McCoy Hopes to Link Two Sierra Ski Resorts

Dave McCoy, 72, had thought about buying the June Mountain ski resort for many years, he admitted in an interview here.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to tie the two ski areas together,” he said. When McCoy, owner of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, purchased June Mountain last summer, that prospect became more than a possibility.

The land between the two Sierra resorts was designated a ski development area a number of years ago, McCoy pointed out. “There are a lot of nice draws and alpine canyons that hardly anything has to be done to.”

The area between the resorts is in a good snow belt and is currently being used for helicopter skiing, McCoy said. “It will be comparable to European ski areas where as many as 250,000 skiers are accommodated in a day.”

From the top of June Mountain to the main base lodge at Mammoth Mountain is a little over six airline miles, although it’s about 23 miles by highway.

But McCoy wouldn’t venture a guess as to when the two areas will be linked. “We’d want to do it with good sound planning and blessings from Inyo and Mono counties and the people who live in the village of June Lake and the town of Mammoth Lakes,” he said.

He visualizes well over 100 lifts covering Mammoth, June and the area between. McCoy said the main access to the area between the two resorts would be at Hartley Springs, off U.S. 395, about two-thirds of the way from Mammoth to June. There is plenty of room for parking, he said.

Access to the proposed area from Mammoth would be from The Knolls, behind the Mammoth Mountain Inn, and up to Minaret Ridge, according to McCoy. “There would have to be a people mover running across the base of the new ski area,” McCoy said. “We have a prototype built in Carson City (Nev.).”

Aerial Tram Transport

McCoy said he is excited about the proposed Juniper Ridge development at the base of Chairs 15 and 25 (see story on Mammoth Lakes real estate development). “We need a first-class hotel in Mammoth Lakes and we have to spread out,” he said. “We haven’t even started to take care of Southern California’s recreation needs.”

Extensive improvements are nearing completion at June Mountain. An aerial tram from the parking lot to the mid-mountain chalet will travel 1,000 feet a minute, transporting 2,400 skiers an hour in 20-passenger cars.

The journey will take just over four minutes. Up to now, access to the mountain was limited to a chilly, slow-moving double chairlift.

A new 9,000-foot detachable chairlift, reportedly the longest in the nation, will transport skiers from the chalet to the top of Rainbow Mountain. Skiers will be able to cover two miles of downhill terrain with just one chair ride.

Existing facilities are being upgraded and some loading and unloading stations are being replaced.

At Mammoth Mountain, extensive run work has been completed in the Chair 15 and Warming Hut 2 areas, adding three new runs. Outside ticket windows and booths are being added to get skiers on the hill faster.

Lift tickets, priced at $25, are interchangeable on both mountains.