Shopping

While Mammoth Lakes [1] isn’t a heavy shopping town, the upscale boutiques and galleries, plus a small outlet mall, allow weary outdoors-lovers to take a day off the slopes and engage in some retail therapy.

If you’d like to take in some art while you’re in the Mammoth area, several galleries offer an array of photographic art, some for reasonable prices. The Mountain Light Gallery (106 S. Main St., Bishop, 760/873-7700, www.mountainlight.com [2]) showcases the wild scenic photography of Galen and Barbara Rowell, world adventurers who died in an accident in 2002. At the gallery, you can view and purchase prints of their scenic photos as well as calendars, note cards, posters, and books. The guest gallery features the work of other landscape photographers. You can even take classes in nature photography and attend other special events.

Another photo gallery in Bishop, the Vern Clevenger Gallery (905 N. Main St., 888/224-8376, www.vernclevenger.com [3]) features only the nature photography of Mr. Clevenger himself. Each of Clevenger’s photos is shot on film, then a mixed digital and traditional wet process creates the large-format prints you see in the gallery. What you see is all natural, without digital enhancement to the images or colors. Inexpensive note cards and posters are available for purchase in addition to the lovely framed fine-art prints. Or take a workshop to learn how to create these gorgeous images for yourself.

In downtown Mammoth Lakes [1], visit the Mammoth Gallery (425 Old Mammoth Rd. and Minaret Rd., 888/848-7733, http://mammothgallery.com [4], daily 10 a.m.–5 p.m.). Here you’ll see the work of a number of local photographers and watercolor artists, plus a large collection of vintage ski poster reproductions.