Mammoth Mountain is one of the largest ski mountains in America, and with an average annual snowfall of 400 inches you’ll want to ski and ride every single acre.
The problem is that you can’t ski or snowboard every acre on Mammoth Mountain during your average ski trip, and when Mammoth gets powder you’ll want to ride or ski only the best parts of the mountain. To help you make the most of your Mammoth Mountain visit, we’ve highlighted the lifts with access to the best trails, snow, and features on the mountain. Check them out below and plan your day at Mammoth now!
Chair 22 and Chair 25
Chair 22 and 25 drop skiers and snowboarders at a similar place on the mountain, but the different types of terrain accessible from these lifts are as different as they can be.
Chair 25 and 22 both pick riders up above the lodges and their crowds and both drop off in a central location that makes most of the mountain accessible, making them ideal lifts to explore the mountain from. However, Chair 25 gives riders access to challenging blues while Chair 22 makes riders choose between black diamonds and double black diamonds. In fact, Chair 25 sits above some of the most challenging terrain on the mountain, so circle it if you’re looking for an exciting ride.
High Five Express and Face Lift Express
Unlike Chair 22 and 25, High Five Express and Facelift Express drop riders off at locations that are fairly far apart from each other. However, the reason they’re both on this list is because the terrain between the two is too good to pass up.
Once again, the central location of these two lifts opens up most of the mountain to you, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a better place to ride on a powder day than the black diamonds between these two lifts. Face Lift gives you access to these runs, but after one ride down you’ll see why it’s important to know that High-Five Express picks up right where all these runs funnel together so you can do it all over again.
Chair 12
If you’re looking for trails that are friendlier to beginners and intermediates, Chair 12 offers plenty of blues that will keep you happy all day long.
Thanks to its location away from the base lodges, Chair 12 doesn’t suffer from the crowds that fill up the other lifts and runs that are beginner friendly. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that there is a ton of great terrain underneath this lift either.
Chair 23
Everyone should visit Mammoth’s Summit once, but if you want to ride the steep bowls and chutes at the top of the mountain without taking the gondola you can take Chair 23. Although Chair 23 does not give access to all of the runs at the top of Mammoth, it does give access to some of the best along with the backside of the mountain.
What’s your favorite lift in Mammoth Mountain?
If you are looking for more maps of the area, check out our Trail Maps page.