Welcome to Mammoth Monthly. We hope it speaks to you with a voice that is entertaining, informative and, most of all, relevant.

This is what we believe: The people who are attracted to Mammoth are individualistic and smart. They have an active relationship with the outdoors and with mountain culture. They are skiers and hikers, climbers, mountaineers and artists, seekers and dreamers. They read more than just books; they read the night sky and the currents in the lakes and streams. They understand the High Sierra on many levels�political, social and historical as well as aesthetic. They have wit and a good sense of humor. They appreciate a publication that can deliver in words and pictures the Mammoth experience.

How can one describe the Mammoth experience? It's like trying to get your arms around magic itself. Magic, impossible to hold or define, is obvious whenever one sees it, feels it, hears it or touches it. It is often delightful, sometimes awe-inspiring, frequently spiritual and it is everywhere in the Mammoth High Sierra. It is in its mountains and hot springs, its wildlife, wilderness and geology. It is on the slopes of Mammoth Mountain and the cross country trails of the Lakes Basin and the backcountry. It is also in our homes, galleries and museums.

Like the earth upon which it sits, Mammoth currently is under construction, both literally and figuratively. Even as new condos, a new base Village and a town-to-mountain gondola reach completion, there still is debate as to what kind of place we all want Mammoth to be. From the people who live here to the people who live elsewhere and visit, everyone shares in the love they have for this place and care where it's going. This magazine is not a coffee table picture book meant to sell anyone on Mammoth. Rather, Mammoth Monthly is like the people for whom it is written: independent, without hidden agenda, created by people dedicated to honest, local magazine journalism.

Its theme is Mammoth. We hope you enjoy it.

George and Jean Shirk