No mountain knows quite how to throw a party like Mammoth Mountain. From concerts to contests to video premieres the resort goes big. This weekend, April 21-22, Mammoth is amping up for Spring Fest, a celebration of the spring season and the closing of Canyon Lodge for the year. A massive pond skim will take place along with Neon Indian performing a live show on Sunday night at Hyde Lounge.

Although part of the mountain is shutting down for the season, Mammoth still has over a month left of serious riding. If you haven't experienced this resort in the spring, we suggest you hightail it up there this weekend. Full details on special packages below:

Package #1
2 days Lift Tickets - Sun 4/22 and Mon 4/23
Concert ticket
Total: $84 per person

Package #2
1 night Lodging -Sun 4/22
2 days Lift Tickets - Sun 4/22 and Mon 4/23
Concert ticket
Total: $122 per person, double occupancy - MMI Standard Room

Package #3
2 nights Lodging- Sat 4/21 and Sun 4/22
2 days Lift Tickets - Sun 4/22 and Mon 4/23
Concert Ticket
Total: $198 per person, double occupancy - MMI Standard Room

More info: www.mammothmountain.com/neonindian

Sorry Torin Yater-Wallace, guess you should have changed your last name to Wallisch. Under bluebird skies, Torin Wallace made history, stomping the first ever switch 1800 in a contest, at the US Grand Prix in Mammoth. Yet Wallace didn't manage to place in slopestyle. That's right. An 1800 and no medal. Still, it's an amazing feat for anyone-- let alone at the ripe age of 16.

Guess who did land on the podium? Tom Wallisch. To be fair, we all know Wallisch has natural talent and incomparable style.

However, Torin is a known halfpipe skier and the youngest Winter X medalist. And after he laid down a switch 1800 in slopestyle on Sunday, March 5, he deserves credit.

Wallisch's winning run was stocked with a switch right side 900, two double cork 1260's, and a pair of proper double corked rodeo 1080's. That may have deserved the 96.40 score that he received. But it doesn't make sense that Wallace ended up buried in fourth behind Alex Bellemare and Joss Christensen in second and third.

Moral of the story? Way to go Tom but keep your eyes peeled, Torin is coming in hot behind you.

Photo: John Lemieux

The Chosen Tour concluded with a bang at the seventh and final stop on Mammoth Mountain last Saturday. The event was the biggest to date because the stakes were so high. The winner of this stop would earn a trip to Austria to shred and film with the Nike team.

The event was filled with progressive riding on Mammoth's massive set-up. Eric Meyers was on location to break down all the action:

There are very few things a snowboarder enjoys more than fun features and partying. And those are precisely what Nike Chosen brought to slopes all over the world this winter.

The North American tour hit a handful of resorts, including the handrail hall of fame that is Salt Lake City and the final destination at Mammoth Mountain over the weekend.

Since the night's champion would be jetting over to Austria to take on the winners of the European tour-- held largely on jumps-- the stop at Mammoth started with a session on Main Park's famous bottom jump. The heats kicked off in the afternoon, with a little weather blowing in. But that didn't stop the more than fifty competitors from putting on a show that was far beyond what anyone expected from an "amateur" contest.

The funny thing about the jump session at Mammoth is that it seemed like the majority of the field had a double cork to work with-- not something you can even say about many professional contests. With that many doubles and four-digit spins, the crowd that came to Mammoth to kick off the holiday weekend was thoroughly entertained. In the end, Jeremy Page won best trick for his frontside double cork 1080.

When the jumping ended, the party on the sundeck really kicked off, as people gathered to watch the riders on the custom rail garden created by the Mammoth Unbound park staff. The same field of well-rounded riders easily made the switch to the rails.

The closeout rail caught a few who weren't on top of their technical game. But the giant down box next to it provided an easy warm-up to the heaviest obstacle-- a 30-foot down-lift tower with no room for errors or early-offs. Rounding out the course were back-to-back stair sets, which were close enough to force riders to carefully plan out the landing of their first trick in order to set themselves up for the next stair set, after which riders had to close out their run on the quarterpipe-framed wallride below.

Head to SnowboarderMag.com for the rest of the recap and check out all the photos here.

After a full day on the hill, Mammoth Mountain knows what you need. Well, after the beer(s), burgers and perhaps hot tub and not exactly in that order, it's some kick ass music.

Thats right, Mammoth Mountain has partnered up with Belly Up Music to produce a phenomenal music line-up for the 2011-12 season. So far, locked down on the schedule is: The Naked and Famous, Handsome Furs, The Soft Pack, and Neon Indian.

Not a bad follow up from opening weekend where Ra Ra Riot and Black Lips tore up the Canyon Lodge.
Check out Schedule below and be sure and jump over to Mammoth to keep up with the artists being added to the seasons roster.

The Naked and Famous
Date: Saturday, December 17, 2011
Location: Outside at Canyon Lodge immediately following Night of Lights
Time: 8pm
Age: All Ages
Tickets: FREE!

New Year's Eve Events - DJ

DJ Announcement Coming Soon!
Date: Saturday, December 31, 2011
Location: Eagle Lodge, Canyon Lodge + Hyde Lounge
Time: Doors open at 9pm
Age: 21+
Tickets: TBA

MLK Weekend

Handsome Furs and The Soft Pack
Date: Saturday, January 14, 2012
Location: Canyon Lodge
Time: Doors open at 9pm
Age: 18+
Tickets: $15 in advance / $20 at the door

Sprint U.S. Grand Prix Concert

Band to be announced!
Date: Saturday, March 3, 2012
Location: Outdoors in The Village at Mammoth
Time: 7pm
Age: All Ages
Tickets: FREE!

Spring Fest Concert

Neon Indian
Date: Sunday, April 22, 2012
Location: Canyon Lodge
Time: Doors open at 9pm
Age: 21+
Tickets: TBD

West Coast Invitational Concert

Band to be announced!
Date: Saturday, May 5, 2012
Location: Canyon Lodge
Time: Doors open at 9pm
Age: 18+
Tickets: TBA

All shows produced in association with Belly Up Music unless otherwise stated
*Events + Times Subject to Change

By Eric Meyers

Mammoth Mountain has long been the standard of supreme shredding on the West Coast, always landing at or near the top of each season's lists of the best terrain. Last winter, Mammoth broke snowfall records left and right and the chair didn't stop spinning until the Fourth of July. And while some resorts might want to sit back and relax after such a long season, Mammoth continued their pursuit of progression this summer, getting busy with a whole a variety of improvements all over the mountain.

In the Unbound Terrain Park, the all-star team of all-things-snow has been hard at work all summer welding up a batch of new features for the return of the Art Park, which this season will feature the work of Jamie Lynn. Some of the new features, from sponsors like Oakley and Monster Energy, are already open to the public in Main Park, which is loaded up with 14 rails and boxes and three jumps--one of which being a centerpiece booter measuring nearly 45 feet.

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