big dropoff next week.February 26, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Here's a helpful hint for anyone planning to heist groceries and booze from Vons: Leave the brass knuckles at home. The knuckles are considered an illiegal weapon, as Macon C. McLaughlin, 18, found out last week when he was busted for trying to take about $300 worth of stuff out of Mammoth's only supermarket.by Mammoth Local Staff
The proposed bike path linking Mammoth to the Lakes Basin will cost $13 million, with the bulk of the funds coming from state and federal grants, as well as development impact fees, according to a document released by the town.by Mammoth Local Staff
It’s on practically no one’s radar yet, but one of the gnarliest road projects in Mammoth’s history is set to begin in May. The Lake Mary Road, which in years past has become a victim of alarming disrepair, will be rebuilt over the course of three years. The construction will begin at the intersection of Minaret Road and will extend all the way out to Horseshoe Lake in the Lakes Basin.by Mammoth Local Staff
A winter storm Monday left one to two feet of new snow on Mammoth Mountain, according to ski area officials. More snow is expected through Wednesday, although the amounts are forecast in inches, not feet.February 25, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Town Council, with an option of appointing three fresh faces to the Tourism and Recreation Commission, has decided to stick with the incumbents for four more years. Incumbents Tony Colasardo, an owner of Footloose Sports; Dieter Fiebiger, owner of Alpine Garage, and Shields Richardson, owner of the Side Door restaurant, all were reappointed at the council's meeting on Feb. 21.February 22, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The winter may have been a bit late arriving, but now that it's here, skiers and snowboarders are jamming into town, according to figures released Thursday by the Mammoth Visitors Bureau.February 21, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
With the cost of a liquor license at $100,000 or more in Mono County, a California state senator is asking towns for direction on whether to press forward in getting as many as 10 new licenses, primarily in Mammoth Lakes.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Town Council on Wednesday night began consideration of a 10 p.m. curfew for minors under 18 years old in an attempt to cut down on late-night trouble.February 19, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A storm carrying as much as two feet of snow, accompanied by high winds is still on track for Mammoth on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a special weather statement issued by the National Weather Service on Monday, Feb. 19.February 15, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth tourism officials are forecasting a probable sellout for the upcoming three-day Presidents' Day Weekend, while weather forecasters are predicting significant new snow for next week. Projections from the lodging sector showed Thursday that the town was 95 percent sold out between Friday, Feb. 16 through Sunday, Feb. 18.February 14, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Officials of the California Department of Fish and Game said on Wednesday, Feb. 14, that they will modify trout distribution in the Mammoth high country following the discovery of New Zealand Mud Snails in the Hot Creek Hatchery, just south of Mammoth. DFG will allow an estimated 515,000 fish from Hot Creek Hatchery to be planted only into waters that have been surveyed and are mud-snail positive, such as the Owens River, Crowley Lake and Pleasant Valley Reservoir.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mono County Sheriff's deputies are investigating vandalism to three graves at the Mt. Morrison Cemetery near Mammoth. The Sheriff's office was notified of the damage on Friday, Feb. 9. When deputies arrived they spoke to several people who said that three grave sites had been vandalized. The type of vandalism consisted of items being broken off of the headstones and/or miscellaneous items being thrown onto the grave sites.by Mammoth Local Staff
Citizens serving on the town's four commissions on Wednesday, Feb. 14, gathered to hear the rollout of the newest (and 12th) version of the town's General Plan. After four years, the plan is inching close to approval.by Mammoth Local Staff
Citizens serving on the town's four commissions on Wednesday, Feb. 14, gathered to hear the rollout of the newest (and 12th) version of the town's General Plan. After four years, the plan is inching close to approval.February 11, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
In an effort to lure a major tourism and trade convention to Mammoth in 2009 or 2010, the Town Council voted last week to commit as much as $100,000 for the effort.February 08, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
In an act of irony that would out-do Ali G, the Mammoth Town Council on Wednesday adopted the "U.S. Mayors Climate Control Agreement." The agreement seeks to reduce greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2). The irony is that the earth itself is raising objections, at least in Mammoth, where the Horseshoe Lake Area dumps between 50 to 150 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere per day.by Mammoth Local Staff
With six candidates vying for three open seats on Mammoth's Tourism and Recreation Commission, the Town Council has decided to consider expanding the panel to nine members.by Brandon Russell
A plaque honoring four ski patrollers who were killed in two separate accidents last winter was presented to the Town Council, Wednesday, February 7 by Mammoth resident Leigh Gaasch. "This plaque belongs to the town and people of Mammoth," Gaasch said. "Take care of it for James, Greg, Johanna and John."by Mammoth Local Staff
Still wary from a less-than-good snowfall this season, visitors will fill the town to only 76 percent of capacity this coming weekend, according to the Mammoth Visitors Bureau. Moreover, in the week running up to the Presidents Day three-day holiday, lodging owners' numbers indicate that the town will fill to just 44 percent. For the Presidents Day Weekend, projections are now at 82 percent.by Brandon Russell
Citing Mammoth's need to design aesthetically agreeable buildings in new construction, the town council voted Wednesday, February 7 to allow Mammoth Mountain's proposed Eagle Lodge a 67-foot height variance. The vote, which would increase the building's maximum potential height from a height limit of 35 feet to 102 feet, was 3-1.View image
February 06, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The relocated, refurbished and reconsidered Mammoth outdoor ice rink will be in action in December 2007, all for the low, low price of $2.1 million, the Town Council heard this past week.View image
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth will have a Fourth of July fireworks show at Crowley Lake, the town's Tourism and Recreation Commission learned on Tuesday night.February 03, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A Mammoth Mountain Ski Area executive on Friday sought to quash rumors that the resort had set a date for closing because of a lack of snow, saying, "no decisions are being discussed regarding an early closing date."February 02, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
An estimated 10,000 anglers packed into Crowley Lake last weekend for the fishing season opener in Mono County. The mid morning aerial survey team counted 519 boats. There were record-setting numbers of fish caught.February 01, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A family account in the name of the late Gena Hodges has been established at Mammoth's Union Bank, according to a spokesperson for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. Hodges, 43, a veterinarian known affectionately as "Dr. Gen," died on Sunday, Jan. 28 in a hospital in Loma Linda after lingering in a coma for nearly two weeks. She was pregnant with twins when she suffered a brain aneurysm.by Mammoth Local Staff
Visitor numbers continued to track alongside the Sierra's dry spell this week, with the lodging occupancy projections at just 71 percent for the coming weekend. However, current weather forecasts suggest a break by the latter part of next week, "just in time" for the Presidents Day Weekend holiday.January 31, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Soldiers wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan arrived in Mammoth on Tuesday, Jan. 30, then took to the mountain as part of the "Wounded Warrior" program.View image
January 29, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
With the results of snow surveys beginning to dribble in from various points across California, it appears that the snow level is just about what anyone would expect: about one-third of average for Feb. 1.by Brandon Russell
The Mammoth Town Council is investigating why Internet connection speeds are so slow at certain times of the day and on certain days of the week.January 27, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
June Mountain Ski Area closed for the season on Sunday, Jan. 28, because of a lack of snow, resort officials announced.January 25, 2007
by Monica Prelle
Nothing brings out a party quite like a Planning Commission agenda that includes zoning amendments on such things as parking, setback allowances, then adds a new hurdle for homes that are over 3,000 square feet.by Mammoth Local Staff
Visitor levels in Mammoth continue to track alongside the snow level, which is to say they're both low.January 23, 2007
by George Shirk
Mammoth is teaming up with the Post Office, the Sierra Conservation Project and Mammoth Disposal to help residents recycle the "vast" amount of junk mail they receive, the town announced Tuesday.January 22, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Casey McCoy, the Bishop off-road motocyclist who learned to ride dirt while growing up in the Eastern Sierra, finished 31st in the 29th running of the grueling Dakar Rally motorcycle race on Sunday.View image
January 21, 2007
by Bump Diamond
Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory, now a member of Barry Sternlicht's globetrotting Starwood Capital gang, is preparing for his second trip to Russia in as many months as the company looks to acquire Russian properties. In particular, Starwood, the principal owner of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, is looking to possibly acquire Krasnaya Polyana, a resort in the Caucasian Mountains near the Black Sea.January 20, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Forecasters at the National Weather Service, as well as local forecaster Howard Sheckter, say there is no snow in sight for the snow-starved Sierra, although a system may possibly rumble through the mountains around Groundhog Day.January 18, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
It doesn't take a sharp eye to see that there's still not much snow on the ground in Mammoth and that the usual January tourist throng isn't here, either. But now there are numbers to prove just how ugly it is.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Town Council on Wednesday, Jan. 17, scheduled interviews for the six candidates who are seeking three open spots on the Tourism and Recreation Commission.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Town Council on Wednesday, Jan. 17, signed an agreement with KMMT radio that would make the station an integral part of the town's emergency operations.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Town Council on Wednesday approved a proposal to apply for $375,000 in state funds to help the police department in its traffic enforcement.January 17, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
An earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale shook Round Valley shortly after 6 a.m. on Wednesday,January 15, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Town Council on Wednesday, Jan. 17 will consider a resolution that asks the federal government to open public lands to snowmobile use and keep open areas that currently allow them. The resolution will be brought forward by snowmo advocate Dick Noles, of Bishop, leader of the Advocates for Access to Public Lands. He appears at the invitation of Councilmember John Eastman.January 11, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Visitors to Mammoth for the three-day Martin Luther King Birthday weekend will fill only 73 percent of available lodging—down at least 10 percent from a year ago, according to figures released Thursday by the Mammoth Visitors Bureau.by Brandon Russell
Richard Somerville and Stuart Ostro, speakers on the saecond day of a two-day Operation Sierra Storm conference, came to Mammoth to set the record straight on global climate change. Fundamentally, they came to the conference from the same school of thought; that global climate change is, in fact, happening and the human contribution to that change must be curbed immediately. Their approach, though, had no such parallels.January 10, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
There are windy days and then there are the ones that are remarkable. Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra had a remarkable one on Wednesday, in advance of an intense cold front. On Mammoth Mountain, whose summit is 11,052 feet, Ski Patrol weather instruments recorded an 87 miles-an-hour gust at 1 p.m., while at Main Lodge, at 9,000 feet, weather instruments recorded a 55 miles-an-hour gust at about the same time.January 09, 2007
by Brandon Russell
Some of the world's authorities on climate change and meteorology congregated in Mammoth to discuss perspectives on global warming, evolving weather patterns and the economics behind it all. Amid the three hours of presentations Tuesday, one topic was noticeably neglected: winter's failure to arrive to the Eastern Sierra.by Mammoth Local Staff
No injuries were reported in a fire inside the historic Mono County Courthouse in Bridgeport Monday night.by Mammoth Local Staff
A memorial fund in the name of the late Tom Christiana has been formed through Union Bank in Mammoth, according to his wife, Debby Christiana. "In lieu of flowers, the fund has been set up to continue Tom's quiet, behind-the-scenes support of our community," she said. She also announced a Tom Christiana Celebration of Life for Saturday afternoon, Jan. 13 at 2 o'clock in the Mammoth High School multi-purpose room.January 08, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Wind chill factors could drop to as low as "30 to 40 degrees below zero" in the Mammoth area by the end of the week, according to a special weather statement issued Sunday afternoon by the National Weather Service in Reno.January 07, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The sun broke through on Mammoth Mountain on Monday as Ski Patrol crews scrambled to open the lifts on the upper part of the mountain. Ground crews laid corduroy on top of five to seven new feet of snow on the lower part of the ski hill.January 05, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
A summit meeting involving all arts organizations in Mono County and Mammoth has been set for Jan. 16, meeting organizers announced.January 04, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Having dealt with tourist pressure ranging between 73 percent of sold out to maximum sellouts over the holidays, Mammoth gets a breather next week when the occupancy rate in hotels and rented condos falls to 55 percent.by Mammoth Local Staff
June Mountain Ski Area is set to open Friday with a limited number of runs, thanks to a snowfall on Thursday. Conditions permitting, Mammoth's sister hill expects to have four chairlifts in operation tomorrow: J1, J2, J3 and J7. Still closed are the chutes, Deer Bowl, Davos Drop, Powder Chute and Sunset.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth Mountain, the scene of eight deaths in a particularly tragic 2005-06 ski season, will participate in the National Ski Areas' Association Safety Awareness Week Jan. 13-19, the ski area announced.January 01, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The arts scene in Mammoth took a dramatic leap on Wednesday when veteran arts promoter Gaye Mueller and new theater producer Shira Dubrovner teamed up and announced a series of new initiatives. Among the efforts is a sculpture project called "Trail of the Trout."by Mammoth Local Staff
"Operation Sierra Storm," the annual television meteorologists’ conference, is returning to the Village at Mammoth on Jan. 8-10 with leading experts addressing global warming.December 28, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
With fresh snow on the ground and the weather clearing, occupancy rates for Mammoth will continue to be high through the first week of January, new figures indicate.December 23, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
A pair of Mammoth teenagers were taken into custody on unrelated charges this past week, one on a weapons charge and the other for an assault with a deadly weapon in connection with a series of stabbings at a party.December 21, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Projections by the Mammoth Visitors Bureau show there is still lodging available for the Christmas Week. Last season, the town sold out then was hit by a series of paralyzing storms.December 19, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Three spots on the Mammoth Tourism and Recreation Commission will open early next year and the town is accepting applications to fill them.by Mammoth Local Staff
Silver Canyon, Wyman Canyon and the White Mountain Road past Sierra View have been closed for the winter due to deep snowdrifts on the roadways.by Mammoth Local Staff
An earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale rattled an area east of Bishop on Tuesday morning, Dec. 19.December 15, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Despite little natural snow, the lifts at Canyon and Eagle Lodges opened as scheduled to skiers and boarders today.December 14, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
The projected occupancy rate for the week between Christmas and New Year's is down by nine percent from projections a year ago, according to figures released Thursday by the Mammoth Visitors Bureau.by Monica Prelle
A sprawling hotel complex that Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory once described as "a W Hotel on steroids" got a thumbs up from the Mammoth Planning Commission.December 12, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
The "Island Extravaganza" fundraiser this season raised $47,000 for Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra, executive director Kathy Copeland said Tuesday.by Mammoth Local Staff
Restaurant Skadi raised $1,320, Monday night to benefit Mammoth Nordic's recent purchase of a CAT. Three times as many people showed up at the event than was expected.December 10, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Some needy kids in Mammoth face a less-than-merry Christmas, because the community members who've organized to buy them toys and gifts are short of cash. The reason: lack of snow.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth finally got some measurable snow on Saturday night and Sunday, forcing residents back behind their snowblowers and crews into the cabs of their plows for the first time this season.December 07, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
In spite of the uncertainty over snow depth and quality, the occupancy rate for Mammoth will jump to at least 68 percent in the week run-up to Christmas, according to figures released Thursday by the Mammoth Visitors Bureau.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's Transportation Department on Wednesday ran into unexpected opposition for the purchase of six trolleys, escaping a crash of the proposal by a narrow 3-2 vote by the Town Council.by Mammoth Local Staff
Nearly a year after Mammoth was shut down in a fatal Jan. 2 blizzard, there still is no easy way for citizens to get late-breaking news from emergency officials, a California Highway Patrol sergeant warned Wednesday.by Mammoth Local Staff
A funny thing happened on the way to the General Plan Update process on Wednesday night. A lovefest of sorts broke out in a packed Town Council chamber.by Mammoth Local Staff
Up to 6,000 Verizon telephone directories are stacked in the back room of the Mammoth Post Office with nowhere to go, forcing officials to figure out a way to get rid of them.December 05, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is spending about $4,000 a day feeding a workforce that has been idled by the lack of snow so far this season.December 03, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
The town's deconstructed ice rink would be brought out of mothballs and be ready skating by November 2007 if town and school officials can agree on details.December 02, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Rich McAteer, the visionary force behind Mammoth's ambitious library project, and Mammoth Foundation volunteer Jane Baer, won the top awards at the Friends of the Foundation dinner on Saturday night.by Mammoth Local Staff
A 47-year-old Mammoth man was in custody this past week in connection with a particularly sloppy burglary at the Goodyear Norco convenience store on Main Street. Randy Sly, a former employee at the store, was taken to the Mono County jail in Bridgeport after officers discovered evidence.by Monica Prelle
The Mammoth Lakes Planning Commission granted height variances for a single-family home on John Muir Road in its regularly scheduled meeting.December 01, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
The occupancy rate will hold steady at 19 percent for the weekend and the following week, according to figures released by the Mammoth Visitors Bureau.November 29, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
The "Mammoth Life and Wellness" conference went off without a hitch, and here's hoping it'll happen again, in spite of a $300,000 loss for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. Attendance wasn't exactly overflowing, but that $99 deal for locals, sprung at the last moment, helped out loads. …November 28, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
MammothLocal.com has added two important new features to its suite of interactive tools. The first tool is an "E-mail To A Friend" feature that accompanies each story on the Web site. The second feature is a signup so that readers can get a tip-off to local news and skiing articles through e-mail.November 26, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
A 4.3 magnitude earthquake shook the mountains west of Tom's Place on Sunday afternoon, with two small aftershocks following.November 25, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Tioga Pass, open on the third-latest date in 26 years, is likely to close for the season with the anticipated storm on Sunday, the National Weather Service said.November 24, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Finally, Mammoth might get a little snow the way Mother Nature intended it. A developing storm in southwest Canada is forecast to bring snow and wind to the Sierra by Sunday afternoon, with "potential for heavy snow at times."November 22, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Two construction workers at the 80|50 project are in custody in connection with the theft of six plasma televisions reported stolen from the hotel construction project earlier this month, according to Mammoth Town Manager Rob Clark.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Lakes occupancy rate, which measures the percentage of lodging rooms filled, will drop to a precipitous 15 percent after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, town officials projected.November 21, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
There might not be a whole lot of deep snow on the ground, but that isn't stopping the town from throwing its usual tree-lighting ceremony.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Town of Mammoth's Tourism and Recreation Department hopes to double the number of participants in this season's holiday decorating competition.November 20, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
For those people who want to tramp out into the woods and cut their own Christmas trees, permits are now available.November 19, 2006
by Brandon Russell
Mammoth's Town Council voted Wednesday Nov. 15 to reverse a local code that prohibits valet-operated, mechanical lift parking in new parking structures.by George Shirk
Nobody will ever think of Mammoth's Post Office as beautiful, but thanks to more than a dozen volunteers such as Jeff Boucher, the place will be a lot less ugly.November 17, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
After weeks of sleepy late autumn, Mammoth will jump alive next week as visitors will fill the town to 47 percent of capacity, according to figures released this past week.November 16, 2006
by Brandon Russell
The Mammoth Town Council voted unanimously Wednesday, Nov. 15, that the Mammoth Crossing Development LLC could receive a height variance for the Lodestar condominium project, in part, because Sierra Star's golf ball flyway reduces a significant amount of available, buildable property.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Town Council, unable to complete its agenda for Wedneday night's meeting, extended the meeting to tonight.November 10, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Revenues from the town's Transient Occupancy Tax beat third quarter receipts from one year ago, despite a small dip in September, new statistics show.by Mammoth Local Staff
A Mammoth man was arrested for attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, child endangerment and burglary this week after an investigation into a stabbing in a local home, according to Town Manager Rob Clark.by Mammoth Local Staff
Stuart Brown, the manager for the Mammoth Lakes Foundation's Development and Operations, has been named community relations manager for the town's Tourism and Recreation Department.November 08, 2006
by Monica Prelle
Former Mammoth mayor Kathy Cage said Wednesday that the bike and pedestrian path behind the new Tallus project is crumbling.by Monica Prelle
"If I look extremely happy this morning, it's because I am," Mark Maldonado, of Mammoth Lakes Housing said to the Planning Commission on Wednesday. "It is an extremely exciting time for us."by Monica Prelle
While Mammoth Mountain Ski Area plans to open this weekend, Planning Commissioner Elizabeth Tenney is hoping the snow level remains above the post office, allowing for one last chance to work on her volunteer-driven beautification project.by Brandon Russell
Chris Hamilton, a local general contractor who identifies himself as a Republican, said his vote Nov. 7 at the Mammoth Lakes Community Center was meant as a message to the White House.November 07, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth and Eastern Sierra voters turned out on Tuesday, November 7, on a beautiful, summer-like day, electing Rick Scholl as the Mono County sheriff and passing Measure H in Mammoth. Reporter Brandon Russell talked to voters as they left the polls.November 06, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's Deena Kastor finished a disappointing sixth in Sunday's New York City Marathon, while Meb Keflezighi, also of Mammoth, struggled with food poisoning and finished 21st.November 02, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Mammoth Nordic, the cross-country ski club that has lobbied the town for years to groom its trail network, is putting its money where its mouth is. The club is set to purchase a $45,000 cat that will pull a groomer...by Mammoth Local Staff
A new ski and snowboard guide specifically for Mammoth began distribution this week. Published by Mammoth Monthly magazine, the 2006-07 Ski and Snowboard Special features a gear guide tailored for Mammoth's snow conditions, a calendar of events that stretches into March 2007 and a comprehensive restaurant and bar guide.October 31, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Due to fair weather this fall, the Inyo National Forest has extended the personal-use fuelwood season.October 26, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Crews on Mammoth Mountain have begun covering Broadway with artificial snow. Opening Day is Thursday, Nov. 9.October 25, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Todd Skinner, the famous free-climber from Wyoming who claimed 300 first free ascents, died in an accident at Yosemite National Park.October 23, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area lost about $400,000 in its two major events of the fall, although CEO Rusty Gregory characterized the deficits as "investments" in Mammoth's near-term future.October 22, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammothists attending the three-day "Life and Wellness Conference" on Sunday, Oct. 22 breathed a little bit easier, joining integrative medicine champion Dr. Andrew Weil in a mass breathing exercise that he said could produce "a real shift in physiology."October 21, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Stumped by how to arrive at an accurrate projection of Mammoth's highest possible population, Town Manager Robert F. Clark next week will be turning to Whistler, B.C. for some adviceby Mammoth Local Staff
Mayor Kirk Stapp said this past week that he will miss Mammoth's peer resort tour on account of personal reasons.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's new fire station, currently under construction on Main Street at Forest Trail, will be finished on April 1, according to Fire Chief Brent Harper.October 20, 2006
by George Shirk
The first-ever Mammoth Life & Wellness conference, an ambitious, three-day event featuring local health experts as well as several nationally known authorities, opened Friday morning.October 16, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access, a citizens' group "dedicated to trails and public access issues in Mammoth Lakes," launched its Web site on Monday. Simultaneously the organization annouced a trails "summit" on the weekend of Nov. 3-5.October 13, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
A record number of local students are attending classes at the Mammoth College Center -- a campus of Cerro Coso Community College -- on full Mammoth Lakes Foundation scholarships, the Mammoth Lakes Foundation announced in a press release.by Monica Prelle
The Mammoth Lakes Planning Commission on Wednesday, October 11, voted 4 to 1 on zoning code amendments concerning Mammoth Crossing's Lodestar development.October 11, 2006
by George Shirk
Stung by a $50,000 fine in connection with the April 2006 deaths of three ski patrollers, Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory on Wednesday hit back, saying ski area officials "strongly disagree" with the findings by California Division of Occupation Safety and Health (OSHA) and will "agressively defend" their position.October 10, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Snow fell steadily throughout Mammoth on Tuesday, the first significant snowfall in town this season.October 09, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mono Lake and Mammoth Ranger Districts of the Inyo National Forest will be conducting nine prescribed fire operations at selected sites throughout the fall season.by Bump Diamond
Deena Kastor of Mammoth, the current U.S. record-holder in the marathon and a favorite in next month's New York City Marathon, will be inducted into the National Jewish Hall of Fame in Commack, N.Y.October 07, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
State regulators have fined Mammoth Mountain Ski Area $50,000 for several job safety violations related to the deaths of three ski patrol members earlier this year.by George Shirk
U.S. Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) will meet with town officials on Tuesday, Oct. 10 in an effort to secure federal funds for improvements to the Lakes Basin, according to Mammoth Town Manager Robert F. Clark.October 05, 2006
by Jean Shirk
Steven P. Medley, longtime President of the Yosemite Association, died in a single vehicle automobile accident October 5, according to the Yosemite Association.by George Shirk
Mammoth should follow the lead of Telluride and Beaver Creek, Colo., and link the town to Mammoth Mountain with gondolas, according to suggestions in a report by a team of University of California, Santa Barbara economists.by Monica Prelle
A University of California, Santa Barabara economist told the Mammoth Planning Commission that the town needs to stop obsessing over the "People-At-One-Time" issue and start figuring out the shoulder seasons.October 04, 2006
by George Shirk
A team of economic experts at the University of California, Santa Barbara, say high gasoline prices "could actually benefit" Mammoth as California vacationers stay home in droves.by Mammoth Local Staff
An early season storm could drop up to six inches of snow above 8,000 feet by Thursday, according to a special weather statement issued by the National Weather Service.October 03, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth home prices "will likely remain strong," according to a team of economic forecasters, but not as strong as the boom year of 2005.September 30, 2006
by George Shirk
Economic forecasters at the University of California, Santa Barbara say Mammoth is in good position to flourish even in the midst of a possible national economic recession.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Eastern Sierra Land Trust won a grant award of $2.2 million for the permanent protection of approximately 900 acres at Benton Hot Springs Valley, according to Michelle Pettit, the organization's development and outreach coordinator.by George Shirk
Measuring commercial aircraft noise in connection with the Mammoth-Yosemite Airport is at the heart of a draft Environmental Impact Statement, due by the end of the year.by George Shirk
An earthquake measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale shook the mountains west of Mammoth, Tom's Place and other sections of the Eastern Sierra on Friday, Sept. 29. It was followed by a small, 1.9-magnitude quake at exactly the same spot on Saturday morning, Sept. 30.September 29, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Figures from the Mammoth Visitors Bureau show that the town will fill to just 38 percent this coming weekend, and will drop to just 28 percent during the week.September 28, 2006
by George Shirk
Peter Denniston, the president of the real estate division of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, announced his resignation on Thursday, Sept. 28, saying he would continue his duties in an advisory role but would shift his main efforts to his own, private business.View image
by Monica Prelle
The Mammoth Lakes Planning Commission approved the use of mechanical lifts in the Hillside parking garage, in a regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday morning.September 25, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is not losing marketing director Lynn Carpenter so much as it is gaining a foothold in the California Travel and Tourism Commission.September 24, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Barry Sternlicht has bold plans to build a 160-key hotel that Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory calls "a W Hotel on steroids."September 19, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Smoke permeating the Owens Valley, as seen from U.S. Hwy. 6 in Laws, was not from the 55-percent-contained Sawmill Fire near Benton; rather, it's drifting into the Valley from the so-called Day Fire in the Los Padres National Forest.September 18, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Although the new "Welcome Center" on Rte. 203 has been open for some time, it will not be until Oct. 20 that it's official.September 15, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Updated Monday, 8:36 a.m.Forest Service fire investigators said on Saturday, Sept. 16 that the Sawmill Fire near Benton was caused by human activity on private land, not by natural causes, according to Inyo National Forest Service spokesperson Nancy Upham.
September 14, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Buoyed by Mammoth Mountain's first-ever Wine and Jazz Festival and in spite of an iffy weather forecast, the town will fill to 51 percent of capacity, according to the Mammoth Visitors Bureau.September 13, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a red flag warning for Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra, in effect from 1–10 p.m. Thursday.September 12, 2006
by Brandon Russell
Negligent users of the Long Valley natural hot tubs could find themselves in some hot water -- but not the sulfuric kind. Said one BLM official: "There has been a growing amount of disappointing use of the tubs." "We are still discussing what to do here," said Larry Primosch, the realty specialist for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). "People are camping right next to them and leaving their trash out there." Primosch, who spoke about the issue to the Mono County Collaborative Planning Team, said no plans had been set in stone, but that the BLM might send law enforcement officers to write fines for such activities. Joe Pollini, assistant field office manager for the Bureau of Land Management in Bishop, said education consisting of sending BLM employees, volunteers or local police to the tubs might work.September 11, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Fed by the runoff from a record snowpack, Mono Lake has reached a level unseen since 1972, according to a spokesperson from the Mono Lake Committee.by Mammoth Local Staff
A cold low pressure system will bring cold temperatures and snow into the Eastern Sierra by Thursday afternoon and Friday, according to forecasters at the National Weather Service in Reno.September 07, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Town officials and new Mammoth postmaster Gary Fultz will introduce possible new traffic configurations on Saturday, Sept. 9, as part of the Post Office Beautification Project, according to Town Councilmember Skip Harvey. "It could be a Demolition Derby," he joked.by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Town Council on Wednesday, Sept. 6, gave the police department $8,000 for an ad campaign that will build on its success on cracking down on speeding drivers.September 06, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
A group that will include up to 20 Mammoth locals will visit Whistler, B.C.; Park City, Utah; Telluride, Colo.; and Jackson Hole, Wyo. on a "peer resort tour" that will be paid for by taxpayers.by Mammoth Local Staff
An earthquake measuring 3.63 on the Richter Scale shook parts of the Eastern Sierra on Wednesday evening, Sept. 6, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.by Bump Diamond
Olympic distance runner Meb Keflezighi is back in town after placing second in the prestigious New York City Half-Marathon last week.by Brandon Russell
"I think this has been in the works for about 10 years now," said town Public Works Director Ray Jarvis. "It should have quite an effect on the traffic volume there."September 05, 2006
by Brandon Russell
The town's new Visitors Center has only been open a number of weeks, but the U.S. Forest Service-led design team already has a number of improvements it plans to implement in the coming months.September 04, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
By mid-day Monday, Sept. 4, a parade of recreational vehicles, some towing boats, others with kayaks on their roof racks, drove out of Mammoth, leaving locals -- including the clowns, of course -- with their first taste of autumn.View image
August 30, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Genny Smith, the historian and author of definitive guide books to Mammoth, hosts a book signing on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 2 at the new Mammoth Welcome Center.August 28, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
A benefit to help injured climbing legend John Bachar will be hosted on Sept. 15 by Mammoth Mountaineering, according to the store's owner, David Talsky.View image
by Brandon Russell
"This is a real issue and to avoid displacing people, it needs to be very well thought out," says Mark Maldonado, the new head of Mammoth Lakes Housing, Inc.by Mammoth Local Staff
A 61-year-old Carlsbad, Calif. man on Sunday, Aug. 27, died from injuries suffered in a fall while climbing in the remote Clark Canyon area, according to the Mono County Sheriff's office.August 23, 2006
by Monica Prelle
A group of women pro skateboarders say they want to have an event at Mammoth's Volcom Brothers Skate Park, but park regulations are going to have to be tweaked for it to happen.by Monica Prelle
After four years and a stack of paper that is piled two feet deep, it feels as if the town's General Plan Update suddenly is on the fast track.by George Shirk
An elderly Mono County resident became the first Eastern Sierra victim of the deadly West Nile Virus this summer, but the county's health department says the threat of the disease overall has eased.by Brandon Russell
Among the items on the Mammoth Stakeholders' wish list is a call to push for "green building" in the town's future architectural endeavors.August 22, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Alex Cushing, who founded Squaw Valley Ski Area and brought the Winter Olympics there in 1960, died on Saturday, Aug. 19 at his home in Newport, R.I..August 21, 2006
by George Shirk
The driver of a motor home was killed in a crash and fire on Deadman Summit early Monday, according to a spokesperson for the Mono County Sheriff's Office.August 20, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association, together with the Inyo National Forest, will host a "Meet and Greet" reception for the new district ranger of the Mammoth and Mono Lake Ranger Districts from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30.August 19, 2006
by Bump Diamond
"Clampers" belonging to the Bodie Chapter of E Clampus Vitus on Saturday erected a monument marking the spot of the old Penney's Tavern, once the center of a Mammoth that had no ski area, no big-name hotels and not much of anything.View image
by Brandon Russell
Some people probably think that we actually use these cross-country ski trails in the winter, and that somewhere in town we have a sledding hill and an ice rink. Nope, nope and nope. The civic action group Mammoth Stakeholders want the town to change that.August 18, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
In spite of a persistent myth that most of Mammoth's speeding problems are because of madcap, out-of-town drivers, it turns out that the enemy is ... us.August 17, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
After consecutive weeks in which Mammoth swelled with visitors, this weekend will see a downturn, according to projections made by the town's Visitors Bureau on Thursday, Aug. 17.by Mammoth Local Staff
Olympic marathoner Deena Kastor of Mammoth said her training in Europe this past summer was so sketchy that she gave up running in favor of an Italian vacation.by Mammoth Local Staff
If the Mammoth Stakeholders get their way, Mammoth would offer a free, town-wide wireless network for its residents and visitors.by Brandon Russell
Local backcountry skiing advocates claimed victory Wednesday when the Mammoth Town Council voted to ensure public pedestrian access on an embattled strip of the gated Ranch Road.August 16, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth Monthly began distribution of its autumn edition on Wednesday, August 15, at locations throughout the Eastern Sierra, Southern California, Las Vegas and Reno. It also is available in a 3.7 MB PDF file that is available here. This month, the magazine features a fall color portfolio by Joel St. Marie, along with two fly fishing stories, one by Bill Becher, winner of this year's "Outdoors Writer of the Year" award from the Outdoor Writers Association of California. It also features hiking and road cycling stories, along with a history of the strange death of LeRoy "Lee" Vining.August 14, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
The new ad hoc committee led by Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory begins its big push this week in a special "study session," during which the town's planning commission and town council examine the group's priority list.by Mammoth Local Staff
A 58-year-old man wanted in connection with a Placerville homicde was arrested without incident on Saturday, Aug. 12, at the McGee Creek Trailer Park, according to the Mono County Sheriff's Department.August 11, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Work on Berner Street, which has disrupted traffic in and out of the Village surface parking lot, the Public Library and the Community Center, will continue into late October, according to Town Manager Robert F. Clark.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth Police Chief Randy Schienle wasn't making ilde chit-chat last month when he warned drivers to "slow your ass down" or face ticketing.August 10, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
With Southern California track and running teams in the midst of their annual migration to Mammoth and with fine weather forecast into the foreseeable future, town occupancy is expected to be 80 percent this weekend.August 09, 2006
by Monica Prelle
A new development project at the corner of Minaret and Old Mammoth Road drew a large audience to the Mammoth Lakes Planning Commission meeting on Wednesdayby Monica Prelle
Mammoth Lakes Housing, Inc. received a fair amount of protest to its newest proposed development before it was unanimously approved by the Mammoth Planning Commission on Wednesday.August 07, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
A 42-year-old New York man drowned at Rainbow Falls over the weekend, according to Mono County Sheriff's spokesperson Shannon Kendall. The man, identified as Laurence Wade, was swimming under the waterfall in turbulent water when he "became tired and went under," Kendall said.August 05, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Mammoth's Mason Aguirre led the U.S. Men's snowboarding team to a podium sweep in the New Zealand Open Halfpipe on Saturday, August 5, while Mammoth riders placed four among the top eight. In addition, Vermonter Kelly Clark, who rides out of Mammoth, won the women's halfpipe.August 04, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Rusty Gregory's new ad hoc committee, called the "Mammoth Lakes Community Stakeholders," says the No. 1 priority is to keep the controversial "pillow count number" at 50,000.by Bump Diamond
Mono County Sheriff's deputies and other law enforcement personnel are on the lookout for a Nevada woman who is passing counterfeit traveler's checks.by Bump Diamond
Mammoth snowboarders Kelly Clark and Mason Aguirre came up big at the New Zealand Open quarterpipe on Friday, August 4, while Molly Aguirre and Mammoth's Mitrani brothers waited in the wings for Saturday. The victories by Clark and Aguirre came one day after Mammoth's Hana Beaman won the women's slopestyle competition.August 02, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
An earthquake measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale rattled the volcanic tablelands near Bishop early on Wednesday, Aug. 2.by Mammoth Local Staff
After years of behind-the-scenes policy making, Rusty Gregory is jumping into the public spotlight as Mammoth contemplates its long-range future.August 01, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's Visitors Bureau says the town is only 66 percent full, but that doesn't take into account the jammed campgrounds in the Lakes Basin and elsewhere.July 30, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Jon Regelbrugge, a U.S. Forest Service veteran who recently worked as a deputy district ranger in the San Bernardino National Forest at Big Bear, is Mammoth's new district ranger, according to Bernie Weingardt, the Forest Service's regional forester.View image
July 29, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
A meet-and-greet reception for the new head of Mammoth Lakes Housing, Inc. will be on Monday evening, Aug. 7 at Roberto's Cantina.by Mammoth Local Staff
Just when you might have thought it was getting a little less volatile, Hot Creek this past week bubbled back to its unpredictable self.July 27, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's tax take in May was well above the town's projections, continuing a six-month trend, according to figures released by Town Manager Robert F. Clark.July 24, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
New Mammoth Police Chief Randy Schienle didn't mince words when he said speeding drivers had better watch out, and that means now. "It (speeding) is becoming a pretty big issue, so slow your ass down," he said during a lull in a regularly-scheduled meeting of the Town Council.by Mammoth Local Staff
A long-discussed public safety facility, which would include a jail and an emergency operations center, could not begin construction until 2008, Town Manager Robert F. Clark said.July 21, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mono County and the Town of Mammoth would combine resources to present next year's Fourth of July if a proposal by County Supervisors and members of the Mammoth Town Council gathers steam.July 20, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Short of blowing it up and starting all over, Mammoth's Elizabeth Tenney is doing what she can to beautify the town's post office and its grounds.July 19, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
The Mammoth Town Council, responding to resident complaints of traffic along busy Manzanita Road, asked the town staff to consider blocking the Main Street entrance of The Ghetto's only thoroughfare.by Mammoth Local Staff
Swall Meadows residents this week got an unwelcome visit from Mono County's top health officer, who in a door-to-door information campaign warned them that plague among rodents in that area appears to have reached an "epidemic" level. His message also included instructions as to what to do if someone should want to have a rodent for dinner.July 18, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
For only the second time in history and for the first time in a decade, the Mono County Board of Supervisors and the Mammoth Town Council had an official, joint meeting on Tuesday. The legacy of mutual mistrust was on full display when Mammoth Council Member John Eastman, finishing a particularly unctuous and patronizing lecture on the value of the town's "peer resort tours," drew this sarcastic response from Supervisor Vicki Magee-Bauer: "I apologize," she said with a deep breath, "that we're not as up to speed as you are."by Mammoth Local Staff
The August issue of Mammoth Monthly magazine began appearing on newsracks on Tuesday, with distribution continuing through Wednesday and Thursday. The magazine this month features a special report on what's new at the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park. It also highlights two hiking pieces -- the first a profile of the Parker Lake Trail and the second a feature on "The Rangers of Clover Meadow." The magazine also is available online in PDF format (4.4 megabytes) by clicking here.July 13, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth Mountain Bike Park, many of whose trails still are hemmed in by snow, opened some top runs on Friday, July 14.July 10, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Helmet violations, incursions by freestyle bike riders and now vandalism at the nascent Volcom Brothers Skate Park continue to give Mammoth Parks and Recreation officials headaches.July 07, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth police who were on a routine patrol are said to have stopped a rape in progress in a car that was parked in the underground parking structure in The Village, according to Town Manager Robert F. Clark.July 06, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth's Town Council on Wednesday, July 5, voted to return to a rotational system in selecting a town mayor. The vote was unanimous, and means that Mayor Kirk Stapp will hold his office only until next year, when councilmember Skip Harvey will become mayor.July 05, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
The director of the Mammoth Tourism and Recreation Department on Wednesday took the fall for Mammoth's Fourth of July fireworks snafu, even as Town Council members expressed outrage over the botched affair.by George Shirk
Randy Schienle, Mammoth's acting police chief since last April, was named Chief of Police on Wednesday, July 5.June 30, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth road crews and Caltrans snowplow operators are facing a crisis in their supply of the black, volcanic cinders that give traffic traction in the winter months, a Caltrans official said.by Mammoth Local Staff
There will be no fireworks at Crowley Lake on the Fourth of July, Mammoth town officials said Friday, June 30, citing permit snafus by the vendor who was supposed to supply the show.June 29, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth will be 70 percent of capacity during the long Fourth of July weekend, tourism oficials said on Thursday, June 29.by Mammoth Local Staff
The new Mammoth Visitor Center and Ranger Station, which was to have opened in July, will instead open as late as next September, according U.S. Forest Service officials.June 28, 2006
by Monica Prelle
The Mammoth Planning Commission on Wednesday, June 28, unanimously approved plans for the construction of Mammoth Brewery's "energy-free" microbrewery and metal fabrication business.June 27, 2006
by George Shirk
The buses to Red's Meadow are running as of Tuesday, according to rangers at the U.S. Forest Service Ranger Station in Mammoth.June 26, 2006
by Bump Diamond
A science interpretive center, along with a food court and seating for 70 people, will open at the Panorama Lookout Station on the summit of 11,053-foot Mammoth Mountain, ski area officials announced on Monday. The facility should open at some point during the 2006-07 winter season.View image
by Bump Diamond
Town parks officials this spring took one look at the Shady Rest soccer fields and had just one word for it: "Yecchh!"by George Shirk
Russ Chessler and Jim Hess took top honors in the seventh annual Mammoth Lakes Tennis Club Summer Solstice Doubles Tournament last weekend, beating Jack and Keith Glidewell of Bishop in the Men's "A" division. In the top women's division, Maggie Wahl and Valerie White, both of Mammoth, topped the appropirately named Sue Love, of San Diego, and Sally Stolzfus of Crowley Lake.June 23, 2006
by George Shirk
The July 2006 issue of Mammoth Monthly is now on the racks throughout the Eastern Sierra and Southern California, as well as selected outlets in Las Vegas and Reno. It is also online in a 7 megabyte PDF file, right here at MammothLocal.com. This month, the magazine features a wildflower calendar, assembled by naturalist and photographer Stephen Ingram. It also has humor from Moz Coast; a mountain biking yarn by Eric Sayetta and history stories by Evanne Jardine and Sydney Quinn.June 21, 2006
by George Shirk
Political newcomer Jo Bacon, whose unsuccessful campaign for Mammoth Town Council nevertheless turned political heads, was appointed to the Planning Commission on Wednesday night, along with former council member Tony Barrett.by George Shirk
For just a little while, the town's final act in its electoral process hung in limbo on Wednesday afternoon, waiting for one of its elected councilmen to show up to the swearing-in ceremony. The first question for the new council was, "Where is John?"View image
by George Shirk
Kirk Stapp, 61, a Mammoth High School teacher and 20-year veteran of the Town Council, was elected as Mammoth's new mayor on Wednesday. But in a surprising twist, Stapp's first action was to call on the council to debate the way the mayor is selected, from a majority council vote to a "rotational system."June 19, 2006
by George Shirk
The Booky Joint, a Mammoth institution that was shuttered earlier this year, will re-open on July 1 under new management. Erick Sugimura, 35, and his 38-year-old partner, Dave Leonard, said the store will not operate the old video side but will concentrate instead on books.June 17, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Tioga Pass opened on Saturday, under cobalt skies and washed with a warm summer breeze. For the people of Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra, the opening of the pass is the equivalent of the lifting of the Sierra's so-called "Granite Curtain," and it was greeted with a holiday spirit at the Tioga Gas Mart.by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area made it official on Friday, announcing the opening of its "Mammoth Mart" at The Village. It is a new commercial tactic by the ski area, which hopes to solve the problem of a large back inventory of products, mostly clothing.by Mammoth Local Staff
Town volunteers picked up an astonishing 94 tons of litter and trash that had accumulated on Mammoth's streets and open spaces during the winter, according to Town Manager Robert Clark. In addition, about 25 abandoned and/or junked vehicles were removed during the town's annual Cleanup Day,June 16, 2006
by George Shirk
Having lost their bids for seats on the Mammoth Town Council, candidates Tony Barrett, Jo Bacon and Marshall Minobe are among six candidates vying for two spots on the Planning Commission.June 15, 2006
by George Shirk
The Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park, which connects Tenaya Lake (pictured), Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra to Northern California cities such as San Francisco, will open at 8 a.m. Saturday, the National Park Service officials said on Thursday. In opening the road on Saturday, the Park Service will beat by nine days the opening from last year, which, like this season, was beset by very heavy snow conditions.Like last season, travelers along the road will find many services closed or with delayed openings, the park service said. View image
June 12, 2006
by John Moynier
Having spent most of my adult life living on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, I've often felt like I was a resident of Nevada, even though the map says that we're technically still in California. I guess that makes sense linguistically, if not geographically; after all, this is the Sierra Nevada, not the Sierra California. For one thing, the East side sure looks a whole lot more like Nevada than most of the rest of the Golden State. The lifestyle here is also a lot closer to Carson City than Culver City. Being on the back side of California inspires a sense of geographic insecurity, as well. Folks know Northern California, and they sure know Southern California (don't even mention USC), but what about Eastern California? We might as well be on the moon.by George Shirk
A 25-year-old Mammoth man was transported to a Reno hospital Saturday after search-and-rescue personnel rescued him by helicopter from Rock Chute, an icy, vertical run in the Sherwin range.June 11, 2006
by George Shirk
A minor earthquake rattled Tom's Place and Round Valley Sunday afternoon. The temblor was mesured at a magnitude of 3.48, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Its depth was measured at 4.6 miles.June 09, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Mammoth tourism officials say that they expect the town to fill to 37 percent of capacity for the second weekend of the Mammoth Motocross.by Bump Diamond
Bill Becher, a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and frequent contributor to Mammoth Monthly, was named "Writer of the Year" by the Outdoor Writers Association of California (OWAC) for a story the magazine published last year.June 08, 2006
by George Shirk
Town Councilman Kirk Stapp said on Wednesday, June 7, that he is to blame for the defeat of a measure that would have raised the sales tax in Mammoth by one-half of one percent.June 07, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth attorney Rick Wood, on the Town Council for eight years and mayor of the town for the last five, said goodbye Wednesday night before he presided over his last council meeting.by George Shirk
By the time the smoke cleared late Tuesday night, there was only one question that mattered in Mammoth politics: How did Tony Barrett lose this thing?by George Shirk
This spring's runoff from the Sierra's massive snowpack is causing Hot Creek to misbehave, according to geologist David Hill. The U.S. Forest Service closed the creek to swimming last week because of unusual geysering, along with the formation of new mudpots.June 06, 2006
by George Shirk
Wendy Sugimura, the 30-year-old environmentalist whose only previous political office was a seat on her Cupertino high school student council, resoundingly won a seat on the Mammoth Town Council on Tuesday. Attorney Neil McCarroll also won a seat, while longtime incumbent John Eastman won re-election. Businessman Tony Barrett failed in his bid for re-election after serving having served four years on the council.by George Shirk
Mammoth voters on Tuesday, June 6, refused an increase in local sales taxes to pay for community projects, but had no problem in voting for an increase in the bed tax.by George Shirk
Nothing was decided in the Mono County Sheriff's race on Tuesday, June 6, other than Rick Scholl and Douglas Northington are set to duke it out in November.by George Shirk
Kathy Smith, one of the fitness industry's leading wellness experts, is close to signing on to Mammoth Mountain's three-day "Life and Wellness" conference, joining Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Richard Carlson as keynote speakers.June 05, 2006
by George Shirk
Snowplow crews from Mono County and Yosemite National Park punched through Tioga Pass last weekend, but because of continued high risks of avalanches along Tioga Road there still is no date set for the opening of the pass.by George Shirk
A new retail outlet with big discounts on ski and snowboard apparel will open this summer in the Mountain Center in the Village, according to insiders at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA). It will be situated behind the statue of ski area founder Dave McCoy.by Mammoth Local Staff
Above-normal temperatures and plenty of sunshine are making it hard for both humans and hounds to stay indoors.June 02, 2006
by George Shirk
The Inyo National Forest has announced that due to the rapid rate of changing geothermal conditions at Hot Creek Geologic Site near Mammoth Lakes, that swimming in the creek will be temporarily prohibited.by George Shirk
Because of record snowfall late in the season and a quirk in Southern California schedules for Spring Break, Mammoth is $1.2 million ahead of its budget -- a breathtaking windfall.June 01, 2006
by George Shirk
Dr. Richard Carlson, author of the best-selling book, "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff," will speak at the Mammoth Life and Wellness conference in October. Carlson joins Dr. Andrew Weil at the three-day event. Weil is best known as the world's foremost authority on health, healing and alternative medicine.by George Shirk
Snowplow crews working on the Tioga Road have reached the west end of Tuolumne Meadows and crews from Mono County were scheduled to begin plowing into the park on Thursday. Park officials still have not set a date for the opening of Tioga Pass.May 31, 2006
by George Shirk
For the second summer in a row, a scientist at the University of California, Davis is leading a team studying the perch in Crowley Lake in a long-range effort toward restoring the fish to its native habitats. Christa M. Woodley, a member of the Graduate Group of Ecology at the university, said the group may seek protections on the fish, which is ubiquitous in Crowley Lake, Bridgeport Reservoir and six other regions, but which has, for all practical purposes, disappeared. "It's amazing there are any fish left," she said. Woodley said it is the only fish of its kind east of the Rockies, separated from its kin by the upthrust of the Rocky Mountains and, later, the Sierra Nevada. "It is a true California fish," she said.May 30, 2006
by George Shirk
After a Memorial Day weekend that left up to five inches of snow in some parts of the Sierra, summer returns to Mammoth this weekMay 28, 2006
by George Shirk
Snowplow crews should reach Minaret Summit by June 2, and the road to Red's Meadow could be clear as early as June 9, according to Mammoth Town Manager Rob Clark. That doesn't mean it's going to open on June 9, however.May 27, 2006
by George Shirk
After one of the gnarliest winters in recent history, Mammoth maintenance crews finished clearing roads in the Lakes Basin just in time for Memorial Day weekend. The work was completed Thursday afternoon, May 25th, according to Town Manager Rob Clark, but the roads still are not officially open until the United States Forest Service says so.May 25, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammothists probably have noticed that it's starting to get a lot harder to make a left-hand turn around here. That's because the first big weekend of the summer season is on. Laurie Medove, of the town's Visitors' Bureau, said the town has begun to fill to 68 percent of capacity over the Memorial Day weekend.by George Shirk
Snowplow operators along the Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park have reached Olmsted Point, and hope to have another western segment open by Saturday, May 27. Still, no date has been set for an opening of Tioga Pass, the Eastern Sierra's gateway to Tuolumne Meadows and the Yosemite High Country.May 22, 2006
by George Shirk
Rather than fight the record snowpack, Mammoth Mountain bike park supervisor Mark Hendrickson says he and his crew want to use the snow to their advantage. "We may as well play with it instead of curse it," he said.May 19, 2006
by George Shirk
Firewood season is now open in the Inyo National Forest. Areas which are accessible and contain fuelwood are portions of the Mammoth fuelbreak south and east of Shady Rest Park (access from Sawmill Road near Hwy 203/395 intersection) and north end of Sawmill Cutoff Rd (3S08), and Owens thinning area off Owens River Road.May 18, 2006
by George Shirk
The eight candidates for the three open seats on Mammoth's Town Council got their first crack at a televised public forum on Thursday night, May 18, but judging by the peanut crowd, they didn't exactly dazzle 'em.by Bump Diamond
Mammoth police have begun stepping up enforcement of rules at the Volcom Brothers Skate Park after a young man broke his hip while skating when the park was supposedly closed.May 16, 2006
by George Shirk
Snowplow operators along the Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park are having a rough go of it this spring in the wake of record-setting snowfall, according to park officials. By Friday, May 19, plows had gone just 22.4 miles east from Crane Flat, and still had the toughest snowpack ahead of them. No date has been set yet for the opening of Tioga Pass, which is the gateway to Tuolumne Meadows and the Yosemite high country. Last season, also following a heavy snow season, crews could not open the pass until June 24, the latest opening since 1998, when the pass opened on July 1.May 15, 2006
by George Shirk
Dr. Andrew Weil, the celebrity health guru and noted pioneer of integrative medicine, will lead "A Gathering for the Body, Mind and Spirit" in Mammoth Oct. 20-22, according to officials at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, which is organizing the event.by George Shirk
Financier Peter Kellogg of Short Hills, N.J., a longtime board member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association and a driving force in its drive to create a legacy endowment, won the Julius Blegen Award, the USSA's highest honor for volunteer service to the 101-year-old federation.May 14, 2006
by George Shirk
The road into the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest will open as far as Schulman Grove on Tuesday morning, May 16th, but the Methuselah Trail will remain blocked by snow for the next couple of weeks. The visitor center and Discovery Trail at Schulman Grove will be open by Memorial Day Weekend.by George Shirk
A new festival for Mammoth will get off the ground in mid-September, according to Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. The first-ever Mammoth Wine and Jazz weekend, Sept 15-17, will feature a decent lineup of music.May 10, 2006
by George Shirk
If Mary D. Nichols had carried an olive branch the size of a bus into the Green Church on Wednesday night, May 10, it still wouldn't have outdone her make-nice speech. Nichols is the director of the Institute of the Environment at UCLA is president of the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners. She delivered a speech provocatively named "The City of Los Angeles and the Eastern Sierra: Can This Marriage Be Saved?"May 08, 2006
by Bump Diamond
A Walker woman suffered a broken leg and four others escaped injury in a harrowing canoe accident on the swift waters of the Walker River on Sunday, May 7, a Mono County Sheriff's Department spokesperson said.May 06, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth Town Manager Robert Clark and his staff have unveiled a $15.3 million budget for 2006-07, insisting that this budget is like none other before it. The Town Council has scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday, May 10, to discuss the document.May 05, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth police have yet to come up with the perpetrator of a computer theft at the Mammoth library. The theft, which occurred last week, involved computers worth aqbout $12,000, town officials said.by George Shirk
The woman whose body was found in Shady Rest Park three years ago may have come from Oaxaca, Mexico, according to Mammoth police who are using DNA sampling to investigate the apparent homicide.May 04, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth's spring shoulder season is in full swing, which means nothing much is in swing. With a forecast of ideal spring weather under sunny skies and with the ski hill still open, tourists nevertheless are staying away in droves.May 03, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth said good-bye to outgoing police chief Michael Donnelly Wednesday night, May 3, in an emotional ceremony at the Town Council meeting. Donnelly, 59, who is leaving the force after 20 years because of headaches associated with a tear in his carotid artery, received a standing ovation from a crowd that included most of the town's 27-member force, as well as Brutus, the German Shepherd canine cop, who seemed disconsolate.by George Shirk
Mammoth's 52 miles of roads will need nearly $10 million over the next five years to bring them to acceptable levels of repair, according to Ray Jarvis, the town's public works director.May 02, 2006
by Bump Diamond
The 2006 Mountain Bike National Championships, scheduled for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area on July 20-23, are moving somewhere else because of the record-setting snowfall this past winter and spring.May 01, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Before everybody gets all freaked out about smoke rising from the forests this spring, it would be a wise thing to check to see if that fire is on purpose.by George Shirk
Eastern Sierra artists and the Edisto Gallery and Tea Room raised $12,000 on Friday, April 28, for the family of the late ski patroller and scientist Walter Rosenthal. The event was packed, first with artwork, then with people buying it. Linda Dore served food, Bloo DJ'd while Kathleen and Paul Rudder put up an outdoor tent for the spillover.April 28, 2006
by Bump Diamond
The road to Reds Meadow will not be open for the Memorial Day weekend, according to projections by the Town of Mammoth Lakes.by Bump Diamond
It looks to be a tight race to get the Lakes Basin open for the Memorial Day holiday, judging by the latest projections from the Town of Mammoth Lakes.by George Shirk
Mammoth Police Chief Mike Donnelly, 59, announced his retirement Friday, following 10 years of leading the force and 20 years with the town. He said the reason for his retirement, effective today, is severe headaches caused by "a slight tear in my carotid artery."April 26, 2006
by George Shirk
Outgoing Mono County Sheriff Daniel Paranick on Wednesday, April 26, endorsed Rick Scholl for sheriff in the upcoming June 6 election, according to his remarks in a press release.April 25, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth is ill prepared for a worst-case emergency, according to Fire Chief Brent Harper, who said he plans a June 9 "table-top" emergency exercise to further identify weaknesses. He said the worst emergency that could likely befall Mammoth would be heavy snowfall, accompanied by earthquakes and avalanches.April 24, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Deena Kastor of Mammoth on Sunday, April 23 won the London Marathon, breaking her American record. Kastor, 33, ran the race in 2 hours, 19 minutes, 36 seconds, beating Lyudmila Petrova of Russia and Susan Chepkemie of Kenya.April 22, 2006
by George Shirk
In perfect conditions, Memorial Day visitors to Mammoth would find pristine neighborhoods, clean sidewalks and no evidence of the mayhem of winter. This season does not present perfect conditions.by Bump Diamond
Because of heay snowfall this past winter and spring, the opening of personal use firewood season has been set back to at least May 13, according to Nancy Upham, public affairs officer of the Inyo National Forest.April 21, 2006
by George Shirk
With actual winter long gone and with Easter in the rearview mirror, visitors to Mammoth are taking a powder this weekend, so to speak.April 19, 2006
by George Shirk
With two record-setting winters coming in back-to-back seasons, Mammoth's roads are taking a major hit, said Town Manager Robert Clark. Hit particularly hard are Meridian Blvd. and aging pavement on Old Mammoth Road, Clark said.by George Shirk
You never saw so many people wagging their tails all at the same time. That's the way it was when the Mammoth Town Council gave the go-ahead for veterinarian Gaylon TeSlaa to set in motion a process that would allow him to move his practice into the Blondie's Restaurant building on Main Street. TeSlaa, the new owner of the building, said he hopes to establish his practice there if he can clear the bureaucratic red tape. The practice would partner with Tailwaggers Gourmet Dog Bakery, a boutique pet supply store and boarding facility. TeSlaa, currently the only practicing vet in Mammoth, said in introductory remarks that he thinks of Mammoth as "Dogtown, U.S.A." and that "it's a great town for animals." "We hope to be good neighbors."April 17, 2006
by Bump Diamond
The Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol opened the top runs of Mammoth Mountain Wednesday, two days after after an avalanche on the upper face of Mammoth Mountain forced a shutdown of all lifts.April 16, 2006
by George Shirk
Despite few positive economic indicators and with "failure nipping at our heels very closely," Mammoth Mountain's top executive announced Wednesday night that the June Mountain Ski Area nevertheless will continue as a seven-days-a-week business.April 14, 2006
by George Shirk
In an astonishing demonstration that combined consolation, sorrow, grief and support, Mammoth on Friday night said goodbye to three members of the ski patrol who were killed in a bizarre accident eight days earlier.April 13, 2006
by George Shirk
John Cecil, a Bridgeport resident since 1992 and member of the Mono County Board of Supervisors, died on Sunday after undergoing surgery at St. Mary's Hospital in Reno, Nev., according to Supervisor Duane "Hap" Hazard.by George Shirk
Mammoth prepared for the last big weekend of the ski season by doing what it's been doing all spring: getting ready for a new round of winter.April 10, 2006
by George Shirk
Friday evening's memorial service for the three fallen members of the Mammoth Ski Patrol will be broadcast on local cable television, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area announced. Meanwhile, a new fund has been established on behalf of the families of (Charles) Walter Rosenthal, James Juarez and (John) Scott McAndrews, who died in the bizarre "snow collapse."April 08, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth political gadfly Marshall Minobe, an outspoken critic of town policies and processes, has made gains in MammothLocal.com's unscientific straw vote measuring candidates for Mammoth Town Council.April 07, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area has established memorial funds for the three ski patrollers who lost their lives in an accident on Thursday, April 6.April 06, 2006
by George Shirk
Three members of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol died Thursday morning when they fell 21 feet into a volcanic fumarole in a "snow collapse" near Chair 3/Facelift, ski area officials said. The patrollers were identified as Charles Walter Rosenthal, 58, who lived in Sunny Slopes; John Scott McAndrews, 37, of Bishop and James Jinkuk Juarez, 35, of Granada Hills, Calif. Memorial funds in their names were established on Friday.by George Shirk
The run-up to Easter Sunday, the last big ski week of the season, is looking ... big. Occupancy projections released Thursday by Mammoth's Visitors Bureau show an 81 percent occupancy for the week, preceeded by an 87 percent occupancy for this weekend.April 04, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth's political leaders will get a first glimpse at the method by which the town might finally arrive at an accurate "buildout population" number.by George Shirk
Mammoth would get a lobbyist in Sacramento if the Town Council approves a $10,000 contract between the town and Government Strategies, Inc., a firm led by insider Terry M. McGann.by George Shirk
Mammoth is about to come down hard on owners of party houses in which minors are drinking, even if the property owners are absent at the time. A so-called "social host" ordinance would punish the owners of the properties with penalties of up to $1,000 in fines and/or six months in jail.by George Shirk
When the Town Council bids good bye and good luck to outgoing Tourism and Recreation commissioner Gregg Simas, Jane Baer and Shields Richardson will be hoping to take his spot.April 01, 2006
by George Shirk
With 73 inches of new snow on the ground in April, Mammoth set a modern record for snowfall as measured by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. Through Tuesday, the ski area reported 632 inches of snow -- 52.7 feet. That beats the 617 inches of snow in 1992-93, the previous record.March 30, 2006
by George Shirk
March came in to Mammoth like a lion and it looks like it's going to go out ... like a lion. While the town is set to absorb 92 percent occupancy for the weekend, according to town projections, a new and complicated series of weather fronts could bring more snow.March 28, 2006
by George Shirk
Town Council challenger Neil McCarroll and incumbent councilman Tony Barrett are showing strength in MammothLocal.com's unscientific straw vote measuring the race for three open council seats.by Bump Diamond
For those who keep thinking it doesn't snow like it used to, fugeddaboudit. With the 28 inches of new snow dropped by the latest in a series of March storms, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area claimed a total of 535 inches of snow for the season -- 44.6 feet. Combined with the 607 inches last season, Mammoth has had the biggest back-to-back winters since the ski area began keeping records in 1969.March 26, 2006
by Bump Diamond
SUGARLOAF, Maine (March 26) - Olympian Stacey Cook , the Mammoth Ski team member who now races out of Truckee, spoiled Kirsten Clark's homecoming parade Sunday, barreling past the local favorite to win a gold medal -- her first U.S. title -- in super G at the TD Banknorth U.S. Alpine Championships at Sugarloaf.March 25, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Mammoth broke through the 500-inch mark for this season's snowfall when a new storm socked the Sierra early Saturday. Forecasters at the National Weather Service called for sunny skies on Sunday, but said more snow will move into the area on Tuesday.March 24, 2006
by George Shirk
If it seems that Mammoth is a little on the thin side this weekend, it's because it's "only" 90 percent full, according to figures released Friday by Laurie Medove, the lead information agent of the town's Visitors Bureau.March 22, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
We'd like to take a little time to welcome new readers of MammothLocal.com, and to remind our regulars of the various interactive and dynamic components of the Web site. These include frequently updated local news coverage; free classified ads; changing online polls (our current poll is focused on summer activities); a dynamic calendar of events; up-to-the-minute weather from Howard Sheckter; the entire Mammoth Monthly magazine in PDF format; a Mammoth restaurant guide; "comment" tags on every story, so readers can react and contribute online, and an online store, accessed from the Marketplace page.by George Shirk
It is possible that Mammoth will have an ongoing "institute" devoted to the arts and culture by this summer, according to Robert F. Clark, Mammoth's town manager.March 21, 2006
by George Shirk
The Edisto Gallery and Tea Room, where Lori Michelon's art has been regularly featured, will conduct a benefit show on April 28 to benefit Michelon and Lily Rosenthal, the wife and daughter of the late ski patroller and scientist Walter Rosenthal.March 19, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
With Mammoth's June 6 municipal elections coming into view, MammothLocal.com has opened an online straw vote to track its readers' preferences. The poll is situtated along the left rail of the home page of MammothLocal.com The online poll is an unscientific measurement that anyone, voters and non-voters alike, are free to use.March 18, 2006
by George Shirk
Eastern Sierra political activists on Saturday got their first look at the 28-year-old Democratic wunderkind who hopes to unseat U.S. Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) in next November's elections. Robert Rodriguez, a Barstow native and a former aide to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, spoke at the Rural Issues Candidates Forum in Mammoth -- an event produced by Mono and Inyo county Democrats but which was open to the public.March 17, 2006
by George Shirk
Commercial air service to Mammoth Yosemite Airport has been pushed back to December 2007, according to Town Manager Robert Clark. Clark acknowledged that he had held out hope that air service for next ski season was possible, but that air service beginning in December of 2007 "is more likely."March 16, 2006
by George Shirk
Surface parking for the public at the Village could be non-existent for a two year period beginning in the spring of 2007, according to a projection by Ray Jarvis, Mammoth's director of public works. Jarvis was discussing the proposed $13.3 million, 300-space parking structure across Canyon Blvd. from the Village.by George Shirk
Mammoth's controversial General Plan Update process took a dramatic U-turn on Wednesday night when the Town Council yanked it back from near certain death. Instead of abandoning the three-year-old process on the grounds of budget overruns and/or threat of legal action, the council instead voted to spend $362,000 in additional funds to keep it going.March 14, 2006
by George Shirk
If occupancy rates for this ski season were to suddenly flatten out, Mammoth's town coffers probably would still hit revenue projections because of a better-than-expected January, town manager Robert Clark said.March 13, 2006
by George Shirk
Andrea Clark, who drew national attention for her work in procuring workforce housing for Mammoth, is leaving her post as executive director of Mammoth Lakes Housing, Inc., effective in the spring.March 12, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
MammothLocal.com, the online arm of Mammoth Monthly magazine, has launched a free online classified ad service. Coincidentally, the Web site was nominated for a MAGGIE Award for Best Publication Web Site by the Western Publications Association. In addition, Mammoth Monthly was nominated for a MAGGIE Award for the third time in three years, this time in the category of Best Color Editorial Layout for its January 2005 spread called "Avalanche!"View image
by George Shirk
Chris Stampolis, a member of the California Democratic National Committee and president of the California Democratic Council, will moderate a "Rural Issues Forum" on Saturday at Cerro Coso Community College in Mammoth.by George Shirk
Mammoth's Tommy Czeschin won Saturday's 2006 State Farm U.S. Snowboard Cup halfpipe by posting the highest scores in their first of two runs at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, N.Y. "I took tons of time off after the Grand Prix series and I really just came here to ride, but I'm so stoked that I ended up winning," said Czeschin,March 10, 2006
by George Shirk
Therese Hankel, the outspoken Mammoth attorney whom the Town Council tossed from the Planning Commission last September, made good on her intention to run for a seat. Hankel filed papers that places her on the ballot for the June 6 election. She is one of a flock of candidates -- so far -- running for three open seats.by George Shirk
Mammoth and Bishop both landed on a list of "50 Best Places To Live" in the April edition of Men's Journal magazine. Mammoth made the list of "Most Active Towns," while Bishop made the list in the category of "Meccas," along with such places as Taos, N.M., Last Chance, Idaho, and Moab, Utah.by George Shirk
People who are handicapped and/or use wheelchairs will have access to the shores of Convict Lake if a new plan clears environmental hurdles, the Forest Service said. The Forest Service, along with volunteer groups led by the Friends of the Inyo, is proposing a handicapped-accessible fishing deck on the east shore.by George Shirk
A provocative lecture focusing on the Eastern Sierra's relationship with the City of Los Angeles leads this spring's SNARL Lecture Series. The talk, titled "The City of Los Angeles and the Eastern Sierra: Can This Marriage Be Saved?" is May 10 and will be delivered by Mary D. Nichols, director of the Institute of the Environment at UCLA and president of the L.A. Board of Water and Power Commissioners.March 09, 2006
by George Shirk
Weekend occupancy in Mammoth is expected to drop Friday and Saturday, but not that anyone would notice. Projections by Laurie Medove, the town's lead information agent for the Visitors' Bureau, were set at 95 percent occupancy for the weekend, down from 98 percent last week and 99 percent the week before.by George Shirk
A very cold and windy Pacific storm began pounding Mammoth and the High Sierra late Thursday, although the National Weather Service downgraded the tempest from a Winter Storm Watch to a mere "Snow Advisory." By the time the storm rolls out of town on Saturday, it could leave in excess of 18 inches of snow above 7,000 feet, forecasters said.March 06, 2006
by George Shirk
An increasingly tense face-off between two of the most unlikely recreational user groups is percolating at the nascent Volcom Brothers Skate Park. Highly protective skateboarders are opposing snowboarders whom the skaters say have intruded into the skate park's bowls and already have damaged parts of the buttery-smooth surface.View Image 1View Image 2
March 05, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area announced on Wednesday that because of record snows, it will keep lifts running until July 4, matching last season's closing day. "Because there has been so little sun in the last month, the snowpack is not settling and snow piles are as high as we've ever seen them," said Clifford Mann, Director of Mountain Operations and long-time Mammoth resident.March 02, 2006
by George Shirk
The race for three open Town Council seats began with a bang Wednesday night when all but one of the candidates, along with council members and the public, sparred over the uncertain future of the embattled General Plan Update document. It was the first time in the fledgling campaign that the candidates were engaged.by George Shirk
A man who identifies himself as working with the Internal Revenue Service in Bakersfield is working a scam in Mono County, the Sheriff's office announced today. The grift is by telephone.by George Shirk
The chances that Mammoth might take back control of its Main Street ran straight off the road and crashed on Wednesday night.by George Shirk
Mammoth is 98 percent sold out for the weekend, according to town tourism officials, and the visitors are catching a big break in snow conditions. A winter storm that began at mid-day Thursday eased off Friday evening.by George Shirk
Gregg Simas, a fixture on the town's Parks and Recreation Commission and the former owner of Grumpy's Restaurant, said he has resigned his position and is moving to Southern California with his family. "I don't know what I'm going to do," said Simas, 46. "I guess I'm looking for a job."February 28, 2006
by George Shirk
The U.S. Postal Service pulled off a curious double this past week by both honoring the late photographer Galen Rowell while managing to have no real clue about who he was. First, the honor: One of the stamps in the "2006" Definitive Stamps" is Rowell's seminal photograph, "Winter sunset, Gates of the Valley, Yosemite National Park." View imageFebruary 27, 2006
by George Shirk
The executive assistant for Andrea Lawrence's Institute for Mountains and Rivers, along with a longtime Mammoth contractor, are the latest to run for an increasingly wide-open Town Council election. Wendy Sugimura, an ecologist now working with ALIMAR, took out nomination papers for the June 6 election, as did Chris Tolley.by George Shirk
A 27-year-old Nevada man remained at Washoe Medical Center in Reno with injuries he received last week in an accident at June Mountain Ski Area, officials said. James Newberry, a snowboarder, was airlifted to Reno from Mammoth after Mono County Search and Rescue personnel found him after dark on Thursday, Feb. 23.February 24, 2006
by George Shirk
Some of the beauty along U.S. Hwy. 395 in Bridgeport was permanently preserved on Friday when the Eastern Sierra Land Trust snagged 75 acres of land at Big Hot Springs Ranch. The agreement, legally called a conservation easement, was donated by the ranch owners, Ulrich Schmid-Maybach, Glen Poulsen and Andreas Rickenbach. It will permanently preserve the highway's scenic beauty along its boundaries, said Land Trust spokesperson Michelle Pettit.February 23, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area last week gave the Eastern Sierra Land Trust a $10,000 Valentine, according to a spokesperson for the conservation organization. The donation was presented to the trust on Feb. 15, by ski area CEO Rusty Gregory.by George Shirk
Mammoth is a sellout this weekend, but this time the Storm Gods are giving the throng a break. Typically this season, when the big crowds show up, so do the storms, limiting access to upper trails on Mammoth Mountain and thus creating more of a jumble. This time, however, a new and potentially powerful Pacific Storm is forecast to wait until Sunday night and Monday.February 22, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth may not have everything, but one thing it has over every other resort town is the most peculiar Main Street around. Counting the two frontage roads on either side of the five-lane state highway, Mammoth's Main Street at stretches is nine lanes wide. That's so horrible, really, that Planning Commissioner and council hopeful Neil McCarroll last week started to do something about it.February 17, 2006
by George Shirk
The March issue of Mammoth Monthly, featuring stories by mountaineer Andy Selters, Bishop's Maureen Troy, adventurer Suzanne Hurt and fiction by Buck Meadows, is on the street. The cover photograph is by Mammoth photographer Christian Pondella, who captured an image of Bernard Rosow skiing power in the Paranoid Flats on Mammoth Mountain. View imageby George Shirk
A new Mammoth athletic event, tentatively called the "Grunt and Gruelathon," would be held in the Lakes Basin on Sept. 10 if the Inyo National Forest approves it. The "Grunt" would be a one-quarter mile swim in Horseshoe Lake, a six-mile (three-lap) bike ride and a two-mile run. The "Gruelathon" will be double the "Grunt" distances.February 16, 2006
by George Shirk
The biggest ski week of February is shaping up as one of the busiest weeks of the season, according to figures projecting the town's occupancy. The town's Visitors Bureau on Thursday, Feb. 16, projected a sellout (99 percent) for the Presidents' Day weekend that begins on Friday night and ends on Sunday night.by George Shirk
A 4.3 magnitude earthquake shook the Eastern Sierra shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.February 15, 2006
by George Shirk
The Advocates For Mammoth, the political activist group that sought to appeal a Planning Commission approval of the Ritz-Carlton hotel project, lost a key battle before the Town Council Wednesday night.February 14, 2006
by George Shirk
John Eastman, a 16-year fixture on the Town Council, said on Tuesday, Feb. 14, that he would run for office in what he called "the most important election in Mammoth's history, since we've been an incorporated town."February 13, 2006
by George Shirk
(Updated Sunday, Feb. 12)The new leader of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area said on Friday, Feb. 10, that he and his Starwood Capital Group envision Mammoth as a "wellness town," thereby differentiating itself from other resorts. "This is where you come to revitalize your soul and your well being," Barry Sternlicht said. View image
by George Shirk
The Mono Inn at Mono Lake, a fixture in the "must-go" list of Eastern Sierra establishments, has big changes coming this summer, according to owner-manager Sarah Adams.by George Shirk
Mammoth's Kelly Clark, the 2002 gold medalist in the Olympic women's halfpipe, finished fourth on Monday in the 2006 Olympic competition. Hannah Teter (Belmont, Vt.) and Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen/Snowmass Village, Colo.) earned gold and silver, respectively.February 12, 2006
by Bump Diamond
The United States claimed the gold and silver medals in the men's halfpipe snowboard competition at Bardonecchia Sunday afternoon. Shaun White (Carlsbad) posted an untouchable 46.8 on his first run, while Danny Kass (Mammoth) rebounded from a shaky first run to repeat as the Olympic silver medalist with a 44.0. View imageFebruary 11, 2006
by George Shirk
The Mammoth Visitors Bureau and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area have a new plan to boost visitor numbers in the usually sluggish spring months.by George Shirk
Mammoth's visitor occupancy rates tumbled last autumn from the same time a year ago, a new town finance report shows.February 10, 2006
by George Shirk
A Celebration of Sara Johanna Carlsson's Life will be held at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area's Main Lodge in the Mountainside Conference Center on Monday, February 13 at 6:30 p.m., ski area officials announced.February 09, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth police continue to investigate what they say was a "serious assault" against a local woman near the Village last weekend.The woman suffered severe facial injuries and was found by passersby, bleeding and disoriented, walking along the road near Berger's restaurant.by George Shirk
Apparently people aren't going to wait for the Presidents Weekend holiday to inundate Mammoth. Occupancy figures released on Thursday, Feb. 9, indicate Mammoth will be 97 percent full to capacity on Friday and Saturday, and will be 51 percent full for the week following.by George Shirk
A 57-year-old Los Angeles woman died at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area on Wednesday, bringing the number of skier deaths there to five so far this season, all within the last two weeks. Susan Barbara Klausner was pronounced dead at Mammoth Hospital following a long fall through trees in the Lincoln Mountain section of the ski area.February 08, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth's 17-acre "Bell-Shaped Parcel," the crown jewel among the town's dwindling open spaces, will remain subject to development if the Town Council and Planning Commission get their way. Or not.by George Shirk
The Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol, grieving over the loss of Patroller Johanna Carlsson in an avalanche last week, announced the formation of a memorial fund. "Johanna touched many of our lives, through work and play in a wonderful way," the Patrol said in a written statement. "We all feel the loss."February 06, 2006
by Mark Schlenz
The death of Ski Patroller Sara Johanna Carlsson in an avalanche thrust the newly formed avalanche center and its director, Sue Burak, into the kind of spotlight no one wanted. Here, from Mammoth Monthly magazine, is a profile of Burak and the center.February 04, 2006
by George Shirk
The avalanche that killed a Mammoth Mountain Ski Patroller last week ran a length of 1,600 feet, dropped 900 vertical feet and was 50 feet across at the toe, according to a report filed by the director of the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center.February 03, 2006
by George Shirk
A 38-year-old Southern California man who last week collided with a tree while skiing on Mammoth Mountain, has died from his injuries, adding to a tragic week of skiing that resulted in five deaths -- four in the ski area and one in the backcountry.by George Shirk
A woman was killed and two Mammoth men suffered injuries in an avalanche in the backcountry above Bridgeport on Wednesday, Feb. 1, a Mono County Sheriff's Department spokesperson said. The woman was identified as Sara Johanna Carlsson, 31, of Mammoth. Carlsson and both men were off-duty Ski Patrollers, according to Joani Lynch, communications director at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.by George Shirk
However popular the Super Bowl may be among Mammoth skiers and boarders, it doesn't seem to have affected the attendance in Mammoth this weekend.February 02, 2006
by George Shirk
Backcountry skiers and snowboarders on Wednesday night, Feb. 1, successfully turned back a proposal by subdivision property owners along Ranch Road that would have instituted a "license agreement" providing for an exit from Sherwin Range ski runs.February 01, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Olympic Team snowboarders Mason Aguirre, Danny Kass and Kelly Clark will get a sendoff party at Wave Rave Snowboard Shop on Thursday evening.by George Shirk
Mammoth Councilman Tony Barrett, opening his campaign for re-election by courting frustrated Vons shoppers, said he wants the town government to help someone -- anyone -- get another supermarket in town.January 31, 2006
by George Shirk
Maybe it was because of the alignment of the stars, the end of the month or the approach of Groundhog Day, but Mammoth's future got back on track on Tuesday. The Town Council and the town's Planning Commission convened in a remarkable special meeting regarding the General Plan Update. Meanwhile, at Little Eagle Lodge, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area executives held an open house regarding the proposed Eagle Lodge.by George Shirk
Jo Bacon, one of Mammoth's most well-known, full-time volunteers and a resident since the mid-80s, said on Tuesday she would run for Town Council in the June 6 municipal elections.by George Shirk
January's snowfall didn't set a record, but it ranked right up there. In all, 154 inches of snow fell in January, topped only by January 1993 (188 inches) and January 1995 (180 inches) in the 37 years that the ski area has kept records.by George Shirk
A new winter storm, believed by forecasters to be carrying up to a foot of snow along with powerful winds, is poised to slam into Mammoth and the Sierra on the afternoon and evening of Wednesday, Feb. 1.January 30, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Shaun White, the 19-year-old superstar of the halfpipe, won the superpipe gold medal at the made-for-TV X Games in Aspen on Monday night, Jan. 30. Mammoth's Mason Aguirre, the top qualifier in the event, finished second, washing out on his final run. Danny Kass (pictured) finished 10th among 10 finalists.by George Shirk
Three people, including a 16-year-old skier, lost their lives in separate incidents on Mammoth Mountain last weekend, while another remains in critical condition after colliding with a tree.January 29, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Mammoth snowboarders Mason Aguirre, Danny Kass (pictured), Shaun White and Kelly Clark all came up big at the X Games in Aspen, Colo.January 26, 2006
by George Shirk
(Updated Thursday, 12:51 p.m.)A new storm, this one considerably colder than the tempest that blew through Mammoth earlier this week, began dumping snow on Mammoth Thursday at about noon, and the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning through Friday.
January 25, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Mammoth Mountain regulars dominated the spots on the U.S. Olympic Halfpipe Team, named on Sunday, Jan. 22. Mammoth regular Shaun White, 19, the red-haired "Flying Tomato" from Carlsbad, Calif., easily won a spot on the team. Joining him on the eight-person squad is Andy Finch, 24, a Mammoth Mountain regular who now rides out of Truckee, along with first-time Olympian Mason Aguirre, 18, from Mammoth and 2002 silver medalist Danny Kass, 23, also from Mammoth. Kelly Clark, 22, the native Vermonter and 2002 gold medalist who rides out of Mammoth, grabbed her second straight Olympic spot.by George Shirk
If Mammoth is to get regional commercial air service for next ski season, the likely carrier will be either United or Horizon, Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory said on Tuesday, Jan. 24. He also said the ski area is looking to bring "at least one flight a day" from Southern California on a year-round basis.January 24, 2006
by George Shirk
Marhsall Minobe, a longtime community activist who has been a fixture at public meetings dealing with the General Plan Update, said on Tuesday, Jan. 24, that he would seek a seat on the Town Council in the municipal elections June 6.January 18, 2006
by Brandon Russell
Snowmobile advocates tried to pressure the Mammoth Town Council into voting for a snowmo-friendly resolution, but only councilmember John Eastman supported it.January 17, 2006
by Mammoth Monthly
We're going to miss Ski Museum curator Finn MacDonald and his wife, Kyle, who moved to Maine at the first of the year. We remember the first day we met them, in the fall of 2002, when the museum and...January 14, 2006
by George Shirk
Michael E. Brown, who resigned as the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, will be the keynote speaker at Wedensday's "Operation Sierra Storm" -- a four-day meteorology conference in Mammoth.January 13, 2006
by George Shirk
Town Councilman Tony Barrett announced on Friday, Jan. 13, that he would seek re-election in next June's municipal elections. Barrett thus joins incumbant Kirk Stapp and Planning Commission chairman Neil McCarroll as candidates for the three seats. Mayor Rick Wood,...by George Shirk
The February edition of Mammoth Monthly magazine hit the streets in Mammoth on Friday, Jan. 13. This month, the magazine unveils its annual "Mountain Culture" issue, with fiction by Buck Meadows ("Ookpik"), poetry by Peter Berardo and a look at Eastern Sierra wildlife by Elizabeth Christensen. Plus, Dick Dorworth weighs in on "The Joy of Skiing." View imageJanuary 11, 2006
by George Shirk
Apparently not satisfied that people will come to Town Council meetings to discuss the tax hike proposal known as the Community Services Initiative, Mammoth town councilmember Skip Harvey has begun a series of input meetings at his restaurant on Main Street.by George Shirk
The second fatality in last Sunday's plane crash has been identified as Carol Mary Maki, 51, a nurse from San Luis Obispo. Maki was one of three passengers aboard the 4-seater Cherokee Piper plane that went down near Mammoth Lakes airport at approximately 2:34 p.m. Joseph Owens, the pilot, also died as a result of the crash.January 10, 2006
by George Shirk
It's hard enough on pedestrians in Mammoth, but Kathy Copeland wants the town to know just how much more difficult it is for people in wheelchairs. "With no sidewalks, people in wheelchairs are sitting ducks," she said. "If you're going to go out, you'd better have flashing lights, and a lot of them, on your wheelchair."January 09, 2006
by George Shirk
Funeral services for 19-year-old Brittany Stotko, who died of exposure and hypothermia in the New Year's snowstorm, were set for Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 4 p.m. at the Neighborhood Church in Bishop. Meanwhile the Church of the Mountain in Crowley Lake is taking donations to help Stacy Stotko, Britanny's mother, who survived three nights and two days in her car during the blizzard and the aftermath.by George Shirk
Two people were killed and one was criticallly injured Sunday afternoon in the crash of a small plane at Mammoth-Yosemite Airport. Witnesses told investigators that shortly after takeoff, when the small aircraft was only about 150 feet in the air, the nose of the plane pitched down. The plane then began porpoising and immediately crashed into the ground. The weather was fair at the time.January 06, 2006
by George Shirk
Search and rescue teams on Friday, Jan. 6, found the body of 19-year-old Brittany Stotko, missing since Sunday when she and her mother were caught in the New Year's snowstorm. Mammoth Town Councilman Tony Barrett informed the town offices, although a spokeswoman at the Inyo County Sheriff's Department declined to confirm the news. Her body was recovered shortly after 10 a.m.by George Shirk
Town Councilman Kirk Stapp on Thursday, Jan. 5 continued to push for a June ballot measure that would raise Mammoth's sales tax and transient occupancy tax. Stapp, who calls his proposal the "Community Services Initiative," said the measure would raise up to $1.7 million to pay for such things as an emergency dispatch system, library funding, local childcare, workforce housing and transportation, among other items.January 05, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth Mayor Rick Wood said on Thursday, Jan. 5 that he will not seek re-election in the town's municipal elections next June. Wood made the comment to MammothLocal.com shortly before a Town Council meeting. "This was a big personal decision," he said of his option to not run. "It doesn't mean I'm flying away, though. I'll be here (in the audience)."by Bump Diamond
Just because the holidays are over, it doesn't mean that Mammoth is emptying out. In fact, the town's Visitors Bureau reported today that Mammoth will be loaded this coming weekend, and then get a little lonelier next week. Laurie Medove, the lead information agent for the Visitors Bureau, projected 93 percent occupancy for this coming weekend.January 04, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth's General Plan Update process, put on a fast track this past fall, is now officially delayed and is sitting on a side spur. The town's staff, working in association with consultants, still is assessing comments and input from citizens, gathered last month during extensive Planning Commission hearings, said Anita Hatter, the town clerk. As a result, the Town Council hearings on the plan, scheduled for Jan. 11, 12 and 18, have been postponed, she said.by Mammoth Local Staff
When Mammoth Mountain Ski Area opened Little Eagle and Canyon Lodges this season, skiers and boarders got a look at the new buses that run on the Blue and Green routes. View imageJanuary 02, 2006
by George Shirk
Blue skies greeted Mammoth Tuesday morning after a New Year's storm dropped a whopping eight feet of snow on Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. About six feet of snow fell in town, beginning Saturday morning and ending about midnight Monday. Mammothists awoke Tuesday to the sounds of avalanche guns and bombs as the Ski Patrol began to open runs and lifts. View imageby George Shirk
U.S. Highway 395, the main artery between Mammoth and everywhere else, was closed Monday morning because of avalanches at Wilson Butte and Lee Vining. Meanwhile, the Town of Mammoth Lakes closed Rte. 203 and all town roads because of heavy snow, and opened an emergency operations center in Suite Z of the Town Offices at the Minaret Shopping Center.January 01, 2006
by George Shirk
Mammoth Mountain had its busiest day ever on Thursday, Dec. 29, breaking a 20-year-old attendance record. Two days later (Saturday, Dec. 31) and in the middle of nasty weather up and down the Sierra Crest, Mammoth closed all its lifts, including those at June Mountain. Lifts were re-opened on Sunday, in between storms. Communications manager Dana Vander Houwen confirmed the Thursday record of 25,243, breaking the previous record of 23,035 on Nov. 30, 1985.by George Shirk
It's almost as if Mammoth is taking a collective deep breath, getting ready for the next big series of weekends, of which this weekend is not one. With darned near perfect conditons for alpine and cross country skiing, snowmobiling, dogsledding,...December 29, 2005
by George Shirk
The Eastern Sierra Land Trust has completed a land protection agreement that preserves the 818-acre Montgomery Creek Ranch in Benton Valley. View imageby George Shirk
The traditional post-Holiday Week dip in Mammoth's visitors' numbers doesn't look like much of a dip this season. According to figures released Dec. 29 by the Mammoth Visitors Bureau, occupancy in Mammoth's hotels, condos, boarding houses and inns will be 83 percent in the week beginning Saturday and ending Thursday, Jan. 5, and 73 percent the following weekend.December 22, 2005
by George Shirk
Mammoth's drive to attract tourists in mid-week periods is getting a boost from an unexpected source: school districts that have switched to staggered, year-round schedules. "It's great for us as a destination resort," said Planning Commissioner Rhonda Duggan. "We don't have to have everyone here at the same time.”December 21, 2005
by George Shirk
The $365 million deal that the Starwood Capital Group hatched for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area became official Wednesday, according to the ski area's communications director, Joani Lynch. Rusty Gregory, who has worked for founder Dave McCoy for 29 years, will continue as chairman and chief executive officer and will hold a 12.5 per cent interest in the company, she said. Meanwhile, Intrawest Corporation will retain a 15 per cent interest in Mammoth Mountain.December 20, 2005
by George Shirk
Mammothists stayed home in droves Tuesday night as the Planning Commission whipped through the remainder of the so-called "16 Questions" that lie at the core of the town's General Plan Update. "It's very disappointing," said Commissioner Elizabeth Tenney afterward. "Where, for example, was the business community?"December 16, 2005
by George Shirk
The director of the non-profit Mammoth Lakes Housing, Inc., Andrea Clark, says it is critical to keep Mammoth's workforce within town limits for the community's health and safety. "We really believe that we cannot have a viable, sustainable community without volunteer firemen and police who live here," she said to the Planning Commission.by George Shirk
Market forces will determine the pace of Mammoth's growth and it would be a mistake for town government to implement regulatory controls on it, according to Planning Commissioner Dave Harvey. Harvey, a longtime Mammoth resident and a developer himself, made his position clear during Wednesday's public hearing on the General Plan Update. "I'm of a mind that market forces will determine how fast we grow,” he said to the other commissioners and a small gathering of fewer than 30 people in the Town Council chambers above the Minaret Shopping Center. "I'm not in favor of a permit cap or anything like that.”December 15, 2005
by George Shirk
Mammoth's world will flip upside down this coming weekend and the following week if numbers assembled by the Visitors Bureau pan out. Instead of a tourist bump on the weekend and a flattening out, the run-up to Christmas Day will result in 71 percent occupancy of the town's available tourism space -- "pillows" to those who pay attention to these things -- between this coming Sunday and Christmas Day.December 14, 2005
by George Shirk
Fewer than 30 people showed up for the ballyhooed General Plan Update meeting on Wednesday night, but those who did got an earful from Planning Commissioner Elizabeth Tenney. The topic was Mammoth's pace of growth. "This,” she said, "is my biggest issue. It's not that we're getting it wrong, it's that we're going too fast.”by George Shirk
The January edition of Mammoth Monthly magazine is on the racks Thursday. Included in this month's 48-page publication is a Dan Patitucci cover image of Swall Meadows adventurer and guide, S.P. Parker; jibbing on cross-country skis, by Brandon Russell; skiing in poconip fog, by Tony Dublino; a special report on women's skis; what's what with the geothermal pool under Chair 15 and a feature on Londie Padelsky's fascination with outhouses. A note about Vons: The usual rack location on the left (east) entrance has been moved to the alcove, where the pay phones used to be and where there now are tables and chairs for Starbucks.December 13, 2005
by George Shirk
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the subject of a long debate before the Airport Commission, last week easily won a spot at the Mammoth-Yosemite Airport, but not before Mammoth Councilmember Skip Harvey raised a few questions. "I'm uncomfortable passing this without a public transportation plan," he said at the council meeting on Dec. 7, "while accepting more rental cars, congestion and pollution in our town. I think in the future I'll be looking closely for solid, local transportation to and from the airport."December 11, 2005
by Bump Diamond
Kathy Copeland (above) tossed the feel-good party of the holiday season Saturday night at the Old Mammoth Grill and Bar. On a festive weekend that featured an Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center benefit party down the street at Sherwin's Folly on Friday and a successful artist's reception for Patrice Miller at the Edisto Gallery and Tea Room Saturday, it was Copeland and her "Island Extravaganza" fundraiser for Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra that became the centerpiece of the weekend. The winner of the Grand Prize, a trip to Tahiti countesy of Air Tahiti Nui, was one of her volunteer ski instructors, San Diego's Randy O'Connell, who is nicknamed, of all things, "The Grinch."by George Shirk
Alex Fabbro of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area will be the project manager of a group calling itself the "Air Service Project Team,” which has been formed to monitor tasks associated with getting regional air service to Mammoth. Fabbro confirmed her appointment over the weekend in a short coversation at the "Island Extravaganza” bash at the Old Mammoth Grill & Bar. The team consists of Town Manager Robert Clark, Deputy Town Manager Karen Johnston, Bill Manning, the airport manager, Pam Murphy, vice president at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and John Walter of the Sierra Club.December 10, 2005
by George Shirk
Finn MacDonald, the first and only curator of the Mammoth Ski Museum, confirmed Thursday that he and his wife, Kyle, are leaving town to pursue a new opportunity in Brunswick, Maine. "I would call this a reluctant, opportunistic move,” he said in a telephone interview. "We have a good dynamic opportunity to be part of a café-cinema-gallery space. It's a great challenge.”by George Shirk
Off-piste skiers and snowboarders who use the Sherwins as an alpine playground want the town to provide them an official easement to prevent conflicts with homeowners along the now-gated communities along Ranch Road. "We want an easement written in stone,” said Hans Ludwig, a 10-year resident of Mammoth and an outdoors journalist. "We want something that's legally binding that there will be access there.”by George Shirk
Mammoth's law enforcement and fire officers lost service on their emergency satellite phones last week because no one has quite figured out how to pay for the expensive service now that the grant money has run out. New Fire Chief Brent Harper disclosed the situation at a Town Council Meeting on Dec. 7, during a presentation on the state of Mammoth's emergency preparedness.December 09, 2005
by George Shirk
Mammoth's new fire chief met the Town Council for the first time Wednesday night, then painted a grim picture of what might happen if a large-scale disaster struck the town. "Probably the biggest weakness is that we do not have an Emergency Operations Center,” said chief Brent Harper. "One of the major failures in New Orleans (during the Hurricane Katrina disaster) was that the EOC was underwater, and everything fell apart after that.” Harper, formerly director of the Regional Public Safety Training Center in Washoe County, Nev., succeeded Chief Harold Ritter, who retired earlier this fall.December 08, 2005
by George Shirk
The week between Christmas and New Year's is 97 percent sold out, and the week leading up to Christmas is 67 per cent sold out, according to latest figures from Laurie Medove, lead information agent for the Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau.December 06, 2005
by George Shirk
A small earthquake measuring 3.06 on the Richter scale hit Mammoth shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday morning. The quake, considered a "minor” quake by the U.S. Geological Survey, followed a series of tiny temblors along the Hilton Creek fault, beginning with a 1.5 quake at 10:17 p.m. Monday.December 05, 2005
by George Shirk
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area founder Dave McCoy will give the Mammoth Lakes Foundation a $3 million gift for the construction of student housing and parking facility at Cerro Coso Community College. Foundation CEO Evan Russell made the announcement at Saturday night's Friends of Education dinner, He also announced that McCoy was this year's winner of the "Founder Award.” "He's stepping up to the plate once again,” said Russell, who also announced that McCoy will match any gift over $5,000 to fund the proposed Sherwin Hall dormitory and the parking structure.by Mammoth Local Staff
George and Jean Shirk, founders of Mammoth Monthly magazine, this week announced the launch of their new Web site, Mammoth Local (www.mammothlocal.com). Mammoth Local will feature much original content, crafted specifically for the Web site, such as content on its news page. It also will feature current and past articles from Mammoth Monthly, blending the two media into what George Shirk said is "an easy-to- digest digital stew.” "We think the people who love Mammoth, and who consider themselves ‘locals' whether they're here or not, will find the Web site useful and entertaining,” said Shirk.December 03, 2005
by George Shirk
One man suffered a heart attack and another suffered oxygen deprivation at the annual Friends of Education fundraising dinner Saturday night at Mammoth Mountain's Main Lodge. Dave Fultz, 48, proprietor of Maverick Signs, collapsed during the cocktail hour, when several hundred of Mammoth's biggest movers and shakers were gathering for the annual dinner that benefits the Mammoth Lakes Foundation and Cerro Coso Community College. Less than an hour later, longtime foundation treasurer Dick Goetzman, former president of the Ski Hall of Fame, had to be given oxygen by paramedics, who carried him from the building on a stretcher.by George Shirk
Jane Baer and Judy Bornfield both were honored Saturday night at the Friends of Education dinner at Mammoth Mountain's Main Lodge Baer received the "Outstanding Achievement Award” for her work in the construction of the Volcom Brothers Skate Park on lower Meridian Blvd. She deflected the praise, however, saying "This has truly been a community project.” Bornfield, meanwhile, received the "Volunteer of the Year Award,” a first-ever acknowledgement.December 02, 2005
by George Shirk
In spite of early-season obstacles such as rocks, the odd stump and that fearsome family of four from Fairfax, Mammoth opened Canyon and Eagle Lodges Saturday morning.by George Shirk
The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, which makes a perennial stop in Bishop, announced its film lineup this week. James Wilson of Wilson's Eastside Sports sponsors the event, and it is up to him to cull from the lineup which films we'll see in Bishop on March 31 and April 1 at the Bishop Union High School Auditorium.December 01, 2005
by George Shirk
In spite of the first significant storm of the season, skiers, snowboarders, cross-country skaters and the rest of the winter throng are staying home in droves this weekend and next week. That means the slopes of Mammoth Mountain will once again be a kind of locals' paradise, as will the aisles at Vons.November 22, 2005
by George Shirk
Revenue generated by the town's transient occcupancy tax was 5.5 percent higher this past summer than a year ago, said Robert Clark, the town manager. He said the town took in $1.65 million in the quarter that includes July, August...November 21, 2005
by George Shirk
A light earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale shook the sparsely populated Bodie Hills at 1:33 a.m. Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Two light aftershocks occurred in the same area at about daybreak. Meanwhile, after a weeklong series of microearthquakes along the Hilton Creek Fault last week, Bishop was hit with a smallish 2.3 microearthquake at 6:18 a.m. Monday. That quake occurred in the series of faults in the Volcanic Tablelands.November 15, 2005
by Bump Diamond
Mammoth's town Planning Commission, arguably the most critical government body other than the Town Council, was in disarray at press time, with outspoken commissioner Therese Hankel ousted on a 3-2 vote by the council and with Lanie Somers unexpectedly announcing her resignation in October. A visibly upset Hankel vowed she'd run for Town Council. Her term was to have lasted until 2008. Meanwhile, longtime commissioner Somers' term was to end next June.November 13, 2005
by Mammoth Monthly
The sound you hear overhead is the light roar of a changing paradigm, and it's circling the Mammoth-Yosemite Airport. Yes, it looks like a jet; it sounds like a jet; and, by God, it is, in fact, a passenger jet from L.A., hoping to land here in December 2006.by Mammoth Monthly
Mammoth's town Planning Commission, arguably the most critical government body other than the Town Council, was in disarray at press time, with outspoken commissioner Therese Hankel ousted on a 3-2 vote by the council and with Lanie Somers unexpectedly announcing her resignation in October. A visibly upset Hankel vowed she'd run for Town Council. Her term was to have lasted until 2008. Meanwhile, longtime commissioner Somers' term was to end next June.November 11, 2005
by Bump Diamond
These kinds of busts just don't happen every day. Mammoth police this past week were called over to a house where a woman told them that a "male roommate" of hers had been secretly videotaping her in her room.