Take a Ride on Cloud Nine
Cloud Nine Express is Now Open
Cloud Nine Express, Mammoth Mountain's newest chairlift, officially opened Friday, Dec. 21, 2007. Cloud Nine is a six-seater that replaced legendary Chair 9. Cloud Nine runs along the same line as the decades-old double, but at high speed. It used to run a 1,200 per hour capacity. Now 2,400 people an hour will be able to ride with the potential of 3,600 by adding more carriers. "There's no comparison. It will be much more comfortable," said Heimo Ladinig, the retiring director of Lift Maintenance, for whom the completion of Chair 9/Cloud Nine is the most appropriate send-off. This $6.5 million project is the completion of Ladinig's 30-year career at Mammoth Mountain during which he worked under Dave McCoy and supervised Rusty Gregory, who is currently the CEO of the Ski Area.
Pictured above, the hard-working crew at the Grand Opening on Dec. 21, 2007.
Cloud Nine Express By the Numbers
- Carriers - 80
- Towers - 21
- People per hour - 2,400
- Vertical rise - 1,700 feet
- Slope length - 5,500 feet
- Ride time - 6 minutes
- Manufacturer - Doppelmayr
- Top elevation - 10,371 feet
A Favorite Chairlift, Yesterday and Today
Chair 9, a double chairlift originally installed in 1969, is famed for deep powder on the secluded and often uncrowded eastern slopes of Mammoth Mountain. It has the most vertical rise of any Mammoth Chair, taking skiers up 1,700 feet in elevation when they ride it. Chair 9 was slow, and you had to be ok with some weather beating on your face, but it also felt like your own private ride to an untracked part of Mammoth Mountain. April 8, 2007* was the last day to ride Chair 9 before it's upgrade to a high-speed six-pack for the 2007/08 winter. "It's its own ski resort out there, it's own little world," says Roscoe Cummins of Mammoth's lift operations department. "There's nobody out there. It's steep, the snow stays good because it dumps on the Tail and gets shaded by the sun, and it's just the solitude of being out there." Now named Cloud Nine Express, the lift will carry skiers from the Eagle Lodge side of the mountain to the hundreds of acres of intermediate and advanced terrain in half the minutes than the fixed-grip two-seater. The change is to introduce skiers to an underutilized area and ease the crowding impact in other areas. "Upgrading this lift is not being done to increase traffic on the terrain under the chairlift," says Gregory. "It's about moving skiers around the mountain as evenly as possible to ease the pressure at base chairlifts. I believe a majority of people who ride the new Chair 9 will ride it to transfer to other parts of the resort." Ladinig added, "The heavier chairs perform better in wind."
Heimo Ladinig
Heimo Ladinig has worked on the Mammoth Mountain chairlift maintenance crew since 1972 and headed the department for the last 22 years. Originally from Austria, he was hired as a mechanic by McCoy for $3 an hour. But freedom is priceless: "Mammoth has afforded me extreme freedom," he said. "This was an ideal job for me with ideal people to work with and the opportunity to work in the most beautiful environment in the world." Ladinig had a hand in every chairlift on the mountain and said this was the last one he wanted to build. "Chair 9 was the only lift that I wasn't involved in the original construction," he said. "It was the oldest lift we had so it was time to get rid of it from a technical point of view. I means a lot to me." Ladinig passed on the reins of Lift Maintenance director to Chris Bulkley in November 2007.
The Story Behind the Name
Mammoth invited visitors to submit ideas for the new lift’s name through an online contest. Nearly 5,000 entries were submitted in May 2007 to give Chair 9 a creative "Express" name. More than 50 people submitted the winning name "Cloud Nine Express," the first entry coming from Glen Conaway from San Diego. Conaway is an MVP Passholder who has been skiing Mammoth for 18 years. "The definition of Cloud Nine is a phrase meaning happy, euphoric, or high," he said. "That’s the feeling I get as I am going up Chair 9, literally in the clouds."
* Editor's note: Thank you to Barry Friedman who corrected us on Chair 9's closing date in the spring of 2007. We published the date as April 22, 2007 but Barry remembers being there for the last chair up on April 8, 2007.
Come see how Mammoth is pushing the boundaries of mountain biking and keep an eye out over the next couple weeks for the long-awaited completion of Twilight Zone, featuring the heart-pounding Deep End Wall Ride.
The
Easier Trails
Downtown
Paper Route
Shortcut
Uptown
More Difficult Trails
Beach Cruiser
Bearing Straights
Big Ring
Brake Through
Bridge the Gap
Gravy Train
Juniper
Lakes Trail
Mountainview
Off the Top
Seven Bridges
Timber Ridge
To Minaret
Trail Home
Most Difficult Trails
Bullet DH
Chainsmoke
DC10
Flow
Follow Me
Kamikaze
Pipeline
Richter
Shock Treatment
Shotgun
Skid Marks
Techno Rock
Velocity DH
The
Lower mountain trails are serviced by shuttle between The Village and the
US 395
no traffic restrictions are reported for this area.
SR 203 (main st)
1-way controlled traffic at various locations from the mammoth mountain inn to forest trail rd (mono co) from 0700 hrs to 1700 hrs tuesday thru friday thru 8/22/08 - due to maintenance - motorists are subject delays of up to 20 minutes
SR 120 (tioga pass)
1-way controlled traffic at various locations from 2.4 mi east to 12 mi east of tioga pass (mono co) from 0700 hrs to 1700 hrs tuesday thru thursday & from 0700 hrs to 1500 hrs friday thru 8/22/08 - due to permit work - motorists are subject delays of up to 20 minutes
1-way controlled traffic at various locations from 16 mi west to 14 mi west of the jct of us 6 (mono co) from 0700 hrs to 1800 hrs on wednesday 8/20/08 - due to maintenance - motorists are subject delays of up to 20 minutes
[yosemite natl park]
for yosemite natl park road information call 209-372-0200
SR 108 (sonora pass)
no traffic restrictions are reported for this area.
Detailed temperatures from around the mountain.
Updated Aug 20 at 5:22 AM
| Main Lodge | |
| Current | 45.1 ° |
| Windchill | 42.3 ° |
| Today's High | 47.5 ° |
| Yesterday's High | 65.4 ° |
| Today's Low | 44.3 ° |
| Yesterday's Low | 45.5 ° |
| Canyon Lodge | |
| Current | 47.7 ° |
| Today's High | 50.6 ° |
| Yesterday's High | 67.2 ° |
| Today's Low | 47.6 ° |
| Yesterday's Low | 49.7 ° |
| McCoy Station | |
| Current | 45.0 ° |
| Today's High | 49.0 ° |
| Yesterday's High | 63.4 ° |
| Today's Low | 45.0 ° |
| Yesterday's Low | 43.0 ° |
| Top Station | |
| Current | 44.6 ° |
| Today's High | 45.2 ° |
| Yesterday's High | 52.0 ° |
| Today's Low | 44.2 ° |
| Yesterday's Low | 34.8 ° |
| Chair 1 Wind | |||
| Tower 5: | 2.1 mph | Bearing: | Southwest |
| Tower 9: | 1.6 mph | Bearing: | Southwest |
August 21, 2008
Movies Under The Stars
Don't miss "Fred Claus" under the stars in the Village. 60 seats will be provided. Seating is based on first come first serve. Please bring a blanket as it could get chilly. Make sure to arrive early for a Ben & Jerrys sponsored animation before the movie. Fresh popcorn and cool drinks will be available - all proceeds will benefit the Mammoth Lakes High Schools soccer teams!
August 21, 2008
Famarama
Famarama kicks off with Movies Under the Stars featuring: 'Wizzard of OZ!"- bring your own seating.
August 22, 2008
Summer Sundown Concert Series
More information to come...
August 22, 2008
1st Annual Fam Fest
3D Firework display and more. More information to come...
| Daily Photo - Updated: Jul 24, 2008 |
Hot Creek
Last Updated Aug 13, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Skills test with Caddis and Mayfly action.The weeds are starting choke the channels in a lot of places target casting at it's best. Many trout playing hide and seek with lots of places for trout to rest. Still a strong hatch of Caddis. The wind has been out of the south in the mid morning switching to south west in the afternoon. Insects moving into a summer pattern morning and evening being ths most active, Caddis, a few little Yellow Stone flies, More Trico's action morning Spinners and Female and evening Male duns! a few more Baetis midday. Fish are starting to become Very!!! selective and a good drift is always productive.
Nymphing Patterns: Surface emergers, olive/brown scuds, Caddis emerger patterns. San Juan Worms, Pt's. Brassie's Beadhead stonefly patterns are all Standard pattern to start with. 18-22s
Dry Fly Patterns: Bwo's,Schroeder's parachute caddis, Brook's Hot Creek caddis, Headlight Caddis, Low profile caddis, Brooks Baetis sprouts, size 18-22s Headlight yellow Sallies 16s PMDs size 16s, Female compara duns tricos size 18-22s
Attractor Patterns: Small stimulators orange/yellow 18's, Ants and Hoppers, Beetles. 14-18s
Upper Owens
Last Updated Aug 13, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Fishing well very crowded on the weekends. The car hatch is on starting at 8am! Remember No Bait fishing above the Benton Crossing Bridge If you witness poaching call on your cell phone CADFG 760 872-1172 you maybe asked to call the Ontario Office. Etiquette is a must as there is plenty of area to fish here, Water levels are low, as little to no water is being deverted from the Grant lake area via the East portal. plenty of Hoppers around, Caddis and Tricos morning and evenings lots of smaller wild fish taking the dry flies, Both the upper and lower sections are holding plenty of planters as DFG has be planting on a regular schedule. The Mosquitoes are out bring bug repellent!! The area from the Benton bridge up to the power lines has been producing along with the the lower end down stream of the bridge . The water is low and clear once you get above the Hot Creek Tribs. best in the mornings and evenings. Larger fish holding in the pools and cutbank areas. Remember the area above the Benton Bridge is under Special Regulations.
The Upper Owens River is under special regulations. It is best to look at your CADFG regulation booklet for current regulations.
Nymphing Patterns: Beadhead Prince Nymphs, Bead Pheasent Tails, Hares Ears, San Juan worms, Are all good flies to start with.
Dry Fly Patterns: Adams, Orange Stimulators, Bwos, Baetis, caddis patterns in size 16-20s
Streamer: Black or Olive Wolly Buggers, Muddler Minnows you will need some weight to get them down no dip and strip necessary. Size 8.
Crowley Tributaries
Last Updated Aug 13, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: No Change with Water levels low and CLEAR some daily hatches ocurring. Stoneflies Caddis, Mayflies, Midges ,Hoppers. Water has slowed down and the fish will be in the pools. Approach with some stealth.
Nymphing Patterns: Hares ears, Soft Hackles, PT's, Prince Nymphs. Micro Mayflies lighten Bugs and Midges.
Dry Fly Patterns: Caddis and Mayflies patterns will take fish midday. Try a orange or yellow stimulator! size 16-18. Hoppers 14s
Streamer: smaller streamers 10-12s.
Lower Owens
Last Updated Aug 16, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Great new!!! The flows have dropped below 300cfs But still very warm in the Bishop area. Be perpared day-time highs nearing a 105. If you plan to fish, look for the seams, eddies, in the runs to hold the fish. Mostly Trico,Caddis,Beatis action. more info in the next few days.
Nymphing Patterns: Try nymphing in the mornings with WD-40s and Brassies, then go to Bead Head Pheasant Tails, Olive Surface Emergers, Barr's wet emergers or RS Emergers. Sizes 18-20s 18-22s.
Dry Fly Patterns: Small midge patterns, bwos Beatis, Trico and Caddis pattern 18-20s.
Attractor Patterns: Small Stimulator, Trudes, Wulffs.
East Walker
Last Updated Aug 13, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: The flows are holding below 100 CFS. The water temps have climbed to the low 70s. Morning will be your best bet if you most fish up there. Best to wait for water temps to drop! The morning temp have begun to cool off but temps in the lake are still very warm. Remember high water temps will strain the fish and may harm them even kill them. If water temps are in the 70s it would be best to move on to another fishery.
Check out the photo in the 08 fishing gallery of the Trico Spinner fall Swarm.
Nymphing Patterns: Pheasant Tails, Olive Surface Emergers, Brassies, Red Copper Johns, Bead Head Black and Olive WD-40s, Disco Midges, Barr's Wet Emergers, Zebra Midges, Olive & Natural Birds Nests, Prince Nymphs, and Green Nori's Caddis. San Juan Worm (red) size 14-16.
Dry Fly Patterns: BWO, PMDs, Hemingway Caddis, EC Caddis, Schroeder's Para Caddis and Adams in sizes 16-18, Orange and Yellow stimulators sizes 14-16.
Streamer: Try Muddler Minnows, Wool Head Sculpins, Bunny Leech's, Woolly Buggers and Dave's Chubs. Use size 6s and see what happens.
Crowley Lake
Last Updated Aug 13, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Regulations have moved to the Trophy Trout Season as of August 1st. Meaning No Bait and Only Artificial flies or lures maybe used! Barbs most be pinched and only 2 trout over 18" maybe kept.
The McGee area has leaned out a little not as crowded. you will need a trolling motor to weave through some of the boats in Crooked Creek as there has been some action in the back off the arm. No real high concentrations of fish any where right now and there's plenty of food and a full moon apraoching. The good news is the water temps have peaked. Most fish holding and feeding from 9ft and deeper. Fish slashing perch fry and Damsel nymphs the fry are about 1/2 long.
*** Note T-storms are posible anytime during the summer months use caution as lightening and strong winds can produce dangerous conditions on the lake.
The lake level is still dropping it's going to get very low by summers end good news is, Lane manager of the Crowley Lake Fish Camp plans on repairing the Boat Ramp and it needs it! Weed beds might be gone by mid August to late August in many parts of the lake. There is no real defined channel and not much of a cool water pool in the McGee Bay area right now the fish move from the Deep water 20 plus ft up the shallow so it spotty and on in others, each day it changes a little. Water Temps are now in the upper 60s in the morning, at the surface, on most parts of the lake by midday in the mid 70s. Make note that as we get near later August the days will shorten and the mornings will be cooler.
Remember with surface temps in the upper 70s the trout will be stressed after fighting them, try to limit the time the fish spend out of the water and revive them before releasing. Avoid prolong photo sessions
*****Use common sense when driving on the backside of the lake, as there are areas where the ground is very soft, and a tow truck will be costly.
Nymphing Patterns: Gray Midges with Black or red and wire have been the best, size 16-18s. Callibaetis Nymphs size 16. Brown and Olive leeches getting some good strikes!!
Dry Fly Patterns: Adams
Streamer: Olive leeches and Wolly Buggers, Damsel fly Nymphs. Perch fry Patterns Try a dropper fly above your streamer with intermediate to fast sinking line. Teeny 130 gain is a good line or a 20 sink tip.
Mammoth Lakes Basin
Last Updated Aug 18, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: No real change try targeting the inlet and outlets on the lakes, morning and evening are the best The Lakes Basin has been well stocked with the exception of Horseshoe. Winds have been calm until the afternoon. Twin lakes & Mamie should have a few Calibaetis mid morning Middle Twin is pretty weedy; Also, try the Evenings on the upper lakes as some ants and beetle winged Termites are getting blown into the lakes. The wild fish will come to the surface along with some Alper's. Try an Adams dry Fly and a PT dropper or a Bead head Zebra midge. Try hiking up to McCloud Lake on Mammoth Pass or some of the lakes towards Duck Pass for a change in scenery
Use streamer patterns in the Olives, Black, Brown. Olive & Browns tend to be the best producer. A local favorite is the Doc's Twin Lake Special. A dropper fly behind the streamer can work well. Beadhead Prince or PT and Hares Ear all can help your odds.
Nymphing Patterns: PTs Nymphs, Beadhead Hares Ears, Zebra Midges, sizes 16-20s
Dry Fly Patterns: Adult midges in the evenings when it glasses off or if it glasses off. size 16-20 patterns
Streamer: Your favorite Black or olive Wolly Buggers. Size 10-12s
San Joaquin
Last Updated Aug 13, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: Still some good actions you will need to work alittle harder as Low water condition continue as summer progresses better in the lower reaches below Postpile area to the lower Rainbow Falls area. A little crowded on the weekends. Most of the insect hatching is occurring in the later afternoons and evenings. Caddis and Mayflies along with some Stone flies. Campgrounds will fill on the weekend and be busy throughout August. The San Joaquin is the Jewel of the Sierras as you are driving into the Backcountry in a true alpine setting! The wild fish are on the smaller size but the colors are great and there willing to rise to a dry fly!!
Nymphing Patterns: BH PTS, Prince, Micro Stonefly, Zebra midges
Dry Fly Patterns: Adams, Humpies, lightCahills Stimulator in Orange & Yellows, Size 14-20s
Attractor Patterns: Royal Coachman, Royal Wluff's, Trudes in sizes 16-20s
Bridgeport Reservoir
Last Updated Aug 13, 2008 by Harry Blackburn: look for the boat ramps to be and issues later this month as the water level continues to drop.Try fishing near Rainbow Point and up near the E Walker channel. Water is clear near that end of the lake. Large fish slurping on the surface taking Blood Midges and Mayflies perch fry and Damsel nymphs on the calm mornings. The lake is about 2/3s full and dropping. Rainbow Point and near the private boat ramp near the East Walker channel, in 12' ft of water, adult blood midges have produced some nice fish on the surface, mid morning. Fish are spread throughout the area.
Nymphing Patterns: Red, Brown, Black/copper wire, midge patterns are working the best. around the 10-14 ft depth. Pts, Hares ears, Damsel fly patterns
Dry Fly Patterns: Adult Midge Some Large(red) ones and Calibaetis Patterns to rising fish.
Attractor Patterns:
Streamer: Large brown or Black leech patterns or hornbergs with a Hares Ear dropper. Damsels patterns,