Mammoth ski area in California has become the second ski area in the state to offer skiing in to August, it's the first time the resort has offered August skiing since 1995, the only other time it has.
The decision follows huge snowfalls this winter which saw the base depth at Mammoth near 30 feet/9 metres for much of the season, by far the deepest in the world – the snow depth remains at over 22 feet/6.7 metres up top with nine feet/2.7 metres at resort level and Mammoth has the biggest ski area currently open of the half dozen US ski centres still open for snowsports in June.
Mammoth announced back in January that it would stay open to July 4th and has not yet named a closing date. It has been offering free skiing to children aged up to 12 for some time this spring and is also offering free skiing this season to anyone buying a season pass for next season in advance.
Squaw Valley, which recently came under the same ownership as Mammoth, a new conglomerate of Aspen resort and a Denver-based finance house, has already announced plans to stay open year round in 2017 due to the deep snows there (Though not as deep as Mammoth), with lift operations on Saturdays through summer and autumn and at least one lift operating for snowsports.