Last year, Mammoth local Nate Schute and a few of his friends pulled out all the stops to make sure they would get first chair on opening day, rolling up at midnight before the big day and setting up camp.

This year, Schute couldn’t convince his buddies for a repeat performance so he hedged his bets and set the alarm clock for 5am, thinking he’d wake up at the appointed hour, motor up the hill and have a chance for a repeat performance.

Too bad he didn’t wake-up until 6am.

But he still went for it, rolling out of his bed, into his snowboard gear and was soon in his car, driving from his home on Davison towards the mountain.

When he turned onto Minaret his dreams of first chair were dashed — there was a small caravan ahead of him. But he kept motoring up the hill, following the folks who drove through swiftly through the night who continued to speed toward their destination as if saving a few minutes off the uphill drive would make the lifts open a little earlier.

In the lot Schute saw a crew of riders and skiers heading into Main Lodge to pick-up their free tickets (as you probably heard, lift tickets were gratis). Then he saw a familiar face,  former snow reporter Dan Hansen, who said, “Hey, Nate, are you going to get first chair?”

He took a look up at chair 1 and knew that a repeat performance of last year was his.

And then the masses showed up. As the sun came up, bathing the hill in tangerine hues, Mammoth rolled out the complimentary pastries they’d promised. It was a first-come, first-served basis (or “first in, best dressed” if you speak Australian). But if you prefer Mammoth Latin, it was “Veni, Vedi, Scarfi” – We Came, We Saw, We Ate Everything in Sight. In about 60 seconds the pastries were gone.

By 7:30, the cars were parked down to B. If you haven’t been to opening day before, it’s like nothing else. Even the most jaded snow junkies have a spring in their step. They’re not in a hurry, just incredibly excited to be really close to some turns.

Simply put, the feeling of stoke is palpable and similar to a powder day, with a little more “Absence makes the stoke grow stronger.”

Further up by Main, the insanity continued and drivers took every opportunity to be a little closer to the snow and Main Lodge. Parking laws were  ignored and the lot looked like a Tetris board where the blocks were replaced by pick-up trucks, Jeeps and vans.

Chair one started turning at 8:28, a few minutes after Mammoth CEO, Rusty Gregory warmed the crowd with stories about Mammoth of yore, back when he was lifty. And Nate was on that first chair with another Mammoth dignitary – Woolly—as well as the mascot’s handler.

Up top, in was mayhem. Riders and skiers, slid and made turns for the first time in a long time. And you could just tell that even itty-bitty airs felt better than ever and that most agreed with what one skier said as he slid by: “It was a very long summer.”

Looking for something to do tonight? Choice abound. They’re below.

All Day – Side Door Cafe – 10% off your bill for all locals.

All Day  – Thai’d Up – $9.95 Chinese menu.

3pm-6pm – Auld Dubliner – Happy Hour, which includes 1/2 off appetizers, $3 wells, $3 drafts and bottles (except Guinness). And hipster happy hour never stops: draft PBRs are $2 all day and night.

3pm-6pm – Happier Hour at Gomez’s - With Mexi Fries, quesadillas and chimichangas for less than $3 and great beer specials it’s  a great Happy Hour. Our faves? The Mexi Fries and shrimp tacos.

4pm-6pm – Base Camp Cafe – Burger & Beer special -  $5.95.  Pint of Mammoth brew (or your favorite beverage) and burger and fries. Vegetarians be prepared for a let-them-eat-beef tax: veggie burgers are an additional $2.

4:30pm-6:30pm – Happy Hour at The Bistro at Snowcreek – 50% off well drinks and draft beer and appetizer specials.

5pm-6pm -  Happy Hour at Whiskey Creek. 50% off all food, except desserts, in the bar and $1 off pints. If you’re looking for dinner it’s the best deal in town. And the food is really good.  If you want a table, get there before 5:30pm.

5pm-6pm – Happy Hour at Cafe 203 in the Best Western – $8.99 all-y0u-can-eat Indian buffet. We’ve only been there once but it was tasty, albeit on the spicy side. There are also drink specials like $3 drafts.

8ish – late – Sushi Rei video screening of Standard’s latest, “Black Winter,” a new snowboard film.   Free. The movie is scheduled to screen at 10pm