Big changes in our favorite little town

With the purchase of Mammoth Mountain by what is now Alterra Mountain Company, hopes were raised that there would be major capital improvements on the mountain. Although we all love Mammoth's hip 70's vibe, its safe to say that everyone is ready for a few modern updates to some of the dated and dingy infrastructure.

I recently got an email letting me know that our lockers at Canyon would inaccessible til November due to renovations so I drove by to see what was up. Whoo hoo!  Canyon is temporarily shut down to accommodate a major facelift.

What exactly will be updated? Getting firm details has been a bit of a challenge. But even a glance at the building reveals that the large central stairwell has been completely removed. So when they say major, it looks pretty major to me.

Here's what I know:

• Alterra's new investments in Mammoth this summer alone will total over $10 million
• Projects around town (click the link to read more about each project):
  • construction of the largest zipline in the United States (open late summer)
  • a new Via Ferrata climbing route (open late summer)
  • new gold panning (open now) and kids' ropes course (not open yet) at the Adventure Center
  • updates to gondola building at Main Lodge
  • E-bike access at Mammoth Bike Park (first in the US!)
• Canyon Lodge major remodel
  • complete, multiphase remodel will take several years to complete and total $20-25 million
  • first year Phase 1 includes installation of escalators, new restrooms and updates to parking and bus-drop areas. I'm personally crossing fingers that the "updates" to the drop area dn entry has less of a Frogger feeling than it does now. (re-open Nov 2018)

I found these pics online of the projected Canyon updates.
​If it looks half this good, I'm doing a happy dance.
Best of all, no Frogger, getting in the door!