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Mammoth Monthly
Every month, quality magazine journalism from on high.
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Wildlife, sport and activities, sometimes all at once
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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.October 30, 2007
by Bump Diamond
It is the shortest of Mammoth's sports seasons, and some years it doesn't happen at all. It is the ice skating season, the season in late fall when the lakes freeze but snow has not accumulated on them. Conditions have to be just right. The freeze optimally happens in the absence of wind, so the ice isn't bumpy. The freeze should be sudden, and last at least several nights. The result, for a few nights at least, is thick, smooth ice. The best lake for skating? It depends on how hard you want to work to get there. Aficionados are particularly fond of Ruby Lake, one mile up the Mono Pass Trail from Little Lakes Valley, south of Mammoth in the Rock Creek drainage. Ruby Lake lies at the bottom of a north-facing slope (Lookout Peak). It is remote and, at 11,040 feet, is about as high as a skater could want to be.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. 26October 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
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.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
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.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 22, 2007
by George Shirk
The September 8 High Sierra Fall Century bike ride is like no other. Viewed from a geological perspective, the hundred miles, beginning and ending at the Whitmore Ballfields just south of Mammoth, the ride is a geology tour de force in which riders travel from the present through the very recent geological past, back in time through the Cambrian Period and back again. Millions of years pass before the cyclists' eyes, if only they knew how to look at the landscape. Mammoth geologist Bob Drake recently accompanied a pair of journalists on a tour of the hundred miles, offering his knowledge and perspective on one of North America's most active (still) geological laboratories. With maps spread out on his lap he told stories of recent and ancient tectonic and volcanic events, each of which are easily viewed from the roads -- U.S. Hwy. 395, Rte. 120 and the Benton Crossing Road -- that the cyclists will ride September 8.View image
August 14, 2007
by Ghia Camille
There is an art to starting a chainsaw. Flip the start switch, pull out the choke, hold the lever on the handle, then pull. One, two, three. Push the little pump button a couple of times to prime the motor. One, two, three. Adjust the choke. One two three. Rest my arm.August 06, 2007
by Wendilyn Grasseschi
When first light touches the lake, it's hard to tell where water ends and sky begins. Shimmering indigo water -- there is a reason they call this lake Bright Dot -- meets the horizon, meets the sky, then disappears from sight, tumbling, unseen, down, down, five thousand feet down, to end in another lake far below. Up here, at twelve thousand feet, no trees ring the lake, no trees define where the lake ends or begins and it looks this morning as if a person could cross the lake and continue walking forever into the sky. Numb fingers break ice off the water bucket, fumble with the balky stove, dance in the icy air, waiting, waiting, then cramp gratefully around the ancient plastic coffee mug, the steaming bowl of oatmeal and honey. When the sun finally clears the bulk of Mount Baldwin, it is hard not to shout for the sheer pleasure of warmth returned to the world. But no. Here in camp, breath steams in the cold air, making mockery of the fact that it is mid-summer, that the valley floor below is already simmering in the brilliant heat of an Owens Valley July.August 03, 2007
by Colleen Dunn Bates
The Parker Lake Trail is the best hike in the region to experience the diversity of geology, flora and fauna in the Eastern Sierra. The first half-mile or so is the hard part, an uphill tramp through typical Eastern Sierra desert: a sand trail through sagebrush, bunch grass, mules ears and other scrub, with lizards darting ahead of you. As you climb higher, you'll start to hear rushing water, and far down below to your right you'll see a line of aspen and Jeffrey pines indicating where Parker Creek flows. The next mile and a half will be an easy stroll through gradually changing terrain. Ahead of you are towering, snow-pocked peaks; marking either side of the canyon are rocky moraines, left there by the glacier that powered through this canyon during the last Ice Age.July 13, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
The National Park Service is considering the construction of a housing duplex at the Hodgdon Meadow area of Yosemite National Park, the park service annoounced on FridayJuly 06, 2007
by Monica Prelle
As we inched up the canyon, we fished less and moved more. Even though we hadn't felt the sun in a while, we could see it was sinking rapidly and we were still far away from the point where the trail met the creek again.View image
July 05, 2007
by George Shirk
Once, not that long ago, the coyote was king in Mammoth. Anyone could make a case that the roving packs of Canis latrans just about owned this town, living it up by chowing down on the town's hundreds of feral cats, raiding the town's open trash containers and scrounging for free handouts. They were big coyotes, too -- fat, indolent and living way beyond their means. "Oh yeah, we had a huge number of coyotes," said Steve Searles, the former Mammoth Lakes Police Department wildlife officer who is mostly known for his work with bears. "There were packs of them working the streets," he said. "People can still see them now, but we'll see just one or two working together. We don't see packs of them anymore. But we had dozens and dozens of them. "by Stacy Corless
Hiking ahead of his father and a friend on the Duck Pass Trail, J.C. wrote that he noticed "a large animal" bent over in a meadow about twelve feet away from the trail. It was a strange creature with reddish hair and a bare bottom. Then the animal stood up.View image
June 11, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
There's a reason why this week's Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua is not called a "birding festival," or "birdfest" or some such other tag. "We've always wanted this to be really a true Chautauqua," said Bartshe Miller, a staff member of the Mono Lake Committee.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.May 22, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Yosemite National Park reports that the cables allowing hiker trail access to the summit of Half Dome were put in place on May 17, 2007.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 18, 2007
by Dave Neal
Our two local tailwater rivers the last few weeks have been ripe for the picking. The Lower Owens and East Walker Rivers are fishing good-to-great on most days.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 10, 2007
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.May 04, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
They fly back and forth from Mammoth to Argentina. The tracking of the local Swainson's hawks is important because this particular hawk has been listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act.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.May 02, 2007
by Stacy Corless
When I agreed to update a backpacking guidebook, I didn't expect a fairy tale -- or a paradigm shift. On one trip from the West Side, I got both.May 01, 2007
by Wendilyn Grasseschi
At almost ten thousand feet, the brilliant, noonday alpine sun is visible through the water, even far below the surface of Thousand Island Lake. The water shimmers like a bolt of cross-died silk as blue turns to gold, gold to blue, then back to gold again. A slip of a rainbow trout glides past, just beneath eye level, then does a ninety-degree turn and shoots back towards shore, looking as startled as a trout can look. Lower down, the bottom of the lake is a fine silt: pale cream, littered with ebony and gray basalt boulders that have tumbled down from Banner Peak, looming three thousand feet above the lake. The water is bracing -- cold but not unbearable. It is mid-summer in the High Sierra, and these few brief weeks between late July and mid-August are the only time it is possible to traverse the mountains by swimming these high country lakes. Any earlier, any later, and it is simply too cold. Right now, though, it is time to come up for air. Swimming up, moving closer to shore, the shallow water is warm, almost balmy.View image
April 27, 2007
by Dave Neal
For many local businesses, inns and eatieries, Saturday's Fishing Opener could not come soon enough. June Lake residents, the long wait is finally over. The crickets have stopped chirping; you will have some excited tourists flocking into town as we speak.April 26, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Seriously, now. Who isn't fascinated by the owls of the High Sierra, hiding in their snags and winter nests, usually emerging only under cover of night? Who? Who? Who, who-who? "Owls are really great," said U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologist Richard Perloff, making a pun on the ubiquitous Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus). "Everything about them is great, but in this time of the year, what I like most is their ability to survive during the winter. Oh -- and their silent flight. And their hearing." Cindy Kamler, director of Eastern Sierra Wildlife Care, said she's a big fan of owls, too, conceding that owls are not appreciated universally. "Some people think of owls in terms that are really negative," she said.April 25, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
It's only open to the public a handlful of days a year, so take advantage of next week's full schedule of hikes and lectures at the Valentine Reserve in Old Mammoth. Once a private mountain retreat, the reserve is now...April 17, 2007
by John Moynier
One curious aspect of our intermittent flings with meteorology is that we have notoriously bad memories when it comes to weather. It is well-known that our weather memories are shaped by our experience with weather extremes - we only remember the most extreme events and therefore, these represent the norm. Ask anyone what the weather is typically like (or used to be like), and they'll probably describe the nastiest storm (or season) they've ever experienced and call it "normal." Check it out: "It always snows at Thanksgiving," "March is our wettest month,"or "It used to snow a lot more, in the 1980s."April 11, 2007
by Ceal Klingler
They have a taste for bearded ladies and choke opponents ten times their size. They don't like being watched. Although their relatives shoot blood from the eyes when necessary, they prefer hopping and - in a pinch - stabbingApril 09, 2007
by Stephen Ingram
Some say it looks like a flying saucer, while others think it resembles a bird wing. Still others liken it to a stack of pancakes. But cold, wet pancakes they are, consisting of dense layers of super'cooled water particles or ice crystals hovering ten to forty thousand feet above the valleys of the Eastern Sierra. Anyone who has spent much time in the Eastern Sierra during the winter and spring months has probably witnessed the famous "Sierra Wave" clouds. These types of clouds form worldwide in mountainous regions, but the local expressions of this meteorological phenomenon can be especially impressive because of the steep, dramatic terrain of our eastside region.April 01, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Jupiter, in the southeast sky in the constellation Cancer, and Saturn, in the southwest sky in Taurus, make big statements that are evident in the black skies of the Mammoth High Sierra this time of year, where high altitude and a minimum of light pollution make viewing terrific.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.March 19, 2007
by Andy Selters
Ski pioneers like Dave McCoy could count on snow every winter at seven thousand feet on McGee Mountain, Rattlesnake Hill and other slopes along the U.S. Hwy. 395 corridor. But for at least twenty years now, winter snow has only erratically covered the sagebrush in those places. By Andy Selters.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 18, 2007
by Wendilyn Grasseschi
When the two white herons fly over the hot tub, close enough to touch, parting the silver morning mist, the sun is still an hour from rising. The valley is thick with an uncommon fog this April morning, cold enough to mute the ever-present sound of the hot water cascading over the edge of the concrete tub, cold enough to cocoon this small world in living steam, warm and fragrant. The two birds, startled by the presence of another living being in the pre-dawn quiet, rise abruptly above the tub and turn, heading back to the safety of the valley's many hot spring-fed warm ponds. It is impossible right now, watching the elegant six-foot long wings of perfect white slipping through the thick mist, not to think of angels.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.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 14, 2007
by Dave Neal
The Lower Owens is so good right now that you just have to drop everything and go experience it.March 11, 2007
by George Shirk
Suddenly, gray foxes seem to be popping up everywhere in Swall Meadows, and at all hours of the day and night. One scientist thinks the phenomenon might be because of human interference.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.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.February 25, 2007
by Dave Neal
Anglers in the Eastern Sierra will be able to throw a line down on Hot Creek, the Upper Owens and the East Walker rivers beginning Thursday, March 1. The opening is two months ahead of the normal opening because of a controversial ruling by the state's Department of Fish and Game.February 19, 2007
by Bill Becher
I'm sitting with my flippered feet dangling in thirty-four-degree water wondering why I'm going to scuba-dive under the ice in Gull Lake. I can't think of a good answer to this question. The only explanation is that I'm here to get a scuba certification in ice diving. Each February, scuba instructor Darrell Walker teaches advanced scuba divers how to safely dive under the ice in a three-day course at June and Gull lakes. He's also helped train members of the Mono County Search and Rescue team in ice diving. After some preliminary instruction, Walker had the divers cut a triangular hole in the ice with a chain saw, zip up their drysuits, don scuba gear and get ready to take the plunge. Each diver wore a brightly colored chest harness attached to a rope before he or she slipped under the frigid water.View image
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.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
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 Dave Neal
It's time to start thinking about fishing again. While scouring the rocks and weeds looking for the next generation of aquatic bugs, I am finding tons of food in the system for our little finned friends.January 29, 2007
by Mammoth Local Staff
Local fish rancher Tim Alpers said he is assembling a coaltion to fight a new Fish and Game regulation that allows year-round trout fishing on the Upper Owens River and Hot Creek.January 24, 2007
by Maureen Troy
Most of the fun in Mammoth takes place on top of the snow, but some adventurers find themselves spending time underneath it. The two main reasons for digging down are to spend a cozy night snow camping or for emergency shelter. Knowing how to build a snow cave can either be a comfy way to spend a night outdoors or a lifesaver. Todd Bibler, inventor of the world famous single-wall Bibler Tent, has spent a number of nights in snow caves during expeditions. Why choose a snow cave over the Mercedes of Tents? "It doesn't matter if the outside air temperature reaches single digits or less," Bibler said. "A snow cave will stay above 32-degrees Fahrenheit because that's the temperature of the snow." View imageDecember 19, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
As supervisor and senior scientist of the Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) Wildlife Forensics Laboratory, Jim Banks has helped solve thousands of crimes against wildlife. In recognition of his long-time dedication he has been selected Shikar-Safari Club International Conservation Officer of the Year, an award bestowed upon only the very best in wildlife conservation in the nation.December 12, 2006
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 08, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Mammoth would be designated a "bicycle friendly" community by the League of American Bicyclists if the town passes criteria set down by the national organization.November 29, 2006
by Christine Woodside
It may sound simple: A snowmobile ought to be able to run on battery power, with little noise and no air pollution, the way a golf cart does. But such snowmobiles don't exist--yet.November 09, 2006
by Brandon Russell
Jeff Olson, the keynote speaker at the Nov. 4 Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access forum didn't get paid for his appearance at the Little Eagle Lodge Saturday night, Nov. 4, even though he traveled across the country to attend.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 26, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Crews on Mammoth Mountain have begun covering Broadway with artificial snow. Opening Day is Thursday, Nov. 9.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 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 Maureen Troy
Although Miss Manners covers almost all topics in her 800-plus-page book, she somehow overlooked some rules of high country etiquette.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 06, 2006
by Bump Diamond
When considering doing something as daunting as riding a hundred miles on a bike at 8,000 feet, it goes to figure that the 800 or so riders in the High Sierra Fall Century might want a few tips before embarking.View image
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 Bump Diamond
The reward for the effort of this hike is breathtaking views in every direction, and an introduction to the Mammoth high country that is all- encompassing.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 Dave Neal
Anglers are enjoying an absolutely fabulous time on our local waters this late August. Most of the lakes, streams and rivers are fishing great with solid hatches and superb weather and water conditions to boot.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 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 17, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
Every August, track teams, cross country runners, other athletes and their track-suited coaches make their way up from sea level in Southern California for a week or more of high-altitude training. But it's not clear that training for one week at altitude actually produces any lasting results.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 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 07, 2006
by Dave Neal
Fly fishing has been fantastic the last few weeks. All our local streams received a thorough flushing from the big runoff event. The gravel bottoms are nice and clean and the weeds on Hot Creek and Upper Owens have uprooted nicely. I have been spending most of my guiding days fishing the Upper Owens, Crowley, East Walker and the San Joaquin. We have had some great days.August 02, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Julien Lecorps and his trails maintenance crews have created a number of new features at the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park.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
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 22, 2006
by Mammoth Local Staff
People using Mammoth's Volcom Brothers Skate Park are starting to discover some puzzling aspects of it, such as that the deep, smooth bowls of the park don't have a drain. "We had to have it pumped out this past spring," said Peter Bernasconi, the town's associate civil engineer.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.by Dave Neal
Labor Day is behind finally behind us; now it is time for the real fishing to begin. The days and nights are cooler, the mosquitoes have disappeared in most places, the water levels have dropped on all the freestone streams and it looks as if the flows are finally coming down on our tailwater rivers too. We are seeing the late summer-fall hatches beginning to pop like we like em'.June 26, 2006
by Sydney Quinn
We drank water right out of the creek and heated it on the woodstove to bathe. The outhouse was a two-holer about twenty yards from the house. During a visit, my dad dropped his glasses in that dark forbidding hole, retrieving them by flashlight. The warm summer months brought luminescent, yet earthy thundershowers, liberating the comforting scent of sage. We fished right out the back door as the dogs basked contentedly on the porch. Mike stocked the woodpile with construction scraps. We drove to Bishop down the old highway for groceries once a week. On the way, we might stop at the dump -- an emporium of treasures where we learned a new use for a ski pole and the sport of dumpster diving.by Evanne Jardine
In 1888, the miners who flocked to Mammoth, then believed to be "the biggest lode since the Comstock," took time out to fish in the lakes and even hold boat races, and The Mammoth City Herald of July 13, 1879, announced the opening of what might have been Mammoth's first tourist facility. "Mammoth Camp" really took off after Charlie Summers bought the Wildasinn hotel and store, and in 1918, built a new hotel and a pack station. Pack trips took visitors to the Lakes Basin and beyond for fishing and hunting. Sometimes an impromptu rodeo was staged in the Meadow. Fourth of July brought crowds of people. Frank Penney began a quick lunch business in 1923, operating from a one-room cabin. His wife, Norah, added a bakery, and their sons added fish tackle and groceries. In addition, they had a gas station and a garage.June 21, 2006
by Moz Coast
A petite blonde girl was driving her lime green hybrid through Yosemite National Park, sulking over the thirty bucks it had just cost her to fill up her vehicle. She tailgated two oversized men in a red Hummer and did some quick math to determine they were paying about 1 cent for every pine tree they passed. She felt somewhat redeemed. "They're crazy," she muttered to herself. The two guys in the Hummer had been lapping the Yosemite Valley loop for a couple hours, taking in the sights from the plush comforts of their climate-controlled vehicle, marveling at how much they'd seen for only forty bucks in fuel.June 09, 2006
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 07, 2006
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 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.June 04, 2006
by Dave Neal
Hot Creek has been surprisingly good. Due to cooler weather recently, the runoff eased a bit and the creek has been running high, but clear. There is a good caddis grab from 9 a.m.-noon and again from 2:30 p.m. to about 4:30. Try some Size #18 Gallatin Caddis Emergers or other small dark cdc emergers. We also noticed a sparse Pale Morning Dun hatch in the afternoon and fish are still chowing down on the Little Yellow Sally stoneflies.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 Bump Diamond
Nearly 100 miles of Yosemite's deteriorating trail system will be rebuilt this summer, including 33 miles of the John Muir Trail, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle. The project will cost about $13 million, the newspaper said, with about $3 million from government funds and $10 million from private donations under the auspisces of the Yosemite Fund. The project was to be launched on Friday, June 2, after a news conference to announce the effort. "Some of these trails have been neglected for a long time,'' said Park Superintendent Michael Tollefson. Much of the effort involves the John Muir Trail, which runs more than 200 miles to the summit of Mt. Whitney in Sequoia National Park.June 01, 2006
by George Shirk
California anglers catch a free day of fishing June 10, as the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) waives the license requirement for anyone 16 or older.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 26, 2006
by Eric Sayetta
All mountain bikers love trails for the physical challenges they present, for the thrill of speed and control, and the inspiring vistas. But the Whites present additional challenges and dividends.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 Bump Diamond
The trick is to catch a rainbow, brown, brookie and golden, all on the same day.May 12, 2006
by Dave Neal
Local streams in the Eastern Sierra are continuing to fish well despite the impending run-off that looms ahead. Many of the freestone streams are rising and becoming cloudy. Our tailwater fisheries are actually fishing quite well and as far as lake fishing is concerned Crowley and Bridgeport Reservoir continue to be the places to be.by Maureen Troy
The wind picked up a little. Ignoring it, I kept trying to get my cast to go out further to reach some rocks where Julie had spotted fish earlier. My casts were getting closer and closer and I felt the thrill of the chase, feeding out more and more line. I was in the casting zone. My fly just missed the spot I wanted and got hooked in some lake weeds to the left of me. I enthusiastically yanked back on the line and Julie screamed. I turned to see what happened and saw that I'd finally hooked something. I'd hooked Julie. Right in her neck. She was pretty calm, but I freaked out ...May 09, 2006
by George Shirk
Dr. Jack Perry, along with Dr. Richard Price and physiologist Rita Klabacha, have pushed wellness as the main ingredient of the SPORT Center's Human Performance Lab. They hope the lab will make Mammoth a destination for athletes ranging from those with Olympic level capabilities to ordinary people who care about their health and their athletic ability.May 03, 2006
by Bump Diamond
Anglers fishing Crowley Lake during the first week of the 2006 season are getting a big treat. "This is perhaps the best opening day, in terms of fishing quality and accommodating weather, in the last 20 years at Crowley," said biologist Curtis Milliron of the California Department of Fish and Game. He said an estimated 7,000 anglers fished the lake on opening weekend.May 01, 2006
by Monica Prelle
It was my first fly-fishing trip and I really wasn't all that interested in learning. My partner, Jon, and I had planned a ten-day backpacking trip in Sequoia National Park, and I figured if he was planning on fishing, I might as well give it a try. I hadn't expected to get hooked. It would be ten days along some of the Sierra Nevada's most pristine waters -- the dream of any Sierra-bound fly-fisherman. We carried two rods, a nine-foot five weight, and an eight and a half-foot three weight, along with a collection of flies. We hoped to catch and release trout, and in this region there was said to be many types: rainbow, golden, brook and brown.April 28, 2006
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.April 22, 2006
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 13, 2006
by Tony Dublino
After yet another weak and warm storm last December, I drove up to Virginia Lakes to see what had happened above snowline. After turning onto the road, I noticed a work truck with the website www.cloudseeders.dir.edu lettered on the side. A couple of guys milled around the vehicle, and curiosity got the best of me. "You guys seeding clouds around here?" I asked, somewhat bewildered."Yeah, absolutely," one of the men said. My initial response was that they weren't doing a very good job of it, considering the lack of snow in the early season. But then I remembered last winter.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.March 25, 2006
by Dave Neal
The past few weeks have been superb for the skiing/snowboarding/fishing crowd among us. Mammoth and June Mountains were blessed with some of the coldest, driest snowstorms of the year, giving us Wasatch-quality snow. The fishing continues to be good-to-epic on the Lower Owens and Gorge. The blue winged olive mayfly hatch has been a sure bet in the afternoons with some days being downright intense. The mayflies are everywhere. The back eddies are like busy little harbors with hundreds of blue winged olive duns floating around like miniature sailboats. Get up here if you are even thinking about fly fishing right now. It is the best time of year to experience some of the very best winter trout fly fishing in the state of California. No, you shouldn't wait till July.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 Dave Neal
It may be the middle of a fantastic ski season, but spring has arrived in the Owens Valley, and with that comes some of the best dry fly fishing of the season. February marks the transformation toward longer days and shorter nights. More sun in the sky allows the rivers and streams of the Owens Valley to begin a slow warming trend from the winter doldrums. With the days growing longer and warmer daytime water temperatures, some important early season insect hatches begin to make their seasonal appearance. This is my favorite time of the year on the Lower Owens River and in the Gorge. The water temperatures are starting to climb into the high forties and with that some phenomenal mayfly hatches kick off. View imageMarch 10, 2006
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 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
February 17, 2006
by Suzanne Hurt
You can't visit Mammoth and the Eastern Sierra without sampling the many remote hot springs. The stretch from Long Valley to Bridgeport holds one of the biggest concentrations of hot springs in California. The same natural power of the earth that created the rad East Side terrain generates warm water believed to heal body and soul. These places are sought by tribes, from the descendants of ancient ones to those worshipping rock and snowy mountain. You'll get there via lonely roads, trails and ski tracks, if you can find them; locations are often protected. If you really want to go, ask a local.by Elizabeth Christensen
The Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) has a cold patience and single-minded ferocity about it that is unnerving. Yet it is a pretty bird. The roadrunner's feathers are streaked black, brown, white, and beige. And when it raises its crest it exposes blue skin patches behind its eyes that are punctuated with an orange dot.January 23, 2006
by Tony Dublino
At noon, the rocks of the Dana Plateau were bathed in brilliant sunlight. High up in the pine boughs, large clumps of powder snow warmed slowly, lost cohesion and triggered massive tree avalanches. Yet only a mile away, Mono Lake was invisible. The whole Mono Basin was sullen, out of sorts, gray and dark, as though the dense fog had been poured over the lake from some colossal pitcher. Poconip.December 18, 2005
by Brandon Russell
Among the Mammoth Mountain ski cognoscenti this season, look for three things: fat, straight and all-terrain.
“Sidecuts don’t work for everything,” said Silver Chesak, a buyer for Footloose Sports and a superb skier. Rather, Chesak said ski shops are investing in fat, 88-millimeter skis that have a limited sidecut—suddenly the perfect all-terrain ski for intermediate and advanced skiers on Mammoth Mountain’s famously soft snow.
“After all this time, we finally are getting skis that work really well, that are really wide, have a limited sidecut and are super fun to ski on,” Chesak said. “On these, you can ski soft snow all day long.”
December 14, 2005
by Elizabeth Christensen
There is nothing better than waking up to the sound of Blue Pirates on my decks. They arrive all at once -- 20, 50, sometimes more -- and plunder the larders of my yard with loud voices and sharp calls. I have experienced this looting during the decade I've lived in Paradise at the foot of Wheeler Ridge, and relish the pirates' brief and sporadic visits to my home. These Blue Pirates, as I like to call them, are Pinyon Jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) -- about nine inches long with grayish-blue plumage, an unusually short tail and a long, sharp pointed bill.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.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 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 mammoth admin
By Dick Dorworth I was a ski racer from Reno in the 1950s and '60s, and the mountain and people and experiences of Mammoth were a huge part of my formative years and beyond. Mammoth is part of my heart and life experience, a guide to the mind. Only the inaccuracy of nostalgia allows people to claim that the '50s were a “better” time for American skiers, but both my heart and mind tell me it was a simpler era. Today's Mammoth Mountain skier gets miles more skiing on better and more varied terrain than the skier of 50 years ago. But it does not seem to me that the personal satisfaction, well-being and joy of the day's skiing endeavors are any better.November 13, 2005
by Mammoth Monthly
God knows I've had my share of slopeside meltdowns. But today I have two joyfully skiing teenagers. Here are a few things I learned along the way: * This was your idea. Never forget that teaching your kids to ski or snowboard was your idea, not theirs. I've never heard of a 4-year-old who, out of the blue, started begging to spend a whole day in ski school.by Mammoth Monthly
She was sprawled flat on her back midway down Sesame Street, her little arms spread-eagle and her snowboard straight up in the air. “I can't get up!” she shrieked. “For God's sake, Emma, stop screaming!” yelled her dad, who was about 50 feet downhill from her. “Just roll over and GET UP!”November 11, 2005
by Mammoth Monthly
Having lived through last year's hunk o' burning thighs, you swore you'd be physically prepared for skiing and snowboarding this year. Are you? If not, cramming leg strength and cardio workouts the way you did for college exams is as dangerous to the outcome of your winter sports experiences as not doing them at all.November 10, 2005
by George Shirk
So I was on the chairlift shortly after 8:30 this morning, and never mind that the town was in sunlight. Opening Day 2005 on Mammoth Mountain began with a dense fog on the top of Chair 1, not that anybody really minded. It was a hoot all the way around, except for people who get all goofy in dense fog, like Kathy Copeland.November 07, 2005
by Bump Diamond
By Bump DiamondMan About Town Mammoth Mountain could get as much as 18 inches of snow in the next two days, about a half-foot more than was originally forecast. The snow, in advance of a slow-moving cold...November 06, 2005
by Bump Diamond
By Bump DiamondMan About Town Mammoth Mountain Ski Area operations chief Clifford Mann has always called it "Magic Mountain" instead of "Mammoth," because sometimes it seems that things just can't go too much wrong up on the hill. ...October 29, 2005
by Bump Diamond
By Bump DiamondMan About Town A 3.1-magnitude earthquake shook up Mammoth late this afternoon. The epicenter was 11 miles southwest of Toms Place, and 14 miles from Mammoth. The parameters of the quake looked like...October 26, 2005
by Bump Diamond
By Bump DiamondMan About Town I saw Keith Dawley carrying a pair of skis on his bike yesterday, and that's as sure a sign of winter as swallows in Capistrano signal spring. Keith has a ridiculous string...by Bump Diamond
By Bump DiamondMan About Town Now *that's* an alarm clock, Ché. Just after 6:30 this morning, Bobby Hoyt's Ski Patrol began testing the avalanche guns on Mammoth Mountain. The target was over by Chair 9, so everybody...October 25, 2005
by Bump Diamond
By Bump DiamondMan About Town We all awoke to snow today. Not actually in town, but there's certainly a nice dusting on the ski hill and the ridges today, meaning that yes, winter continues its slow, inexorable march...Advertisement
