Hello and happy New Year! After a couple of rainy weeks—bringing much-needed snow to the mountains (yes!)—the sun has finally returned, and it’s the perfect time to kick off 2026 together.
First Social Event of 2026
We’re starting the year with a laid-back meetup at American Junkie on January 16th, located at 68 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach. Join us for an extended happy hour from 5–8pm, grab a drink, catch up with friends, meet new ones, enjoy the live music, and ease into 2026 with good vibes and ocean air.
Happy hour details can be found here: https://www.americanjunkiehb.com/specials
It’ll be great to see familiar faces and welcome the year together.
Ski Trips Are Right Around the Corner
While we’re enjoying the sunshine at the beach, winter is in full swing in the mountains. Our first bus trip of the season is coming up in just two weeks, so if you haven’t registered yet, now’s the time.
Looking ahead, our February midweek trip will also be a bus trip, and it’s filling fast—only 2 spots left at this point. If you’re planning to join us, don’t wait. Between sunny socials and snowy adventures, 2026 is already off to a strong start. See you at happy hour—and on the bus!
The Aspen Snowmass Supertrip, Feb 28–Mar 7, is sold out, but if you’d like to be added to the waitlist just in case, please contact Rose Leavitt.
If you’d like to be included in Brenda-Jean and Carlene’s Spring Break Trip, Sun–Thu, Mar 29–Apr 2, reach out for details.
Brenda-Jean Shephard
AEA Social VP
A friend recently sent me a link to a video – “5 reasons your carving sucks”. I had thought my carving was ok, but then learned that what I thought was carving was in fact mostly scraping. Nothing wrong with scraping if you need a quick stop or are turning above 30 mph, but carving is more efficient, as well as easier on your legs, your equipment, and the snow. I learned that carving is riding an edge through a turn, while scraping is spraying up snow through a turn. Carving is quiet and scraping is noisy. Scraping is moving your skis/board like a windshield wiper, and has the same effect on the snow as a wiper has on rain drops. You’ll go a little faster carving because turns have less stopping power when carving than with scraping. I had been slowing down too much through every turn; it was tiring and I was leaving behind bare spots.
I think this concept applies to both skiing and boarding. Skiing and boarding have many differences and similarities, but maybe that’s a topic for a future Fall Line newsletter. Boarders have only one edge to work with in a turn, and that one edge is shorter than either of the two edges most skiers have to work with. Because of this, a board will slide into a scrape sooner than a ski, so I think it takes more conscious effort and slightly shallower turns for a boarder to carve well. But I think the benefits of carving accrue to both skiers and boarders. After working on my carving for a season or so, I’m more comfortable boarding faster through shallower turns and my legs are less tired at the end of the day. I hope you find this useful and that it may enhance your enjoyment of the great outdoors this winter.
Keith Leavitt
AEA Ski VP
Winter is officially delivering the goods, and Mammoth is absolutely buried. With over eight feet of new snow already on the ground and more storms lining up, conditions are shaping up to be nothing short of epic. This is the kind of season we dream about—and the perfect time to lock in your spot on one of our 2026 Mammoth trips.
Spots are going fast. There are only 8 spots left for the January trip and just 3 for February. March still has plenty of room, but history tells us that won’t last long once the word gets out. If deep snow, great turns, and good times with the crew sound appealing, now’s the moment to commit.
2026 Mammoth Trip Dates & Details
Here’s what’s coming up:
Fri–Sun, Jan 23–25, 2026 – Bus Trip
Sit back, relax, and let someone else do the driving while you head straight into a powder-filled weekend. Only 4 spots left.
Tue–Fri, Feb 10–13, 2026 – Bus Trip
A midweek escape with fewer crowds and prime snow conditions—almost sold out!
Fri–Sun, Mar 27–29, 2026 – Drive-Up Trip
Spring skiing vibes, longer days, and plenty of space still available.
To top it all off, the above photo of Woolly surrounded by fresh snow (taken 1/3/2026) says everything you need to know—winter is ON at Mammoth Mountain. Don’t miss out on one of the best snow seasons in recent memory. Reserve your spot, grab your gear, and join the fun in Mammoth!
Andy Dawdy
President, AEA Ski and Board Club
From the Summit Lodge
December 3rd, 2025
Ski season has arrived! Bear Mountain opened for the season on Thursday and Snow Summit opened yesterday. And with that, the California resorts are all up and running.
With the holidays fast approaching, it’s time to get some gifts for those closest to us. I have an idea for a GREAT gift for Christmas or Hanukkah. Don’t give them MORE STUFF – give them an EXPERIENCE! Give them a ski trip to Mammoth Mountain with the coolest group of skiers and snowboarders around – the AEA club! You can pay for the trip at the link below. Just print out the web page for the trip of your / their choice, put it inside your card in an envelope and slip that under the tree! Best of all, they will share this experience with you, building memories together :
Here are info and sign-up links for our 2026 Mammoth trips. Dates are:
Fri-Sun, Jan 23-25, 2026
Tue-Fri, Feb 10-13, 2026
Fri-Sun, Mar 27-29, 2026
I especially recommend the mid-week trip in February for your friends and family, as it’s less crowded. We have only 8 more slots available on this one, and filling those will get us a bus for the trip.
I hope to see you at Pray for Snow next weekend
Andy Dawdy
President, AEA Ski and Board Club
Notes from the Lift Line
December 5th, 2025
We experienced some technical difficulties in publishing my previous article, which must have made for a puzzling read. So I’m going to do what I have always done after a good old fashioned face plant; Check for broken bones, get back up, dust off the snow, click back in, take a deep breath and go after it again.
Ready?
Here we go!
Autumn greetings from your snowboard VP here. Err … Ski VP … yeah, that’s right! I do still remember skiing, albeit a few decades back. I still can’t decide what I like more – skiing or snowboarding. But they both involve cruising down fun slopes with close friends in beautiful mountains, and the rest is in the noise, so I’m officially calling it a tie.
Fall has brought a nip in the air like that cold, dry mountain air at the top of Lincoln Mountain. Well, not THAT cold. But with luck, it won’t be long before we are back up there cruising through the trees again. A big THANK YOU to all who had the faith to sign up early and secure us a bus for the January Mammoth trip. Prices are now finalized, and there are plenty of seats left on the bus, so others are encouraged to join us. The February midweek trip also has slots left, so all you retirees who said we need mid-week trips – it’s time to get signed up! Finally, a giant event at Mammoth Mountain has been rescheduled and will be included in our March trip. So we are considering moving that trip to avoid the crowds and price hikes that come with giant events. Stay tuned for our 2026 Mammoth spring skiing opportunity.
The 2026 super trip to Snowmass is full with 39 people. Thanks to all who signed up! I have never been to Aspen or Snowmass, but I hear Ric Agardy has been more than a few times. So I’m looking for Ric to point me to some uncrowded blue runs to carve up. I even hear some talk of 2027, but if I say anything, I’m sure I will get my security clearance revoked. I know it will be awesome, though.
Finally, I’d like to show you the incredibly cool birthday gift my wonderful wife (and former Ski VP extraordinaire) Rose bought me. What do you get the boy who has everything?
Yep, that’s triple chair 16 from the decommissioned Snow Valley lift #2. It’s one of the chairs our children rode when we first brought them skiing. Lots of sentimental value, plus a conversation piece once I get it restored and mounted in the back yard. If you’d like a cool chair like this for yourself (and who wouldn’t?) let me know, and I’ll hook you up with Louis, director of lift operations at Big Bear Mountain Resorts. He’s got a boneyard full of old double, triple and even quad chairs, rusted bull-wheels and cables the diameter of your arm. You will need a truck to haul a chair down the mountain, but he’ll help you load it. And he’ll tell you some funny stories about the snowboarders he catches goofing off in the boneyard at Bear Mountain. One involves them riding a picnic table down the slopes into the boneyard. Well, they’re snowboarders, so what could possibly go wrong?
See you on the slopes!
Keith Leavitt
AEA Ski VP
The Pray for Snow and Chili Cook-Off was a Spicy Affair for Everyone
December 1st, 2025
This was so much fun and easy and they were kind enough to extend the invitation to have us do it again at their home. Although Laura is in Oregon again with their son. This time I would like to cater it and below is the catering company I am using. Worked with them in the past and they are great.