Mammoth Lakes Ca

Like so many conflicts in the American West, this one began when newcomers put up a gate. It was an artsy barrier, much like the posh developments that began to swell Mammoth Lakes even before Dave McCoy sold the famed Mammoth Mountain ski area in 2005. Owners in the new gated communities said they were only trying to keep cars off Ranch Road, where locals had long parked to ski or snowboard the Sherwins, a series of much-loved powder chutes on the edge of town.

You used to be a cheap date, a weekend fling who didn't care that my budget was tight and my wallet thin. In the old days, you would welcome me with open arms, even if I showed up on your doorstep with a brown bag lunch and blue jeans sticking out of my ski boots. But you've changed. You've become a diva with expensive tastes, a snob who associates with country club types in time-share condos and designer ski outfits. I just can't believe what I'm hearing.

The two break-in artists were caught in the act. Steve Searles had them cornered right outside the crime scene, high in the branches of a towering Jeffrey pine. "Bad bears!" he growled up at the 100-pound cubs, who peered back innocently. "What are you guys doing? Who do you think you are?" The yearlings had followed their mother through an open back window into an unattended condominium, where they'd ransacked the kitchen and living room, scattering packages of flour, pasta and honey crackers.

Three years ago this month, a hiker noticed his dog rummaging in the brush on a hilltop trail overlooking the town of Mammoth Lakes. Drawing closer, the hiker saw his dog had found a human skull. Later, an officer found a shallow grave nearby, with human remains contained in tattered plastic bags. The body had apparently spent a winter under the snow. Time, and the bears and coyotes, had taken most of the flesh. Police surmised only a few things about the body that day. It was a woman's.

If there is one thing that appeals to winter sports enthusiasts, it's the idea of staying in a place where they can ski in and ski out. Nobody needs to load up the SUV to head for a parking lot near the lift line. Nobody needs to carry snowboards or ski equipment any farther than the front door. This newly built private lodge, in the Greyhawk community of Mammoth Lakes, has direct access to the ski resort. At 8,500 feet, it has dramatic mountain, valley and lake views.

IF all you have ever wanted for Christmas was a second home in Mammoth Lakes, this may be the season Santa delivers. It's not that the prices have tumbled from the heights of the last few years -- the average price of a Mammoth condo in 2005 was $595,000, compared with $661,520 through Sept. 30, 2006 -- but the current market is so glutted with unsold units that even St. Nick might pounce if prices start to melt.

Mammoth Lakes is about to get a different kind of lift. Developers hoping to turn the homey Eastern Sierra town into an upscale ski resort said Wednesday that construction of the area's first luxury hotel would begin with the spring snowmelt. Intrawest Corp., a Canadian developer that has spent the last 15 years working to remake Mammoth, said it would erect a 230-room, $140-million Westin hotel. It is scheduled to open in the spring of 2007.

Moonlight snowshoeing requires only two things, and we were some moonbeams short. We'd trekked half a mile through pine forest to an 8,000-foot lookout near Panorama Dome. Ordinarily, the town and valley below shimmer and snow-covered mountains glow on all sides. The waning moon was up there but cloaked in thick and stubborn clouds. Glumly, we trudged back down the hill to Tamarack Lodge. Hot drinks and creme brulee warmed us inside and out while we reassessed.

Investors jumped at the chance to purchase hotel room condominiums in Mammoth Lakes, buying all 141 units for sale at the Westin Monache in less than four hours Saturday, the developers said. Prices ranged from $405,000 to just under $1.3 million, said Douglas Ogilvy of Intrawest Corp., a Canadian developer that has spent the last 15 years working to remake Mammoth into an international ski resort destination. Roger Vincent