This year the Chagrin Valley Ski Club went to Mammoth Mountain in January from the 27th to Feb 3rd. Bob and I drove to Mammoth from San Diego, a six hour drive and we arrived at the Condo before the bus did. We were staying at the Juniper Springs Lodge with our roomies Karen and Bruce, within walking distance to the Eagle lift. Unfortunately, the bus with all the Chagrin Valley group hit a rock and broke the transmission, and had to get towed, the group got another bus but they were delayed by about 4 hours. We finally met everyone at the wine and cheese party that night and collected our passes for the week. The next day was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and we took Karen and Bruce all over the mountain. The conditions, however, were not the best as the mountain was lacking snow and chair 9 was almost bare in spots. We had fun going to the summit and seeing the view of the mountains, then skiing down for lunch at the main lodge. Where we sat outside in the warm sunshine eating lunch and watching the snowboarders in the half-pipe. For dinner we went to a sushi restaurant in Mammoth Lakes.
The next morning we started off at the big eagle and skied over to the back side where we had lunch with some of the others in our group at the Melt House and Boundary Bar at the Outpost. Located at the base of chair 13 and 14 lies this hidden gem, menu includes delicious grilled cheese variations, hearty soup, and drinks. The expansive sun deck was a great place to relax and enjoy the Sierra views, or hang out in the fireplace lounges that are built inside shipping containers. That evening we went to the Tamarack Lodge for dinner. We drove past Lake Mary, the largest lake in the Lakes Basin and then on to Twin Lakes where we walked around enjoying the view of Crystal Crag across the Lake and the reflections of the dark granite wall of the Mammoth Crest. The Tamarack Lodge is perched on the shore of Twin Lakes and it is steeped in rustic charm, with one of Mammoth’s most refined restaurants. We took a day off from skiing, while Karen and Bruce were pampered with massages, Bob and drove to Convict Lake and had lunch at Erik Schat’s Bakery in Bishop. Our last day on the slopes we stopped for lunch at the Yodler Restaurant & Bar with some of our group. This Swiss Chalet famous for its authentic Bavarian menu, with the Giant Pretzel, was dismantled in Switzerland 50 years ago and brought over to Mammoth Mountain, situated next to the Main Lodge. Mammoth Mountain is one of our favorite places to snowboard and it was so much fun sharing it with our friends from Chagrin Valley Ski Club in Ohio. Click on thumbnail to view images
