Chair 23 at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area rises above a vast
expanse of wide-open skiing. Photo: Peatross/MMSA
Top 10 Chairlifts List
Top 10 western U.S. chairlifts
This series covers the "top 10" chairlifts-- not including trams or gondolas-- at ski resorts in the western United States. This top 10 list admittedly is highly subjective. These are not necessarily the highest or longest lifts, but they are all memorable and special for the skiers who ride them.
No. 2: Chair 23
The number 23 reminds basketball fans of Michael Jordan or LeBron James for the younger generation. For skiers, 23 brings to mind Chair 23 at Mammoth Mountain, the signature chairlift at the massive California resort.
Click here for Mammoth slideshow
Lift features above-treeline skiing
Built in 1983, the fixed-grip, triple Chair 23 rises 1,121 vertical feet with nary a tree underneath it. The ride takes 5 minutes and 48 seconds.
The above-treeline skiing off Chair 23 may be the best wind-buff skiing anywhere. The prevailing winds blow snow over the top ridgeline to fill in the huge leeward face served by the chairlift.
Wind plays a big role
Perhaps more at Mammoth than at any other resort in North America, wind factors into the skiing experience. On the plus side, wind-deposited snow nearly always means fresh snow somewhere on the mountain. On the down side, wind, avalanche and visibility issues during snowstorms often close the treeless top half of the mountain, so Chair 23 is closed.
As a side note, advanced skiers can just remember to subtract one from Chair 23 on storm days. When Chair 23 is closed, Chair 22 on the lower half of the mountain offers fantastic tree skiing.
The glass tunnel at the top of Chair 23 shelters skiers from the
high winds often blowing at the top of Mammoth Mountain
Ski Area. Photo: Peatross/MMSA
Top station adds unique flair to lift
The wind also necessitated the design of Chair 23’s unusual top station. The tinted glass reflecting the spectacular scenery adds an aesthetic touch, but the primary purpose is practical. Designer Yan Kunczynski had some experience with challenging situations. Working for Poma lift company in 1965, Kunczynski rebuilt the ski lifts at avalanche-wrecked Ski Portillo in South America in time for the 1966 World Alpine Championships. In addition to thicker towers on Chair 23 to withstand avalanches, the glass tunnel allows for unloading in the typically gusty winds on the ridgetop. While 40-mph gusts are fairly common, an approaching storm can kick up winds well in excess of 100 mph.
While the tunnel holds up against Mother Nature, the glass panes are not so invincible against a howitzer. According to the resort, about a dozen panes each season must be replaced after being hit by shrapnel from the two avalanche-control guns.
Chair 23's glass unloading station sits above Dropout Chutes and
Cornice Bowl. Photo: Peatross/MMSA
Annual snowfall tops 400 inches
Mammoth receives a very healthy average annual snowfall of more than 400 inches. Like the resorts near Lake Tahoe a few hours to the north, the snow tends to arrive in big dumps measured in feet separated by bluebird stretches.
Mammoth’s higher elevation than the Tahoe areas means snow instead of rain during warmer storms coming through the Sierras. While Squaw Valley on the north side of Lake Tahoe tops out at 9,050 feet, Chair 23 goes from an elevation of 9,715 feet to 10,836 feet. Even the summit of Heavenly Mountain Resort, the highest in the Lake Tahoe area, sits about 800 feet lower than the top of Chair 23. The actual summit at Mammoth is at 11,053 feet at the top of the Panorama Gondola, to the left, facing the mountain, of Chair 23. The altitude and snowfall allow Mammoth to stay open into June for most seasons.
Lift serves huge expanse
Although Chair 23 does not unload at the true summit, it accesses about 2,500 of Mammoth’s 3,500 skiable acres. Even when making laps on Chair 23, the available terrain is vast. After heading skier’s right after unloading the lift, wide-open Cornice Bowl is the most popular route back to the lift. The intimidating cornice that gave the bowl its name years ago is now groomed away, but the bowl, marked with a single-black diamond, is still challenging at around 35 degrees near the top.
Dropout Chutes (left) and Wipeout Chutes (right) drop down on
each side of Chair 23. Photo: Peatross/MMSA
Dropout, Wipeout Chutes bracket lift
Between Cornice Bowl and Chair 23, the three Dropout Chutes offer a steeper, tighter option. Numbered from left to right, facing the mountain, the three Dropout Chutes can be scoured by the wind near the top, but the snow settles nicely in the lower portions, particularly on the skier’s left side of Dropout Three. While Dropout One is relatively easy, Dropout Two is the tightest and steepest. Dropout Three is the longest line and the most popular.
Immediately skier’s left after unloading, the three Wipeout Chutes are about as steep as the neighboring Dropout Chutes, but the wind is generally not as kind to the Wipeout Chutes. Wipeout One, nearest the chairlift, is the widest and most popular.
Scotty’s, skier’s left of the Wipeout Chutes, could be described as the counterpart to Cornice Bowl. Just as wide-open as Cornice Bowl, Scotty’s is a bit steeper.
Serious steeps thrill experts
Traversing farther skier’s left out on the ridge makes returning to Chair 23 increasingly difficult, but an extra lift ride from the bottom can be worth it for experts looking for a serious challenge. Paranoid Flats, or “The ’Noids,” are steeper than Scotty’s. The difficulty goes up another step farther out in a tight couloir named Phillippe’s that exceeds 40 degrees.
From left to right, Paranoid Flats, Phillippe's and Kiwi Flat offer
a few of the most serious challenges at Mammoth Mountain.
Photo: Peatross/MMSA
Just past Phillippe’s, a chute named Kiwi Flat, in honor of the New Zealander John Armstrong who first skied it, has been used for extreme skiing competitions. While the pros jump in at the top this chute, mere mortals can access the middle part of the chute by going around to a traverse with a derisive, R-rated nickname.
Click here for Top 10 Chairlifts slideshow
Skiable only in the best conditions, the chute is still far from easy and the exit involves big air or a tight squeeze. While Kiwi Flat is sometimes called Star Chute in local lingo, the official trail map labels Star Chute actually as a single-black diamond run skier’s left of Kiwi Flat.
Whatever the names, the skiing off Chair 23 provides a memorable experience.
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Chair 23 serves the treeless top half of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.
Click on map for full Mammoth Mountain trail map. Map: MMSA
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