70+mph Winds Batter Mammoth's Summit Gondola Station
Wind above 67 mph can blow a 175 pound human over.
So, when this video surfaced of 70+ mph winds at Mammoth's Summit Gondola Station yesterday, a lot of questions came to mind.
Who recorded this? And where?
The wind can be heard howling and banging the doors of the gondy station with force. Chains clatter as Vincent, the man behind the camera and the man living in the gondola station, pans towards the doors.
Windy conditions are far from unusual at Mammoth Mountain.
Just a day ago, Vincent reported that "big winds last night made these big drifts from the storm. I’m back to the 11,053 foot workout wind effective snow, a good base on top of Mammoth Mountain."
In particular, Mammoth is famous for its windbuff, which can be helpful in creating excellent skiing conditions.
Windbuff can fill terrain in hard-to-reach nooks and crannies, and some skiers would even "rank wind buff above powder."
But wind has its drawbacks. In 2011, more than 600 trees were downed in the Mammoth Lakes area when a windstorm blew in with gusts of over 150 mph.
On the topic of high wind gusts, the East Coast still has the highest record for wind speed in the United States, receiving 231 mph winds, a record set atop Mount Washington on April 12, 1934.
Though the gust is no longer a world record, it remains the fastest surface wind measured in the Northern and Western Hemispheres.
Watch a short video about the record-breaking 231 MPH Wind Gust here.
Are you a fan of wind? We'd take a bluebird day over a gusty, wind-hold storm day 9 times out of 10, but then again... wind only stops you if you're relying on the lift. Backcountry enthusiasts may strongly disagree here.
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