We went to Mammoth today and it was so nice to be back on the mountain! I was a little worried about the conditions given the dry spell they’ve had these past couple weeks but we were not disappointed. The snow was still soft but fast and the coverage on the main runs was great. We spent most of the day on the snow and at the end of the day, we packed up our gear and took a scenic ride on the Panoramic Gondola up to the top with my camera bag. It was great being able to just stand there and take a bunch of photos. I took the fisheye and Holga with me and had some fun.

Afterwards, we had dinner at Base Camp Cafe, which looked like a hole-in-the-wall restaurant but had some really yummy food at non-Mammoth prices. I enjoyed my first taste of Italian Wedding Soup that’s made with chicken soup, mini meatballs, tiny round pasta, and herbs. Yum.

Back in Bishop, where we’re staying, we visited the Mountain Light Gallery. It features the works of Galen Rowell, a long-time award-winning photographer that has many famous photos published in National Geographic. Many of his photos included a short blurb about how he captured the photo or what he was doing when the photo was taken. He travelled the world and took photos in Antarctica and the Himalayas. However, he also took many photos in places that are so accessible. Some of the photos were captured right here in Bishop! It was simply inspirational.

By the way, the Holiday Inn Express in Bishop totally rocks. It’s cheap, clean, the room entrances are indoors, has modern amenities, has free breakfast in the morning, and is walking distance to restaurants. They even have pillowcases that have “firm” and “soft” embroidered on them so you have a choice of pillow firmness. And of course, it has free WiFi in your room for after-skiing surfing. What more do you need?

Here are photos from the weekend.