Hole In The Wall

Mammoth Mountain Back Country Ski Information and Guide

Hole In The Wall at Mammoth Mountain

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Virtual Tour of Mammoth Mountain back country Hole in the Wall
Hole in the Wall

Virtual Tour of the Mammoth Mountain double black diamond Avalanche Chute Two run
Avi Chute II

Virtual Tour of the Mammoth Mountain double black diamond Phillipe's Chute run
Phillipe's Chute

Virtual Tour of Mammoth Mountain Hemlocks hike
Hemlocks Hike

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Mammoth Village

Video Tour of Hole In The Wall:
Video Tour of Hole In The Wall at Mammoth Mountain CA Ski Resort

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POV Video of skiing the trees off of lift 12 at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort

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POV Video of skiing the upper terrain off of lift 23 at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort

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Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center

Description:

"The Hole In The Wall" at Mammoth Mountain is an out of bounds back country ski adventure for the advanced skier. As with any back country endeavor, never ski this alone. The "Hole In The Wall" is a natural lava tube which formed a hole in the bottom of a cliff which allowed natural erosion to generate a spectacular chute on the back side of the cliff for us to ski (proof that God loves back country skiers).


Panoramic Virtual Tour of Hole In The Wall
(Seven linked panoramic images - best viewed in full screen mode)

Note that there are no sanctioned guides or tours, the area is out of bounds, the traverse has hazards, the entrance is treacherous and is at a level of an aggressive double black diamond (like the top of the Avalanche chutes) and can lead to unmarked cliffs if your directions are off.

Trail to "Hole In The Wall":

Skiers and boarders can and do get lost during the traverse and path in the woods to get to "Hole In The Wall". Also, be careful and let someone know that you are undertaking this adventure as they may be your only source of rescue (there are no ski patrol covering this area). Once you duck under the Mammoth Mountain resort boundary line, you are on your own. A GPS with the coordinates of Tamarack lodge can help as this is your destination (37.6191,-119.0071) One more risk we must mention is that this "Off Piste" area does not receive any avalanche management (See the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center and the Mammoth Patrol avalanche links). If you want to know how to get to get to "Hole in the Wall", get someone who knows this route to guide you as it is hard to describe the terrain undulations, rock formations and changes in the forest landscape, all of which are indicators of the trail. One can start this adventure from the top of the Gondola at Mammoth Mountain California or even from the top of lift 9. The traverse is on the sunny South facing side of the mountain range and thus tends to have less snow than the resort at large especially in the spring.

Trail to Hole In The Wall at Mammoth

Trail to Hole In The Wall at Mammoth

  It is not an obvious path. Make sure your are guided by someone who knows how to get there.

Trail to Hole In The Wall at Mammoth

  This trail is NOT marked and NOT patrolled!

Trail to Hole In The Wall at Mammoth

  The long traverse on the back side

Trail to Hole In The Wall at Mammoth

  This is "back country" and "out of bounds". Hazards are not marked. Beware of rocks and roots

Trail Map for Hole In The Wall at Mammoth

  "Hole In The Wall" is on the Mammoth Mountain trail map but it is not marked.

Note that most of this area is a large cliff. The cliff is unmarked and it is not roped off. Be very cautious. If you miss the chute which leads to "Hole-in-the-Wall" (actually a hole through the bottom of a cliff), you will end up looking over a cliff which you can not navigate and the hike out is back up the hill and steep. Note the arrow points to the cliff area in which "Hole in the Wall" resides.

Skiing Hole In The Wall:
Hole In The Wall at Mammoth

Upon arriving at the "Hole In The Wall", you may have to stop to acknowledge the beauty and awesome ruggedness of this geological formation, the intimidation of the treacherous entrance and the rocks you could hit if you fall or miscalculate your trajectory. After having descended to this entrance, note that its also a tough hike back if you want to reconsider skiing this steep and narrow conduit.

Hole In The Wall at Mammoth - View looking up from hole

  Note that the view looking back up shows the steepness of the entrance.

Hole In The Wall at Mammoth - View through the hole

 It is best to stop before entering the hole to see how icy it might be.
 Water often drips from the rock causing the ski surface in the hole to be icy.

Hole In The Wall at Mammoth - View looking up through hole

 View looking back up through the hole.

Completing The Journey:

It is now a simple matter of skiing down to Twin Lakes and doing a little cross country to get to Tamarack Lodge (1-760-934-2442) where you can either meet up with pre-arranged ride, walk to the base of the "Eagle Express" lift or catch the Orange line bus which departs on the half hour during the day.

Hole In The Wall at Mammoth

 Frozen Twin Lakes

Hole In The Wall at Mammoth - End of the trail

 The short cross country trek home

Hole In The Wall at Mammoth - End of the adventure

 The Twin Lakes bridge home

Hole In The Wall at Mammoth - View from Cross Country Trail at Tamarack Lodge

 The view of Hole in the Wall, above Twin Lakes, from the Cross Country Trail at Tamarack Lodge

Google satellite view showing the runs and lifts at Mammoth Mountain with a marker on "Hole in the Wall".

Location:
Latitude: 37.619274 (37° 37' 52.59") N
Longitude: -119.011389 (-119° 0' 51.7962") W

YouTube Video:

Mammoth Mountain: Hole In The Wall
Skiing "Hole In The Wall" at Mammoth Mountain CA.

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