Mammoth? 2021

Kento

Duke status
Jan 11, 2002
68,687
20,894
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The Bar
I remember when they thought Mammoth was going to go out of business because of the volcano.

LOL if you died skiing because of a volcano eruption.
Nah man, that was a serious bummer when those ski patrollers died when the snow cap over the vent off Chair 3 collapsed under them. Jimmy Juarez was an adjacent BBer, at La Fonda for the DR Classics, all that. sh!t, speaking of Mammoth, RIP Lloyd.

Wouldn't mind doing a Mammoth trip again - great mountain. Going there for many a decade.
 

Autoprax

Duke status
Jan 24, 2011
68,237
22,988
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62
Vagina Point
Nah man, that was a serious bummer when those ski patrollers died when the snow cap over the vent off Chair 3 collapsed under them. Jimmy Juarez was an adjacent BBer, at La Fonda for the DR Classics, all that. sh!t, speaking of Mammoth, RIP Lloyd.

Wouldn't mind doing a Mammoth trip again - great mountain. Going there for many a decade.
I didn't know people already died from that.
 

mundus

Duke status
Feb 26, 2018
36,724
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An amazing thing about Mammoth, a full blizzard could be in progress, drive 40 minutes down to bishop and it is 80 degrees dry and dusty. The year round trout fishing with the Geothermal heated rivers is really sweet as well.
 

PPK96754

Miki Dora status
Apr 15, 2015
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Kauai's north shore ~
Is that Dave Kalamas dad?
Yes. The old Blackie's Crew in Newport just had a reunion with Ilima who was visiting from Maui. Ilima and my brother were living in Newport years back on 17th St near Market Basket (gone now).My brother was on the Costa Mesa PD for a while before he went to the Santa Ana PD and retired a few years back after 44 years with Santa Ana. Now he worked for the LA County Sheriff's Dept. Ilima won the Huntington Beach Contest in 1962,, retired and living life.

 
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afoaf

Duke status
Jun 25, 2008
49,204
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I love Mammoth. But holy hell do I hate the drive. Last time I came back from Mammoth it took 8 hours. Also, 395 is full of idiots on the weekends and I've witnessed so many close calls. At least there are lane dividers now.
I got stuck for 3 hours due to big rig fire in Olancha....took the minivan off roading to get around it

same thing happened when the fires were going off last summer and I had to bypass around to Panamint going southbound to avoid it

I had a lady come across three lanes of traffic in Santa Clarita, nearly took us out!

fkn unsane out there this holiday

the weekender people in mammoth are kind of the worst, too...
 

Muscles

Michael Peterson status
Jun 1, 2013
2,596
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California/Hawaii
The 395 gets much better once you pass Ridgecrest. The stretch from I-15N in the high desert to 395N in Ridgecrest is anxiety inducing since it's constant blind hills and single lane. The lane dividers seemed to make a difference but still kind of worrisome. I've watched cars fly off the highway into the dirt because they tried to pass on a blind hill. The Semis make it terrible since some drivers won't move over when the passing lanes appear because they want to get past the bigger semi in front of them.
 
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Kento

Duke status
Jan 11, 2002
68,687
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The Bar
The 395 gets much better once you pass Ridgecrest. The stretch from I-15N in the high desert to 359N in Ridgecrest is anxiety inducing since it's constant blind hills and single lane. The lane dividers seemed to make a difference but still kind of worrisome. I've watched cars fly off the highway into the dirt because they tried to pass on a blind hill. The Semis make it terrible since some drivers won't move over when the passing lanes appear because they want to get past the bigger semi in front of them.
That stretch is horrible. I had a semi try to force me into a head-on collision with another semi when he sped up to stop me from passing. This was in my old Explorer which had limited acceleration. Terminatored that decreasing differential and knew I had to go onto left shoulder to avoid getting killed; made my intentions known well ahead, everyone kind of skipped a beat and after truck went by, resumed my pass. But sh!t that was sketchy. This was before they solid-lined the whole stretch.

The traffic wasn't as bad before they did all the building in Adelanto; gotten gradually worse.

Speaking of Adelanto, pre-development, did any of you ever stop at that dingy strip club around there? Always curious how bad/great it was but also always on a mission to get to/from Mammoth. Same reasons why I have never stopped and explored that old prison/radar base.

On a less corrosive note, if time for a detour, go to Domingo's in Boron, just west of Kramer Junction. Great Mexican food but beware their Cadillac Margaritas. So good but they pack a wallop.

Just imagine for the price of that bullet train, could have made 395 a six-lane highway the whole way with complimentary porterhouse steaks thrown in every 100 miles. Hwy 5 also.
 

$kully

Duke status
Feb 27, 2009
60,006
16,715
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That stretch is horrible. I had a semi try to force me into a head-on collision with another semi when he sped up to stop me from passing. This was in my old Explorer which had limited acceleration. Terminatored that decreasing differential and knew I had to go onto left shoulder to avoid getting killed; made my intentions known well ahead, everyone kind of skipped a beat and after truck went by, resumed my pass. But sh!t that was sketchy. This was before they solid-lined the whole stretch.
I used to be overly confident in dry road conditions passing when I had my turbo GTI. Once I moved on from that to my Mazda AWD and had a nearly catastrophic passing experience trying to pass with ease like I used to with my turbo, I learned really quick not to bother. That stretch is just too damn treacherous. It’s simply not worth it.

Same with speeding and speed traps. I used to pay the tollkeepers once a season. But it’s just not worth it.

In the end you save 10-15min by passing and speeding your way up there. One speeding ticket is close to the cost of a weekend of boarding or a new board. And the cost of a collision on that road could be lethal.

I just put on a good playlist, turn up the music, eat a very mild edible and set the adaptive cruise control to 74mph and chill.