Mammoth is definitely the worst ski resort in the country. If you think about the times when you had the worst service experience ever, then you know what it's like to go to mammoth mountain ski resort. The attitude of the staff borders on hostile. No one wants to be there, and no one wants to help you. And really, there's just no one there… I mean, you have to work hard to find a staff member in order to ask them for the service you need before you even get to be given the inevitable; “sorry, no!”
Oh wait, I take that back... There is one place where the mammoth staff will be all over you. That's in their parking lot. By the way, my neighborhood Vons parking lot back in San Diego has a bigger parking lot than mammoth mountain Cayon lodge. But if you are able to fight your way through the traffic and actually get into the parking lot, rest assured an attendant will be at your window within 30 seconds with their credit card machine asking for your $35. And when you come back out, an hour and a half later because they closed the mountain and never opened it or ran any lifts, because of “high winds”, (they also close all food and beverage service as well when they close all the lifts) and you look around for the attendant to ask for your money back, All you will see is a few tow truck drivers cruising the parking lot for anything they can snag.
The mountain and the town will nickel and dime you to death. And they will leave you feeling used and abused.
It's almost comical how the resort jumps all over social media advertising any new snow they get with a, “Dump Alert”. When in fact, the smallest bit of new snow, and or wind, and 90% of the lift operations will be closed down. They usually just keep the beginner hill open with the schoolyard lift running just so they don't have to refund you. But that's about it.
If you like powder and you chase storms, you never want to make the mistake of going to mammoth. Guaranteed, the lifts just won't be running. You're better off chasing that storm in Tahoe or Utah where they actually operate the lifts when the snow conditions are good.
And if you're not too serious about riding snow and you just want to have a good time drinking a few cocktails during après ski, forget about it! Even though they just expanded Canyon lodge a few years ago, their main apre’s ski bar is about the size of my living room. And if you ski until the end of the day, at 4:00 PM, go inside to Canyon lodge, take off your ski boots, stash your skis, go to the bathroom and then belly up to the bar with great anticipation of that first beer, you'll be told; “sorry we're closed. Last call was at 4:30”. What?!!! Are you kidding me?!
That's it man. I'm done. I'm going to vail. Mammoth, you're the worst….
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Mammoth Mountain is one of the most unique resorts there are are in the United States. The town of Mammoth Lakes is a community that people actually live in, not the typical ski town resort where almost everyone is a seasonal worker or the locals simply only own a vacation home in. Because of that, you get a stronger sense of community and pride for the area. The nightlife is second to none, with the apres scene at Canyon Lodge and dozens of breweries littered throughout the town. Mammoth Lakes rivals any resort for exciting and entertaining nightlife.

Everyone knows the Sierra's are feast or famine when it comes to the snow quality in any given year, but what sets Mammoth apart is its elevation and geographic location within the Sierra Nevada's. Mammoth's base is higher than the summits of many Lake Tahoe ski resorts. This leads to greater chances of snow during rain/snow events and a greater retention of that snow later into the season. Even in mild winters, such as the one of 2023-24, Mammoth is in much better conditions than its California competitors. I would recommend Mammoth over other California ski resorts for early and late season vacationers.

Mammoth Mountain's terrain is vast and diverse. You can find it all from easy groomers, to steep chutes, and powder filled glades. Off-piste options such as dragon's back and the hemlocks offer expert level terrain that not many people get into, but not too hard of traverses and hikes to access. Even on the most crowded days, if you know where to go, you can find the goods.

Now the worst parts of Mammoth...

It is no secret that Mammoth is one of the most crowded mountains in the United States. Being within a weekend warrior drive from LA (a city of 12 million), main runs get chewed up fast on powder days and lift lines can get 30-40 minutes long. As a season regular, during these days it is easy to just relax and get a drink. But if you happen to be making your yearly vacation to Mammoth and get caught in a good weather weekend, it will be frustrating that so much of your precious time will be eaten up in line. Mammoth is one of *if not the most* crowded mountain in the United States.

The other aspect of Mammoth that lacks compared to other mountains is its operations team. I never like to bash ski patrol and maintenance workers of any mountain. They are the life veins that make this absurd sport possible. But it seems as though every weekend, lifts struggle to get open in a punctual manner. This is not the fault of the individuals doing these jobs but rather the resort and Alterra as a whole. The business nature of a ski resort hinders the experience of the user. There is no other real competition for southern California, therefore no incentive for the resort to hire the appropriate number of staff to provide the best user experience as possible. As one man is chipping away ice on a lift, 30 minutes after open, you will see dozens of ski instructors and lifties sitting around twiddling their thumbs. It is simple, maintenance & operations workers don't make the resort money, and ski lessons do. So do not be surprised if the mid mountain and upper mountain lifts are not open, even by 11 am or noon, resulting in MASSIVE line build up at the bases.

Lastly, do not expect the on-mountain ski patrol, mountain safety, and others to be the most helpful or friendly. There has been several instances where myself or someone in my group obviously needs help, and there is no offer to do so. The culture is very west coast ski bum, prioritizing getting their laps in, rather than assisting the patrons. This is in stark contrast from inter-mountain west and midwest friendliness and helpfulness. You can find friendly people in the town, such as Van from Footloose (most knowledge and helpful boot fitter in town), but do not expect to get that level of hospitality elsewhere.

Overall, Mammoth is a great mountain that serves all ability levels but truly suits highly technical powder hounds. Get lucky enough to be buried in town during your stay, and experience the glory of a country club day. Let the clouds roll out and look into the vast beauty of Sierra Nevada's at the top of the gondola and chair 23. I would not risk planning your yearly ski vacation to Mammoth if you are from the east coast, south, or midwest due to variable conditions and ease to get to. But if you are around this region, and have not experienced Mammoth, you will have to add it to your list. Truly a special place.
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I have been visiting here since I was a kid. It is the resort that I grew up at and will always hold a place in my heart. The mountain infrastructure is great and there are numerous lifts to take you across the entire mountain. There is an amazing variety of terrain with not just a little for everybody but a lot for everybody. This place is HUGE. The snow tends to be on and off with some years being great and others not so much. On holidays especially the mountain is packed and if it snows expect lift lines to be very tedious. Overall this is a wonderful resort and one of the best in California.
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Staff was extremely rude. Had several staff who were very confronting and one worker told us to learn to read signs.
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Our company has been doing Mammoth trip - staying at Mammoth inn or Tamarack lodge last few years.
This is the feedback of my Mammoth ski school experience last Saturday, 3/24/18.

5 of our people signed up for the beginner group lesson and I signed up for the advance group lesson. At the meeting place, I was asked if I ever skied before. I told them I signed up for the advance lesson and I wanted to ski Cornice if the top opened. In my surprise, they took me to Discovery Chair and have everybody ski on the super flat slope. I never had the experience - having advance ski assessment done on green run. It was always on more challenging slope to see how everybody really skis. The assessment and grouping took over 30 min and I ended up with the girl who could not ski blue run well. I told the instructor that I and the other girl did not match from the way she skied. The instructor took us on chair 6 and ski down lower part of Broadway. She skied so slow in pizza and took them more than 10 min to come down. By this time, about 50 min out of 2 hour lesson was gone. The Mammoth ski school raised the price - no other ski resort charges as much as they do. $149+tax for 2 hours, that includes 30 min inefficient group assessment. Finally, they got one instructor for her to ski with and I skied the rest of lesson with the original instructor. I singed up 2 morning classes, so we went back to the group meeting place. The next group assessment went the same, I was told that I still had to go to Discovery Chair and do the assessment. It took over 30 min for them to finish the assessment. I paid $149 + $49 + tax for actually less than 3 hours lesson (4hr - 1hr group assessment). I strongly suggest Mammoth Mountain Ski School to go over the group assessment process and improve it. If I sign up for the advance class, I expect to ski on advance slopes with the people who have somewhat similar ski level. 5 of our people who signed up for the beginner class told me the same - they had to wait other group member to come down for a long time.

I asked the instructor if this inefficient group assessment was due to the end of season. He said they were still in the busy mid season. So, only the conclusion I can think of is Mountain ski school does not want to spend money on the instructors needed to make proper ski level groups. Or, their ski school does not have any good process or manager to run it - they have no idea what they are doing - or what they are supposed to do.
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Massive Price Increase On Season Passes For Those Over 65 at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort:

I am over 65. My all access/no blackout 2017-2018 season pass for Mammoth Mountain cost $399.00. I just learned that for the 2018-2019 season Mammoth no longer has a reduced price for those over 65 and for an all access/no blackout 2018-2019 season pass I will have to pay $899.00. That is an increase of 125%!! Mammoth justifies this massive increase by the fact that with the 2018-2019 season pass I would also have limited access to certain other ski resorts. When I explained to Mammoth that I wasn't interested in paying a 125% increase to have limited access to certain other ski resorts they said that they were sorry but that is all they are offering this year. By the way Mammoth is also offering an adult-all ages $599.00 season pass with even more limited access to other ski resorts and BLACKOUT PERIODS for Mammoth Mountain on all major winter holidays. At the very least Mammoth should reinstitute a reduced price season pass for seniors with no blackout days at Mammoth.
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As a California native I've been visiting Mammoth for over 20 years. I've easily been there over 30 times. For value I buy the season pass very early in the year for no more than 700 bucks. Lift tickets are super pricey with 2018 being $162 per day.

I've skied the vast majority of the runs there, with only a few being too intimidating for me to handle. The terrain is excellent and place is MAMMOTH

The winds can be an issue as the top third closes leaving you to the bottom of the hill. A wind closure on the weekend makes for a painful day as the lines get very long. Weekdays are a must for Mammoth.

When the top is open and the snow is soft the place is as good as it gets.
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I had an amazing time today thanks to a cashier from the mill. Her name was shyann she went out of her way for us, answered all our questions, and helped my husband and I find the right buses to get us back to Canyon Lodge. I will definitely be visiting again!
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Stay away from the season pass protection plan. They make you jump through a ton of hoops to get your money back. Total scam on mammoths part. Why should I have to provide any documentation especially this early in the season?? Due to events that are covered they want you to document the hell out of it. DO NOT BUY IT!! By the way mammoth you lost my business next year- I will go to Tahoe instead. Also will take the time and submit to the BBB or whatever I can do horrible customer service on this one. They will call you back days later and never pick up when you call. I wish I had the time to get rid of all my passes for this year
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Mammoth is a truly world class resort that fly's under the radar of glamour queens Jackson Hole, Whistler, and Alta, but I wouldn't have it any other way because in some respects, Mammoth remains a locals resort for it. Its remote location is a blessing because Mammoth is recently being "discovered" by outsiders for offering some of the most amazing powder anywhere, coupled by a quantity and quality of trails that rivals the most acclaimed resorts in North America. The quality of Mammoth is undeniable.

I hope Mammoth avoids the hype and commercialism that has turned the other 'greatests' into a Disney vacation on snow.
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