California skiing goes off at Mammoth Mountain's opening day

Today, Mammoth Mountain became the first resort to open in California, with top-to-bottom skiing and nine open runs.

After waiting in line for first chair, accompanied by a DJ and free hot chocolate and coffee, shredding commenced with enthusiasm. The good vibes only increased when, at 11 a.m., Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory, gave the annual start-of-the-season toast at the mountain’s 11,053-foot summit. Free beer flowed and all in attendance cheers-ed to the upcoming season.

People came from near and far to get their shredding fix, and the FREESKIER crew even got some powder turns in, finding pockets of fresh snow across the mountain from some pre-season storms. A handful of pros were also in attendance—such as Tom Wallisch, Tim Durtschi and Chris Benchetler—all joining in on the opening day stoke.

One of the many highlights of the day was the reintroduction of Mammoth’s famous pink jibs. The 2016-17 season marks the 20th anniversary of Mammoth Unbound (the mountain’s system of terrain parks) and, in celebration, the legendary parks are making a nod to the past as they continue to encourage progression. Last season Mammoth introduced its transition park—a skate-inspired setup of quarter-pipes, berms and hips— and this season you can expect Unbound to create even more unique opportunities to get sendy across the mountain. Mammoth typically has 13 different terrain parks during its peak season, and we’re sure to see many great things come from them this year.