by Lisa Trottier, Sunset travel editor
Strange, but true: Ski season starts today at Mammoth
Mountain, which was slammed with 30 inches of snow this week. To celebrate the
absurdly early opening day, this resort five hours east of Los Angeles is offering
a room at the slopeside Mammoth Mountain Inn plus two lift tickets for $99 per
person.
But if you don’t mind being a couple of miles from the lift,
my favorite place to stay in Mammoth is the Tamarack Lodge (pictured), a collection of 32
cabins and 11 lodge rooms scattered across a piney hillside under a craggy
bluff at Twin Lakes.
Tamarack has that middle-of-nowhere feeling where the glow
from each cabin comes not from a television (there are none) but from a
fireplace. The “traditional” (read: unimproved) cabins are charming, if
slightly smoky. The pricier, polished new ones are as comfortable and stylish
as anything you'd find at a slick resort but without any of the corporate sheen
or surrounding sprawl. Whatever cabin you choose, this place is throwback all
the way.
Book it: From $139; from $269 for a newer cabin; 800/626-6684 or 760/934-2442. tamaracklodge.com
Talk to us: What’s your favorite ski hideaway?
