Mammoth Mountain

Buy a midweek lift and lodging package at Mammoth Mountain for as little as $113 per person, per night, during January. The package, based on double occupancy, applies to Monday and Tuesday arrivals and is valid Jan. 8 to 31. A two-night stay is required. For information, call (800) 626-6684 or see www.mammothmountain.com. -- R.J. McClure

Here's a video to show you what this especially quiet winter is going to look like at June Lake , the handsome little mountain community about 20 miles north of Mammoth Mountain. Not that June Lake is ever mistaken for Times Square. But this winter, the hamlet's June Mountain ski slope will be closed, a decision made when its owners (the proprietors of Mammoth Mountain) were facing tight money earlier this year. I shot this video on a visit in early November. The town's merchants, eager to preserve some tourist traffic, are promising several new winter features.

Scientists are examining a new emission of carbon dioxide, indicating possible underground volcanic activity, in the Eastern Sierra about 10 miles from gas emissions noticed in recent years on Mammoth Mountain. The U.S. Geological Survey said this week that it will install sensors about seven miles northeast of the town of Mammoth Lakes in an effort to measure and monitor the freshly reported emissions.

Regarding "Will Mammoth Take Off?" (Dec. 6): While other ski resorts may boast upscale shopping, I go to ski resorts to ski and enjoy the night life. Mammoth Mountain certainly can offer the goods when it comes to skiing and some night life, but not once when I'm there do I think of the need to shop for a Rolex. Leave the upscale ski shoppers in Colorado, and instead just focus on making the weekend skiing experience even better, such as offering better nighttime taxi service (poor dispatching communications and 45-minute waits are not uncommon)

The stores may be stocked with Halloween costumes and the ski runs may be open at Mammoth Mountain, but the weather was anything but fall-like Friday as temperatures soared throughout Southern California. From the bleachers of Dodger Stadium to the shores of Oxnard, the mercury reached the high 90s and even the low triple digits in some places as a heat wave enveloped the region. And today could be a repeat as forecasters said temperatures wouldn't begin to dip until Sunday. The spike in temperatures -- it reached 98 degrees in downtown Los Angeles -- perplexed many Southern Californians because it followed quickly on the heels of a Pacific storm that soaked the region and allowed Mammoth Mountain to open on one of its earliest days ever.

Mammoth Mountain in California, Snowbird in Utah and Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada join the lineup for Mountain Collective's 2013-14 pass that offers two days of skiing or riding at each resort. The three join Alta in Utah, Aspen/Snowmass in Colorado and Jackson Hole in Wyoming, which teamed up for the first pass issued for the 2012-13 season. A limited number of passes go on sale Tuesday at last season's prices: $349 per adult and $229 per child 12 and younger, according to Mountain Collective.

New areas of dying trees have been found outside Mammoth Lakes, a probable result of more carbon dioxide gas emissions near Mammoth Mountain, according to Chris Farrar, the U.S. Geological Survey scientist in charge of volcanic monitoring in the area. The emissions, first verified last year, are being watched as a possible precursor of volcanic activity.

June Mountain , the tiny ski and snowboard destination that Mammoth Mountain management closed after last winter to save money, is to reopen in the winter of 2013-14, Mammoth officials said. Mammoth Mountain officially opened its ski season Nov. 8., as a storm was beginning to dump more than a foot of snow in the Eastern Sierra. The previous Monday, Rusty Gregory, chief executive of Mammoth, told the Mammoth Times that June Mountain would reopen in late 2013 with its marketing focused on young families.

The Mammoth Mountain Ski Area says it successfully objected to plans to use Mammoth Lakes as the name of the locale in the recent TV movie "Volcano: Fire on the Mountain" after finding the script "offensive and exaggerated." After discussions between representatives of the ski area and producers at Davis Entertainment Co. of Century City, the name of the setting for the ABC film was changed to Angel Lakes, both parties confirmed.

Temperatures may be rising at Mammoth Mountain , where the high at the base approached 50 degrees on Wednesday.   But not to worry, the resort has tons of snow and will be open through Memorial Day .  In the meantime, it's using those balmy temperatures as part of this quirky lodging deal: If you stay two or more nights at Mammoth from Saturday to May 23, you will receive a nightly discount based on the high temperature for the...