Mammoth Mountain

February is practically over and I have been a bad blogger. I do have my reasons and that's because 2 weekends we spent driving up to Mammoth Lakes in the eastern Sierras. The kids got 2 3 day weekends to enjoy back to back and for we decided to go for it.



The first weekend I drove up with the kids and met my friend Julie along with her cousins & friends so total us up all together and I think we were 10 sharing a condo at The Village. Our drive up was uneventful (which is great) but when we reached Mammoth the weather definitely different. Cold & windy with snow in the forecast but we were all nice a cozy in our penthouse condo.



We had plenty of restaurants to choose from and we just take the gondola there to the right to Canyon Lodge. We had to bundle up to go snowboarding to face the elements.





I think we would have done better if it weren't for the windy conditions.



Not that we were heading up to the top of the mountain but we couldn't see much past the lifts.

 

It was hard to keep track of both boys on the slope. Everyone looks the same, more or less.



Sunday was better weather-wise but not much. We managed the best we could.





Maybe this is why we usually come up during the spring to avoid this kind of weather. :)
Naturally Monday was beautiful and calm when we headed home.



The kids didn't seem to mind clearing the car of overnight snow.

Look, I'm snowboarding!!

I used my iphone to record the kids snowboarding and here they are...

Mammoth trip: Instagram version

I love taking pictures...

Lately I've been simplifying my gear to keep it as easy as possible for me. I do love my DSLR but lugging it around with all the lenses can be tiresome so I switch it up with my film Canon and iPhone.

We took a sort of impromptu trip to Mammoth one last time before the snow completely melted. Their last day of the snow season is Memorial Day weekend. Hector was able to take Monday off so we quickly planned a long weekend with the kids.

I took the kids out of school early Friday and we drove up that day while Hector took a flight to Mammoth the next morning. It worked out nicely. We got in 3 days of snowboarding in absolutely gorgeous weather. It was so warm we dressed as light as possible.

On this trip, the snowboarding lessons really clicked with both boys. We knew it would eventually but boy there were lots of complaining, whining and tears and all of a sudden, they're snowboarding. :)

Hector was able to get Tyler a board/bindings so we could just rent Tyler boots until his monster feet stop growing. :) Tyler admitted to me that having his own board really helped and he even said he had fun. It was nice to hear since T is that half sullen teen that doesn't get enthusiastic about practically anything but he acknowledged it  so I'm happy. :) Tyler was able to do the beginner runs without falling he will be set for next season and the intermediate runs.

Joshua did great as well even though he fell a couple times each run. He would get discouraged since he is such a perfectionist. I was surprised that Tyler mastered the snowboarding thing before Josh although Josh is better technique-wise.

On Mother's day the boys were super sweet with cards and gifts. The kids happily took a break mid-day at McCoy station so Hector and I could take a couple of runs on Stump Alley. The mountain was glorious and empty. I wore a long sleeve T and vest which was perfect. Hector wore a Tshirt and his arm got sunburned which quickly turned into a tan by next morning.

Overall, we had a wonderful time. Looking forward to next season. :)

Hwy 395. Pic taken by Tyler.

Pretty clouds.

Airport

On the Stump Alley lift.

This was the most crowded time of the day. :)

Hector helping Josh.

Ready for their last run!!

Canon A-1: Mammoth and Bishop

I had a couple of rolls developed from our trip to Mammoth during spring break.

I'm enjoying the process of taking my time, composing and focusing. It is very different than a digital camera, oranges and bananas. :)

I shot a roll at Fossil Falls but figured out that I didn't load the film correctly so those shots are non-existent. I have to make sure the film loads properly and that solves that.

I even learned by Googling how to retrieve the film leader from the rolled up film so I can use it and not have it wasted. I realized the film wasn't used after I rolled it up or at least I think so. We'll see because that roll is in the camera now so I either have pictures on there or some double exposures. Oh well, that's half the fun.

At the train depot.

Bishop

I challenged myself and brought on the film camera too. The weather was gorgeous and mild weather during the day & chilly temps at night.



Some the photos are from Laws Museum just outside of Bishop, CA. There is a railroad station, little town and mining area.

Lake Crowley

Bear Statue at Canyon

The weather was so nice and no crowds.

spring break

My computer is still MIA and it appears it needs a new hard drive which will be its third in 3 years. I think it needs some kind of immunosuppressants so the next hard drive won't be corrupted (again).

Meanwhile, I'm using Josh's computer to do my usual computerly things, like check hockey story lines etc and look at ravelry. Important stuff. :)

We had a nice spring break and it was just nice to get away from it all if it only was for a few days. The weather didn't cooperate in remembering that it is spring and instead gave us winter conditions with lots of snow and chilly temperatures which is good for the mountain but for us, shorter days snowboarding.

It snowed every day when we arrived and stopped when we left. Friday was an off day for us and look how much snow accumulated on our truck. Hector spent an hour digging the car out so that was his activity for the day.

It was nice to come back home to SoCal and pack all the snow clothes away although Mammoth is open until Memorial Day weekend so we still have some time to think about it. :)

But there are other things going on right now and that is NHL playoff hockey. For the 3rd year in a row, the LA Kings are in the playoffs and they're looking to get past the 1st round. We are pitted against the #1 seed in the West Canucks and tonight will be game 4.

Kat and I went to game 3 and it was thrilling. We won 1-0 and that was awesome. Hector and I watched the first games at Mammoth and there was lots of cheering going on. the Kings need one more win to head to the next round. :)

I took this picture during warm-ups and there were lots of Canucks fans hoping for a win. I remember a lot more Canucks fans at the playoffs a couple of years ago, but this year there were more LA fans. That's encouraging to see. GO KINGS GO!!

More weekend photos

On Sunday, I drove Sherri back to the Main Lodge for her morning of snowboarding and then Hannah & I went for a nice 2 mile walk/hike down Meridian, past the golf course that I never knew was there in the winter time, took a left turn somewhere through a wooded area that ended at Main St. and then headed back. Here are some photos from the walk.













We rested for about an hour, loaded the truck, picked up Sherri and drove home.

Girls Weekend

Had a wonderful jaunt this weekend to Mammoth Lakes with the girls (Sherri and hannah) for the great outdoors. Where else can you can potentially hike, mountain bike, fish, kayak and ski/snowboard at one location? We just stuck to the snowboard and hiking part this weekend enjoying near empty runs, 60* temps and God's beauty.

I tried to keep track of my runs with my Mammoth app. From what it recorded, I did 7 runs= 7.7 miles and over 8,000 vertical feet. I only did the intermediate runs. ''

We packed a lot of activity in our Saturday. Got up early and hit the slopes by 8am and boarded until 2pm, changed clothes and went for a hike at Inyo Crater (but didn't really find it), went to Coach outlet and soaked in the jacuzzi.

Mammoth video

Here is a video from Mammoth. This was our 2nd day and we are skiing Canyon. The shaky part of the video is due to me filming while snowboarding. It's a talent of mine. :)

White Stuff

Decided to post more pics from our trip since this cold is holding me down. This is what Josh decides to do after I said not to roll around in the snow because he only had snow boots on not snow clothing. Of course, he falls down and quickly looks to see if I saw....yes, I see you. Pants were a bit damp on the long ride home but what can you do...



I wonder where this road leads to...follow the snowy white road (sing the tune from Wizard of Oz).



Here is my postcard picture that says, "Wish You Were Here!" I might have to print this one out and frame it.



Tyler and Josh posing for me. Check out Tyler's monster-sized feet. I think Hector bought mens size 9 for Tyler who is about 7.5 so we figured he could get a couple of good years out of them. Oy.

3 Day Recap

The kids had a 3 day weekend due to a teacher in-service so we took advantage and headed to Mammoth for some snow time. I really wanted to maximize our time there and the last time we attempted that, we left at 4am to arrive around 9:30am which is really cool but none of the kids or I slept along the way so we were useless by the afternoon.

East Sierras on the drive up to Mammoth.

This time we left Thursday night around 9pm and got a room in Ridgecrest by 11:30pm, woke up at 6:30am, ate breakfast and headed on out on the road again. We arrived in Mammoth at 10am and that way we were ready to last the whole day. We rented the kids ski equipment and Hector found some really cool ski pants. Cool as in ultra durable Cordura material that should last about 10 years +, unlike most pants nowadays.

Sunday morning snow play.

My cousin Hannah and her group of friends came up to Mammoth the same time so I got to meet her friends and hang out with her for a bit. The weather on Friday was gorgeous, a very warm 45* and sunshine. We had a great time getting our ski/snowboard legs back.



On Saturday, I spent the day with Hannah on the Eagle lodge side and I might have been too ambitious for her on her first day back on the mountain in 2 years but she still did fine. Beginners fall A LOT and she was no exception but she was a trooper and made it down. Anyway, she will try to go again with us and take another lesson. :)



Meanwhile, I have been battling a cold that settled into my throat/chest giving a nasty cough with grossness that I won't go into which now has resulted in me losing my voice. Boo.



Sunday we had planned on skiing again but I woke before 7am and saw light snow falling. That would change to strong winds along with the snow to light flurries so we cancelled the skiing for that day. We packed up and the kids played in the snow with their snowball maker. Hector didn't think we would need chains when driving out of town but we saw the CHAINS REQUIRED sign and lots of cars pulled over to put them on so we did too. At least we have the easiest chains to put on, and while we stayed inside I took pics of the mountains. Next thing I hear a car coming down the hill too fast (no chains) began slipping and BAM, hit the car pulled over a ways in front of us then go across the 2 lanes over into a small ditch. I was happy he missed us but about 100 yards down the rest of the hill, more cars pulled over to take their chains OFF. Uff, so we had the chains on for less than 5 minutes of driving. I took advantage to take more pics and the kids played in the snow.

Candid shot of Tyler.

After that, it was smooth sailing home. :) Check out the full Flickr set here.