Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Mammoth Mountain opens its ski season Friday, Oct. 16, marking the second earliest opening for the Eastern Sierra snow monster. Yesterday’s storm dumped two feet of snow, with as much as six feet hitting the top of the mountain.
Adding to the excitement of the second earliest opening in Mammoth history, skiers and snowboarders will be able to ride for free on Friday, Oct. 16. The Broadway Express lift opens at 8:30 a.m. serving a base of 16 to 24″ of machine-groomed “natural” snow. Woo Hoo!
A tip of the helmet to Howard Pickett, Mammoth’s Chief Marketing Officer who says the free skiing is a reward to the Mammoth’s guests. Runs to open on Friday include: Broadway, St. Moritz, Forest Trail, Mambo and Main Park with assorted rails and jibs to entertain us. Mammoth plans to open additional lifts as snow conditions permit.
Mammoth offers First Tracks lift and lodging packages for as little as $99 per person based on double occupancy. Call 800.MAMMOTH or visit wwwmammothmountain.com to book your stay.
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
Fall color is peaking above 8,000′ in the Eastern Sierra. California Fall Color has posted a beautiful photograph of aspen leaves in a stream, each a dazzlingly bright tone of green, yellow, orange and red. Weekly updates on this site report where the color is peaking throughout California. Whoever says California has no change of season reveals they’ve never traveled to these colorful places.
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
The National Park Service has announced that due to a wildfire it will close the Tioga Road from Crane Flat to White Wolf this Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 4 – 6). There is, however a way past this seemingly impossible obstacle to Tuolumne Meadows and you’ll have it almost entirely to yourself.
Instead of driving the Tioga Road, take Sonora Pass (CA SR 108) from Sonora east to US 395, then south to Lee Vining. There you can take CA SR 120E into Yosemite National Park and to Tuolumne Meadows. Or, enjoy the Labor Day weekend visiting the Eastern Sierra and Bodie State Historic Park, Mono Lake, the June Lake Loop and the Walker River for sightseeing, hiking, fishing, cycling, horseback riding or just kicking back.
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
Nine chances to win a getaway to
Yosemite National Park and Mariposa County are being offered in the latest
Yosemite Getaway Sweepstakes, running now through Sunday, April 13.
This spring’s Grand Prize is a three-night stay at The Ahwahnee in Yosemite Valley during a session of the 2008 Yosemite Vintners’ Holidays (Nov. 2 – Dec. 4, 2008), with park admission, admission for two to all Vintners’ Holidays receptions, tastings and events, and two seats at the sumptuous Vintners’ Banquet in The Ahwahnee dining room.
Eight weekly prizes of two-night getaways to Yosemite and Mariposa County lodging will also be awarded (two each week) along with park admission and – in several cases – other extras. To enter and be eligible to win any of these prizes, CLICK HERE once each week through April 13.
And, listen for more information about the Yosemite Getaway Sweepstakes and hear Mike Cleary’s Mariposa Minutes on these radio stations in the San Francisco and Sacramento areas: KGO-AM810, KDFC-FM, KBLX-FM, KSFO-AM, KOIT-FM, 957 The Wolf, The Eagle 969, KSSJ and ESPN1320.
Thursday, January 31st, 2008
Feb. 1 is the deadline to sign up to attend a User Capacity Symposium, Feb. 6 – 8, in Yosemite Valley to explore how to approach limiting visitation to Yosemite National Park and other public lands. Participating will be public land managers, researchers, elected officials, tribes and members of the public at large in open dialogue. To participate, email jim_bacon@nps.gov. Attendance is limited to 150.
