#288: E. Clampus Vitus Plaque Dedication and Other Doins’ at Mammoth Mountain

Last weekend was one we’ve been looking forward to for a long time.

E. Clampus Vitus, known better as the Clampers, unveiled a monument dedicated to me, Roma and Mammoth Mountain’s history at Main Lodge.

For those that don’t know about the Clampers, it’s difficult to understand exactly what they do but we’ll do our best.

According to the bio on the website of the Eastern Sierra’s legendary branch, the Bodie Chapter 64:

“During the California gold rush, and the years afterward, the towns and camps of the Sierra Foothills rocked with the laughter at the antics of the most curious fraternal society ever devised: The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus, the grandest practical joke ever unleashed on the Mother Lode.”

I’m not sure what to make of that, but I can tell you what I’ve seen of them over the years. They are a fraternity, based largely on the West Coast, that designates historically relevant sites and creates monuments and plaques to immortalize them for future generations. They’re professional and hard working and when the labor is done, they celebrate with lots of drinking and celebration.

This is the second monument they’ve done for us. The first was at McGee Mountain and was dedicated in September, 1996 in honor of the rope tow that preceded Mammoth Mountain as our local playground. Below is a shot of that plaque.

The plaque they created for Mammoth Mountain is a real work of art and I’m sure it will be there for a long time. Roma and I were thrilled to be honored by this plaque and the surprisingly large group of fun-loving people.

Below we’ve got several pictures from the day as well as a few others from around the Mammoth area. We also made some video from the day that we’ll edit up and post soon.

The Mountain seems like its having a great summer. Not only were there busloads of bikes and bikers going up, but trailer loads too.We also stopped by Convict Lake on the way south and took a few shots there before coming back to Bishop. Thanks to the Clampers and everyone else that was there to celebrate with us. It was a day we won’t soon forget.