What we do best

January 17, 2011

Mammoth Times Editorial

There’s an old coaching expression that goes something along the lines of “Hide your weaknesses; exploit your strengths.”

In the wake of the loss of the $30 million Hot Creek lawsuit appeal, Mammoth would be wise to follow that advice.

We’re really good at recreation.

We’ve known that all along, but during the late 90s and early 2000s, we let other things (development, primarily) crowd into the discussion, and we weren’t very good at it.

But now we have our focus back.

On Tuesday, the Recreation Commission kick-started the process known as Recreation Strategies. By mid-April or so, the commission, acting on advice from the public in at least three workshop sessions, will have a list of recreation strategies for the year.

On Mammoth Mountain, the ski team is in full stride and the visitors are streaming in.

At Tamarack, the Nordic crowd is skiing away, stridently, and the backcountry is a wide-open playground for free-heel skiing, and snowshoeing

Meanwhile, the runners are running. Boy, are they running.

Our strengths are our mountains and streams, our fields of wildflowers and the wind-buffed snow of Mammoth Mountain.

It is in the high-altitude air and the unfiltered sunshine.

These are the reasons people come to Mammoth.

It is essential that we keep our focus this time, over the long haul, and work hard to make sure that we provide the best recreation experience anywhere.

It’s what we do best.