Right on, Curbdiverse, you guessed correctly on round 10 of our weekly trivia game. You named the Pleistocene-era resort and the region in which it's located, by way of our hints about it having the first Bell gondola in the state of California, and its geologic formation coinciding with the evolution of homo sapiens.
The answer is Mammoth Mountain, which is located in the eastern Sierra Nevadas, in the Inyo National Forest. Taking that a bit further, the resort is in the Long Valley Caldera, which was formed over 200,000 years ago following a series of volcanic eruptions.
The resort was established in 1953 by one Dave McCoy, a former tow rope operation and Los Angeles-based hydrographer. The first chairlift was built in 1955, and the aforementioned Bell gondola came along in 1966 or '67. Prior to its establishment as a ski resort, Mammoth achieved fame as a Gold Rush boom town; the mountain was named in honor of the Mammoth Mining Co.
Tune in for next week's Skispotter, and don't forget to send us your photos or ideas.
· All Skispotter Coverage [Curbed Ski]
· Mammoth Mountain Acquires Big Bear Resorts for 38 Million [Curbed Ski]
· Mapping the Best Dive Bars in Ski Country [Curbed Ski]
· Take a Look at This Mammoth Mountain Trail Map from 1965 [Curbed Ski]