Mammoth Mountain Ski Area
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The Mammoth Mountain ski resort, on the western side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the Inyo National Forest. The ski area is commonly known as "Mammoth". The ski area is built on the north side of Mammoth Mountain, a volcano. Skiers stay in the town of Mammoth Lakes, California. Mammoth has more than 3,500 acres (14 km²) of skiable terrain, serviced by 17 lifts (including 3 gondolas). The area has 3100 feet (940 m) of vertical, rising to an elevation of 11,053 feet (3,368 m). The top of the mountain has challenging chutes and open mogul runs.
The ski area is mainly frequented by skiers from Southern California. From Los Angeles, California, the drive northward, up the Owens Valley on US Highway 395 to Mammoth is shorter than to the Lake Tahoe area resorts, which are more accessible to San Francisco, California area residents.
Mammoth was founded by Dave McCoy, a hydrographer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power [1] (http://press.mammothmountain.com/whois/dave_bio/). As a member of the Eastern Sierra Ski Club in the 1930s, McCoy noticed that Mammoth Mountain consistently held more snow than other mountains. The Ski Club had a portable rope tow. McCoy bought the rope tow from the club in 1941 and usually kept it at Mammoth. In 1953, the United States Forest Service awarded a permit to McCoy to operate the ski area. The first ski lift was built in 1955. McCoy sold 33% of interest in the ski area to Intrawest in 1996
As recently as the 1980s, senior citizens (those over age 65) could ski Mammoth for free.
On February 23, 2005, Dave McCoy announced that he would be selling his stake in Mammoth Mountain, after 68 years of running the ski area.