Early Snowfall Brings Hope to Ski Resort

Five years of gloom brought on by skimpy storms began to lift Monday as this Eastern Sierra resort celebrated the unusually early snowfall that crowned Mammoth Mountain with three feet of powder, enough to open the ski lifts and spark hope that deliverance from the drought is finally at hand.

Although only a handful of skiers were in town to take advantage of the wide-open runs, the ski area’s pre-Halloween opening--among the earliest ever in Mammoth--buoyed local spirits and brought cheer to this beleaguered community.

“Everyone has a bounce in their step and a smile on their face,” said Robin Falkingham, owner of a ski shop. “We’ve all taken a beating these last five years, so getting such a healthy storm this early creates a good bit of excitement and optimism.”

Mono County Supervisor Mike Jarvis echoed the sentiment and said he has noticed “a new feeling in town, something you just sense in the air.

“I don’t ever predict what sort of weather lies ahead, but this is an awfully good sign.”

Apparently, others agree.

Since the storm dropped its bounty on Friday and Saturday, telephones have been buzzing with inquiries at the Mammoth Lakes Visitors Bureau, ski shops and motels.

Meanwhile, chilly temperatures that remained below 40 degrees Monday promised to keep ski conditions inviting, and the forecast predicted two additional storms for the region this week.

Even if the weather does not cooperate, local officials said, Mammoth Mountain’s base of snow--and with it the town’s all-important tourist appeal--should be safe for the near future.

After seeing its profits battered by the persistent drought, the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area this summer installed the resort’s first snow-making equipment, a $5-million system that can scatter the artificial powder across 200 acres.

“We need a lot more storms to get us over the hump, but the snow-making machine adds an element of stability to the picture,” said Mammoth Lakes Mayor Duffy Wright, who owns a motel in town. “Hopefully, this is the rebound year.”

As the mayor well knows, Mammoth Lakes, population 5,000, is badly in need of a rebound year.

Scant snowfall last winter, the worst of the five drought years here, caused business at the ski area to plummet 50% below normal, a plunge that had a ripple effect all across town.

Occupancy rates in motels hovered around 30% during most of the season, and a handful of restaurants and retail stores closed.

The hard times even forced the town to open a soup kitchen to feed the hundreds of seasonal workers laid off by the ski resort and other businesses. The kitchen--a true oddity in this community of luxury homes and expensive cars--fed more than 800 people in all, said Wally Hofmann, publisher of the Mammoth Times and one of the kitchen’s organizers.

For the town government, the poor winter season of 1990-91 meant a loss of $1.4 million in the bed tax revenue that accounts for about half of Mammoth Lakes’ annual budget.

To compensate, town services were cut across the board, five people were laid off, numerous projects were put on hold and half of the city’s $1.2-million reserve fund was spent, said Town Manager Glenn Thompson.

“I think it’s fair to say that everyone felt excitement as well as a little relief when the snow started falling,” Thompson said.

By all accounts, the storm caught many townsfolk by surprise. Supervisor Jarvis reported that he had heard old-timers muttering that a cold, snowy winter was on its way--”They were saying the pine cones were falling early and the cows’ hides are thicker than usual,” he said--but around town store marquees still hawked T-shirts and boasted of the region’s “fall color.”

Coincidentally, ski area owner Dave McCoy and his crews were preparing to turn on the new snow-making equipment Friday afternoon when the skies darkened and the storm moved in.

“We were ready to turn it on and start making snow (for a planned Nov. 15 opening) when all of a sudden the snowflakes started falling,” McCoy said Monday. “So we packed it up and let Mother Nature do her thing. That was just fine with me. I’m a happy person, but that made it a lot easier to be happy.”

The earliest opening date in Mammoth history, resort officials said, was Oct 10, 1981. Gordon Courtney, who grew up in nearby Bridgeport, remembers skiing that day.

“It was good, but nowhere near as awesome as today,” Courtney, 31, a local bartender, said as he came off the slopes with a flushed face and a sore knee Monday afternoon.

Courtney and friend Mark Rankin were among scores of locals who were lured to the slopes on opening day by short lines and discounted tickets.