Take a Ride on Cloud Nine
Cloud Nine Express is Now Open
Cloud Nine Express, Mammoth Mountain's newest chairlift, officially opened Friday, Dec. 21, 2007. Cloud Nine is a six-seater that replaced legendary Chair 9. Cloud Nine runs along the same line as the decades-old double, but at high speed. It used to run a 1,200 per hour capacity. Now 2,400 people an hour will be able to ride with the potential of 3,600 by adding more carriers. "There's no comparison. It will be much more comfortable," said Heimo Ladinig, the retiring director of Lift Maintenance, for whom the completion of Chair 9/Cloud Nine is the most appropriate send-off. This $6.5 million project is the completion of Ladinig's 30-year career at Mammoth Mountain during which he worked under Dave McCoy and supervised Rusty Gregory, who is currently the CEO of the Ski Area.
Pictured above, the hard-working crew at the Grand Opening on Dec. 21, 2007.
Cloud Nine Express By the Numbers
- Carriers - 80
- Towers - 21
- People per hour - 2,400
- Vertical rise - 1,700 feet
- Slope length - 5,500 feet
- Ride time - 6 minutes
- Manufacturer - Doppelmayr
- Top elevation - 10,371 feet
A Favorite Chairlift, Yesterday and Today
Chair 9, a double chairlift originally installed in 1969, is famed for deep powder on the secluded and often uncrowded eastern slopes of Mammoth Mountain. It has the most vertical rise of any Mammoth Chair, taking skiers up 1,700 feet in elevation when they ride it. Chair 9 was slow, and you had to be ok with some weather beating on your face, but it also felt like your own private ride to an untracked part of Mammoth Mountain. April 8, 2007* was the last day to ride Chair 9 before it's upgrade to a high-speed six-pack for the 2007/08 winter. "It's its own ski resort out there, it's own little world," says Roscoe Cummins of Mammoth's lift operations department. "There's nobody out there. It's steep, the snow stays good because it dumps on the Tail and gets shaded by the sun, and it's just the solitude of being out there." Now named Cloud Nine Express, the lift will carry skiers from the Eagle Lodge side of the mountain to the hundreds of acres of intermediate and advanced terrain in half the minutes than the fixed-grip two-seater. The change is to introduce skiers to an underutilized area and ease the crowding impact in other areas. "Upgrading this lift is not being done to increase traffic on the terrain under the chairlift," says Gregory. "It's about moving skiers around the mountain as evenly as possible to ease the pressure at base chairlifts. I believe a majority of people who ride the new Chair 9 will ride it to transfer to other parts of the resort." Ladinig added, "The heavier chairs perform better in wind."
Heimo Ladinig
Heimo Ladinig has worked on the Mammoth Mountain chairlift maintenance crew since 1972 and headed the department for the last 22 years. Originally from Austria, he was hired as a mechanic by McCoy for $3 an hour. But freedom is priceless: "Mammoth has afforded me extreme freedom," he said. "This was an ideal job for me with ideal people to work with and the opportunity to work in the most beautiful environment in the world." Ladinig had a hand in every chairlift on the mountain and said this was the last one he wanted to build. "Chair 9 was the only lift that I wasn't involved in the original construction," he said. "It was the oldest lift we had so it was time to get rid of it from a technical point of view. I means a lot to me." Ladinig passed on the reins of Lift Maintenance director to Chris Bulkley in November 2007.
The Story Behind the Name
Mammoth invited visitors to submit ideas for the new lift’s name through an online contest. Nearly 5,000 entries were submitted in May 2007 to give Chair 9 a creative "Express" name. More than 50 people submitted the winning name "Cloud Nine Express," the first entry coming from Glen Conaway from San Diego. Conaway is an MVP Passholder who has been skiing Mammoth for 18 years. "The definition of Cloud Nine is a phrase meaning happy, euphoric, or high," he said. "That’s the feeling I get as I am going up Chair 9, literally in the clouds."
* Editor's note: Thank you to Barry Friedman who corrected us on Chair 9's closing date in the spring of 2007. We published the date as April 22, 2007 but Barry remembers being there for the last chair up on April 8, 2007.
Complete list of open trails starting Friday, July 4th.
- Uptown
- Downtown
- Paper Route
- Shotgun
- Big Ring
- Lakes Trail
- Timber Ridge
- Juniper
- Bullet
- Follow Me
- Kamikaze
- Off the Top
- Beach Cruiser
- Shortcut
- Brake Through
- DC-10
- Flow
- 7 Bridges
- Mountain View
- Shock Treatment
- Ricochet
- Chain Smoke
- Velocity
- Pipeline
Trail crews have been hard at work to open more trails for the holiday weekend. Just added: Chain Smoke and Velocity
Please note there are no beginner trails from the top.
The Bike Park is open from 9am to 6pm daily. Bike Park passes and Kona bike rentals are available at the Adventure Center across the street from Main Lodge or at the Mountain Center in the Village at Mammoth: $39 for adults (13+) and $20 for kids (12 and under). Lower mountain trails are serviced by shuttle between the Village and the Adventure Center every 30 minutes from 9am to 5:30pm.
This season the Bike Park will offer guided tours, private lessons and two camps: Freeride Camp, August 1-3, and Women's Camp, August 15-17. Lessons are available daily from 10am to noon and 2-4pm.
US 395
no traffic restrictions are reported for this area.
SR 203 (main st)
no traffic restrictions are reported for this area.
SR 120 (tioga pass)
no traffic restrictions are reported for this area.
[yosemite natl park]
for yosemite natl park road information call 209-372-0200
SR 108 (sonora pass)
1-way controlled traffic at various locations from 3.6 mi west of pinecrest to sonora pass summit (tuolumne co) from 0700 hrs to 1630 hrs 7 days a week thru 8/15/08 - due to permit work - motorists are subject to 10 minute delays
Detailed temperatures from around the mountain.
Updated Jul 07 at 2:24 AM
| Main Lodge | |
| Current | 54.7 ° |
| Windchill | 51.5 ° |
| Today's High | 57.4 ° |
| Yesterday's High | 76.4 ° |
| Today's Low | 54.0 ° |
| Yesterday's Low | 49.7 ° |
| Canyon Lodge | |
| Current | 55.4 ° |
| Today's High | 57.7 ° |
| Yesterday's High | 78.8 ° |
| Today's Low | 55.4 ° |
| Yesterday's Low | 51.1 ° |
| McCoy Station | |
| Current | 54.8 ° |
| Today's High | 56.1 ° |
| Yesterday's High | 84.9 ° |
| Today's Low | 54.8 ° |
| Yesterday's Low | 48.7 ° |
| Top Station | |
| Current | 50.2 ° |
| Today's High | 51.2 ° |
| Yesterday's High | 61.2 ° |
| Today's Low | 49.8 ° |
| Yesterday's Low | 47.0 ° |
| Chair 1 Wind | |||
| Tower 5: | 4.1 mph | Bearing: | West |
| Tower 9: | 1.9 mph | Bearing: | Northwest |
July 8, 2008
Movies Under The Stars
Don't miss "Bee Movie" under the stars in the Village. 60 seats will be provided. Seating is based on first come first serve. Please bring a blanket as it could get chilly. Make sure to arrive early for a Ben & Jerrys sponsored animation before the movie. Fresh popcorn and cool drinks will be available - all proceeds will benefit the Mammoth Lakes High Schools soccer teams!
July 9, 2008
20th Annual Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee
The 20th Annual Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee returns with "hot jazz in the cool Sierra." Save on your trip by staying in a convenient Mammoth resort property. Stay & Jazz package includes lodging and an "All Jubilee" badge for each adult on the reservation. The All Jubilee badge includes admission to all Jazz Jubilee events and venues starting Wednesday, July 09, through Sunday, July 13, 2008. Mammoth's jazz fest is renowned for good times and great music. Please go to www.mammothjazz.org for more information.
July 10, 2008
Movies Under The Stars
Don't miss "Shrek 3" under the stars in the Village. 60 seats will be provided. Seating is based on first come first serve. Please bring a blanket as it could get chilly. Make sure to arrive early for a Ben & Jerrys sponsored animation before the movie. Fresh popcorn and cool drinks will be available - all proceeds will benefit the Mammoth Lakes High Schools soccer teams!
| Daily Photo - Updated: May 5, 2008 |
Hot Creek
Last Updated Jun 30, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Hot Creek is the bread & butter fishery right now lots of insects and willing trout. Jeff Frankie Mammoth local and a employee of Rick's Sports landed a Large (huge) Brown trout over 10 pound and has picture's to prove it. The fish was said to jump over a dozen times and took help from a friend to land with bystanders in ah of fish and the 20 minute battle. The Caddis, little Yellow Stone flies, Trico's in the morning and evening PMD'S and Baetis. Nymphing has produced solid action when the wind blows the dry fly fishing off.
Nymphing Patterns: Surface emergers, olive/brown scuds, Caddis emerger patterns. San Juan Worms, Pt's. Brassie's Beadhead stonefly patterns are all Standard pattern to start with. 18-22s
Dry Fly Patterns: Bwo's,Schroeder's parachute caddis, Brook's Hot Creek caddis, Headlight Caddis, Low profile caddis, Brooks Baetis sprouts, size 18-22s Headlight yellow Sallies 16s PMDs size 16s, Female compara duns tricos size 18-22s
Attractor Patterns: Small stimulators orange/yellow 18's
Upper Owens
Last Updated Jun 30, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Water levels are normal with the lower portion from Benton Crossing down to the mouth of Crowley Lake producing the best action. Caddis and Tricos morning and evenings lots of smaller wild fish taking the dry flies, this area also holds the most planters as DFG has be planting on a regular schedule. The area from the Benton bridge up to the power lines as been producing but the water is low and clear once you get above the Hot Creek tribs best in the mornings and evenings.larger fish holding in the pools and cutbank areas. remember the area above the Benton Bridge is under Special Regulations.
The Upper Owens River is under special regulations. It is best to look at your CADFG regulation booklet for current regulations.
Nymphing Patterns: Beadhead Prince Nymphs, Bead Pheasent Tails, Hares Ears, San Juan worms, Are all good flies to start with.
Dry Fly Patterns: Adams, Orange Stimulators, Bwos, Baetis, caddis patterns in size 16-20s
Streamer: Egg sucking leech, Black or Olive Wolly Buggers, Muddler Minnows you will need some weight to get them down no dip and strip necessary. Size 8.
Crowley Tributaries
Last Updated Jun 30, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Water levels have come down and the insects are out. Stoneflies Caddis, Mayflies, Midge. water is still on the cooler side fish the slower areas and pools.
Nymphing Patterns: Hares ears, Soft Hackles, PT's, Prince Nymphs. Micro Mayflies lighten Bugs and Midges.
Dry Fly Patterns: Caddis and Mayflies patterns will take fish midday. Try a orange or yellow stimulator! size 16-18.
Streamer: Larger streamers 6-8s.
Lower Owens
Last Updated Jun 30, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: no real change Flows have come down a little more little and have been holding around 350 at last check. if the flow drop below 320 it will be worth a outting but be perpared by noon it will be warm nearing the 95-100. If you plan to fish look for the back eddies to hold the fish. yellow Sallys,Caddis,Beatis action you will need some weight to get your nymphs down if your nymphing.
Nymphing Patterns: Try nymphing in the mornings with WD-40s and Brassies, then go to Bead Head Pheasant Tails, Olive Surface Emergers, Barr's wet emergers or RS Emergers. Sizes 18-20s 18-22s.
Dry Fly Patterns: Small midge patterns, bwos Beatis and caddis pattern 18-20s.
Attractor Patterns: Small Stimulator, Trudes, Wulffs.
East Walker
Last Updated Jun 30, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Fishing remain good as flows have dropped a little. 175cfs Still running under mean flow for this time of year. River remains clear with the water getting a little green when the wind shakes the lake up, as the reservoir is only 2/3s full. A strong Mayfly (Tricos) (PMDs) Caddis action mornings and evenings. Best conditions are when the flow is above 125 cfs, so fish can spread out. Mayflies, Stone flies, Little Yellow Sallies, Caddis, and Midges are making up the trouts diet! Evening dry fly fishing might be the ticket!! the East walker is not and easy fishery but can produce trophy size trout and maybe a fish of a life time. Good drifts and solid understanding of Tail-Water fisheries is the key.
Nymphing Patterns: Pheasant Tails, Olive Surface Emergers, Brassies, Red Copper Johns, Bead Head Black and Olive WD-40s, Disco Midges, Barr's Wet Emergers, Zebra Midges, Olive & Natural Birds Nests, Prince Nymphs, and Green Nori's Caddis. San Juan Worm (red) size 14-16.
Dry Fly Patterns: BWO, PMDs, Hemingway Caddis, EC Caddis, Schroeder's Para Caddis and Adams in sizes 16-18, Orange and Yellow stimulators sizes 14-16.
Streamer: Try Muddler Minnows, Wool Head Sculpins, Bunny Leech's, Woolly Buggers and Dave's Chubs. Use size 6s and see what happens.
Crowley Lake
Last Updated Jul 3, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Most of the Lake as turned green and the water level continues dropping!! Fishing on the whole has slowed and conditions will remain slow until the wind starts blowing out of the SouthWest. Fishing latley is best between 7-11am. Water Temps are now in the low 70s at the surface on most parts of the lake by midday. The shallow areas continue to improve problem now is the SE wind coming up around 11:30 blowing the algae in to some of the good areas and fouling your fly. Good News Brown Trout have been common in the catch lately. Fish are holding in 10-14 ft of water. center of McGee bay, Leighton Springs, Big and little Hilton bays all have been producing fish. Crowds have been moderate on the weekends. Boat inspections are going smooth. Fish have been mixed with most of the fish caught on the midge running 13-15" with some over 16" Larger fish moving in. Lake will green up as the runoff continues to bring the nutrient in from the meadows along with abundant sunlight. Might be a good time to pull streamers or head to the Lakes Basins Mammoth or June
*****Use common sense when driving on the backside of the lake, as there are areas where the ground is very soft, and a tow truck will be costly.
Nymphing Patterns: Gray Midges with Black or red and wire have been the best, size 16-18s. Callibaetis Nymphs size 16. Brown and Olive leeches getting some good strikes!!
Streamer: Olive leeches and Wolly Buggers, Damsel fly Nymphs.
Mammoth Lakes Basin
Last Updated Jun 30, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Lakes Basin is in great shape fish are getting stocked on a regular schedule along with some Alper's, The wild fish are out feeding. Twin lakes should have some Calibaetis action mid morning, Also Try the Evening as some ants and beetle winged termites are getting blown into the lakes. The wild fish will come to the surface along with some Alper's. Try and Adams dry Fly and a PT dropper or a Bead head Zebra midge. If you want to get away the lakes up from Mary toward Duck pass might be the ticket during the 4th of July Holiday.
Use streamer patterns in the Olives, Black, Brown. Olive & Browns tend to be the best producer. A local favorite is the Doc's Twin Lake Special. A dropper fly behind the streamer can work well. Beadhead Prince or PT and Hares Ear all can help your odds.
Nymphing Patterns: PTs Nymphs, Beadhead Hares Ears, Zebra Midges, sizes 16-20s
Dry Fly Patterns: Adult midges in the evenings when it glasses off or if it glasses off. size 16-20 patterns
Streamer: Your favorite Black or olive Wolly Buggers. Size 10-12s
San Joaquin
Last Updated Jun 30, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: FLows are dropping and the fishing is good water levels almost perfect maybe a week or so from prime time, some insects hatching best in the later afternoon for the surface fishing. Campgrounds will fill the coming weekend and be busy throughout August. Wild flower just starting to Bloom. The San Joaquin is the Jewel of the Sierras as you are driving into the Backcountry in a true alpine setting wild fish are on the smaller size but the colors are great and there willing to pound a dry fly!!
Nymphing Patterns: BH PTS, Prince, Micro Stonefly, Nymphs.
Dry Fly Patterns: Adams, Humpies, lightCahills Stimulator in orange & Yellows, Size 14-16s
Bridgeport Reservoir
Last Updated Jun 30, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Fishing fair to good and producing some nice fish not lots. Look for early July for the best action. lake is about 2/3s full. Best fishing on the south end of the lake, Rainbow Point and near the private boat ramp, in 14' ft of water. Large blood midges have produced some nice fish, mid morning. Calibaetis are starting to hatch and the damsels flies are not to far off. Fish are spread throughout the area. Look for some large rising fish taking adult midges and Calibaetis on the surface.
Nymphing Patterns: Red, Brown, Black/copper wire, midge patterns are working the best. around the 10-14 ft depth. Pts, Hares ears, Damsel fly patterns
Dry Fly Patterns: Adult Midge Some Large(red) ones and Calibaetis Patterns to rising fish.
Attractor Patterns:
Streamer: Large brown or Black leech patterns or hornbergs with a Hares Ear dropper.