The Northern Hemisphere winter season is approaching fast and some of the resorts have already opened. For those you who have the bug, you know what it is like when the first snow is falling and the temperatures are dropping...but for lots of you here in New Zealand, snow and cold temperatures is something you dread. For the latter of you, I hope we can change your mind as winter holidays can be pure winter magic!
Most Canadian resorts open late November/early December. With the onset of the frigid winter season, the fields in the USA tend to open earlier. Keystone and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado have already opened and Mammoth Mountain in California is opening tomorrow, the 9th of November. For all of you keen skiers and snowboarders, the fun has already begun!
If you are looking for a Northern hemisphere snow resort with one of the longest seasons you should look to visit Mammoth Mountain in California. You may think a ski resort in California has nothing compared to the fields in Colorado, Utah or Wyoming, but Mammoth Mountain, a sprawling Eastern Sierra Nevada resort, received a whopping 60 feet of snow during the 2018-19 winter season and closed July 28 this year.
Mammoth Mountain is only 6 hours’ drive from Los Angeles along freeway 395 or you can take a flight from both LA and San Francisco, a great side trip on the way to Europe.
The cross country tracks at Tamarack Lodge can entice anyone to try this sport and fall in love with it. The Eastern Sierra Nevada has so much more to offer with Bishop, only an hour down the road from Mammoth Mountain township and with an elevation 6000 feet lower, you can play golf there most of the year. Mammoth Mountain is also connected to the Long Valley Caldera - one of the Earth’s largest calderas.
If Mammoth is one of the places you'd like to visit on your North America stop, you can easily drive through Death Valley to Las Vegas (or just enjoy Death Valley for a day or two in the winter; with day temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius, a few rounds of golf could be on the cards!). Or why not take a trip up to Lake Tahoe located on the border of California and Nevada? If you happen to visit Mammoth Mountain in early or late season, you may find that the Tioga pass is open for a short cut into Yosemite National Park too. The drive starts along Mono Lake and then creeps up in to the mountain ranges; with breath-taking views, it's a must if you have a rental car.
North America has so many other great fields and ski towns to offer. Two in Oregon that you may not have considered are Mt Batchelor and Mt Hood, both drive-able from Portland. Or how about Big Sky in Montana? This is one of the largest ski-able terrains in North America with their vertical drop also being one of the largest on the continent. Big Sky may not be the most charming village, but benefit is you don't have to elbow your way through any lift queues!
In the next newsletter, learn more about other northern hemisphere ski resorts in Japan, Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and many more locations!
- Greetings from an avid skier and winter lover! Barbro