Saturday Hit The Slopes Day (Sat, Dec 27) Each Saturday, I - TopicsExpress



          

Saturday Hit The Slopes Day (Sat, Dec 27) Each Saturday, I will feature vacations with a seasonal sports theme. As always, I invite you to email me at Joseph.Spencer@AvoyaTravel or call me at 800-309-6773 with any questions about destinations included in my posts or your own trips youre planning. Winter is the time most of us wax up our skis or get out our snowboards and tear up some powder. However, the big name resorts can get kind of crowded, so the secret that locals wont tell you about is that you want to hit emerging ski towns with great mountains and more reasonably priced accommodations and lift prices. This next recommendation is off the beaten path - Mammoth, California. High in California’s Sierra Nevada, in the shadow of Yosemite, the volcano of Mammoth Mountain rises above the tree line to 11,053 feet and delivers the highest lift-served skiing west of the Rockies. This means two things: wide-open alpine terrain and lighter snow than anywhere else in the region. The diffuse town of Mammoth Lakes didn’t use to sing “ski town,” but the recent development of the Village at Mammoth has given it a lively pedestrian center. It’s hive of condos, restaurants, and bars are linked via gondola and ski trail to the mountain’s base. An expanded airport now hosts direct flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, making it easier than ever to reach this remote mountain playground. The mountain itself lives up to its name with 150 runs, 28 lifts (half of which are high-speed), three base lodges, and a plethora of pitches for every level across its 3,500 acres. Terrain diversity is the key here. Double-black chutes and bowls drop from its summit ridge, plunging groomers and mellow green runs drape its lower reaches, and one of the country’s best ski schools teaches first-timers on the gentle beginner runs surrounding each base lodge. No fewer than nine terrain parks, including monster 18- and 22-foot half pipes, attract the baggy-pants crowd in droves. Combining 400 inches of annual snow with 300 days of sunshine, Mammoth delivers springlike mountain conditions well into, uh, spring. And even summer. Typically open through June, it has one of the longest ski seasons on the continent. Skiing here may not be cheap and it can get crowded on weekends—it’s the closest big mountain skiing to Los Angeles, five hours away—but midweek skiers and boarders are virtually guaranteed uncrowded slopes. Worth noting: The backcountry opportunities in the surrounding Sierras are some of the finest in America. https://youtube/watch?v=U7BOOwhOJvY
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 14:09:23 +0000

Trending Topics



Recently Viewed Topics




© 2015