The Eagle Lodge neighborhood offers both single family homes and condominiums with “TRUE” ski in ski out access.
The Eagle Lodge and Eagle Base area was historically known as “Chair 15” and for the subdivision names of Majestic Pines and Mammoth Vista. The historic Chair 15 was developed as the most eastern chairlift on Mammoth Mountain. It is the lowest in elevation and is normally the last chairlift to open and the first to close during the ski season. Access to the many of the more popular ski runs takes a couple of chair rides. This was a more sleepy area until the mid-1990’s when Intrawest came to town. Because the area was immediately available for development, it is where Intrawest initiated their resort development. And they re-branded the area as Eagle.
Once a Sleepy Neighborhood Comprised Mostly of Single Family Homes
The original subdivisions of Mammoth Vista 1, 2, and 3 are north and south of the parking lot at the base of the chairlift. The Mammoth Vista 2 and 3 neighborhoods attracted new high-end single-family construction in the 1970’s and 80’s. The south facing ridge line with panoramic views was especially popular.The Majestic Pines 1, 2, 3 and 4 subdivisions are to the north of Chair 15. There is also a smaller Tyrolean Pines neighborhood just uphill from there. These have the same character as the other subdivisions built in the 1960’s and 70’s. Today there are the classic Mammoth homes; old and new, small and large.
In the mid-1970’s the large Summit Condominiums project was built along Meridian Blvd. just downhill from the chairlift. This massive project features under-structure parking and internal hallways and provided substantial bed base to the area. This became very a popular destination spot with multiple pools and spas and easy ski run access. In the early 1980’s another large project, Aspen Creek, was built uphill of the Summit.
In the early 1990’s, land adjacent to and south of Chair 15 was subdivided in to 40 luxury lots and named Juniper Ridge. These lots included both true ski-in and ski-out lots as well as lots on the ridge line that provided expansive views. Construction on individual lots was slow through the 19990’s but soon accelerated through the real estate cycle of the 2000’s. Today, some of Mammoth’s largest and most impressive homes are in this subdivision. Entry to the subdivision is off of Lake Mary Road.
Intrawest Real Estate Development Transforms Eagle Lodge
The Chair 15 area remained relatively quiet from the mid-1980’s to the mid-90’s. The site just south of the chairlift base was originally zoned and conceived as a prime hotel location. In the early 1980’s a large hotel plan proceeded but was never built. When Intrawest came in 1996 they immediately identified this location for their first condo hotel project.
Intrawest often referred to Eagle Lodge as “the Blackcomb of Mammoth” because it deserved a less urbanized environment compared to the Village.
Intrawest proceeded with the Juniper Springs Lodge plans. The big contention at the time was the down zoning of the property from hotel to condominium. Many in the Mammoth community were afraid we were giving up too much potential bed tax revenue. But there was no potential financing for a pure hotel facility (and as of 2015 there still isn’t).
Juniper Springs Lodge (and subsequently Sunstone) was approved and construction and marketing hype began at a torrid pace. The Chairlift was renamed Eagle Express and this was now Eagle Base, and Eagle Lodge (a new base lodge for the Mountain) was promised. Above JSL and Sunstone, Intrawest built a small ski-in and ski-out condo project named Eagle Run.
The parking lot at the base of the chairlift (always known as “Chair 15 parking lot”) is slated for future development, most likely a condo hotel facility similar to Juniper Spring Lodge. Mammoth Mountain Ski Area has been “proposing” permanent base lodge facilities at Eagle Base as well as a more efficient transit hub. The Meridian Blvd. improvements have been completed to more efficiently move more skiers onto the Mountain from this location. In 2014, the Ski Area acquired (via long term lease) the summer camp lands to the north of the chair lift to expand the beginner facilities at Eagle Base.