No Snow at Mammoth; Ski Areas Are Deserted : For the First Time in a Decade, Resorts Face ‘Devastating’ Loss of Traditional Rich Season

For the first time in a decade, the Mammoth Mountain ski area does not have enough snow to open for the Christmas holidays, normally the richest time of year for this resort town tucked high in the Sierra Nevada 300 miles north of Los Angeles.

Although the mountains are frosted white, there is not enough snow on the slopes for skiing. Resort operators are laying off hundreds of employees as Southern California skiers head for the Colorado Rockies or stay home for the holidays.

“Christmas without snow is devastating,” said Ray Windsor, Mammoth Lakes city manager. The town has already lost $1 million in sales and bed tax revenues, he said, triggering cutbacks in municipal services and consideration of layoffs in the city’s 15-member police force.

Worst in 10 Years

Not since 1976 have ski areas in the Sierra Nevada been so short of snow. The normal snow pack high on Mammoth Mountain this time of year is 4 to 5 feet. Today, snow is patchy and averages about 6 inches. In nearby Yosemite National Park, there is 6 inches of snow at elevations where one could normally find 5 feet.

Resorts from Lake Tahoe to Mammoth, normally open for skiing by Thanksgiving, are instead feeling the heat. Mammoth Mountain, Badger Pass, Kirkwood Meadows and several other areas are closed. Some ski operations in the Lake Tahoe area did start limited operations earlier this week, using mostly man-made snow, as did June Mountain, just north of Mammoth.

Perhaps nowhere is the drought more apparent than here. Several times before Christmas heavy clouds scudded across the sky and there was a chill in the air, but the forecast storms produced more rumors than snow.

The lack of snow has already cost Mammoth Lakes ski area the equivalent of 300,000 full-day lift tickets, according to Pam Murphy, Mammoth Mountain ski area public relations director.

Lift tickets cost $25 a day, and last year skiers put in 1.4 million ski days riding the 35 lifts and sliding down the slopes of this 11,100-foot mountain. Last Christmas 30,000 holiday visitors crowded into the village, filling every available bed.

This season the lifts are still. Grass and rocks poke through the thin snow on the runs, and the area is quiet, save for an occasional shout from the two or three youngsters sliding down the runs on sleds.

Downtown, the traffic is light and shopping centers are nearly empty. The week before Christmas, condominiums and motels were running at 10% occupancy and restaurants were reporting business way down. Cancellations are up.

‘We’re Almost Empty’

“We were 100% booked for the holidays, but we’re almost empty,” said Bob Tanner, manager of the 1849 Condominium. He estimated that the operation would lose $100,000 over the holidays. “We’ve refunded or rebooked most of our reservations.” he said.

Not everyone has been able to get a refund, however. Cancellation policies around the resort vary.

“It cost us $560, and there’s no snow,” said Joe Chun, 18, of Costa Mesa, a disappointed college student who had come for the week with three friends and couldn’t get a refund. “We played some football, built snowmen, that sort of thing, but it’s not like skiing.”

At the Sierra Meadows Equestrian Center, cross-country ski instructor John Hellesloe said the lack of snow has caused the operation to switch from cross-country ski touring to horseback riding. Hay rides in horse-drawn wagons have replaced the usual sleigh rides.

Normally Mammoth Mountain employs 1,500 people to operate the lifts, groom and patrol the slopes, handle ticket sales, provide food service and do other jobs. Only 500 are working this week.

“I’m running out of money, so I’ve decided to head south and look for carpenter work in Los Angeles,” said veteran ski instructor Clain Burnham, 44, as he nursed a drink at Grumpy’s, a hangout for local workers. Bar manager Bill Payne nodded. “Things are tough. Our business is down 50%.”

‘We’re Feeling It’

“We live or die by the snow and this time we’re feeling it, all the way to Bishop,” said Sam Walker, owner of Whiskey Creek and three other restaurants in Mammoth Lakes and Bishop, 39 miles south on Interstate 395. Walker has laid off 80 employees at Whiskey Creek.

“Last year at this time we were serving 400 meals a night, now we’re down to about a 175, maybe less,” he said.

Among the hardest hit is the new city of Mammoth Lakes, chartered three years ago. Last summer the city spent $700,000 upgrading its roads, using money from reserves and counting on a good ski season to refill the city coffers, according to Windsor.

Without snow, there are no skiers; without skiers, no bed and sales taxes that last year brought in $2.5 million, nearly half of it during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. This year Windsor estimated that revenue will be off $1 million. New projects have been shelved, there is a hiring freeze and if the snow does not fly soon, cuts may be made in the Police Department.

Despite the weather, optimists remain. At a new little restaurant called “Anything Goes,” owner Susan Beck looked up from making apple tarts this week and said, “Did you hear, Tahoe got a foot of snow last night and Squaw (Valley) is opening today.”

Beck, who has lived here for nine years teaching winter snow survival and cross-country ski touring, had just refinanced her house and borrowed all the money she could to start up the restaurant and catering business. She opened last week, counting on a good start over the holidays. “It’ll snow,” she said wishfully. “I know it will. We’ll make it.”