Summer isn’t typically associated with snow, but Mammoth will be running its lifts until July 4 this year.

The long season is thanks to record-breaking snowfall in recent months, with January providing more snow than any month on record at the resort. The 340-inch base at the top of the mountain, and 178 inches at Main Lodge, is enough for operators to make an early call that snowboarding and skiing will go well into summer.

Mammoth Mountain is known for staying open until July 4, and did so last year as well. But several years before that, lifts were shut down early as Mammoth grappled with drought conditions.

“I think what’s different is we’re doing it now instead of making that call a bit closer,” said spokesman Tim LeRoy. “Why not let everybody plan for it now?”

LeRoy said the conditions typically hold up into spring and even summer, and there have been snowstorms in May and June.

Riders wearing T-shirts and tank tops – and even some girls braving the slopes in bikini tops – aren’t unheard of.

“It’s kind of the Cali vibe, a combination of ski and surf culture. You really see that around summertime,” he said.

It’s also a good time to get kids on the slopes.

“You don’t have to fight cold fingers and cold toes,” he said.

Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com