SKIING : A Limited Opening at Mammoth

Without fanfare, skiing will begin today at Mammoth Mountain.

“We weren’t supposed to call anyone,” spokeswoman Pam Murphy said Wednesday, “but since you asked, yes, we’re opening for the season (today). (Owner) Dave (McCoy) said that because skiing is limited, we shouldn’t go out of our way to announce it yet.

“We picked up six to eight inches of powder from the storm (Sunday night), and along with our snow-making, there must be about two feet of coverage on Broadway.”

Mammoth will operate its gondola to mid-mountain, serving the mainly intermediate run, and daily lift tickets will be priced at $20, or $15 less than they will cost when more of the mountain is opened. The next objective is to make snow under Chairlift No. 1.

The weather has been sunny but cold the last few days in Mammoth Lakes, 320 miles north of Los Angeles in the Eastern Sierra. “My pipes froze last night,” Murphy said.

Five other ski areas are operating lifts in the Sierra:

--Kirkwood, near Carson Pass, opened Wednesday with a 12- to 18-inch base, running two chairs.

--Squaw Valley, north of Lake Tahoe, and Heavenly Valley, on the California-Nevada border at the south end of the lake, both started their seasons on a limited basis last Friday, reporting depths of up to 24 inches.

--Alpine Meadows and Boreal have been going since mid-month.

In the Southland, Snow Valley was closed Wednesday but will reopen today, with Chairs 6, 7 and 13 on line. Bear Mountain, Snow Summit and Mountain High continue to operate daily.

Elsewhere in the West, most major resorts in both Colorado and Utah (except Deer Valley) are open, as are Taos, N.M.; Grand Targhee, Wyo.; Big Sky and Big Mountain in Montana; Mt. Bachelor, Mt. Hood Meadows and Timberline in Oregon, and Whistler/Blackbomb, Lake Louise and Sunshine in Canada.

The World Cup circuit will get under way this weekend for Alpine racers with--for a change--plenty of snow in the Alps.

The women compete in a slalom and a giant slalom Saturday and Sunday at Val Zoldana, Italy, and the men are in a super-G race Sunday at Valloire, France.

Then follow nearly four months of racing, climaxed by the finals March 20-24 at Waterville Valley, N.H. The “White Circus” will break for the World Alpine Ski Championships Jan. 21-Feb. 3 at Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria.

Other North American sites:

--Aspen, Colo., March 8-10, for the men.

--Vail, Colo., March 16-17, for the women.

--Lake Louise, Canada, March 9-11 for the women and March 16-17 for the men.

Four-time men’s overall champion Pirmin Zurbriggen of Switzerland has retired, leaving the favorite’s role split among Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg, Alberto Tomba of Italy and Ole Christian Furuseth of Norway.

Petra Kronberger of Austria, seeking to repeat as women’s champion, must contend with Vreni Schneider of Switzerland.

U.S. hopes are pinned mainly on A.J. Kitt of Rochester, N.Y.; Felix McGrath of Jericho, Vt., and Diann Roffe of Isle La Motte, Vt.

Bernhard Knauss swept both races on the opening weekend of the U.S. Pro Tour at Park City, Utah, defeating Italian Oswald Totsch in the giant slalom final and Austrian countryman Mathias Berthold in the slalom final.

Phil Mahre managed a fourth place in the slalom. Roswitha Raudaschl of Austria won the opening women’s giant slalom.

This weekend, the men will race at Alpine Meadows.