SKIING / BOB LOCHNER : More Snow Means Mammoth Will Get Summer Company

Skiing on the Fourth of July is nothing new. Mammoth Mountain has had it before and will again, but this year the Eastern Sierra resort will have company.

With the deepest snowpack in more than 20 years covering the slopes north of Lake Tahoe, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley plan to remain open through Independence Day for die-hard skiers who just can’t get enough of that wonderful white stuff.

And Kirkwood, southwest of Tahoe, could make it a foursome if it wanted to.

“We have the most snow of any ski resort in the nation, more than 300 inches on top of the mountain,” spokesman Tris Cochrane said. “(We) could easily stay open through July 4, but we’re not going to spend money just to prove it.”

Skier interest generally plummets after Easter, so most ski areas will shut down Sunday afternoon, leaving all that snow to melt away.

Kirkwood intends to operate through Memorial Day, May 29, then concentrate its efforts on installing--ready for this?--a snow-making system.

“We want to cover the terrain under at least three of our lifts so we can guarantee skiing next fall, regardless of what Mother Nature does,” Cochrane said.

Elsewhere, projected closing dates include May 7 at Sugar Bowl, April 30 at Heavenly, April 24 at Northstar and April 23 at Bear Valley.

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Mammoth Mountain, reporting a base of 156 to 240 inches, will start its “second season” on April 24, dropping the price of all-day adult lift tickets by $10 to $30, teen tickets to $25 and children and senior tickets to $15. Discounted spring season passes also are available.

This has been Mammoth’s fifth-snowiest season, with a total accumulation of more than 500 inches, and a good year in terms of skier-days, spokeswoman Mary Shoshone said.

“It snowed so much in January and March that skiers had a hard time getting here,” she said. “But we’re very pleased overall.”

Mammoth’s whitest winter was 1992-93, when 617 inches were recorded.

This weekend, cinematographer Warren Miller will be at Mammoth to preside over the annual Dave McCoy Invitational ski race, expected to attract about 180 entrants and raise more than $100,000 for the Mammoth Lakes Foundation’s College Fund.

An awards banquet and live auction will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Warming Hut II, and for the first time it will be open to the public for a $50 donation.

Mammoth will also play host to the Austrian ski team during the first two weeks of June and to the U.S. ski team later in the month.

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Five ski areas--Snow Summit, Bear Mountain, Snow Valley, Mountain High and Mt. Baldy--are operating in the Southland this week, and Mt. Waterman plans to reopen for the weekend.

However, all will be closed after Sunday, with the possible exception of Snow Summit.

Bear Mountain has reduced its lift tickets to $19, Mountain High to $25 and Snow Valley is knocking $10 off its price to anyone bringing an old ticket from any resort.

Skiing Notes

Alpine Meadows will offer a two-for-one package starting April 29, meaning you pay for one day’s skiing and lodging and get a second day’s skiing and lodging free, except on Memorial Day weekend. Details: (800) 824-6348. . . . Squaw Valley also will be promoting various spring specials after April 30. . . . At Kirkwood, a 1994-95 season pass from any other ski area will get you a lift ticket for $15 daily through May 29. The price also will drop from $40 to $25 for all tickets starting Monday, except on May 1, when skiing will be free.