Mammoth Mountain | Start Haus

Dry skies have stamped a slow start to the 2011-2012 season. But with a lot of help from the lakes of Mammoth, cold temps blasted a base strong enough to hold eight slalom sets at Mammoth Mountain for the season opener. Steep pitches, fast flats, quick combos, and a slick surface made for an exciting opening series.

The weekend was packed with great results from many of our Far West athletes- and even some athletes from the East Coast, as Killington Mountain School joined in on Day One. Morganne Murphy took back-to-back wins, with Sierra Nevada College skiers and first year J2s, Julia Cashell and Dianna Abbott, fast on her tails. On the men’s side, Sierra Nevada dominated the podium, setting a great example for all our athletes and inspiring thrilling skiing out of some young guns, like Garrett Driller, Pieter Weemaes, and Jordan Cashman. For the youngest athletes on the hill, it was a weekend of hard fought battles on a steep, slick hill, competing against skiers twice their size. Strong results from Luke Rodarte and Oscar Halliwell on the boy’s side; and on the girl’s side, Amanda Pretti and Annika Hansen took the top spots two days in a row, with stirring top-ten results out of second year J3s Francesca English, Stephanie Lebby, and Maia Bickert.

As older Far West athletes hop on a plane bound for a twenty-below Alaska, the younger athletes will continue their season preparations at home. Fingers are crossed for more snow and more terrain, but for now, it was a great start to the season at Mammoth Mountain.

Thanks to the Mammoth Mountain Race Department and all the volunteers for hosting a wonderful opening weekend.

Here is a link to pictures from the weekend:

Isn’t safety the #1 concern for all of us when it comes to skiing and riding in the slackcountry, sidecountry, or backcountry? True to NASTC standards, our avalanche instructors are of the highest quality, professionalism, and experience level. This is a 3-day education and certification class in which you earn your AIARE Level I (American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education). It’s the minimum amount of know-how if you want to travel, ski, or ride out of bounds safely. There is time spent in the classroom and on the snow daily. Each year more resorts are lifting their boundary lines, allowing us to get to fresh snow and exciting terrain even after the resort itself is “skied out.”

However, the risk has never been greater. You need to know what you’re doing if you are heading out there. A friend may say, “oh I know some avalanche safety stuff…” but really? Do you want to rely on them, or have the knowledge yourself? In this course, among other skills you learn how to plan a trip, what are the “red flags,” how to recognize different types of avalanche terrain and avalanches, how to perform certain observations and snow safety tests, route finding and terrain management, and how to use your beacon.

So often accidents occur not as the result of one bad decision, but several. These human decision-making errors can be avoided. The snow science around avalanche education is truly fascinating, and the Level I curriculum has come a long way. The risk has never been greater, everyone is pushing the envelope. Get certified. You’ll enjoy it and be safer.

Dates for the NASTC AIARE Level I courses:
January 21-23 or February 11-13 $425 (includes instruction, AIARE fees, course manual and field notebook)

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