2013 Night of Lights on Mammoth Mountain

(From 12/21/2013)

Canyon Lodge hosts annual fireworks show 
and self glamorizing/glorification campaign.

By Victor Meier

I would love to get my hands on the video that was being played throughout Mammoth Mountain Ski Area’s (MMSA) Night of Lights.

MMSA’s night of lights featured the typical and ultimately benign entertainment that has become associated with such events hosted by the MMSA. At least this year’s poster was pretty cool looking though. There were your typical cartoon artists, “balloon artists”, clowns, etc. and then there were the paid characters. The night time entertainment was not much to write home about either. I’ve easily seen better here in Mammoth. The fire dancers were like a bad Burning Man routine. Bring on the big bang!

Yes, the fireworks and they were awesome! The fireworks included a finale that was one of the best I have ever seen; so much as to say, grand even. Now, in San Diego, I lived across the water from Sea World and witnessed fireworks on a nightly basis. In high school I was put in charge of the homecoming fireworks display. So, needless to say, I know about such things and yes it was a grand finale.

If you plan to go to the MMSA’s Night of Lights next year, consider getting there early! Leaving was a mess and riding the gondola may have been the most arduous. Even though there were separate entrances for families with small children, in the end the line for the regular folk was outrageously long. Buses were packed both ways and the one I rode in on even had people standing on the steps into the bus. I don't care if I sound like a "Hall Monitor" because that is completely unsafe and a safety violation. It was pandemonium at Canyon Lodge which is not prepared to adequately accommodate such a crowd. It makes one think that perhaps what became the “lodge” should have remained a parking garage. 

Ridiculous crowds only showcased Mammoth's infrastructure’s inability to handle large amounts of people. The worst part about the whole experience had to be enduring the crowded buses, endless lines for the gondi and restrooms, traffic jams, no parking and then having to sit through a self glamorizing/glorifying campaign video from MMSA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rusty Gregory. That was even more bizarre than the addition of two new mascots, "Woolly’s Buddies", (insert new mascots here...who really cares anyway). Gregory was equally as unnecessary as he was preaching to the converted most of the time. I’m sure some VIPs appreciated his obligatory “thank you”. Otherwise, who really cares what Rusty Gregory has to say? I mean beside pander to his investors what does he even do? He's a puppet and a tool.

If he really cared about the town of Mammoth as a whole he would do more to help the local economy rather than overseeing luxury tax increases. Gregory’s time could be better spent encouraging investments to develop the dilapidated buildings lining Mammoth’s Main Street and especially the corner of Minaret and Main. Perhaps there’s more he can do to help tourism in the summertime so that approximately 2,000 employees aren’t being laid off every year. At the end of the day I was glad that I attended, especially for the amount of time that I attended the MMSA Night of Lights. Moreover, they "Empire" didn't get any more of my money, which is a good thing too. I digress though. I believe that next year I will simply enjoy the fireworks from a distance and avoid the unnecessary crowd and inconvenience.