Mammoth Upgrades to Come Off Slopes

This is rapidly becoming a landmark season for Mammoth Mountain.

Located in the Eastern Sierra, 350 miles north of Los Angeles off U.S. 395, the resort has attracted Southland skiers for long weekends since founder Dave McCoy fired up his first portable rope tow in 1938. With nearby June Mountain, which McCoy acquired in 1986, there are nearly 4,000 acres of skiable terrain served by 39 lifts.

Now, after recently celebrating his 80th birthday and the 40th anniversary of Mammoth’s first chairlift, McCoy has brought in a partner.

With the aim of making Mammoth/June a complete destination resort, McCoy sold all of his developable real estate adjoining the ski areas plus a 33% interest in the mountain operations to Intrawest Corporation, a Canadian firm that also owns Blackcomb and Panorama in British Columbia, Mont Tremblant in Quebec, Stratton Mountain in Vermont and Snowshoe in West Virginia.

What this means to skiers is that in the coming years, Mammoth and June should get some upscale lodging and base facilities to match their mountains. Included in Intrawest’s purchase are 14 acres in Mammoth Lakes, 92 acres at the base of June Mountain and 24 acres at Juniper Ridge--most of which would provide ski-in, ski-out access.

Although Mammoth likes to call itself a four-season resort, with expanded facilities for summertime activities included in its plans, the truth is that last “winter” lasted 310 days, from the start of skiing on Oct. 8, 1994, to closing day, Aug. 13, 1995. Obviously, this didn’t leave much time for golf, fishing and mountain biking.

Skiers, of course, weren’t complaining.

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The Ski Express, in its 11th season as the main fund-raising vehicle for the Jimmie Heuga Center, will come to Snow Summit on Sunday.

Open to everyone, the event works this way: Teams of three skiers, including at least one female, will compete in a four-hour marathon and a giant slalom. Each team is required to raise a minimum of $1,000 in sponsorships to enter. The winning team, determined by a combination of total vertical feet skied, race finish and money generated, will earn an expense-paid trip to the national finals at Vail, Colo., April 10-14.

Other prizes will also be awarded, and more details can be obtained by calling (800) 367-3101. The Jimmie Heuga Center, at Avon, Colo., performs research and provides support to persons with multiple sclerosis.

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Kyle Wieche, a former U.S. ski team member, partially broke the Austrian stranglehold on men’s pro ski racing last Friday when he defeated current tour leader Hans Hofer in the giant slalom semifinals at Heavenly, before losing to Sebastian Vitzthum in the finals.

However, order was restored the next day when Bernhard Knauss led an Austrian sweep of the first four places in another GS.

Both the men’s U.S. Pro Ski Tour and the Women’s Pro Ski Tour have undergone an ownership change that will result in the two circuits being combined into one organization.

The new owners, DelWilber and Associates, a sports marketing and management company based in McLean, Va., announced that Ed Rogers, who previously administered both tours, will continue as director of the joint operation.

Skiing Notes

Former World Cup star Julie Parisien won Saturday’s pro giant slalom at Locke Mills, Maine. . . . She would have come in handy Sunday at Serre Chevalier, France, where Americans again failed to produce any notable results in a slalom. The women will race this weekend in a downhill and a slalom at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, with Austria’s Anita Wachter continuing to lead the overall standings with 875 points, 81 more than Germany’s Martina Ertl. . . . The men will be at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, for a downhill and super-giant slalom. Norway’s Lasse Kjus returned from his injury-enforced absence to race in Saturday’s slalom at Sestriere, Italy, but did not place in the top 30 of the first run. However, he still tops the overall standings with 956 points, 203 more than Austria’s Gunther Mader. . . . The Freestyle World Cup returns to Europe for the remainder of its schedule, starting this weekend at Kirchberg, Austria.