The Sierra got rocked in the final week of 2025. The whole West Coast did over the Holiday week, to be specific, but snowboarders and skiers who were able to get out to Mammoth Mountain caught the brunt of the massive storm: between 113 inches to 171 inches of snow since December 24. According to OnTheSnow, the months of December and January average 136 inches of snowfall combined at Mammoth, so the two-week stretch that featured a massive holiday storm have already outpaced that total and, in Casey Willax’s words, “Winter is finally here.”
It’s been a tragic start to winter at Mammoth Mountain, of course, in light of the passing of ski patroller Cole Murphy on December 26. Mammoth closed operations that day and the next, and reduced lift operations on December 31 as Mammoth team members honored Murphy. As the resort said on social media, those two weeks were difficult. “Hard on our employees, hard on our guests and hard on our community,” Mammoth wrote this week, adding that all the snow has tasked its crews with “working tirelessly to perform the necessary mitigation work around the entire mountain to expand terrain.”
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It’s fair to say recent events have reminded everybody of the gratitude we all have for our ski patrollers. Enjoying the spoils of a massive storm or a two-week stretch like the one Mammoth has experienced is like nothing else. The ski patrol’s hard work, their years of experience, and their passion all make powder days safer for the rest of us. Hell, they make it possible.
Willax recently made the trek to the Eastern Sierra to cash in on all that fresh powder. And he definitely had to earn it, complete with waiting on a tow truck and a morning visit to the mechanic. But once he got to Mammoth he had a warm bed waiting for him, and a night of good sleep making sure those legs were fresh for some very enjoyable deep turns and some very loud hoots.
