Mammoth Mountain Ski Trip

Mammoth is the right name for the ski resort. It is Mammoth! No one ever ran out of new runs and fresh snow - it is an incredibly beautiful area. We landed at Reno and took a deluxe motor coach to the Juniper Springs Lodge, with refreshments along the way. It was truly ski-in, ski-out to the lift and very nice accommodations.

It snowed so much two days of the trip that only the brave went out and skied the mountain. Jan Gast and Laurie Harness skied both of those days and were our heroines. They scoffed at the elements and smiled all the way down the runs. Jim Roche, Nick Fekete, Tim Lanz and Al Moore were at the top skiing the double black diamonds, even with the tons of snow we had. When Jim came in, he had an iced mustache and looked like a snow statue, or possibly a Yeti. For those of us that decided not to ski the first day, we ventured into town. Raelene Darling and John Collins have frequented Mammoth Mountain and proved to be worthy tour guides. The other days were beautiful and spring-like weather. Go figure . . . almost like Texas weather with the change. Skiing was fabulous!!!!!

The first night we had a Welcome Party and the Mammoth Rep, Peter Sanchez, came and gave us information on dining, ski conditions and the mountain (lifts/runs, etc.). All of that new knowledge made us hungry, so a group of us went out to dinner. Mammoth is great town with fabulous dining in Mammoth Village and downtown. We selected German one night and Seafood another. We all had a ball ordering and devouring all the different seafood specialties . . . and the seafood was so fresh!!!!! As a group, we met every day at lunch on the mountain and for either happy hour and/or dinner every night, at which time the next days plans were communicated.

Speaking of dinners, Helga and her condo mates, Thetis, Jim, Nick and Al Moore hosted an Academy Awards night. They all pitched in and prepared a fabulous dinner in their room. Tim Lanz made it a little more exciting and took bets on the winners, so a little money did change hands.

Definitely the Most Improved Skier Awards go to Ira Archer and Pat Bartell. They're both doing great and are hooked on the sport!!! Ira wasn't sure after the 2nd day, but by the end of the trip, he assured us he will be back on the slopes next season. Sherry Hughes came in second, she's taking the blues with no problem this year after receiving the Most Improved last year. The best outfit was Irmgaard Arthur's hot pink jumpsuit, you could find her even in the blizzard!! The runner up was Jan Gast wearing her canary jacket and helmet cover, which definitely made for easy spotting on the slopes. You had to see her!!!! We had new members Carol Neumann and Mark Upcavage join us for their first DSC trip. They are avid skiers and snowshoers , and we know they'll be on future trips. Pat and Lois Gallagher are always fun and were out there having a blast with all of us.

Cheryl and I hosted a happy hour in our condo a couple of evenings. The last night Cheryl and I cooked dinner for the group, followed by a dice game, LCR, which was so fun (a little more money exchanging hands, don't tell!). Cheryl, your soup was delicious!!!! And thanks David and Pat for dicing the veggies and helping us prepare for the event.

Cheryl Acres, the assistant trip leader, did an excellent job assisting me during the trip. She helped make things run smooth and kept everyone connected and informed. It was a wonderful trip and I think all of us are connected and will try to ski together next year. Happy skiing!