This morning Mammoth Mountain Ski Area reported a season's snowfall total of 606 inches--50 and a half feet--two feet more than the previous record set in 2005-2006. And it's only March.
Still the sun came out yesterday, the streets are clear and ski patrol is working hard on opening up the whole mountain. The forecast is for warmer temperatures, clear skies and epic skiing.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN SNOWFALL RECORD SHATTERED. 600" THIS WEEKEND!
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| One Mammoth Neighborhood |
Thursday, March 24, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN APPROACHES RECORD SNOWFALL
You could be here when it happens. If you hurry. "Yeah, I was in Mammoth," you'll be able to tell your grand kids. "I was in Mammoth when the Mountain topped 50 feet of snow."
Fifty feet. 600 inches. Five stories! The record set in the 2005-2006 season, a seemingly insurmountable 578.5 inches, will be history by the time this posts. At 10:00 a.m. we were a piddling 16 inches away and it's been snowing rats and hogs ever since. No, the record's a goner. But the big five-o, the magic 600, now that's something.
Maybe we should have seen it coming. After all the Mammoth ski season got off to the best possible start, a record 209 inches in December. But this was a La Niña year, unpredictable as a three year old in a petting zoo. January was quiet. February a bit above average. Then wham, a monster March, that has locals reaching for liquor and analgesics. Snow piled beyond the seldom seen 500, snowballing toward the never seen 600 inches.
So grab your gear, pack up the car and don't forget your camera. This is gonna be great!
Fifty feet. 600 inches. Five stories! The record set in the 2005-2006 season, a seemingly insurmountable 578.5 inches, will be history by the time this posts. At 10:00 a.m. we were a piddling 16 inches away and it's been snowing rats and hogs ever since. No, the record's a goner. But the big five-o, the magic 600, now that's something.
Maybe we should have seen it coming. After all the Mammoth ski season got off to the best possible start, a record 209 inches in December. But this was a La Niña year, unpredictable as a three year old in a petting zoo. January was quiet. February a bit above average. Then wham, a monster March, that has locals reaching for liquor and analgesics. Snow piled beyond the seldom seen 500, snowballing toward the never seen 600 inches.
So grab your gear, pack up the car and don't forget your camera. This is gonna be great!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
MAMMOTH LAKES: THE BRIDGE TO SOMEWHERE?
The skier bridge over Forest Trail has finally been completed. Here's the back story:
In the early 1990's a group of Mammoth landowners hatched a plan to redevelop the fading commercial district centered at Canyon and Minaret Roads. They dubbed this 64 acre expanse the North Village. What these pioneers envisioned was a new town center to replace the incoherent hodge podge of strip malls, isolated shops, gas stations and solitary businesses that had sprung up, without real planning or attention to theme, to become the Town of Mammoth Lakes.
When Intrawest, fresh from triumphs at the Whistler/Blacomb and Tremblant ski resorts in Canada, purchased 33% of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in 1996 they acquired the Mountain's real estate interests as well, including 14 key acres in the heart of the proposed North Village. The Canadian company quickly began drawing plans.
Their proposal created excitement. Not only did Intrawest have the clout to pull off a project the size of the North Village that might transform Mammoth's identity, they seemed to have the vision as well.
Full color glossy marketing material from 2002 show condo/hotels--White Mountain Lodge, Lincoln House, and Grand Sierra Lodge--assembled around a lively gondola plaza and bustling pedestrian promenade. At the end of the promenade a bridge spans Forest Trail, connecting the Village to a ski back trail winding through the nearby woods.
After nearly a decade it's finally here. The bridge opened on February 11th in a ribbon cutting ceremony dampened by weather, diminished expectations, escalating gasoline prices and a $30 million dollar judgment against the Town of Mammoth Lakes. Still you can now ski from Hanzel and Gretel right into The Village for a midday sandwich or Kioki coffee. So wax em up, you'll feel better after lunch.
In the early 1990's a group of Mammoth landowners hatched a plan to redevelop the fading commercial district centered at Canyon and Minaret Roads. They dubbed this 64 acre expanse the North Village. What these pioneers envisioned was a new town center to replace the incoherent hodge podge of strip malls, isolated shops, gas stations and solitary businesses that had sprung up, without real planning or attention to theme, to become the Town of Mammoth Lakes.
Their proposal created excitement. Not only did Intrawest have the clout to pull off a project the size of the North Village that might transform Mammoth's identity, they seemed to have the vision as well.
Full color glossy marketing material from 2002 show condo/hotels--White Mountain Lodge, Lincoln House, and Grand Sierra Lodge--assembled around a lively gondola plaza and bustling pedestrian promenade. At the end of the promenade a bridge spans Forest Trail, connecting the Village to a ski back trail winding through the nearby woods.
After nearly a decade it's finally here. The bridge opened on February 11th in a ribbon cutting ceremony dampened by weather, diminished expectations, escalating gasoline prices and a $30 million dollar judgment against the Town of Mammoth Lakes. Still you can now ski from Hanzel and Gretel right into The Village for a midday sandwich or Kioki coffee. So wax em up, you'll feel better after lunch.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN: FEBRUARY STORM DROPS 5-7 FEET
After a record snowfall in December and a nearly dry January, a four day storm system arrived February 16th and dumped 5 to 7 feet of dry snow on Mammoth Mountain's slopes setting up an epic President's Day weekend.
Many locals were calling the powder skiing some of best they'd ever seen. "It was thigh to waist deep in the Avi Chutes," local resident and powder hound Jon Lonne told the Flash about his Friday morning outing. "The only reason I quit was that my legs were shot."
Before the season weather prognosticators had warned that a large La Nina cold water mass in the Pacific could produce extremes of both wet and dry this year and so far they've been proved right. December's record 209 inches was followed by a mere dusting of 29 inches of snowfall in January.
The latest storm brings the season snowfall total up to a comfortable 394 inches, nearly 50 inches above the 40 year annual average and just 20 inches below the average for the past 10 years. More snow is expected by the weekend.
Many locals were calling the powder skiing some of best they'd ever seen. "It was thigh to waist deep in the Avi Chutes," local resident and powder hound Jon Lonne told the Flash about his Friday morning outing. "The only reason I quit was that my legs were shot."
Before the season weather prognosticators had warned that a large La Nina cold water mass in the Pacific could produce extremes of both wet and dry this year and so far they've been proved right. December's record 209 inches was followed by a mere dusting of 29 inches of snowfall in January.
The latest storm brings the season snowfall total up to a comfortable 394 inches, nearly 50 inches above the 40 year annual average and just 20 inches below the average for the past 10 years. More snow is expected by the weekend.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN SKI AREA PLANS EAGLE BASE LODGE
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area hopes to begin constructing the long delayed base facility at Eagle Express (chair 15) in early 2012 according to MMSA director of planning and development, Tom Hodges.
The ski area is soliciting architectural treatments for a 40,000 square foot lodge that will replace the two temporary Little Eagle "tents" of just 15,000 square feet the Mountain has operated out of for nearly a decade.
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| Little Eagle 'Tents' and Eagle Express Chair |
Although MMSA has another 4 1/2 years of authority to use the temporary structures, Hodges said that visitors, who have made Eagle Run as popular as the Main Lodge in recent years, "deserve better."
Friday, January 28, 2011
HEATING SYSTEM FAULT CLOSES THE MAMMOTH WESTIN FOR A WEEK
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| Temporary Boiler On Line Thursday Morning |
The Westin Monache, Mammoth's lone 4 star hotel, was closed Wednesday, January 19, due to smoke coming from the heating system's flue. The exhaust flue of the hotel's propane fired boiler overheated causing insulation material to smolder inside the nine story flue chase. Smoke was sucked into the building's ventilation system and circulated to many of the rooms. The boiler had to be shut down and guests were relocated to neighboring lodging.
After a week of cleanup and air filtering, the heating system was coupled to an industrial looking boiler chugging away outside the hotel entry. By the evening of Thursday the 27th, the Westin was ready to receive guests again. An investigation is underway to sort out the cause of the malfunction.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
2010 Mammoth Real Estate Sales Climb
Sales were up last year as buyers discovered value in Mammoth real estate. 371 condos changed hands in 2010, a 25% jump over the 295 sold in 2009. The total value of sold condos climbed 15% to $131 million from 2009's total of $114 million.
Single family transactions were also higher. Escrows closed on 72 homes worth nearly $62 million in 2010 compared with 62 homes transacted in 2009 valued at $50 million.
The median price of sold properties eased last year, 14% for condos ($279,750), and 6% for single family homes ($625,000). Of more interest, the percentage of sales attributed to motivated sellers of "distressed" real estate shot up. Bank owned properties (REO's), short sales and auctioned real estate constituted 36% of condos and 39% of sold homes in 2010.
The flow of distressed properties to the market can be erratic and their shelf life brief. For instance, REO's and short sale listings comprise only 9% of homes and 17% of condos currently listed. These bargains often fall quickly to nimble buyers who've scouted the market and know what they're after. So while more troubled real estate assets are on the way, buyers should research the market, line up financing and enlist the aid of a REALTOR®.
Single family transactions were also higher. Escrows closed on 72 homes worth nearly $62 million in 2010 compared with 62 homes transacted in 2009 valued at $50 million.
The median price of sold properties eased last year, 14% for condos ($279,750), and 6% for single family homes ($625,000). Of more interest, the percentage of sales attributed to motivated sellers of "distressed" real estate shot up. Bank owned properties (REO's), short sales and auctioned real estate constituted 36% of condos and 39% of sold homes in 2010.
The flow of distressed properties to the market can be erratic and their shelf life brief. For instance, REO's and short sale listings comprise only 9% of homes and 17% of condos currently listed. These bargains often fall quickly to nimble buyers who've scouted the market and know what they're after. So while more troubled real estate assets are on the way, buyers should research the market, line up financing and enlist the aid of a REALTOR®.
Monday, November 29, 2010
MAMMOTH THANKSGIVING
La Nina winters like this one, characterized by cold water bunched up off the coast of Peru, are tricksters. They can be either cold and wet or cold and dry. They can come late and end early or arrive early and end late. Often they portend the formation of a blocking ridge of high pressure that forces systems north through Oregon, Washington and Canada. Or not.
A series of increasingly cold storms began Friday the 19th, and by Thursday the Mountain had recorded 7 feet. For the first Thanksgiving in 6 years all the lifts were operating.
We can rule out late. Now the weatherman thinks winter might end early.
A series of increasingly cold storms began Friday the 19th, and by Thursday the Mountain had recorded 7 feet. For the first Thanksgiving in 6 years all the lifts were operating.
We can rule out late. Now the weatherman thinks winter might end early.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
THIRD QUARTER REAL ESTATE
If you're Glen Beck you're hoarding gold and lining up food insurance against the onrushing apocalypse. If you're Sara Palin you're stocking up on tea bags and counting the days until the next presidential election. But if you're hoping to buy or sell a piece of Mammoth real estate what do you do?
As reported earlier in The Flash condo and home sales both jumped in the first half of this year. Since most were purchased as second homes or investment properties the government tax rebates for primary residences bore little responsibility for this surge. Likewise, the cooling off of third quarter sales can not be blamed on the expiration of these tax incentives.
The number of condos sold rose less than 3% in the July to October quarter just ended over the same quarter in 2009, while the median condo price slumped 8.6% to $265,000. Condo transactions attributed to short sales or REO's surged from 19% in quarter three of '09 to 49% in this year's third quarter.
Eleven homes were sold in the third quarter of this year, off 52% from the 23 homes sold in the 3rd quarter of 2009. REO's held steady at about a fourth of homes sold in Mammoth.
Expectations of a continued stream of bank repossessions have been clouded by questions regarding the propriety of the foreclosure process. Attorney's general in all 50 states are investigating. Accounts of thousands of documents being signed by speed reading clerks in a single day suggests that vast numbers of foreclosures need to be reviewed, some rescinded. We'll know more about the flow of foreclosures in a few weeks. Stay tuned.
As reported earlier in The Flash condo and home sales both jumped in the first half of this year. Since most were purchased as second homes or investment properties the government tax rebates for primary residences bore little responsibility for this surge. Likewise, the cooling off of third quarter sales can not be blamed on the expiration of these tax incentives.
The number of condos sold rose less than 3% in the July to October quarter just ended over the same quarter in 2009, while the median condo price slumped 8.6% to $265,000. Condo transactions attributed to short sales or REO's surged from 19% in quarter three of '09 to 49% in this year's third quarter.
Eleven homes were sold in the third quarter of this year, off 52% from the 23 homes sold in the 3rd quarter of 2009. REO's held steady at about a fourth of homes sold in Mammoth.
Expectations of a continued stream of bank repossessions have been clouded by questions regarding the propriety of the foreclosure process. Attorney's general in all 50 states are investigating. Accounts of thousands of documents being signed by speed reading clerks in a single day suggests that vast numbers of foreclosures need to be reviewed, some rescinded. We'll know more about the flow of foreclosures in a few weeks. Stay tuned.
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