Mammoth Mountain is doused in frosted sugar — okay, snow — just in time for Christmas

BREAKING OUT THE SIFTER, the one you use to cover a gingerbread house, puppy chow, sugar cookies, or almond crescents in a dusting of powdered sugar? If you adore holiday baking, you've likely reached for your go-to kitchen tool more than once in recent days. So many goodies are made even merrier when the tasty topping is added, and seeking out those treats that rock a little powdered sugar is a pursuit that plenty of sweet-toothers are engaging in the days ahead of Christmas. But places can also be sugared during the yuletide season, and when we say "sugared" we're just being fanciful, in the way we all get a little fanciful this time of year: We are, of course, talking about snow here, and the fact that fresh flakes can make any landscape look like it has emerged from a talented baker's imagination. And here's news that's as sweet as gingerbread: Mammoth Mountain took on that lovely look on Dec. 19 thanks to some substantial snowfall.

Samantha Lindberg

EIGHT TO 12 INCHES... "sugared" the Sierra Nevada ski resort, giving the forest-y realm an instant ethereal appearance. The sugaring, er, snowing isn't done, either: More is expected as cold and wet weather sweeps across much of California on the eve of the winter solstice. If you're thinking of going up, be sure to check road conditions — always sound advice — and plan your adventure. All base areas — Canyon, Eagle, and Main lodges included — are open, and over 50 trails are accessible as well ("more will open as conditions allow," reveals the Mammoth Mountain staff). And if you're wondering about pretty June Mountain, which is a short drive north along Highway 395? That's making its seasonal debut on Dec. 23.