Mammoth

Mammoth, CA

Mammoth Lakes is a small resort town located in the High Sierra's about an hour south of Yosemite, and a three hour drive south of Reno, NV. During the winter it plays hosts to a fairly large ski resort. During the summer people flock to the small town for hiking, golfing, and other activities. This happens to be one of my favorite locations, despite the three hour drive from Reno, as the food in town is great. I've eaten in a different place each of my two visits, and have yet had a bad meal.

The course is about five miles out of town on Mammoth Scenic Loop. The course this year was just under a mile long. It begins with a quarter mile turn that is almost a 180 followed by a long straightaway, with a slight kink in the road, followed by another straightaway. There were three sections of the course that was modified using cones. One section was immediately following the kink, making the turn sharper. The speeds of the course were up near the 70s!

As usual there was a delay in getting started, so most people milled around with boards strewn everywhere. I'm not sure what the delay was, apparently there was some jurisdiction problems. EDI got the papers from the city, but we were on state land, or vice versa, or something. Alls I know is the cop that was there now didn't want us to race. EDI managed to smooth everything over.  Meanwhile there were some helmets on display. I finally got a shot of Waldo in his new DayGlo lime green leathers.

We finally got practice out of the way.

Racing started early on Sunday. EDI has an amateur class this year, with almost a dozen racers. The amateurs lined up to race first.  Beagle never stops fooling around.

At lunch time Team Bod Rodz lined up their beautiful looking boards. And Dave Auld has just put on his brand new leathers for the first time.

Rain threatened all day but we managed to get all of it finished before it rained. I was told by many of the locals that this type of rain was unusual. The day I arrived the rain poured down in buckets. Some more of the amateurs line up as the rain threatens. 

After being DQ on the start in my race, I got a few photos. This course is a drafting course. You can see Fryer trying to air brake to get a better drafting position. Doing pan shots are very difficult. I was love it when one comes out. Dave Auld looks even better in his new leathers on his new Rogers Bros board. Some of the racing was very tight. Here they were three wide, Bob somehow managed to transfer even though he was behind here. Fryer cruises through the wide sweeper.

Taking shots from road level are always difficult, these are two of the last three runs.

Rob Rhuman takes Gold. Sitting back, drinking a "bud" While the podium is prepared Steve Pearl gets measured for a Rogers Bros board. So is EVERYONE getting measured for a Rogers Bros?

The podium is ready. The trophies and Champagne are lined up.

Gravity Bike Podium.

Amatuer luge, with half of Team Bod Rodz.

Amatuer Standup.

Pro Luge throwing some champagne

Pro Standup and Biker a bit soaked.

Another fine race in Mammoth Lakes, and amazingly the weather held up. If you ever come out to the area, you may want to spend some extra time. Just a few miles from town is the top of the mountain with a breath taking view of the Minarets. If you drive from California the easiest route is through Yosetime. Plus there is June Lake, Mono Lake, and Bodie Ghost Town.