ski area is located in central California, it is mainly frequented by skiers and snowboarders from southern California. Although it is a five-hour drive from Los Angeles via U.S. 395, it is much closer for southern California winter sports enthusiasts than the Lake Tahoe area resorts, which are more accessible to the San Francisco Bay Area. Mammoth Mountain is a more popular destination than southern California ski resorts in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains, because of these areas' heavy reliance on snowmaking, coupled with significantly lighter winter precipitation and their notably shorter seasons. Although Mammoth is physically closer to San Francisco and central valley cities than Los Angeles, most mountain passes along the Sierra crest are closed after the first major snowfall, and this lack of a trans-Sierra travel route creates an unusually long drive to Mammoth (6–8 hours) from the Bay Area and most of central California. For example: during the summer, the distance from Fresno to Mammoth Lakes is , while in winter it nearly doubles to . Airline service In recent years, Mammoth has hosted more visitors from outside of California and Nevada. Scheduled passenger service, as of November 2020, is available to Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH) near Mammoth Lakes from Los Angeles (LAX) on a year-round basis via United Airlines CRJ700 flights operated by SkyWest. United Airlines also offers seasonal nonstop service from San Francisco (SFO) and Denver International Airport (DEN) to Mammoth Lakes. History Mammoth was founded by Dave McCoy, a hydrographer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. As a member of the Eastern Sierra Ski Club in the 1930s, McCoy noticed that Mammoth Mountain consistently held more snow than other mountains. The Ski Club had a portable rope tow. McCoy bought the rope tow from the club in 1941 and usually kept it at Mammoth. In 1953, the United States Forest Service awarded a permit to McCoy to operate the ski area, and the first ski lift was built in 1955. Incidents As the ski area grew, McCoy faced adverse circumstances: the 1973 oil crisis, an avalanche in 1979 that destroyed a ski lift, and a prolonged drought that led to layoffs in 1991. Mammoth had a number of associated fatalities in its history: In 1973, the resort bought Sierra Pacific Airlines from 3-D film cinematographer Chris Condon. On March 13, 1974, a film crew for Wolper Productions filming