Mammoth Mountain Ski Vacation - Video

Come ski with The 99 Cent Chef, but make sure you take out life insurance! My friend (and 99 Cent Player) Drew has free condo time in BigWood Condos every winter at Mammoth Mountain (in Northern California). And my wife and I were the lucky recipients of a couple of free days last month. I am not a good skier (I stay on the easy green diamond runs), but this year I tackled a black double-diamond run called Huevos Grande (Big Balls). At the top of Mammoth Mountain the view is breath-taking, but the ride down is heart-attacking! Warning -- take 2 dramamines before you view my ski video!

Along with beautiful mountain views, The Chef gives you the lowdown on a great happy hour that starts when the ski lifts shut down. Whiskey Creek is a bistro with a Happy Hour you can park your ski-weary ankles in. It runs from 4 - 5:30 p.m., and the whole menu is 50% off ! The place was packed on a Thursday, but we quickly found seats at the bar. I had the "Classic Sliders": 3 plump medium-rare mini-burgers topped with sweet caramelized onion and sharp cheddar cheese, for about $5.50, a delicious deal. My wife had fish tacos - you get four, but they were too breaded; I would give them a pass next time. Our neighbor at the bar was an L.A. pot clinic supplier and his Prime Flat Iron Steak dinner for $10 looked tasty (he said "you do not make as much money as one might think," then his conversation veered into conspiracies of "China invading Calif. for our food supply" - dude, next time go easy on the ganja!) Beer from Mammoth Brewery is on tap and at a discount price. I got it everywhere in town, including a deli that had wi-fi for my photo-tweeting. For an uncrowded Whiskey Creek experience, stop at the second location in Bishop, just south of Mammoth.

Now, I am called The 99 Cent Chef for a reason, and my "Breakfast in Mammoth" scene shows the cheapest meal I have come up with yet. For all you weight-watchers, my "snow white" breakfast is also low in calories.

I give a big thanks to Southern California's Ford Dealers for a free day of skiing! My wife and I took advantage of their offer: a free lift ticket (87 dollar value) when you test drive one of their cars. It only took 15 minutes; just give them your email address to receive a confirmation number. It is a great, free, no-hassle deal! I think the promotion ended a couple of days after we did our test drive. Jump on this deal next year!

There was a fresh dusting of snow in our local mountains yesterday, so my new video may motivate you to hit the slopes this weekend. Even if you have never skied before, you are in for a thrilling video ride. So strap yourself into your computer chair, grab a hot mug of chocolate (or a flask of bourbon) and check out my Mammoth Ski Vacation video, shot in wide screen ChefScope!