The day that we drove up there for was Friday. Over 25(!) feet of snow had blanketed the mountains since I was last there during Christmas week. The crowds were light at Mammoth Mountain that day, which was exactly what I was looking for, and the snow couldn't have been better. The runs I took, I had to myself, and lunch was a breeze at McCoy Station, where you can always find a decent table in the main dining room of this cafeteria-style eatery one or two hours before and after lunchtime. The best runs of the day were the blue/black-level runs off the backside of the mountain below Chair 14 and the runs off Chair 22, off the cone in the middle of the mountain.
The next day was spent at June Mountain, 15 miles north of Mammoth Lakes on I-395, to avoid the MLK weekend crowds that had descended upon the 11,503-foot mountain from southern California. June provided the usual attractions--powder snow on its north-facing slopes, family-style, low-key facilities, very friendly staff, even friendlier fellow skiers, more toned-down skiing, and the best cruiser runs available in the Sierra outside of Northstar-at-Tahoe. The final day was spent back at Mammoth, though we had a late start after an especially hearty breakfast of veggie omelettes at the hole-in-the-wall Good Life Cafe. Starting at 10am, we avoided the crowds by skiing mostly the middle, upper, and northern (farthest from town) parts of the mountain. The snow was not noticeably worse than Saturday, but the crowds kept us from enjoying the solitude that Mammoth normally provides on its advanced slopes. Nevertheless, the trip turned out great with the two of us leaving Sunday night to get a jump on the rest of the crowds driving back to SoCal on Monday. 9/10