I live in the L.A. area & I've purchased a Mammoth pass for the last 2 seasons. I love it there. I don't go locally anymore cuz I had an incident with a 6', 200 lb, guy... my legs took most of the impact from his board.
There are too many wreckless people locally so now my only option is the open runs in Mammoth. The -easy & main- trails get somewhat crowded during holiday weekends but thats when you go explore other trails. The cool part about Mammoth is that there are plenty of other trails!
Pros: Quality of Runs, Shuttles, Snow Quality
Cons: , Pricey accomodations
more