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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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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.