Skiing is already a ridiculously expensive family vacation…skiing during Covid takes additional investment of time and money to pre-plan and execute. We’re finding each resort has implemented different rules and that, as with anything during Covid times, those rules are subject to change at a moment’s notice. Why go through the hassle? My kids are 4 and 5…this is prime time to learn to ski without fear. And, somewhere in the mix of credit card swipes, lost gloves, these are too tight, I’m too hot, I can’t carry this craziness, there are some memorable family moments we will treasure in the future. I hope.
Mammoth was our first trip of the 2021 ski season. And we started planning it 3 months in advance of MLK weekend. We’ve been to Mammoth many times, but this year is DIFFERENT. www.ikonpass.com has a guide for 20/21 new protocols at all 44 Ikon Pass mountain destinations. Definitely check it out.
Here’s my first hand guide to planning a Mammoth trip with kids…
1) walk up tickets are not available this season and availability of advanced-purchase lift tickets is scarce, so it’s easiest to have an Ikon Pass to ski or to use one of the 10 friends/family passes given to each Ikon Pass holder. Ikon Pass is paid ahead of time so skiing should be “free” for the Pass holder UNLESS skiing on a black out date. The Ikon friends/family pass gives your guests a ticket discount at Mammoth and should be reserved ahead by calling 800-MAMMOTH. Friends/family rate is $150 per day for a 3-day adult pass ($40 per day off regular rate).
2) 4 years and under are free all winter at Mammoth. There is a $25 initial “processing” fee.
3) 5 year olds and above will require the Ikon pass or Ikon friends/family pass even if they are booked for ski lessons
4) boots and skis/boards are NOT included in ski school cost.
5) ski school MUST be pre-booked. There are no group lessons this year for kids. At 7 yrs old, they’ll allow 2 kids to split an instructor. When we booked 3 months ago, they let Charlotte split her class even though she is 5. Website says 7. She shared an instructor with our friend’s daughter who is 7. Full day: 9-3:45PM.
6) 3-6 yr olds are supposed to have a private instructor in a 1-1 ratio and can only book hourly lessons starting at 9:30AM. You can book multiple hours, but need to pick up your child at the end of each hour then check them back in 15 minutes later. Makes it more than difficult for the parent to actually go skiing. BUT, we talked with the instructor and he agreed to skip the 15 minute breaks for us and just keep the 4 yr old the whole time.
7) except for lunch! You must pick up all your kids for a half hour lunch break, feed them and return them to the instructor.
8) the new private lesson rule is much more expensive than kids’ group lessons of years past. We decided on 2 days of instruction for the big kids instead of 3 and saved $500 per family since we were splitting costs. The 4 year olds had 3 hours of instruction per day for 3 days and it was about $1,300 per kid total.
On to the trip…we’re in Orange County, CA, so it was a quick-ish 5 ½ hour drive. I packed 1,000 snacks, 2 coloring books, 1 set of crayons and 2 sticker books and karaoked to classic California road trip music: the Eagles. Our friends met us in Mammoth with their two kids ages 7 and 4 and split the cost of our rented 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo. We had to cancel our condo reservation about 2 weeks before the trip because California banned non-essential travel. But we still booked off-line with the same owner and paid her through Venmo.
The first night, we ate dinner on the drive up, but since we had a kitchen, we made Korean short ribs the second night for everyone, our friends made baked ziti the third night and we ordered pizza the fourth. Restaurants were only open for take-out. It was much easier and cost effective to cook. For lunch, we packed lawn chairs and would bring sandwiches in a cooler in the morning, pick up the kids for lunch and tailgated outside our cars in the Canyon Lodge parking lot. Not fancy, but cheap, easy and no line for food. Now, it was also 50 degrees out during MLK weekend, so eating in lawn chairs outside our cars felt tropical…colder weather would have meant a quick drive (5 minutes) back to the condo and lunch there. Something to note when booking your accommodations! No indoor dining was permitted by state of CA at the time we went to Mammoth.
Because of the limited ticket availability and limited hotel/condo rentals, even on a holiday weekend, we rarely waited in lift lines. It was so refreshing to cruise down Broadway and jump right on the express lift up the mountain again. I’ll take patchy snow and all the new Covid protocols for no lift lines! We had a great time skiing the front and back of Mammoth.
On day 3, the older girls skied with the parents. Those private lessons really paid off. They skied steep blues and anything we took them down…and they did it with relative control. The girls also skied in the trees and went over any jumps they could find. Sooo, in the end, after all the expense and hassle, we made great memories, spent quality time with friends and family and had some ski skill breakthroughs! Worth it.
We Don’t Sit Still 