CABIN FEVER; WITH ITS CROSS-COUNTRY SKI EMPHASIS, THE TAMARACK LODGE PROVIDES A TRANQUIL ALTERNATIVE TO MAMMOTH'S DOWNHILL FRENZY.

Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Travel Editor

Tex Cushion was dependable in making his rounds with his dog sled. He had to be. The winter caretakers holed up at lakeside lodges in the 1930s depended on him for their provisions - and hence their survival.

Cushion predated television and call waiting. Were he to visit the Tamarack Lodge Resort today, he'd probably feel right at home.

This is alternative Mammoth.

It sits on the back side of the mountain where the downhill skiers congregate. To get there, you have to turn off Route 203 - the thoroughfare that services Mammoth Mountain Ski Area - and wander far from the condo ghetto and nondescript motels of Mammoth Lakes' main village.

Lake Mary Road meanders 4 miles to the Tamarack, where they turn back the clock. Really turn it back. Nearly to the era in which the lodge was built, 1924.

You're persuaded of this the instant you step into the lobby, which is done entirely in knotty pine paneling, has trout trophies mounted on the walls and features a stone fireplace seemingly big enough to accommodate a Volkswagen in the fire box.

On the lunch menu is beef-and-bean chili and clam chowder. Also hot cider and mulled wine, the spices of which permeate the room.

But what really strikes you is the sight of a boy of about 9 playing checkers with his dad over lunch.

There is no TV here. Not in this lobby. Not in any of the 25 cabins that dot the forested slope on the eastern shores of Twin Lakes. Not in any of the 10 guest rooms (five of which don't have private baths) on the second floor of the lodge.

``Some people turn right around and walk out when they find out,'' said general manager Courtney McGrale. ``Parents say, `So far, my kids are OK with it, but I don't know how long it's going to last.' Then they find that their kids are outside building a snowman, or inside playing chess.''

This place is popular precisely because it maintains its tradition as a rustic mountain retreat, rather than trying to be the amenity-laden resort that is so common to the modern ski area.

One recent afternoon, as the fireplace blazed nearby, Lacy Shacter and Scott Palmer of Santa Barbara sat back on one the lobby's comfortable couches and savored the serenity. ``It's so peaceful,'' said Shacter. ``We thought we were on the wrong road coming out here.''

Nature contributes to the effect.

The lakes basin, tucked behind and slightly east of the downhill runs of Mammoth Mountain, sits at an altitude of about 8,800 feet and gathers snow like a bowl. It would be pointless to keep the roads open to lakes Mary, George, Horseshoe and Mamie, so Lake Mary Road ends here at the lodge. Literally.

Then the snow on all of those closed roads is carefully groomed for cross-country skiing, a sport as unhurried as the lodge itself. A network of tracks on the grounds enables you to ski nearly to the base of your cabin's porch steps. These cabin trails connect to a greater web of snow-covered roads in the lakes area.

Wander off in any direction, stop for a moment, and hear . . . absolute stillness. When you encounter other skiers, they'll undoubtedly smile through blue lips, wave and say hello. Same with the occasional snowshoers who tromp along the edge of the track.

Also, every other person out here seems to be about 7 years old.

Jean Louis Villiot, supervisor of the cross-country ski center adjacent to the lodge, smiles and nods when this is pointed out to him.

``It's a very safe environment where you don't have a chance of a collision,'' he said. ``You don't have that freeway - no, that Paris-street driving - where you have to be first, you have to be first. ... You can move at your own pace. You don't feel like you're always in someone's way.''

Low-impact recreation

Tamarack's proprietors have noticed a trend in the last few years. Skiers who have crested the peak of middle age have begun to gravitate away from the pace of the downhill sport and embraced the gentle rhythms (and low physical risk) of cross-country skiing, which is kind of a hybrid of hiking and crossing a polished hardwood floor in cotton socks.

The lakes area is interlaced with 25 miles of cross-country trails, most of which fall into the easy or moderate categories (based on steepness of the terrain). The trails loop around five lakes in the area, from Mary and George to the south and Horseshoe to the west. When snow coverage permits, a particularly challenging black-diamond run stretches from Twin Lakes 4.24 kilometers (just over 2-1/2 miles) to a point southeast of Lake Mary.

Trail passes are required - they range in cost from $7 to $15 daily for an adult, depending on what time of day you start - and equipment may be rented for $15 per day. Guests at the Tamarack Lodge receive discounts on all charges.

If cross-country skiers find that their teen-agers are more disposed to racing downhill on a snowboard or skis, well, a free shuttle runs hourly to the intersection of Lake Mary Road and Minaret Road, offering a link to the ski shuttle.

The tranquil pace of life at the Tamarack Lodge is a distinct lure for vacationers seeking a mountain retreat, even though it means putting up with the numerous quirks of the place.

The cabins, built in the 1940s and '50s, are in particularly heavy demand, according to McGrale, but guests might be wise to specify in advance that they want a renovated one. Or at least one that isn't ticketed for demolition. There's a fine line between rustic and rundown.

Roughing it

When a recent arctic front hit Mammoth, pushing the overnight low to minus 7 degrees, the smelly gas wall heater in Cabin 16 failed in its bid to keep up - perhaps because someone had installed the room thermostat about 10 inches away from the heater. Meanwhile, an eTxterior amber light intended to guide cabin-dwellers through the dark woods appeared to have been aimed, stalag-like, directly at a window above the head of the bed.

The next day, as McGrale talked of extensive renovation plans in the wake of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area's purchase of the Tamarack last May, she revealed that Cabin 16 is ticketed for demolition and reconstruction. (The bulldozer can't get here soon enough.)

A peek at a renovated unit of similar size, Cabin 33, presented a stark contrast. It featured a wood-burning stove, double-paned windows and sealed cracks.

Still, in none of the cabins will you find a microwave oven, or even a drip coffee maker.

If the prospect of walking through the snow to get to your room is not appealing, there is always a room in the lodge itself. But be warned: Insulation wasn't a common ingredient in such construction in the '20s. A conversation in the adjoining room is so distinct that you nearly wheel around to see if you were the one who was addressed. And if you're assigned to Room 1, don't plan on getting any sleep until the restaurant below has emptied of both patrons and employees.

Potential sources of annoyance? Then this place probably isn't for you. Repeat guests prefer to think of these traits as charming quirks. And there are plenty of them.

A desk clerk was asked what number a family member should call to reach a particular cabin; the clerk wrote the number out on a piece of paper - and got everything right but the prefix for the region. Later, a caller from far-off Mammoth Lakes reported an utter inability to get through the lodge switchboard to a room in the lodge.

When that sub-zero chill hit recently, pipes broke in the lodge, forcing the closure of the restaurant and leaving some rooms without running water. How can a mountain resort that has been hosting guests for 74 years not be prepared for below-freezing weather?

Even when all the pipes are intact, if you secure a room without bath in the main lodge you'll finTd the following sign in the men's communal bathroom: ``If the shower is occupied, please do not flush the toilet.''

Traveler advisory: Beer and wine are available, but the place has no full bar. So if you're inclined toward Baileys and coffee or a snifter of Courvoisier as you sit in one of the two rocking chairs that front the fireplace opening, you'll have to pack a flask.

The food service, meanwhile, doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. That lunchtime chili (which is nothing special) is served in paper bowls, accompanied by plastic spoons. The steaming cider is ladled up in paper cups, when an earthenware mug would seem so much more civilized.

Four-star dining

At dinner, however, the shift of gears nearly induces whiplash. The tiny restaurant (10 tables, 42 seats) is the pride of Mammoth, with an eclectic menu, an impressive wine list and real plates.

Chef Fredric Pierrel, who hails from Vosges, France, said, ``I use a lot of game and a lot of mushrooms. That is related a little bit to the environment.''

It's not unusual to find rabbit, elk or frog legs on the menu, along with caviar from Russia, lamb from Australia and fresh seafood from various oceans.

In light of all those signs warning of elk crossings on the drive up Highway 395, the appropriate selection seemed to be peppered elk medallions in blueberry-juniper berry sauce - relax, it's raised on ranches, like sheep, in New Zealand. Because of the leanness of the meat, Pierrel insists on serving it medium rare, and it can literally be cut with a fork.

Pierrel says he also takes pride in accenting each plate with six or seven vegetables - and not always the conventional ones. Shelve your aversion to turnips and beets until he can serve you his interpretations of fresh ones.

Families or travelers on a budget might want to pick up some groceries in town and plan on cooking once or twice in the well-appointed kitchens in the cabins. Dinner in the lodge might border on a splurge, at least for so bTackwoods a setting: For two people, a shared appetizer, salad, entree and one glass of wine each will range between $66 and $96 before tax and tip.

The Tamarack Lodge Resort definitely has its eccentricities, and its managers, in the face of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area's stewardship, hope to preserve its unique qualities.

Oh, there will probably be a hot tub of some sort going in soon to soothe all those tortured ski muscles. Construction is planned for 20 new cabins (some of them on the sites of current dilapidated ones), while other units are set for renovation.

But TV? No chance. Not as long as there are checkers and chess and puzzles and conversation to be had.

One desk clerk told of a visit a few weeks back of Jerry Dunphy, the KCAL (Channel 9) news anchor. Impeachment and war were in the air, not to mention the imminent prospect of a freeway chase or a bikini photo shoot, and Dunphy ``couldn't believe we didn't have TV,'' the clerk said. ``He was none too happy about it.''

Clearly, this place is not for everybody.

It likes being that way.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE:

Mammoth Lakes lies in the eastern Sierra Nevada more than 300 miles north of Los Angeles, best accessed by Routes 5, 14 and 395. To reach the Tamarack Lodge Resort, exit 395 on Route 203 into Mammoth Lakes, then fork left onto Lake Mary Road just past the main village. Tamarack Lodge is a couple of miles down Lake Mary Road at Twin Lakes. You can't miss it - in winter, the road closes at the lodge.

BOOKINGS:

Reservations for both lodging and dining may be made at [phone] or [phone]. The lodge restaurant is small and popular, so it's a good idea to make reservations in advance of your trip.

COSTS:

Tamarack Lodge Resort has 25 cabins, ranging in price from $90 on a weeknight for an unrenovated studio (sleeping two people comfortably) to $220 for a three-bedroom, two-bath unit that accommodates 11. In the lodge, rates range from $55 for a room with shared bath toT $100 for room with private bath. Rates are considerably higher on weekends and holidays; the three-bedroom cabin, for example, rents for $360 on a holiday weekend. Cross-country skis are available for rental at a trailer adjacent to the lodge. A complete outfitting (skis, boots, poles) rents for $15 per adult for a full day, and a daily trail pass (required for use of the groomed roads) is another $15. There are discounts aplenty - for lodge guests, seniors and youths, also on rentals late in the day. The Tamarack offers package deals that include lodging, breakfast, equipment rental, trail pass and group ski lesson.

Welcoming a Mammoth supply of snow

After enduring disturbingly dry conditions through most of January, Mammoth welcomed nearly 3 feet of snow in a series of storms during the past week, and ski conditions at the Eastern Sierra resort improved accordingly.

As the weekend approached, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area spokeswoman Jennifer Renner said the resort had a base of 3 to 5 feet, with about 14 inches of new snow. All lifts and runs are open, she said, although there are some obstacles.

At the Tamarack Lodge Resort cross-country ski center, supervisor Jean Louis Villiot said the main trails are open but the intensity of the storms has prevented grooming of all trails. He said most of the trails will be groomed and open soon after the storms relent.

- Eric Noland

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, 2 Boxes, Map

Photo: (1--Color) no caption (Skiing)

(2--Color) Tamarack Lodge with its rustic accommodations - and no TV - appeals to those who prefer serenity to amenities.

Eric Noland

Box: (1) IF YOU GO (See text)

(2) Welcoming their own Mammoth supply of snow (See text)

Map: MAMMOTH AREA LEGEND

Bradford Mar