What do to while it rains in SO Cali (fit in, rent)

[Lifeshadower]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

I've been to both and I vastly prefer Mammoth Mountain! I learned at Mammoth (went from first time skiing to intermediate-advanced in 6 weekend trips, two months missed only two weekends). I once spent a week (9 days) at South Lake Tahoe and skied Heavenly Valley and Aspen Meadows, and it was fun, they're great ski areas, but I liked my Mammoth just as much and Mammoth is much easier/cheaper to get to from Los Angeles. Due to the mountain passes being closed Mammoth isn't convenient to any place but LA (unless you fly, and there's plenty of ski areas to choose from if you fly) so Mammoth tends to be pretty much a snow playground for Angelinos alone. That might be a good thing or a bad thing, you decide. And... Mammoth is mammoth! It's huge! It would be pretty hard to get bored there since there's such a huge variety of runs. And if you do get bored there's June Lake just up the road (close enough to stay in Mammoth and ski June on a day trip). Mammoth Lakes (the town) has a nice cozy feeling for me, plenty of condos and hotels to choose from, plenty of restaurants ditto. I presume they still have free tram service, so you can park your car at your motel or condo and walk/tram every place you go including up to the ski area.

I've heard a lot of great things about Mammoth (have a few friends who work there). I just know about Tahoe more because I went up to school in NorCal, and it was literally a 3 hour drive from my apartment to the cabin at South Lake Tahoe. The good thing about Lake Tahoe is that in addition to playing in the snow, there are things like cheap casino food and the smell of cigarettes from the casino to keep people who aren't interested in the snow, entertained.

I do have a friend from NJ coming over to the West Coast next week, so I might take him up to Mammoth if we have time. I kind of wish I didn't throw away my snow chains though...oh well, I could always buy them at Wal-Mart!

Anyways, I think most Angelenos get their snow fix at Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear. I've always wanted to try doing the whole "going skiing and surfing in one day" (of which I know neither) thing just to say I did it, but usually the weather doesn't permit both on the same day.

Over my many years in Los Angeles it has snowed (here in the San Fernando Valley) about every 15 years or so on the average. You see the snow coming down and it forms a crust on lawns and roofs, and then as soon as it stops snowing (maybe snowing an hour or so) the snow melts within 15-20 minutes and all you have left is pictures and memories.

People from climates where it really snows might argue that isn't snow, but it is, a Los Angeles 15 minutes of fame and then back to same old, same old.

I grew up in North Hollywood, and I don't ever remember it snowing (keep in mind, I'm only 21). I do remember plenty of hail growing up, but never snow. My friend had some pictures of the snow along Topanga Canyon on her way to Malibu, and I couldn't believe it. I was hoping this storm would bring something like that, but its still a little bit too warm for that to happen.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Lifeshadower

I've heard a lot of great things about Mammoth (have a few friends who work there). I just know about Tahoe more because I went up to school in NorCal, and it was literally a 3 hour drive from my apartment to the cabin at South Lake Tahoe. The good thing about Lake Tahoe is that in addition to playing in the snow, there are things like cheap casino food and the smell of cigarettes from the casino to keep people who aren't interested in the snow, entertained.

I do have a friend from NJ coming over to the West Coast next week, so I might take him up to Mammoth if we have time. I kind of wish I didn't throw away my snow chains though...oh well, I could always buy them at Wal-Mart!

Anyways, I think most Angelenos get their snow fix at Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear. I've always wanted to try doing the whole "going skiing and surfing in one day" (of which I know neither) thing just to say I did it, but usually the weather doesn't permit both on the same day.



I grew up in North Hollywood, and I don't ever remember it snowing (keep in mind, I'm only 21). I do remember plenty of hail growing up, but never snow. My friend had some pictures of the snow along Topanga Canyon on her way to Malibu, and I couldn't believe it. I was hoping this storm would bring something like that, but its still a little bit too warm for that to happen.

Canoga Park High School 1949 view looking north. Topanga Canyon Blvd is the road on the left side:

[ferretkona]

I heard Griffith park Observatory is open to 1am Monday for the eclipse.

Mammoth definitely.

[West of Encino]

I'm sure people in hilly areas don't have to deal with street flooding or water entering their homes, compared to people living in flat areas. 1995 would be replaying itself.

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by Charles

I went to DEFCON BRAVO, set up a machine gun with sandbags in my front yard, prepared my backyard bunker, bought 40 loafs of bread and 20 gallons of milk, and cashed out all my savings and traded it all in for pure gold.

I'm not taking any chances.

LOL @ Charles! LMAO, this is just rain! A little bit of water coming from the sky! Jesus Christ, some people think this is like his second coming! (Wish I could do that...)

It's rain, people! Deal with it. It gets wet, it gets dry, it gets hot, it gets cold. Once in 15 years it snows for about 15 minutes.

It's just rain. It's nice. Enjoy it, we live in a desert and you won't see very much of this.

[Curmudgeon]

Oh, my! Y'all get a bit of a drizzle and panic. Too funny. Can't imagine how you'd react in a real thunder and lightening storm with an absolute deluge. Fun to try to envision it though.

Sleep tight and keep a firm, two-handed grip on your rubber ducky!

[Lovehound]

Curmudgeon, one of the best experiences of my life was camping on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, all the campgrounds were full and I pulled off on a National Forest road and drove a few miles in the forest. The rain started coming down good and I sat in the cab of my Toyota pick-up and stuck my head out every few minutes to rearrange my barbecued chicken. I eventually got it cooked, and eaten, with a nice Chardonnay wine, then climbed in the back of my camper shell. The rain got worse, and then it got a lot worse, and then the skies broke open and thunder and lightning reigned, the Earth shook and the Universe broke apart! Jeez, I wish I hadn't been alone that night! I woke the next day to a clearing sky and wondered if all the rearrangement of the Universe had been just in my mind.

I only wonder now if I shouldn't have been parked near a tree, in the same forest that had provided ample found firewood for a very excellent fire that night, appreciated from under an umbrella.

Rain? Sheesh! People, deal with it. It's just precipitation! You should enjoy it.

[BluSpark]

Originally Posted by Lifeshadower

Hah, if it weren't Christmas weekend I would. I'm planning a Tahoe trip with my friends sometime next month. I've never been to Mammoth so I don't know which one would be better.

I remember a few years ago it snowed a little bit in the Santa Monica Mountains. I wasn't living here at the time, so I didn't get to see it. I wish it were that cold to see that.

Pound for pound, Mammoth might be the best mountain with the most runs for any ski resort in Calif.

That said, Tahoe is very good and has that blue lake which is a gorgeous sight to see when you are skiiing or boarding down the mountain.

[BacktoBlue]

I still like Big Bear more.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

LOL @ Charles! LMAO, this is just rain! A little bit of water coming from the sky! Jesus Christ, some people think this is like his second coming! (Wish I could do that...)

It's rain, people! Deal with it. It gets wet, it gets dry, it gets hot, it gets cold. Once in 15 years it snows for about 15 minutes.

It's just rain. It's nice. Enjoy it, we live in a desert and you won't see very much of this.

I prepare for events like these. During the dry summer months I run "rain drills" so I don't get rusty.

You can never be too safe. Yes, it could be rain but if rains too much Southern California could turn into a jungle and the law of the jungle will rule.

You can never be too safe. I'm ready for the rain. I fire up the shortwave radio and let the world know we're safe - for now.

Whenever it rains, I call my friend in the CA National Guard to see if they are calling in the reserves for deployment. This could get rough.

Luckily I stocked my miniature compound in the mountains with two month's of canned food in preparation of these rain events.

You can never be too safe.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo10xdN2Rds