In case you haven’t heard, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area had an INCREDIBLE amount of snowfall in January, totaling 246 inches for the month (that’s more than 20 feet!)!  This absolutely smashes the previous record set in December 2010 of 209 inches, and even beats out a couple of our drought years’ total YEARLY snowfall.  It has spawned its own hashtag, #JanuBuried, and the town of Mammoth Lakes has been featured on the news across the nation and prominently on the Weather Channel.   As someone who has lived in Mammoth Lakes through three previous record breaking winters (2004/2005, 2005/2006, and 2010/2011) and also through the snowpocalypse of December 2010, even I have been astounded by the amount of snowfall we’ve seen in January.

So what does this mean for you?  Well if you’re a homeowner, there are a few things you need to be aware of (more on that later), but as a visitor, it means you’re in for some epic ski days!  After you drive up past the 10 foot walls of snow in town and arrive at the Mountain, get ready for some quad-burning fun, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the mid 200’s.  All of us Mammoth “locals” can tell you that this harkens back to the “old days” of waking up at 4 am to shovel and then making it out to the mountain to make turns in fresh, white, powdery snow until our legs couldn’t hold us up.  With no rocks in sight, all 3500 acres of Mammoth’s resort terrain is your playground!  The Shady Rest and Tamarack cross country ski trails are also fully filled in and groomed for the first time in years!

For homeowners here in Mammoth, there are some special concerns that this amount of snow brings about.  Below are some pointers, and for more information you can also visit the Mammoth Lakes Fire Department’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/mammothlakesfire/?rf=274775552570107.

• Shovel your roofs – snow weight on your roof can cause the frame of your house to go off-square and can make opening doors hard or impossible, and can even cause your windows to break because of the pressure.
• Make sure your exhaust vents for your heating system (usually on your roof) are shoveled out to prevent buildup of Carbon Monoxide inside your house
• Dig out your propane tank so it can be refilled and/or repaired if necessary. Be careful to avoid any propane lines as they can be cut by a shovel or snow removal equipment.
• Dig out any egress windows in the   Most 1^st story windows are under the snow right now, so make sure to dig those out to use as emergency exits.
• Shovel, shovel, and shovel some more. Make paths and parking areas wider than they need to be to make room for more snow storage as our winter progresses.

Get up here to enjoy the snow, and above all have fun and be careful!

Posted by Eric Leach
Eric@ResortPropertyRealty.com
(800) 921-6520