Ski Calafornia?

[Ammer]

We will be heading from Australia to San Diego on 18th Febuary. We will be in the US for 3 weeks. I'm thinking about a week somewhere skiing. Any suggestions? I hear there isn't much snow over there this year, right? Maybe Mammoth? Could we drive there from San Diego or would we need to fly or are there other options that will have snow? We are all low intermediate skiers with children ages 7,8,10 and 12. Any advice or suggestions would be welcome.

 

[skiingfast]

You could drive to Mammoth it's about 6-7 hours from San Deigo.

It's not that there is no snow. There just isn't a lot. For your level of skiing you will be on mostly man made snow anyway.

If you want a lot of snow, and are willing to fly, Bacherlor Mt in Oregon. Though I think Mammoth will be better for you.

Keep in mind in a couple weeks, a storm can come in and add a lot of snow. You just never know.

 

[Ammer]

You could drive to Mammoth it's about 6-7 hours from San Deigo.

It's not that there is no snow. There just isn't a lot. For your level of skiing you will be on mostly man made snow anyway.

If you want a lot of snow, and are willing to fly, Bacherlor Mt in Oregon. Though I think Mammoth will be better for you.

Keep in mind in a couple weeks, a storm can come in and add a lot of snow. You just never know.

Would we need a car at Mammoth? I was thinking of flying and the not renting a car while there. Or we could drive. What's the drive like? We have never driven on snow so are a bit nervous of it especially as the car we would rent would be a people wagon 2wd.

 

[skiingfast]

If you fly it's not a problem, and if you drive it will end up the same. There are some hotels a short walk to the lifts. There are some further away and lots of condos further away and from these you use a shuttle system. The shuttles go to "The Village" and there is a gondola from there to the base. You won't use a car other than getting there and leaving.

If you were to drive it should be fine. It's mostly desert driving and other than leaving the LA basin you don't climb over big passes to get there. When you get close to mammoth you do drive from desert into Alpine quickly. So in the resort area could be a problem, but with the limited snow so far it's probably not. However one big storm between now and then could change things, and Mammoth gets massive dumps from single storms.

If you can wait to make reservation, knowing the weather forecast, at just a week out, that would help.

 

[Ammer]

If you fly it's not a problem, and if you drive it will end up the same. There are some hotels a short walk to the lifts. There are some further away and lots of condos further away and from these you use a shuttle system. The shuttles go to "The Village" and there is a gondola from there to the base. You won't use a car other than getting there and leaving.

If you were to drive it should be fine. It's mostly desert driving and other than leaving the LA basin you don't climb over big passes to get there. When you get close to mammoth you do drive from desert into Alpine quickly. So in the resort area could be a problem, but with the limited snow so far it's probably not. However one big storm between now and then could change things, and Mammoth gets massive dumps from single storms.

If you can wait to make reservation, knowing the weather forecast, at just a week out, that would help.

Driving doesn't seem too bad but since we wouldn't need a car while there I think we would fly.


I will take your advice and wait to make reservations. There seems to be a fair few flights and rentals available, maybe because of the less the optimum conditions? I am just about to change my flights to LAX from Australia to leave next Tuesday the 14th! Woohoo! So now to get a handle on Disneyland.

 

[skiingfast]

One other note, I should of mentioned before.

Mammoth and all ski areas are local ski areas, unlike in the Rockies. By locals I don't mean the people in Mammoth Lakes or Lake Tahoe, I mean the metropolises of San Fransisco and LA that are several hours away.

They are pretty calm during the week but on Friday night tens of thousands of people show up, and leave on Sunday evening. So price and crowdwise it's nice to ski them midweek.

 

[usnuzuloose]

There is the option of Big Bear, not sure of the snow conditions.

 

[Huff]

California is a bit light on snowfall this year. Mammoth is reporting 60" base which is good. Its a steep mountain with just a few intermediate and beginner trails. Nearby June Mountain has very little snow. Flying there is with smaller turboprop commuter planes.

Utah is the closest area with plenty of snow and easy flights into Salt Lake City. There you would have a choice of several ski resorts close by. Ski a different one each day! Alta, Snowbird, Solitude and Brighton typically have more snow than Park City area resorts. Alta is skiers only.

There are a few ski areas in the mountains bordering Los Angeles but I'm sure snow is very low there and crowds can get bad.

 

[Ammer]

There is the option of Big Bear, not sure of the snow conditions.

We are in Big Bear right now! We skied this morning and it was so much fun. It's all man made snow but the coverage was good and the lift lines were fast. We have already done Disneyland and are heading to San Diego on Friday.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

We are in Big Bear right now! We skied this morning and it was so much fun. It's all man made snow but the coverage was good and the lift lines were fast. We have already done Disneyland and are heading to San Diego on Friday.

Glad you are able to ski. It's been so warm here this winter! Safe driving & enjoy the rest of your vacation.