Way beyond being "tardy to the party"!
Three years ago I embarked on a journey to Mammoth Mountain, a ski town in the Sierra Nevadas, sort of near Yosemite. It was an amazing trip, one I will never forget, but not for the reasons you may think.
Three years ago I embarked on a journey to Mammoth Mountain, a ski town in the Sierra Nevadas, sort of near Yosemite. It was an amazing trip, one I will never forget, but not for the reasons you may think.
Growing up in the mountains of Southern California, I should have been an avid skier or snowboarder... That was not the case. I sure could sled. I learned to snowboard around 20. It wasn't too bad, but I also was too keen on the lifts and all that other nonsense. That Christmas, I got a snowboard and all of the gear. Everything was tucked neatly away in my closet until the winter of 2012, when my little sister asked me to go to Mammoth. I didn't think twice, I immediately said "yes".
We embarked on the 5 hour road trip early on a Friday morning. The rest of our group wasn't leaving until much later in the day, but we didn't care. Snow was supposed to be coming in so the earlier we left, the closer we would be to Mammoth by the time the snow was falling.
The journey up was full of music, beef jerky, Rockstars and giggles. We both were super stoked. We arrived around 3 pm and immediately went for pizza and beer after driving around the town for approximately 30 minutes looking for a grocery store, followed by looking for a pizza place.
Friday night we hit the little town and got completely smashed in true travel style. We somehow ended up with a $250 bar tab, but that didn't stop us from meandering through the snow, bar to bar. It resulted in a couple wet butts and a Sorel imprint (that is still there) on Taylor's calf. She hugged/tripped me and we slid into a heap on a busy snowy street.... Safety first kids, safety first.
We somehow managed to be up and at 'em first thing Saturday morning. We woke up to something like 5 or 6 feet of snow. I couldn't find my Jeep anywhere, but honestly I was really worried about it. The mountain normally opens around 7 and we were on the shuttle and in line for our passes and on the mountain by 8ish. Being a complete inexperienced boarder, I have to say this was the worst yet best day ever. We boarded through whiteout conditions, ended up on some way too advanced trails and jumps/ I got stuck waist deep and thought I was going to die.
I still don't know how I made it back down the mountain without killing any of the other people on the slopes and I had never been more thankful for a half day ticket. I crashed and burned then of course recovered through many liquid refreshments.
Mammoth is definitely a friendly place for friends, families and couples. I am sad to say I haven't been back, but eventually I will head back that way. I loved every moment of my epic snowboarding adventure!
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