New Ride...Slow Start

Well made it up to Squaw and Mt. Rose around New Year's.  It snowed all night Friday after New Year's and we woke to really fun conditions on Saturday morning at Squaw.  Snowboarded all day and into the night on my new ride.  A bamboo beauty by Arbor.

So stoked.  It's the stiffest board I've ever ridden coming off a Burton Supermodel last year.  I love it and took to it right away.  My feet dug a bit on the deep snow even though it is a wide board.  It's a 163 and I probably could have gone a bit bigger but the price was right and the design represented me well.  My boys Akala and Ocean were represented nicely as the rising sun and waves on the deck.

Rode all day and into the night.  Brought along the trusty flask and had some great fun when the sun went down with my family in tow carving the edges of the trail as often as I could and looking for small hits.  Plan to head up again the weekend after next and try a new mountain. Maybe Alpine Meadows or Homewood.  

Stoked on all the rain we've been getting....nearly 7 ft of new snow by now.  Next trip up plan to get some video and powder to boot.

Sugar Town

Had a good first taste of snow this season.  Arrived to find bluebird conditions, which was magical.  It is always a sight to see the way the light makes everything twinkle as if the miniature crystals are being powered independently.  

We headed up with plans to get in a couple days of skiing/boarding, but quickly got sucked into just playing in the snow along the way, stopping here and there to have snowball fights, build snow men, make snow angels and all that other fun stuff that makes you feel about 5 years old.  

We ended up staying at a really cool lodge near Donner Lake on our way to Sugar Bowl known as the Clair Tapaan Lodge.  The lodge has been around since the 30's and felt its age.  It was reminiscent of The Shining, without the grandeur. 

Founded by the Sierra Club it attracted a unique clientele from around the world.  The kind that doesn't mind dorm living and doing chores.  It was certainly novel and a great time overall.  We spent the night playing checkers, chess, and cards while drinking rum by the fire in the common room.  Decorated with early skis, snowshoes, and Tibetan prayer flags you got the feeling that you were not in California.  It even had a pretty cool hot tub that kept us happy and limber.  The rum helped with that too.

The next morning we ended up getting stuck in the snow as it had been snowing all night and I made the mistake of parking on a slope that iced up that night.  Not fun as it took us about an hour to dig out and get our chains on.

As you can see it was a bit wet and just barely cold enough to produce snow.  Throughout the day we got everything from almost sleet like snow to huge flakes that the boys described as like feathers falling from the clouds.  We made it to Sugar Bowl and ended up having an excellent day.  There was a surprising amount of snow for so early in the season and I enjoyed hitting some of the deep patches here and there.  

It got windy at times and we would get blasts of snow that felt like we were in a blizzard.  The boys were wearing old skool ski masks that covered their whole faces and I was buttoned up like a mountain man so it was all good.  We were having a blast.

Here is a picture of me after my last run with some snow caked on my beard that I've been growing since September.  Keeps my face warm on those speedy descents.  We are headed back up again this weekend and will be doing our snow dance in hopes of good conditions.

My Own Two Feet

This is a really unique film in that it showcases the adventures of a pack of dedicated freestyle snowboarders, mountaineers, and film makers as they work to create the first snowboard film to be shot without the use of snowmobiles and helicopters, but solely human power. They hiked over 1200 miles and camped for 30 nights to put together the story of their adventures in the Sierras.

It was cool to read about how the snowboarders, many of whom are brand new to camping and mountaineering were able to gather a fresh perspective and appreciation for the beauty and tranquility of the mountains...not to mention the new found respect and appreciation for earning your turns.

Check out the Nov/Dec issue of Adventure Sports Journal for the full scoop.

Also check South Lake Tahoe based Film company Leeward Cinema and ProtectourWinters.org more information.

Premieres:

Incline Village, NV
Sierra College - Nov. 20th
Reno, NV
Reno Bike Project - Nov. 22nd. For further information on premieres check out

Aspen

Chillin Apres sesh this past winter. Here is a photo of my sister repping Mt. Hood at the Sky Hotel.

Had a good time riding as the sun was out and the snow was super fun.

To be honest, I'll be lucky if I make it to the Mountains more than a couple times a year. This was one of my two trips last year.

This year is going to be different...I can feel the desire burning inside me. An extension of my surfing as I flow from edge to edge, taking out any bumps or drifts in my path.

Looking for some powder this time. Big dumps in my future, I can taste it. The snow that is.



Got a little clip at the bottom on one of the last runs in Aspen. I know, not that impressive, but I was having fun. That's what its all about right?




This is going to be my first attempt at chronicling my snow bound adventures. Stay tuned.

Children of Winter

Deep powder. Huge airs. World-class cinematography. It's all part of Warren Miller's Children of Winter, the world's largest action sports film company...or so their site says. Good trailer...check it out.