Mammoth has characters

(Editor's Note: This story first appeared in Mammoth Monthly's 2006-07 Ski and Snowboard Guide. Subscribe here.)

Sometimes, a ski beanie makes more than a fashion statement.

While the popularity of non-technical, homemade-looking headwear hit a fuzzy peak the past couple seasons, there's one brand that stands out.

Available only at Mammoth Mountain retail shops, Muhka hats remain all the rage for the diverse members of a Sierra winter family, from free-heelers in the backcountry and riders in the pipe to dog walkers at Shady Rest. The word "muhka" means "face" in Sanskrit: wear a Muhka hat and be the face of Mammoth.

Muhka hats are, as the label proclaims, made in Mammoth. The company is the brainchild and handiwork of Debbie Clausen, a 20-year resident and wife of Mammoth Mountain chief financial officer, Mark.
Just getting started on the 2006-2007 collection, Debbie and Mark sat for an interview this autumn to talk about the Muhka mystique.

The beanies started appearing in late winter about four years ago as freebies for the Clausen kids and friends. When demand grew, Debbie took a few up to the Main Lodge sport shop to see if they would sell.

They did, and Muhka (the name came to Debbie during a yoga class) was born. Now she makes and sells some one thousand, two hundred hats each winter season.

The crocheted creations (preferable to knit; "you can tell a crocheted hat from 50 feet away," Mark noted) follow five patterns: standard beanie, half earflap, full earflap and two headband models.

Debbie began adding flourishes such as pom-poms two years ago, "when all the young punks" suddenly took up knitting. That fad passed, but now about half of the washable, mostly acrylic-yarn hats feature faux fur, pom-poms or flower appliqués. There are no sizes -- different yarns make a particular hat larger or smaller than others. The hats are surprisingly androgynous, too. Debbie would make a fluffy pink hat, thinking it very feminine, "and I'd see a guy wearing it," she said.

Debbie's yarn supply (a closely guarded secret) varies, and the color combinations are a matter of whim. Like snowflakes, no two Muhka hats are exactly alike -- individuality, Mark said, is part of the appeal.

"There's a hat out there for everybody."

Maybe that's why Muhka has developed a cult following. The unadvertised website, www.Muhka.com, receives plenty of praising e-mail.

One customer even claimed that Muhka is "the only hat that doesn't give you hat air."

Young men with shaggy hair have approached Debbie at Vons, eagerly shaking her hand upon learning she's the face behind Muhka. Last season, a group of a dozen Australians became Muhka groupies -- buying new hats when each new order arrived at the mountain.

Debbie, the designer, manufacturer and quality control chief, was to make 300 hats for the 2006 ski season opener. Mark, the business manager and label affixer, anticipates that those will sell out by Thanksgiving. In mid-season, he said, an order of 300 hats will be gone just days after hitting the shelves.

The Clausens thought about growing the company beyond its cottage industry state, but never pursued expansion. "We made the decision to keep it core," Mark explained.

Mark said he believes that home-spun hipness keeps Muhka in demand.

"Muhka is a Mammoth original," he said. "It's local, born in the parks, worn by the bros and the pros." he said. "They're not mass-produced in China."

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