June Mountain ski area
June Mountain | ||
---|---|---|
Terrain parks Mambo | Upper Sunrise Jib Sunrise Super Pipe | |
Snowfall | 250 in (640 cm) | |
Snowmaking | Yes | |
Night skiing | No | |
Website | www.JuneMountain.com |
June Mountain ski area is a winter resort in the eastern Sierra Nevada of California, located near June Lake, southeast of Yosemite National Park.
June Mountain, like its neighbor and current owner,
June Mountain hosted the 2006 Ski Mountaineering Race Series and the ski and snowboard portions of the 2006 California Winter Games in March 2006.
June Mountain also offers chair lift rides to the chalet throughout the summer and contains hiking trails and other scenic features that are accessible throughout the summer months.
On June 21, 2012, Mammoth Mountain and the Starwood Capital Group announced that they would close June Mountain for the summer and winter 2012–2013 season, after 50 years of continuous operation.[1] An active citizen movement arose in response, raising concerns about the prospects for sustaining the local community if the mountain closed.[2] With a new strategy to finally invest in snowmaking, a chairlift, and marketing,[1] June Mountain re-opened for the 2013–2014 season.[3]
In 2014, Mammoth Mountain purchased Bear Mountain and Snow Summit for $38 million.[4] In 2017, Mammoth Resorts announced its sale by Starwood to a partnership of Aspen Skiing Company and KSL Capital Partners, later named Alterra Mountain Company.[5]
Lifts and Trails
June Mountain operates 7 ski lifts: 2 high-speed quads, 4 doubles, and 1 people mover for beginners. Throughout 1996 to 1997,
Main Lifts: [7]
Name | Type | Manufacturer | Built | Vertical (feet) |
Length (feet) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
J1 | Double | Riblet |
1960 | 1045 | 3050 | Riders can load and unload at both terminals, at 100% capacity. |
J2 | SLI | 1970 | 567 | 3924 | ||
J3 | Riblet | 1964 | 107 | 1130 | Former lift to June Mountain summit, original length was 5030’. This lift used to load in both directions at the bottom of the valley. When J7 was built in 1988, the mid-station became the bottom station. | |
J4 | SLI | 1970 | 878 | 7471 | Shortened in 1986, similar to J3, the mid-station became the bottom station. | |
J6 | High Speed Quad | Yan / Doppelmayr USA | 1986 | 1312 | 8476 | First Yan detachable lift ever installed in America.[8] Retrofitted by Doppelmayr in 1996. |
J7 | 1987 | 1018 | 3520 | Retrofitted by Doppelmayr in 1997, and the main lift to Rainbow Summit. |
Removed Lifts:
Name | Type | Manufacturer | Years of Operation | Vertical (feet) |
Length (feet) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
J5 | Double | Riblet | 1978-2008 | 350 | 1250 | Formerly used for ski racing and training. Located at lookers left of the J1 lift. |
QMC | Funitel | Yan | 1986-1996 | 1130 | 3260 | Used as primary transport from the base lodge to June Meadows Chalet. Suffered many mechanical failures and shortcomings, and was discontinued after 10 years of service. |
Mountains
June Mountain ski area consists of two mountains, Rainbow Mountain, with an elevation of 10,040 feet (3,060 m), and June Mountain, with a peak of 10,090 feet (3,075 m). The total vertical rise from the lower ticket office to the summit of June Mountain is 2,545 feet. June Mountain averages 250 inches of snowfall a year along with some snowmaking capabilities and normal season runs from December through April. The ski area covers 1,500 acres and has 35 named trails of which 20% are advanced, 45% are intermediate, and 35% are beginner. June Mountain is also home to two terrain parks and a 22-foot superpipe.[6] Many opportunities exist, however, for riders to explore the trees that cover much of the ski areas total acreage and access fresh snow off piste. June Mountain has also established itself as a favorite spot among locals due to its small crowds and easy access to powder following a storm.[9]
Backcountry
The lifts at June Mountain Ski Resort also give riders access to multiple backcountry ski locations that would normally require an all day hike to reach. Examples of these backcountry zones are San Joaquin Ridge, the Negatives, Fern Creek, Carson Peak, Devil's Slide, and Four Seasons. Due to the location of the resort, 5,000 foot descents are easily available with only 2,000 feet of ascending by skis. Because of this and the variety of backcountry terrain found in the immediate proximity of the resort, June Mountain is considered to have some of the best lift accessed backcountry in the West.[10]
Services
Most of the mountain's services are found at June Meadows chalet, at the top of chair J1. Services include a restaurant and a renowned bar. It is also the home of the ski school, a general merchandise shop, and a ski shop, supplying skis, snowboards, and their requirements. Another restaurant on the mountain, "Stew Pots Slim's", located at the base of chair J7, is popular with more advanced skiers, for its location next to the terrain parks and June Mountain's many advanced runs. It serves drinks, sandwiches, soups and chili.
Other
June Mountain has some
References
- ^ a b "Mammoth Mountain CEO Announces Sudden Closure of June Mountain". Powder Magazine. Retrieved 2012-06-22.
- ^ Grasseschi, Wendilyn (July 13, 2012). "Rusty Gregory takes the hot seat over June Mountain closure". Mammoth Times.
- ^ Glazner, Elizabeth (October 28, 2013). "June Mountain ready to reopen on Dec. 13". Inyo Register. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.
- ^ "Mammoth Buys Bear Mountain". On the Snow. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ Martin, Hugo (12 April 2017). "Mammoth Resorts is being sold to a Colorado ski partnership – LA Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
- ^ a b "June Mountain Ski Area Trail Map & Stats | Official Site". Trail Map and Stats. June Mountain. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "June Mountain, CA". 2 July 2018.
- ^ "Yan High Speed Quad Retrofits 20 Years Later". 15 March 2016.
- ISBN 9780915009879.
- ^ "June Mountain Backcountry Skiing". Sierra Mountain Guides. Retrieved 9 May 2015.