Mammoth Mountain Skiing

Ok, so you expected a food or party idea blog this week? Sorry, have to describe this incredible trip I took with my cousin Helaine to Mammoth Mountain for a girls snow skiing trip. We did enjoy some great meals but first let me describe to you what it is like skiing in 48 feet of snow. Bottom line, it wasn't easy skiing Mammoth Mountain. Yes, we got stuck on the mountain and called ski patrol (first time in over 35 years of skiing) to come rescue us. First it was my cousin Helaine who fell and lost her ski and then with ski patrol following me down I lost two!

Other fun adventures we had were sipping our martinis after snow skiing, hitting the hot tub with our new friends from Chicago and of course shopping. Learned how NOT to take of snow chains, luckily a Cal Trans worker from Mammoth Mountain saw us stranded and helped us for an hour to untangle the chains. Below is a picture of the chains prior to taking them off.

Now for the martinis. We had two very good meals, one at Nevado's and the second dinner at Petra's Bistro. Yes, there is more to skiing Mammoth Mountain then just the snow. At Petra's, we started off the evening with infused martinis. Of course, I wasn't going to drink but my cousin made me do it. I had the cucumber martini and Helaine drank the raspberry lemon martini. Both were delicious but with the high altitude of Mammoth Mountain and the possibility of snow skiing in the morning we both just drank one.

Since we are cousins and related by blood, we of course ordered the same dinner at Petra's. We both had the delicious scallops served on saffron risotto with shoestring sweet potatoes and roasted tomatoes. As our side, we ordered the asparagus with fried onions as a garnish. The service was pleasant and we stayed warm inside while we watched the snow dump onto Mammoth Mountain. After dinner is when my cousin's East coast expertise came into play, she scrapped off all the snow that dumped onto the car while I sat inside the car ensuring the engine was warming up!

Oh, and yes we did have that beautiful sunny day skiing Mammoth Mountain. Our first day on Mammoth Mountain was beautiful, albeit a bit windy, but then again when is it not windy when snow skiing at Mammoth?

Still expecting a Budget Bash tip or helpful party hint from this blog? Hmmm, I guess the one helpful tip I can give you today is that even though you may be in the mountains and far from any supplies for table decor, candles are always the next best thing to use to add a finishing touch to your dinner table. At all the restaurants we ate in, candles (actually the LED votives) were the decor du jour. They are great since they last a while and are safe to use. Plus they add that extra flicker to the table.

I hope you can make it up to Mammoth Mountain at some point for either winter sports like snow skiing or even in the summer, for mountain biking, hiking and fishing. Skiing Mammoth Mountain with 48 feet of snow isn't easy but it is quite the workout and helps justify those delicious dinners! Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, stylish, fun and economical to all!