Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is a ski resort in eastern California, located on the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range within the Inyo National Forest. The resort is located in the town of Mammoth Lakes, California. The resort covers 3,500 acres (1,420 ha) of skiable terrain, with a vertical drop of 3,100 feet (940 m) and a summit elevation of 11,059 feet (3,371 m). It receives an average of 400 inches (1,020cm) of snowfall annually and typically offers a ski season from November until May, with some seasons extending into the summer months.[1][2]
Mammoth Mountain, established by Dave McCoy in the 1940s, developed from a small ski area into a major resort after receiving a U.S. Forest Service permit in 1953 and constructing its first ski lift in 1955. Intrawest Corporation acquired a stake in the 1990s, leading to real estate development, including The Village at Mammoth. In 2005, McCoy sold his majority stake to Starwood Capital Group for $365 million. The resort has undergone infrastructure improvements, including high-speed lifts and a gondola to an interpretive center. In 2017, Mammoth Resorts announced its sale by Starwood to a partnership of Aspen Skiing Company and KSL Capital Partners, later named Alterra Mountain Company.[3]
Mammoth Mountain has had challenges and incidents throughout its history. Under founder Dave McCoy, the resort had the 1973 oil crisis, a 1979 avalanche that destroyed a ski lift, and a 1991 drought that led to layoffs. In early 2006, five unrelated skier fatalities occurred over several days in January followed in April by the deaths of three ski patrollers in the 2006 Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol Deaths. In 2025, two separate avalanches on Lincoln Mountain during avalanche mitigation work claimed the lives of two ski patrollers: one in February, who died days after a major snowstorm, and one in December, who died days after an incident following another heavy storm.
Setting
Mammoth Mountain is located in California's Eastern Sierra approximately 36mi (58km) southwest of the Nevada state line.[4] It is also approximately 23mi (37km) south-southeast from Tioga Pass on the eastern boundary of Yosemite.[5]
Because Bay Area residents have to drive across four mountain passes to reach Mammoth, most of the skiers are from the Los Angeles area.[6]
Mammoth Mountain is a lava-dome complex on the southwest rim of Long Valley Caldera. Its last magmatic eruption occurred about 50,000 years ago. Volcanic gas is emitted at several locations on the mountain.[7]
Description
Terrain
Mammoth Mountain's terrain is primarily north-facing (65%), ensuring excellent snow retention. The east (22%) and west (10%) aspects offer varied exposure, while the minimal south-facing terrain (3%) sees the most variable conditions.[8] The top of the mountain has challenging chutes and groomed as well as mogul runs.
Terrain parks
There are eight Unbound terrain parks. Unbound Main, adjacent to Main Lodge, is highly praised by extreme snowboarding and skiing enthusiasts, and is one of the major attractions of the ski resort.[9]
Chairlifts and gondolas
The 15-passenger Gondola connects the pedestrian village to the Canyon Lodge base.[10]
Notable skiing and snowboarding
Aerial view of part of ski areaPhoto taken at the Cornice Bowl ski run at the summit of the mountain.
Events
Mammoth Mountain has hosted numerous ski and snowboarding events, including U.S. Grand Prix competitions, which serve as Olympic qualifiers for freestyle skiing and snowboarding.[11] The mountain has also been a venue for FIS World Cup events, featuring disciplines such as halfpipe and slopestyle.[12] Additionally, Mammoth Mountain serves as a training site for elite snowboarders due to its extensive terrain parks and consistent snowfall.[13][14]
Athletes
Shaun White trained at Mammoth Mountain throughout his career and later purchased a stake in the resort.[15]
Danny Kass, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in halfpipe snowboarding, trained at Mammoth Mountain during his career.[16]
Mammoth was founded by Dave McCoy, a hydrographer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. As a member of the Eastern Sierra Ski Club in the 1930s, McCoy noticed that Mammoth Mountain consistently held more snow than other mountains. The Ski Club had a portable rope tow. McCoy bought the rope tow from the club in 1941 and usually kept it at Mammoth. In 1953, the United States Forest Service awarded a permit to McCoy to operate the ski area, and the first ski lift was built in 1955.
McCoy faced adversity in growing the ski area: drought in 1958–59, the 1973 oil crisis, and only 94" inches of snow during the 1976–1977 season, the worst in Mammoth's history.[17]
Sale to Intrawest
The Village at Mammoth as seen from the Village Gondola station in April 2010.
In January 1996, Intrawest Corporation and Mammoth Mountain Ski area announced that Intrawest Corporation had purchased 33% of Mammoth and June Mountain ski operations, as well as all of the developable real estate owned by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. In 1998, Intrawest increased their partnership interest to 58%. The development of three new village areas: The Village at Mammoth, Sierra Star, and Juniper Springs, brought new developments to the resort.
Subsequent owners
On February 23, 2005, Dave McCoy announced the pending sale of his stake in Mammoth Mountain, after 68 years of running the ski area. On October 5, 2005, Mammoth announced that a majority stake will be sold to Starwood Capital Group, a private equity fund specializing in real estate, run by Barry Sternlicht. The sale price was $365 million.[18] In 2017, Mammoth Resorts announced its sale by Starwood to a partnership of Aspen Skiing Company and KSL Capital Partners, later named Alterra Mountain Company.[3]
Notable incidents
As the ski area grew, McCoy faced adverse circumstances: the 1973 oil crisis,[19] an avalanche in 1979 that destroyed a ski lift,[19] and a prolonged drought that led to layoffs in 1991.[18]
On December 13, 1973, Marvin Ray Critton, a ski patroller died in an explosives accident while performing avalanche control work.[20] He was throwing the explosives above Chairlift 5 when the explosive accidentally discharged.[21] Several ski runs at the resort are also named after his nickname "Critter," including Critters and New Critters. Within three weeks, in January 1974, a mammoth ski area employee was in critical condition after an explosive used in avalanche mitigation went off in his hands.[22]
2006 visitor deaths
In early 2006, the mountain had a series of five unrelated fatalities over a brief consecutive period. On January 26, a 16-year-old boy from San Diego died after taking a jump too fast on an intermediate run and missing the landing, despite wearing a helmet and reportedly being an experienced skier.[23] The following day, January 27, a 39-year-old man from Laguna Niguel lost control at high speed on an intermediate trail, struck a tree after hitting a mogul, and died from his injuries four days later at Renown Regional Medical Center.[23] The following day, on January 28, a 61-year-old Los Angeles dentist became disoriented and collided at full speed with a 30-foot boulder in a canyon area amid windy and snowy conditions that had closed some lifts.[23] The next day, January 29, a 63-year-old man from Garden Grove suffered a fatal heart attack while skiing.[23] According to a 2006 Los Angeles Times article, in a normal season, three people die in accidents or from natural causes, while only two people died during the previous season.[23]
In January 2006, a 31-year-old ski patrol member was caught in an avalanche while off-duty near Twin Lakes and suffered severe injuries including a broken back and leg that resulted in her death.[24]
On April 6, 2006, three ski patrollers at the ski area died either due to a fall or combination of CO2 and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) poisoning.[25] Both gases are present on a known dangerous fumarole on the mountain and were more concentrated on that day because the fumarole had been covered by snow for days. Four patrollers were raising the fence around the fumarole, which had become buried due to heavy snowfall. The fumarole had melted a cavern below the snowbridge which collapsed under two of them. The pair of men fell 21 feet (6.4m) and died on scene. Another died at a later time and seven others were injured. The oxygen masks used by the Mammoth Mountain ski patrol did not properly seal, allowing hazardous gases to come in.[25]
2025 ski patrol avalanche incidents
In February 2025, two Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol members were caught in an avalanche on Lincoln Mountain during mitigation efforts following a significant snowstorm that deposited about six feet of snow over 36 hours. One patroller was extracted and found responsive, while the other sustained serious injuries and was taken to the hospital. The area was closed to the public at the time, and the resort suspended all operations at noon for the remainder of the day.[26][27] On February 22, the critical patroller died of their injuries.[28]
In December 2025, two ski patrollers were caught in an avalanche on Lincoln Mountain during mitigation work. The incident occurred on the morning of December 26, following a significant storm cycle that brought heavy snowfall to the ski area.[29] One patroller survived with injuries, while 30-year-old Cole Murphy sustained critical injuries and passed away two days later on December 28.[30]
12345Covarrubias, Amanda; Lin II, Rong-Gong; Caldwell, Tanya (February 6, 2006). "Deaths of 5 Skiers Stun Mammoth". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
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15% beginner 
48% intermediate 
37% advanced [2] 
