Snowmammoth Mountain

One of the coolest things about the Snowmass mammoth/mastodon site is how close it is to the Snowmass Ski Area. While standing in the bottom of the Ziegler Reservoir, surrounded by tusks and bones of ancient elephant-like creatures, one can look up and see the unloading platform on the Sam's Knob lift. While it appears the site is rare on a number of fronts, we're betting no other mammoths have been found this close to a ski area. The other cool thing about the site is how it sits on what's known as "the divide," which splits the Snowmass Creek valley from the Brush Creek valley. The Ziegler Reservoir site is a sunken depression set on this knob. It's in the sun and out of the wind. It's got a defensible view of the Brush Creek valley and is steps away from the Snowmass Creek side of the area. A great place for a base of operations, whether one is an elephant or a hunter of elephants. We're hoping signs of those hunters show up as the experts dig in at the site this week...here are more photos.