Mammoth Mountain Opening Weekend 2009

Words: Joe Carter
Photos:Joe Carter

Usually this time of the year we are all just waiting to see a few flurries fall from the sky. Last week a freak storm rolled into Mammoth giving them a solid blanket of the snow on the mountain for them to open on Friday. The second earliest Mammoth Mountain has ever opened ever. Thursday night we piled in the RV from San Diego with Jack Mitrani, Nick Russell, Elliott Levitt, Tyler Flygar, and myself to get into Mammoth right in time to make it for last call at the bars. Then we headed up to a night of rest up at the Main Lodge parking lot so we could wake up nice and early for Friday for our first day of shredding this season. To make things even better on Friday Mammoth decided to celebrate the early snow mother nature put down with giving everybody that showed up free tickets. Something that I thought would never happen, especially at a big resort like Mammoth. I think that most of the people there made up for it at the bars. The conditions were some of the best I have seen for an opening day in years. With warm sunny skies and enough snow to take runs all the way from the top of the mountain. Then towards the bottom on one of the runs there were some boxes set up for some fun early season jibs. After shredding all day we ended up camping out for a great night with plenty of frosty brews and then of course for a big night at the bars. Saturday morning got off to a late start because some of us were feeling a little under the weather, but we made it to the mountain for another solid day of riding with a solid crew. So make your way up here when you get a chance for some of the most fun early season snowboarding you will ever find this early.

- Prime parking spot right in the front

- Lots of C-Lo in the back

- There was a lot of this going down

- Posted up Thursday night in the Main Lodge parking lot ready for the morning

- Nick Russell pumped to do some chairlift boarding

- Free tickets for Friday really brought people out of the woodwork

-Nick Russell, Myself, Nate Farrell, and Greg Bokenkamp

- Greg poking a stalefish around the back of chair 3

- Greg

- Beers for breakfast in the liftline with Sticky and friends

- Plenty of snow up on chair 3

- Free tickets brings quite the crowd

- Nate Farrell and Nick Russell

- Matty Mo blasting a method looking like he’s back on the east coast with this little sidecut jump

- Ashbury’s Lance and Mike Hakker

- Jack Mitrani on the sundeck

- Matty Mo front boards on one of the many new jibs Mammoth has just made

- Matty getting over some rocks with a mandatory landing or else he would be tumbling into rocks in the landing

- Same run nosebonk on the slanted box

- Great opening with plenty of snow

- We had a legit campspot. (L-R) CBass, Tyler, Ben Gavelda, Danny Davis, Pat, Nick Russell

- Jack feeding Layla some weiner

- Jack getting up some wood

- Tyler making a natural fridge

- Tyler about a hour into partying

- Layla, Danny and Nick

- Nick walking the plank

- Getting ready for another amazing day of riding Saturday morning

- Danny boardslide on the slant box

- This thing will probably be fully buried with snow soon. Danny getting after it while you still can

- Amazing site for October in Mammoth

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