More Air Time, Less Chair Time: Mammoth Mountain Announces Resort Enhancements ... - MarketWatch (press release)

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif., Sep 15, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --Less Chair Time: New high-speed lift with better access to more terrain

--Resort 2.0: Less waiting and more savings with RFID lift access and MyMammoth Direct

--More in Store for #1 Rated Terrain Park: Enhancements and events for Unbound

--Families Asked, Mammoth Answered: New Snow Tube Park and family programming

--Mammoth Dining Redefined: New partnership with Levy Restaurants

A five-year resort enhancement plan will kick off for winter 2011-12 with a blizzard of improvements as Mammoth Mountain continues to build on a reputation as the premier mountain resort in California. Cutting edge changes in store will provide faster access to the slopes, a completely transformed culinary experience, a new high-speed quad, enhanced air service and a snow tube park catering to the whole family. Here is what's new at Mammoth Mountain for this winter:

-- More Air Time With New and Expanded Daily Air Service -- Visitors yearning to take advantage of the fresh powder will now have even more ways to get to the slopes with new seasonal air service from San Diego and Orange County and additional options from San Francisco. Continued service from Los Angeles and San Jose rounds out the many cities you can now fly to Mammoth from.*

-- Less Chair Time With New High-Speed Quad -- Mammoth Mountain is installing a new Doppelmayr high-speed quad chairlift to replace Chair 5, a fixed-grip 3-seat lift. The new lift, the High-Five Express, will whisk 2,400 people uphill per hour (600 more people per hour than the old chair) and will cut ride time in half. Adding to the #1 network of ski lifts in North America as ranked by the readers of Ski Magazine for the last two years, the chair terminals will be positioned to provide improved access to more terrain on one of the mountain's highest access points and most popular locales.

-- Less Waiting With RFID -- With the understanding that guests want to ski, not wait in ticket lines, skiers and snowboarders at Mammoth will enjoy direct-to-lift access thanks to a newly installed RFID gate system. The new system will help eliminate two of the largest issues for any ski resort: cumbersome lines at lifts and ticket windows. By using MyMammoth passes that can be re-loaded with lift access credits online or over the phone, guests can bypass ticket windows altogether and head straight to the lifts. With 68 total RFID gates installed across 19 different lifts, Mammoth's will be the largest RFID system at a ski resort in North America.

-- Resort 2.0: More Savings With MyMammoth Direct -- Thanks to MyMammoth Direct, Mammoth's new direct-to-lift ticket system, guests who register with MyMammoth can save some cash and skip the lines at the ticket window when they pre-load and reload lift passes on their MyMammoth card. Preloading passes with a seven-day advance purchase entitles guests to a savings of nearly 15% on lift tickets. MyMammoth purchases for lift tickets can be made by calling 800.MAMMOTH, online at MammothMountain.com or through the state-of-the art mobile app Mammoth2Go for iPhone and launching this season for Android.

-- More in Store for #1 Rated Terrain Park -- Unbound, rated the top terrain park in North America by SKI Magazine, continues to evolve for the coming winter. Extensive dirt work has been done to the half pipes at Main and Canyon Lodges to ensure the earliest possible opening for Mammoth's world-famous half pipes. The Art Park, a hit last year in its inaugural season, will be returning with Jamie Lynn as the featured artist designing a whole new array of features. Resort partners Monster Energy and Oakley will be creating their own unique terrain features to add to Mammoth's impressive fleet of over 90 rails, boxes and jibs. The U.S. Snowboarding and Freeskiing Grand Prix, the West Coast Invitational and the ongoing Mammoth Concert Series will highlight the event lineup bringing activities and music to Mammoth throughout the season.

-- New Additions to the #1 Family Resort in California -- With the largest ski and snowboard school in California, and over 100 beginner and intermediate runs, Mammoth has a long history as California's favorite family winter destination. To give families even more fun activities this winter, Mammoth is opening a snow tube park. Tubers and sledders will fly down groomed slopes at the snow tube park located just above The Village at Mammoth. In addition, Mammoth is re-defining the family ski and snowboard experience with new products, programs and guest service initiatives to make sharing time on the snow together easier. Families will also enjoy new kids dining options at all food venues and the return of a winter full of family events including the Night of Lights and Woolly's Winter Carnival. This year, kids of all ages will get more opportunities to meet Mammoth's famous mascot, Woolly.

-- Mammoth Dining Redefined With Levy Restaurants Partnership -- After teaming up to introduce the first ever "Roving Mammoth" burrito snowcat last season, Mammoth Mountain and Levy Restaurants will now expand their relationship for an industry-unique, resort-wide taste experience both on and off the slopes. Levy is an award-winning company known for its large-scale culinary venues in Southern California as well as some of the finest restaurants in Chicago including the James Beard-winning Spiaggia.

"Mammoth has always been about a celebration of mountain adventure and sharing these great experiences with your friends and families. With nearly $20 million in resort improvements for the coming season, we are continuing to look for innovative ways to excite our guests and allow them to enjoy the best skiing and riding experience anywhere," said Howard Pickett, Chief Marketing Officer for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.

Beginning October 1, Mammoth is offering a reduced-priced season pass for the coming winter season to enjoy all these great improvements. At just $799 for adults, this pass will be valid for unlimited skiing and riding at both Mammoth and June Mountains for the entire 2011/12 season. This pass will only be offered for a limited time. Mammoth Mountain is scheduled to open for skiing and snowboarding on November 10, 2011. For more information about Mammoth Mountain, visit http://www.MammothMountain.com/

*Air service schedule subject to change.

About Mammoth Mountain

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is the leading four-season mountain resort in California. With 1.3 million annual skier visits, Mammoth Mountain is currently the third most frequented ski resort in the United States. The company owns and operates a variety of resort businesses including recreation, hospitality, real estate development, food and beverage and retail. Specific businesses owned and operated by Mammoth Mountain include Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, June Mountain, Tamarack Lodge and Resort, Mammoth Snowmobile Adventures, Mammoth Mountain Bike Park and the Mammoth Mountain Inn. Mammoth Mountain also operates Juniper Springs Resort, the Village Lodge and Sierra Star Golf Course in Mammoth Lakes, California. For more information on Mammoth Mountain, visit MammothMountain.com or call 800.MAMMOTH.

SOURCE: Mammoth Mountain

                        for Mammoth Mountain           Tim LeRoy, 312-451-7679           tim@lymanpr.com      http://www.facebook.com/MammothMTN       http://twitter.com/MammothMountain       http://www.youtube.com/MammothMTNOfficial       http://livevibe.mammothmountain.com/                  

Copyright Business Wire 2011

16 Sep, 2011

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