Mammoth: April 2023: Day 3: Ski lessons

Mammoth

April 2023: Day 3

Starting the day off Roller Coaster Express.

There is so much snow, it's ridiculous.

Training races in progress. Cornice Bowl in the background. Racers.

Racers.

Trail closed: Future Olympians training and racing.

The map at Main Lodge is more than half buried. In mid-April.

Waiting at Chair 15, Eagle Express.

Half-pipe maintenance.

Unbound Express, Panorama Gondola, and the main terrain park below.

Waiting for ski school to start.

"Multitude" would be more appropriate than "Solitude" per the instructor, Wes.

Working on turns down Ricochet.

Wes has been giving ski lessons for 26 (?) years.

Back up the lift.

On the cat track from the top of Cloud Nine Express back to McCoy Station.

Going up High Five Express.

There's so much snow you could dangle from the seat of the chair safely onto the snow.

End of ski lesson. The other student was way better than me, hopefully he got something useful out of the lesson as well.

Main Lodge.

Chillin' at Main Lodge.

To preserve the snow, some of the easiest runs off Gold Rush Express are closed, so it's a bit of a slog back to Canyon and Eagle.

So many people.

Going down Roller Coaster.

Skiers having a good time.

Not sure who Level 1 is.

I felt way too old to want to associate with all these dudebros.

Not sure what this is, anyone got a clue?

Latin Market. Inside.

Inside.

Hot sauces, part 1.

Hot sauces, part 2.

Menu, part 1.

Menu, part 2.

Fried shrimp tacos and tripa tacos.

Why did they hide the fried shrimp tacos under avocado?

Tripe tacos were so-so. Not quite properly cleaned, and pan-fried hard.

Shrimp tacos after scraping off the avocado.

Not particularly memorable.

Dinner courtesy of Vons.

Six minutes a side was too long.

Started the weekend parking at Roller Coaster Express, getting my first up-close experience of just how good the snow still is. Cruised easy, watched future Olympians train, then headed off to a lesson of my own among the piles of snow at Main Lodge. Wes had been instructing at Mammoth for 26 years (ish?) and definitely passed on some of the more refined techniques of weight transfer, weight distribution, turn initiation, and how to keep all of those straight in your mind. Not sure how much I absorbed, but was absolute glad I still had another four days to practice after this.

Experienced terrific conditions on Ricochet and High Five Express, expertly guided by Wes to areas where the snow had softened first for optimal skiing conditions, before ended back at Main Lodge. Meandered back via Mill Cafe and a long loop around the back of Lincoln Mountain due to closed trails, then one last run to soak in the glorious snow down Roller Coaster.

Saw a well-kept old Ford or Chevy on the way to a late lunch; I don't understand the hype around Latin Market's food. They do have a very solid collection of hot sauces for the otherwise so-so tacos. Several hours later, was time for dinner-- slightly overcooked the Vons steak, but was acceptable enough considering the lack of a proper grill, oven, or cast iron pan (and on an electric stovetop!).