We had a great trip to Long Island but it’s always nice to get back to the West Coast. Guess it’s time for a Green Tea Partay!
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The authors of SBDC are kickin’ it with family in the Hamptons (NY) this weekend. Straight up East Coast style. What’s it like out here? It’s kind of like this…
Since we reside on the Left Coast, look for the West Coast retaliation video upon our return to California on Monday.
PlumpJack pool party on Sunday, August 19.
The PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn hosted it’s second and final pool party of the season last Sunday. DJ Pumpkin from Los Angeles rocked the house while partygoers ate, drank, danced and chilled on the PlumpJack pool deck. Tahoe DJ’s Grant Kaye, Michael Okimoto and Justin Levi also manned the decks earlier in the afternoon. Many thanks to ARCADE and PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn for collaborating on this very special event.
The PlumpJack pool deck felt a little bit like Las Vegas on Sunday.
Pocket Underground DJ Pumpkin from Los Angeles.
In Squaw Valley? Really!?!
ARCADE, Pocket Underground, and PlumpJack present: the final PlumpJack Pool Party of 2012, with special guest DJ from Los Angeles:Pumpkin (Pocket Underground).
PlumpJack is offering a special $159 room rate which includes breakfast Monday morning.
Bring your swim trunks, kids are welcome!
The PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn hosted its first pool party of the summer on Sunday, July 15th. The party featured Pink Mammoth DJ’s along with food and drink specials. It was a blast! Pumpkin plays the next one! Don’t miss it: August 19th from 1 to 5pm.
DJ Nasty Nate
It’s not often that you get a bike workout at the same time, in the same place as your kid does. Amazingly the new Truckee Pump Track lets you do just that — you’ll get your heart going and start sweating as you pump through the bigger features, while your little one rides his push-bike or mini two-wheeler around the outer ring or on the smaller features on the other side. Check in on the platform and drop in again!
The new, professionally-designed Truckee Pump track opened on June 10th, less than a year after Brooks McMullin and Mark Featherstone got the $45,000 project approved by the Truckee Recreation and Park District and the Truckee Sanitary District. Read more about the Pump Track at Moonshine Ink. Then, go check it out for yourself. Get there early to beat the crowds and watch out for the sprinklers! A little warning alarm for them would be a nice touch….
Pumpin it
Gettin low
Riding the outer track
The ramp
Hanging on the platform
On Saturday June 9, hundreds turned out for the grand opening of Woodward Tahoe. Dubbed “The Bunker,” the new 33,000 square foot indoor action sports center at Boreal is open to skateboards, BMX bikes, roller skis and boards and inline skates. Tony Hawk, Tanner Hall and a host of other pro athletes came out to greet packs of fired-up locals and demo the new facility.
The facility features 6 Olympic sized trampolines, a super tramp, two Skatelite ramps (one into a foam pit), a mini ramp, 3 foam pits, a pump track, bouldering wall, tumbling track and a skatepark, with spring floors throughout.
Outside of the Bunker, action sports vendors displayed their wares, while a BBQ fired on the upper deck and skiers and riders hit the Superpipe and terrain features on the surprisingly snow-covered hill above.
Boreal on June 9th
Foam Pits at Boreal
Woodward Skate Park
Skier Flipping into Foam
Northeast face of Mt. Lassen.
Northern California’s Mt. Lassen is the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range. Frequently overshadowed by more prominent volcanoes such as Mt. Ranier and Mt. Shasta, Mt. Lassen is an absolute gem. What it lacks in height (10,463), it makes up for in aesthetic with a beautiful approach, inspiring summit, and a plethora of tasty lines.
The popular south side approach to Mt. Lassen allows skiers to park high on the mountain, hike 2,000 feet up and then ski 4,000 vertical feet down the north side. Although this option is convenient, it lacks in overall experience and feel compared to an approach from the northeast. The best way to ski Lassen is to start from the Devastated Area before the road from the south has opened for the summer. If you are lucky/savvy enough to time your venture when the snow line starts at the parking lot, you can simply put on your skis and point them right at the peak. The result is escalator friendly climb that gradually steepens the closer you get to your goal. Eventually you sling your skis and boot up the last 1,000 or so vert to the top.
The summit of Mt Lassen is classic in many ways, starting with the fact that you can ski from the highest point onto the steepest terrain on on the peak. A well defined summit pyramid gives way to broad, sweeping shoulders that extend to the north and east. Skiers can hit any aspect from east to north allowing them to ski whatever’s ripe for corn. Ambitious types may even consider an alpine start and do multiple laps on the top portion. The total vertical drop from the summit through sweeping moraines back to the Devastated Area is 4,300.
Though it’s one of the little guys in the Cascade Range, Mt. Lassen is a worthwhile ski objective. The northeast face in particular is a great tour and ski from start to finish. It’s also the perfect forerunner for an assault on mighty Mt. Shasta to the north. If you have two or three days you can attempt a one two punch out of these two classic California volcanoes.
Mt. Lassen looms large on the approach.
Grant Kaye on the stairmaster.
Grant Kaye drops in off the summit of Mt. Lassen.
Perfect corn!
Devastated Area parking lot.
Mt. Lassen Blows! This was the scene at Mt. Lassen less than a century ago.
There’s nothing better than a weekend surrounded by friends, except maybe a weekend surrounded by friends in a backcountry palace with a gourmet kitchen, Jacuzzi tubs, sweeping mountain scenery and instant backcountry ski access.
In late April, 25 of us set out into Cold Stream canyon and trekked four miles to spend a weekend at the Lost Trail Lodge. In the winter, the lodge is inaccessible by car and visitors use skis or snowshoes to access it. In the summer, guests can drive most of the way. Visiting near the end of a dry winter, during a 70-degree spell, presented us with an interesting challenge – too wet to drive, and too dry to ski the whole way. We started out towing a sled with skis on our feet and snowshoes our backs. Throughout the trip, we had to remove our skis and walk, dragging the sled over dirt and mud.
Front entrance of Lost Trail Lodge
Lodge owner David Robertson built the majestic lodge from materials that he gathered by hand. On his website, he says that getting there is half the fun. Our crew tends to subscribe to the same notion, but with rapidly-melting snow creating a mixture of snow, dirt and mud, and nine kids in tow, ranging from three months to eight years, getting there and back was maybe 25% of the total fun. The other 75% happened when we kicked off our boots, detached from our sleds and eased into the comfort of our temporary home.
Terrain accessible from Lost Trail Lodge.
Hallways at Lost Trail are filled with stories and nick nacks.
Geoff Forcier skiing above Lost Trail Lodge on April 21.
It's not often that you stay at a remote cabin with a cooler kitchen than your own.
After experiencing a magical blend of seclusion, luxury and camaraderie, it was hard to pack up and head home. With much of the snow on the trail having melted during our stay, the return trip took about six hours. Once I recovered from the exhaustion of dragging my pack, skis, snowshoes, cooler and 3-year-old over dirt for three miles, I started planning our next trip – likely during the summer.
The west facing front deck at Lost Trail Lodge is the perfect place to hang out in the afternoon sun.
This is just a sliver of the terrain that will be accessible via the Mountain Riders Alliance project at Manitoba Mountain.
The authors of SBDC are very excited about the MRA project at Manitoba Mountain Alaska. We love the concept of a sustainable, low impact ski area that promotes a family vibe and accessible skiing without the glitz. However, the aspect of the project that we are most stoked about is that just beyond the proposed ski area boundary is straight up, slam banging, down to the nitty gritty big mountain backcountry terrain. Huge vertical and the ability to ski just about every aspect and exposure. When the surface lifts are up and running you will be able to cruise to the jumping off point and step into the white room. Manitoba Mountain is going to be a ski touring mecca! www.skimanitobamountain.com
Matt Reardon taste tests the terrain on Manitoba Mountain.
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