A Glimpse Inside Mammoth Gay Ski Week

Anyone who thinks a gay ski week is all about drag queens and jock straps, well, it kind of is, at least upon first glance at Elevation’s Aprés at 10K event at Mammoth Mountain, in which hundreds of revelers — mostly men, many bare-chested — pile into the mid-mountain lodge where a crew of scantily clad dancers leads festivities.

It’s no secret that most Pride events are dominated by gay men, many of whom like to dance and show some skin (which, in the case of this March’s unseasonably summery weather in Mammoth Lakes, led to some lobster-red burns).

The overall vibe for the 24th annual Elevation Gay Ski Week was unquestionably “party,” but the event’s aim is clear: to make one and all feel welcome on the slopes and all over town.

“We’re all here with a shared interest — skiing and snowboarding,” says Tom Whitman, founder of Elevation Mammoth as well as Elevation Park City, which celebrated its 16th anniversary this winter. “You lose the big city attitude. People open up. You meet friends you have for your whole life. It’s different than going to a bar or restaurant. It’s a true community. I built the culture like that.”

With his father in the military, Whitman grew up moving around Europe and first fell in love with skiing at age 5. He ski-raced for the University of California, Los Angeles before graduating and starting a career in TV and film production. 

The idea of launching a gay ski week at Mammoth struck when he was working for MTV and Nickelodeon. 

“I’d been producing events in L.A.’s LGBTQ market. The only big gay ski weeks at the time were in Whistler and Aspen. I wanted to do something around two things I love: community and skiing,” Whitman says. “I said, OK, let’s do a test run. We did a two-day event the first year. I sent an email to my database of young gay Hollywood. I did no other marketing. Like 250 people showed up.”

Almost a Quarter Century In

Elevation has grown tenfold since, bringing about 2,500 people to the slopes of Mammoth for the five-day celebration featuring 17 parties and events. Although the demographic is still mostly gay men, Elevation’s contingent of gay women, trans, and a broader queer demographic has grown every year.

For the first time, the 2026 event featured a “lady’s happy hour” at the Limelight Mammoth, the resort’s newest hotel, which has deep ties in the queer community, its properties in Aspen and Snowmass serving as major hubs of Aspen’s Gay Ski Week, the world’s longest-running gay ski event, started in 1977.

“We didn’t want to be left out,” says Evan Thomas, General Manager of Limelight Mammoth, which also hosted Elevation’s Onesie Aprés Party as well as its “Brolesque” performance. “It was exciting to have some of the biggest parties here and be able to showcase our space. It’s definitely the best event of the year.”

Everyone On Board

Elevation’s parties and events take place in venues throughout Mammoth Lakes and Village, a few of which have been on board since the beginning. 

“I started Elevation a year before the Village actually opened,” Whitman says. “I met with every major venue and asked, would you be excited to host a queer event? The answer was either, ‘absolutely,’ or ‘girl!’ [gay man speak for ‘hell, yes’]. Lakanuki was one of the first venues. Stu, the owner, is a straight guy. He said, ‘absolutely’ and is still the best supporter.”

When Whitman approached venues in Park City to host Utah Gay Ski Week’s events, he was unsure of what the reception would be.  

“Mammoth Lakes has always been super welcoming; I didn’t know what Park City would be like. It’s in a red state, surrounded by a conservative landscape. When I first started scouting, going to stakeholders to ask, are you comfortable? Do you want a queer event here? If the answer is anything other than a resounding ‘absolutely,’ we are not going into a space that doesn’t want us there. In Park City on our 16th anniversary, rainbow flags were everywhere. We’ve entrenched ourselves as a member of the community.”

Why Gay Ski Weeks Matter

Whitman believes that expanding and opening minds is especially worthwhile in resort communities. 

“Most resorts are in small towns, so there’s automatically a layer of importance in bringing queer people to a place where they don’t see gay people all the time,” he says. “It’s super valuable to be visible in all the places. We deserve to be welcomed in mountain towns, rural towns, as well as big cities. In the ski community, sure, there’s a bit of a bro-y culture with the guys, but in my experience, it’s not bro-y in a homophobic way. You see that when a queer event takes over the town, it’s so welcoming. Locals all look forward to it, gay and straight.”

More than welcoming, Elevation has been pivotal and even self-actualizing for some attendees. For Bishop, Calif., resident Kristen Pfeiler, it instilled a sense of belonging. 

“I came out in Jan 2021 and didn’t have an avenue to really live that in the world until the Elevation party in 2022,” she says, recalling one of Mammoth Elevation’s parties, which she attended with her straight best friend and the friend’s father. “My ‘gay’ experiences had consisted of watching Ru Paul's Drag Race and trail running with the only other queer person I knew in Bishop at the time. This was my first queer event as a freshly self-discovered queer person. As we walked into the venue, I remember thinking that I had never seen that many men, only men, in one place before. There was laughter and friendship everywhere. Everyone was so friendly and took every opportunity to strike up conversations — in line at the bar, on the dance floor, in the stalls of the bathroom.”

Pfeiler eventually spotted a few other women. Everyone introduced themselves, and the small group bonded quickly.  

“This phenomenon of women being so stoked to stumble upon other women, followed by the same introductory exchange, happened a couple more times over the night,” she says. “It felt so freeing to be in a queer space where I didn't know anyone except my best friend and her dad. This is a rare experience to come by, living in a small town. She was my wingman as I found people to dance with, and he took me under his wing, knowing that not everyone's biological family comes out to celebrate them in this very foundational, almost primal way. I felt so much love. I'm so grateful that there was, in a way, this perfect event at the perfect time for me. It almost felt like the sheer overwhelm of men immediately bonded all the women in that venue, which made it feel easy to connect. I was so full of life as we descended the gondola.”

Creating a Welcoming Space for Everyone

Now Bishop is home to its own queer nonprofit organization, Eastern Sierra Pride, which also hosts events at Mammoth Mountain and aims to integrate with Elevation, providing experiences like Pfeiler’s to more individuals.

“It highlights even more how important local organizations like Eastern Sierra Pride are to the human experience of a queer person, especially in rural towns,” says Eastern Sierra Pride chairperson and brand designer Erika Vanderveer. “A person may experience the queer community for the first time at a large, organized event like Elevation, but having a local entity be visible during that celebration offers that person a continuum and safe space to continue to explore and grow. Elevation week at Mammoth is important because it creates a space for folks to be their truest selves in a safe and supportive environment. Hopefully, Eastern Sierra Pride can help broaden that demographic.”

More ski resorts, especially in the U.S., are jumping on the queer event bandwagon. To name a few, Sugarbush, Vermont, recently wrapped up its fourth annual Pride celebration, Stevens Pass, Washington, its third, and Keystone, Colorado, is hosting its third annual Pride Festival at the end of March. 

“We believe the mountains are for everyone, and creating a welcoming, respectful environment is central to that mission. We are dedicated to ensuring that members of the Pride community feel safe, welcomed, and inspired to enjoy the outdoors while experiencing the same sense of belonging as all our guests,” says Mammoth Resorts Communications Manager Emily Van Greuning. “Ski resorts play an important role in championing acceptance, so every individual can enjoy outdoor recreation without concern for how they look, who they love, or how they identify.”

The 25th annual Elevation Gay Ski Week, bound to be the biggest yet, is landing at Mammoth the third week of March 2027.