The drought is over...

Half day at work allowed us to drive up early....racing the storm that would dump two feet that evening, possibly closing the 395.  Drive was smooth sailing....up until the last few miles when it started DUMPING!  We were hypnotized by the snow shooting straight at the windshield...almost to the point of dizziness.  Casey and Matt claiming it was like something from the Star Wars movies...no idea what they were referring to....but I imagine something space-like which is exactly how it looked--like shooting stars beaming at you.

Casey and I would have been out in the storm and drenched if it wasn't for Matt suggesting the tire chain-up to happen in a parking garage.  Wise man!  Also helpful because it allowed me to sit in the car nice and warm while the boys worked :)

Dinner at Angels - amazing as always.  In fact, so amazing, we added to our crew and ate there the next night too!
Riding conditions were epic as far as fresh powder....but the wind was pretty wicked, causing us to stay low on the mountain.  It was super playful none-the-less.....except for getting stuck in chest deep powder, unstrapping, using every last ounce of energy to swim myself out to kneel on my board and surf to more packed pow so that I can strap in and ride down.  The memory of it all is exhausting.  But we won't talk too much about that.  I will say, however, that I redeemed myself on discovery rollers before calling it quits...always ending the session on a positive note!

Roxy Chicken Jam is what brought us up to Mammoth....well, not really, but the contest went on and the normal village concert was rescheduled to occur at Canyon Lodge due to inclement weather! 
Either way, it was Trouble Andrew performing and we were pretty stoked to check it.  The bar was annoyingly crowded, forcing us to order 14 beers at a time, 2 per person to avoid having to wait in line.  Another wise suggestion by Matt.
The night's shenanigans ended at the Clock Tower with a giant pink Roxy styrofoam circle taken from Canyon Lodge....and then to our cozy little condo to sleep and do it all over again the next day!
Great weekend!  Can't wait to do it all again....and from the looks of it, mammoth might be open until July 4th again this year.  Thank you La Nina!

Another view of the snow banks

Check out this view of the snow banks in the Mammoth Mountain parking lots...

Snow wall

Talk about alot of snow! And this is only the parking lot at the mill!

We love you mammoth...

One more foot expected tonight :)

running late...

Today I overslept.  I was deep in my sleep when my alarm went off, for apparantly the 3rd time!  I hate mornings like this....rushing around.  The wonderful husband that he is, Casey was right there to make my morning protein shake and hand it to me as I rushed out the door.  After kissing him goodbye, I walked to my car in a sun shower smiling, thinking to myself how good life really is...how grateful I am for every little thing, both good and bad.  Of course it is always easier to feel this way in a 'better moment'.  I squeezed into my car like I do every morning, only today it was wet out and I got soaked.  I must have given the car next to me a nice shine as I rubbed against it.  Actually it was Casey's truck, and I have to remind him to NEVER park that CLOSE to me again!  The cars are parked on top of each other in our lot.  I swear one night I am going to repaint the lines! 

As I rounded the horsehoe lot, I faced west and think how purple the sky is....drive a little further to see a beautiful rainbow in the forground with the most intense,bright colors I have ever seen!  It was completely full and I immediately thought of leprechauns and pots of gold and carebears and such.  I wanted to drive to the end of it to greet them all!  Instead, I pulled over to take a picture of a section of it that would actually fit into my little iphone screen.  My neighbor, Cody, drives by and yells 'double rainbow' out of his window....as if he knew that I didn't even realize, it was in fact...a DOUBLE rainbow!  I could not stop looking at it as I drove.  There was a backup on the 5 as we all drove through the bright colors to watch it disappear in our rearview mirrors.  What a great way to start my day!

double rainbow....the pic does not do it justice at all!

Big Bear Trip

My first trip to big bear...Shawna and Brian's cabin. It was like stepping back into the 70s...shag carpet, wood panel walls and a 'working' 8 track! The mountain itself did not compare to mammoth, but had its own uniqueness....like tons of park! 

contest setup

 

old school chaise lounge!

dinner...notice shawna's farmer's tan!  ouch!

mario bro's!

Mmm...Beer

George & Beth - brewing some Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Backyard Darts

Malia & Mabel

Spectacular

Waiting For The Tide To Get Low

One of the lowest tides we've seen at Torrey

Would You?

Day strike to Mammoth? Only if it's gonna be all time. But what if it's raining in socal, snowing in the high desert, and you have leave at 9PM and drive through the night?

Everyone was claiming that this would be the "coldest and lightest powder ever at Mammoth". Ok, but what if the weather didn't cooperate when we got there? What if the clouds never cleared out, and the top never opened? What if we missed first chair because the roads were so bad getting there? So much goes through your mind when you're thinking about driving 8hours through night with poor road conditions and questionable mountain weather upon your arrival.

Sometimes though...it all works out:

We arrived in Mammoth at 4AM. We were very lucky to have Tallie let us crash on the floor of her house in our sleeping bags (no heat, empty house, but we did have a fireplace) which let us close our eyes for 2½ hours. At 7AM, alarms were buzzing, and the clouds started to give way to bluebird skies. We geared up quick, and hopped back in the car.

Quick bite. New York Bagel screwed up Lane's order. If they don't screw up someone in your groups order - that's weird and probably bad luck. We were in mostly empty Mill parking lot before 8:30. Temps were LOW (15deg in the AM), wind was light, sun was out, and we took the below photo at 8:45AM. The top opened 2 hours later. To see the rest of the pics from the trip, check out the Picasa Gallery