As a former Bay Area resident and long time Mammoth skier I take exception to the reviews contention that Mammoth is too far from the Bay Area. If you take Highway 88 instead of I-80 you can get to Mammoth in about 5 hours from most of the Bay Area. Still to long a drive you say? Well, there's a litle place called Kirkwood about halfway between the Bay Area and Mammoth that breaks up the drive quite nicely.
By the way, when the crowds are bad a Mammoth, there's a litle area called June Mountain about 20 minutes away that will still have zero lift lines. OK, you're not going to scare yourself on any 45 degree slopes at June but it has some great advanced runs served by high-speed lifts. And your Mammoth ticket is good at June.
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