Mind the Track

In Episode 37, the boys catch up after a very special Cinco de Mayo, blessed with a late season snowstorm that dumped some of the best winter pow of the year. Pow Bot shares his manifesto of the backcountry, The 10 Shredmandments – 10 rules of etiquette that every traveler in the backcountry should abide to minimize impact and be a responsible pow-shredding human. Banter and ASS (Angry Singlespeeder) rants are copious in this episode, covering a variety of topics like the love and hate for wind, the overwhelming hate of horse poop on trails, 10 things Europeans hate about American ski resorts, the dangers of traveling to Baja, the travails of the post office and listener shout outs (thanks @terrainadvco for the rad swag!). And thanks to everyone who’s been leaving positive rating and reviews. Please support the cause, press pause, and leave us a rating and review to help get Mind the Track in the ears of more core lords like yourself. 1:30 – Skiing Cinco de Mayo POW – Snowiest single day of the 2023/24 Winter season. 4:00 – Celebrating 4/20 and hopefully our listeners had a celebratory toke. 6:45 – Cam Zink Invitational – challenges due to wind. 9:00 – Do you like wind or do you hate wind? Pow Bot loves wind – surfing slopping Lake Michigan. Trail Whisperer hates wind having grown up as a cyclist. Wind creates huge wildfires, avalanches and falling trees in the forest. 12:30 – Pow Bot’s story of ecology, forest fires and falling trees due to wind. 17:15 – North American avalanche fatality report – total number of avalanche fatalities were way down – only 13. 20:10 – Transition back to mountain biking – Trail Whisperer has been hiking new moto trail alignments in the Peavine Maze area for the Nevada OHV planning project. 22:00 – Trail report: Armstrong connector, Corral Trail in South Lake are open. Jackass Ridge in Truckee is open. 23:00 – New issue of Tahoe Quarterly is out – two articles written by Kurt Gensheimer. 24:00 – Riding ebikes and rock crawling on the Rubicon Trail. 27:45 – Listener shout outs: Brad Hisgen – Explaining backcountry etiquette. 28:45 – Fostering etiquette and ethos in the backcountry - The 10 Shredmandments 31:20 – Rule #1 – Don’t park like a kook. Be considerate when parking your car at the trailhead. 32:50 – Rule #2 – Group size matters. At the most, 4 people. Big groups are for guided hut trips. And consider leaving your dog at home. 36:00 – Rule #3 – Shred within your ability and go with people who are all the same ability. 37:10 – Rule #4 – Mind the skin track. Stay on the established routes. Don’t set a wonky skin line if you don’t know how to do it properly. 39:10 – Rule #5 (or #6?) – Don’t be a bad bogey. Don’t follow up on another group ahead of you in a line. For example, if someone else is booting up Terminal Cancer, you’re too late. Go somewhere else. 41:50 – Rule #7 – Ski the fall line. Go straight down. No traversing across a slope. SFD = straight fucking down. Learn to landmark ski. 45:50 – Rule #8 – Be a good mentor. Set the example for others and help them do it right. Mentorship is contagious. 47:00 – Rule #9 – The social delay rule – Protect the spot when it’s firing. It’s not ok to ride a secret spot in prime conditions, then immediately post about it on social media. Wait until the cycle is over before posting about it. 50:45 – Rule #10 – Don’t be a dick and other shenanigans – backpack speakers, dog crap in the skin track, don’t litter. Buy the skin track setter a beer. 54:55 – Shout out to Christian from Terrain Adventure Co - @terrainadvco 55:50 – Shout out to Gordo Clute – he recommended that we get bestselling author Steven Kotler on the show to talk about flow state. 57:00 – People have been leaving great reviews, thank you! 58:20 – Shout out to Andrew Cobourn – Carson Valley Trails Alliance social post saying its ok for horses to poop on the trail. There was public backlash. Leaving horse poop on a trail violates The Golden Rule – don’t be a...

Boasting some of the biggest vertical relief in North America and some of the best skiing anywhere in the world, California’s Eastern Sierra Nevada hits its zenith in spring with warm weather for camping at the foot of massive snow-covered peaks. For the last 25 years, Nate Greenberg has been documenting all the best lines to ski, and his book, Backcountry Skiing California’s Eastern Sierra (along with co-author Dan Mingori), is the “bible” of the region. In addition to co-authoring the book, Nate was also a GIS expert in his former life working for Mono for two decades, now the Chief Administrative Officer for Inyo County. He’s also the co-founder of the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center. We chat with Nate about a variety of topics related to the Eastern Sierra and what makes it so special, as well as the controversial launch of the OnX Backcountry app featuring ski lines from the book, which some fear will blow up all the secret spots. Nate also opens up about a harrowing avalanche incident in the Bardini Chutes that nearly took his life. Purchase the book at your local outdoor retailer or online at Wolverinepublishing.com and donate to ESAC at esavalanche.org. 1:00 – Pow Bot and Trail Whisperer recording from the Toyota Sunrader on the shores of Convict Lake in the Eastern Sierra Nevada after skiing Mount Morrison. 7:00 – Nate Greenberg – CIO for Inyo County, 20 year employee of Mono County, GIS expert, Co-Author of Backcountry Skiing California’s Eastern Sierra. 11:00 – Talking about avalanches, the OnX Backcountry app and the concept of gatekeeping 18:40 – The story behind the convicts who Convict Lake was named after. 21:00 – The unique gift of skiing the Eastern Sierra Nevada. 22:25 – Nate grew up in Orange, California and skied and climbed in Mammoth as a kid. 27:00 – Nate’s background in GIS, and built Mono County’s GIS infrastructure. 30:30 – All about Backcountry Skiing California’s Eastern Sierra by Nate Greenberg and Dan Mingori 40:00 – Has Nate’s perspective on skiing big lines changed in recent years with having a family and a real job? 43:00 – The challenges of finding a good skiing partner. 46:20 – Founding the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) with Walter Rosenthal, who passed in the fumarole accident at Mammoth Mountain in 2006. 57:00 – Nate’s story about getting caught in an avalanche in Bardini Chute and being seriously injured. 1:13:15 – Going from the book to an app on your phone – the launching of a partnership with OnX Backcountry featuring skiable lines in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, and the controversy of gatekeeping. 1:26:30 – How do you protect “secret spots” from the masses with an app like OnX, and how does it compare to the impacts of social media accounts and influencers? 1:39:00 – Incorporating an ethos of how to appropriately experience the outdoors, the importance of mentorship and education and having respect for the rules of backcountry skiing. 1:47:00 – Nate’s Mentors: Don Sharaf, Ian McCammon, Christian Pondella. 1:50:00 – What is it that Nate loves the most about skiing the Eastern Sierra Nevada? 1:54:14 – What does Mind the Track mean to you? 1:56:45 – Support the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center, make a donation.

“Snow is blissful, it’s pure, it’s white, it’s serene, it’s a siren call. But it’s also very dark, it’s death. The darkest white is the perfect analogy for an avalanche,” said New York Times bestselling author Eric Blehm on Episode 35 about his latest book, The Darkest White, chronicling the life and untimely passing of legendary snowboarder Craig Kelly. Widely regarded as the Michael Jordan of snowboarding, Kelly was a pioneer in this uniquely American sport, and in his book, Blehm dives deep in to Kelly’s life and his pivotal role in the history of snowboarding and splitboarding. Blehm also goes into remarkable detail about the 2003 La Traviata avalanche in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, where Kelly and six other skiers lost their lives, including Truckee local Kathy Kessler. Our chat with Blehm covers a bit of the history here in Lake Tahoe, a bit about Kelly and an insightful discussion around the human factors involved in the tragic avalanche. Learn more about Blehm and purchase his award-winning non-fiction books at ericblehm.com. 2:30 – Recording from Jim and Bonnie Zellers garage in Tahoe Donner. 3:50 – Introducing Eric Blehm, author of Fearless, The Only Thing Worth Dying For, The Last Season and his new book, The Darkest White, about the history of snowboarding, Craig Kelly and the La Traviata avalanche. 7:20 – Kathy Kessler – a core lord in Truckee who lost her life in the La Traviata avalanche with Craig Kelly. 9:10 – The roots of snowboarding were on Donner Summit – Donner Ski Ranch, Soda Springs and Boreal. 10:10 – Mind the Track Superfan #1 – Scott Kessler. Thanks for the shout out buddy! 13:15 – Eric was a snowboard magazine editor at TransWorld when he met Jim and Bonnie Zellers, the original backcountry snowboarders for The North Face. 15:30 – Transitioning from being a short-form magazine editor to a long-form book author and investigative journalist. 22:06 – Learning about the formation of the Mount Baker Hard Core, the lawsuit between Burton and Sims over Craig Kelly. 23:00 – Tom Sims claimed to have invented the snowboard before Sherman Poppen, but it was never confirmed. 25:00 – Mount Baker, Donner Ski Ranch, Boreal and Soda Springs were one of the first places to allow snowboards on chairlifts. 30:00 – Parts of Craig’s story that were cut from the book – Greg Stump’s film Siberia with Kelly and Scott Schmidt. 34:30 -Craig Kelly’s unique riding style, his fall line style influenced a generation of riders and convinced Trail Whisperer that he should have been a snowboarder. 45:00 – Craig as a pioneer in being one of the first snowboard guides in Canada, pursuing the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides certification. 48:00 – Early splitboarding, Eric got a splitboard and infiltrated ski resorts that didn’t allow snowboarding, riding the lift in split, then assembling it and snowboarding down as ‘The Chameleon”. 1:01:10 – The Durrand Glacier avalanche on La Traviata, the human factor and group dynamics. 1:10:30 – Ruedi Beglinger as a lead guide at Selkirk Mountain Experience, a strong character and the changes in the guiding industry and backcountry culture after the avalanche. 1:16:30 – Hubris and its role in the avalanche incident. 1:23:00 – Craig Kelly wanted to educate the younger generation on snow safety and the dangers of the backcountry. 1:28:30 – If Eric could ask Craig one question, what would it be? 1:35:15 – The Darkest White – where did the name come from? 1:39:30 – What does Mind the Track mean to you? 1:40:30 – Go to ericblehm.com or @ericblehmofficial on Instagram

“Everybody in Tahoe is the kid who doesn’t want to come in from recess”, said PowBot in Episode 34 with our guest Kacy Roeder. The concept of play is not just for kids, playing is an essential part of being an adult. Nobody knows this better than Kacy, a licensed landscape architect who designs playgrounds and sends it on her mountain bike and her splitboard. We learn about Kacy’s unique career, growing up on the East Coast and finding her way to Lake Tahoe, her love of being outside adventuring and why she built her world around playing as much as possible. Kacy also talks about her involvement with the Rocker Memorial Skate Park and the Rally for Rocker fundraiser on April 27, and how splitboarding has rekindled her love of snowboarding. 1:45 – POWBOT is back! Rest and a knee brace are helping. 3:20 – Introducing Kacy Roeder and her hens – farm life 7:20 – You Are What You Eat Documentary – industrial food complex and diet 9:00 – Trail Whisperer scored pow in the Toiyabe Range of Nevada. Tonopah Low and the Inside Slider storm. 10:45 – Kacy scored pow on Mount Rose after hitting Frog Lake Huts and West Shore 14:00 – Listener shout outs – Sebastian Johnson - Diamond Peak closes uphill ski access due to people breaking rules and coming within striking distance of a loaded winch cable. 19:20 – Ski Magazine announces ski injuries due to GoPros and weed gummies. But what about alcohol consumption while skiing? 21:00 – PowBot shouts out all listeners who helped him with his knee issues. 23:00 – April Fools posts, Zak Mills – snowboarding downhill with ski poles in hand. 25:49 – Brian Sullivan – funny video about podcasters. 28:20 – All about Kacy Roeder – Landscape Architect – Designing Playgrounds 34:00 – Growing up on the East Coast and the path to finding “play” as a profession. 36:00 – Moving to Lake Tahoe after graduating from University of Vermont. 39:30 – Trail Whisperer’s first encounter with Kacy – Riding MTB in Reno. 43:30 – The concept of men teaching women to mountain bike. 50:20 – Parallels between work and play. Play as an essential element of being an adult. 55:00 – Building playgrounds for kids and adults alike. 57:00 – Adventure Journal – Steve Casimiro – observing animals playing. The importance of humans playing. 1:02:00 – Rally for Rocker – Saturday April 27. Donner Ski Ranch on Donner Summit. Fundraiser for Rocker Memorial Skate Park in Truckee. 1:14:30 – Kacy’s youth and growing up as an active outdoor family, going to school in Vermont, snowboarding at her home mountains, Okemo Mountain, Stowe and Jay Peak. 1:17:00 – Spending time in Florida, New York accents, the competitiveness of the East Coast 1:27:30 – Learning to balance play and education in college. 1:30:30 – Kacy’s transition from snowboarding to splitboarding and backcountry skiing, and the concept of “Nature Bathing”. 1:39:40 – What does Mind the Track mean to you? 1:44:30 – Snoop Pow Dogg Snowsizzle My Dizzle Corn Dog and Powderrific Snow Report

In the wake of The Crippler – one of the biggest snowstorms to hit Tahoe in the last 5 years – the boys sit down with Reno-native core lord @aurelbaker, a Pediatric ER nurse who crushes it skiing as an ambassador athlete for @atomicski @rab.equipment and @lebent_ . Always the adventurer, Aurel covers a variety of topics including her “puke and rally” sailboat to ski adventure in British Columbia, her path to becoming a nurse, enduring as a nurse through the pandemic, her five different knee and ankle surgeries over the years and the psychological struggles associated with being an injured athlete. We recap the 10 feet of snow that shut down Lake Tahoe for three days, talk about skiing pow in Reno, Snoop gives the Snowsizzle My Dizzle Powderiffic Snow Report and shout outs to listeners. 1:30 – Introducing Aurel Baker – Pediatric ER Nurse, Skier, Mountain Biker, Fly Fishing, Climber. 6:30 – All about fly fishing. 10:00 – The challenges of surfing. 12:15 – Shout Outs – Michael George – Lebron James and JJ Reddick starting a new podcast called Mind the Game. Jed Ritchey – Washington Post story about record ocean temps and Hunga Tonga. 17:00 – Jonathan Irwin – wondering how to gain real backcountry experience not living full time in the mountains. 23:00 – Sendy Send of the Week - Zak Mills and Nick Russel ski Banner and Ritter Mountain in the same day. 24:10 – THE CRIPPLER – The aftermath of the March 1 snowstorm. Interstate 80 closed for three days. Hundreds of cars stranded on Donner Summit. A three day blizzard warning. Palisades Tahoe closed for three days. 31:30 – Backyard pow slashing in the wake of the storm. Skiing pow in Reno and Virginia City on Mount Davidson. 34:00 – Winter of 23-24 in a word: awkward. Seeming like a light winter, yet we are almost at season average for snowpack. Months of dangerous snowpack. 39:00 – Skiing Peavine Mountain in Reno. 40:25 – The Snoop Pow Dogg Snowsizzle My Dizzle Powderrrific Snow Report 43:00 – Spring Equinox – Mind the Track has made it a full four seasons! 47:00 – Aurel traveling to Sitka, Alaska for a sail to ski trip. Looking back on last year’s sail to ski trip in British Columbia. Learning the concept of Puke and Rally. 55:00 – Aurel has had five orthopedic surgeries on her knees and ankles over the years. Struggling with injury and recovery. The bicycle is the best tool for physical therapy. 1:02:00 – Dealing with loss of identity when the thing you love most you can’t do because of being injured. 1:05:00 – PowBot is dealing with early osteoarthritis in his knee. 1:10:30 – Delux Landscape in Lake Tahoe – PowBot’s new job as a project manager. 1:15:10 – Aurel grew up in Reno, and learned to ski and snowboard at Mount Rose. Going to University of Nevada, Reno and becoming a nurse. 1:19:10 – Enduring through the COVID pandemic as a nurse in a hospital. 1:27:30 – Leaving Reno, but coming back to Reno because of how good the access is to so much adventure. 1:32:00 – What was the closest call Aurel has ever had with avalanches? 1:37:00 – PowBot almost drowns in a creek crossing on the Sierra Buttes. 1:38:45 – Random historical tidbit: Sierra City compared to Downieville. 1:40:45 – What does Mind the Track mean to you?

Recorded just as the biggest snowstorm of the winter wallops Lake Tahoe with up to 10 feet of snow, the boys chat with Nick Bliss of Bliss Wilderness and avalanche forecaster at the Bridgeport Avalanche Center. At just under 2 hours, this is the longest Mind the Track episode to date, but the discussion covers a lot of topics from snow safety, snowpack and avalanches to the dangers of following social media to find big ski lines, the responsibility professional winter sports athletes have when posting their adventures, apps like OnX Backcountry and Cody Townsend’s The Fifty episode about Split Couloir. The boys discuss the recent inbounds avalanche on KT-22 at Palisades Tahoe, the dangerous early season snowpack and what this big incoming storm will do to that snowpack. We also dive into Nick’s escape from living in Lake Tahoe, moving down near Sonora Junction and the challenges of off-grid living. Whether you swallow this episode whole or listen to it in a few different sittings, Nick shares a lot of knowledge about snow science and being smart about traveling safely in the backcountry. Consider donating at bridgeportavalanchecenter.org and follow BAC’s forecasts at @bridgeportavalanchecenter. 2:00 – Miracle March comes in like a lion. 10 feet of snow in 72 hours! 8:30 – Swan John and Trail Whisperer road trip to Idaho to ski Grand Targhee and Sun Valley. 12:15 – PowBot returns to Frog Lake Huts and rode with Jason Smith of Blackbird Guides. 17:00 – SnoopPowDogg Snow Sizzle My Dizzle Powderiffic Snow Report 21:00 – Introducing Nick Bliss of Bliss Wilderness 23:00 – Nick’s work as avalanche forecaster for the Bridgeport Avalanche Center, teaching the Marine Corps Mountain Training Warfare Center in Pickel Meadows near Sonora Pass. 24:50 – Bridgeport Winter Recreation Area – 7,000 acres of snowmobile motorized access. 26:30 – Being more mindful of each other at trailheads, better snow etiquette. 28:00 – The concept of ethos, gatekeeping, maintaining the culture of a sport and putting in the time to be more experienced. 32:00 – Nick’s dog Owen and skiing in the backcountry with a dog. 34:30 – The problem of putting ski lines on social media with no context for danger. 36:00 – OnX Backcountry putting dangerous ski lines in the Eastern Sierra on their app. 38:00 – The difference between a guide book and an app on a phone. 40:45 – Cody Townsend, The Fifty project and the Split Couloir episode. 53:45 – Transitioning from living in Lake Tahoe to moving south to Sonora Junction and living off-grid. 1:05:30 – Hantavirus and the brain-eating amoeba in hot springs – dangers of frontier life. 1:10:45 – The Bridgeport Avalanche Center (bridgeportavalanchecenter.org) – one of the four avalanche centers in California. 1:18:00 – The process of writing an avalanche forecast. 1:23:45 – January 2024 – the persistent weak layer and dangerous snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. 1:25:30 – The importance of snow water equivalent (SWE) in the snowpack and lack of snow load. 1:27:40 – The Palisades Tahoe avalanche on KT-22, the details around it and riding inbounds with your shovel, probe and beacon. 1:37:50 – The unionization of Palisades Tahoe Ski Patrol, and the life of a ski patroller. 1:41:00 – The incoming storm and the dangers of 10 feet of new snow in 72 hours, cornice failure danger and PowBot’s story of falling off a cornice. 1:48:30 – The concept of storms coming in right side up versus upside down, atmospheric rivers and the pineapple express. 1:54:00 – What does Mind the Track mean to you? 1:56:45 - @bridgeportavalanchecenter @blisswilderness and blisswilderness.com – donate at bridgeportavalanchecenter.org

After a three week adventure overseas, JaPowBot makes his return from Japan just as winter turns back on in Lake Tahoe. The boys discuss Tom’s trip as well as a potpourri of shenanigans that happened in Tahoe while he was gone, including shootings at Palisades Tahoe and Homewood, grant theft and assault at Boreal and a woman getting stranded overnight in the Heavenly gondola. Trail Whisperer rants about UnofficialNetworks and their false AI generated news headlines, PowBot calls out Palisades Tahoe for complaining about work on their blog, presidential candidates make campaign promises for the votes of Tahoe core lords, Snoop Pow Dogg gives his Snowsizzle My Dizzle Powderiffic Snow Report and Arapahoe Basin loses its identity and goes corporate after being bought out by Alterra/IKON Pass. 1:45 – POWBOT Returns from Japan with the Hakuba Hack. 4:30 – Winter finally shows up in Tahoe. 6:45 – Riding Sonora Pass and Leavitt Lake in the Bridgeport Winter Recreation Area with Nick Bliss. @bridgeportavalanchecenter 9:20 – Backcountry skiing in Japan – filling out forms to get permits for the Japanese Alps. 11:45 – Shout Outs to listeners, Incline Spirits and Cigars, Bestfit Boots and Start Haus Truckee, Josh at Boot Solutions in Hakuba. 25:45 – Eating weird Asian foods. 29:00 – While Tom was gone….presidential campaigning in Reno/Tahoe region. Thanks Chad Peters - @takeoffyourpnts on Insta. 32:30 – Woman gets stranded overnight on Heavenly gondola, shooting at Squaw Village, shooting near Homewood at a restaurant, grand theft and assault at Boreal. 35:30 – Kurt’s ASS Rant for the Week – UnofficialNetworks using AI to write news headlines. 38:45 – Palisades Tahoe Blog and the complaining they love to do about their jobs. 40:20 – The Headwall chairlift debacle – Scott Gaffney writes an Ode to Headwall poem. 44:30 – Arapahoe Basin in Colorado gets purchased by Alterra/Ikon Pass. 51:30 – Snoop Pow Dogg’s Snowsizzle My Dizzle Powderiific Snow Report 54:00 – We are definitely in an El Nino winter – no snow in the Pacific NW and Montana 56:00 – Gettin’ older and feelin’ older. Coping with injury and getting older. Do more cross training. Throttle back. Stretch more. 1:02:15 – Recap of PowBot’s trip to Hakuba, Japan. Happo-One. 1:14:00 – Trail Whisperer and Swan John’s upcoming road trip to Idaho and Wyoming. 1:20:30 – Sharing information about avalanches and Avalanche Canada’s new avalanche reporting system built by the government for the public to use and share.

Fresh off a return from a two-night ski adventure at the Frog Lake Huts, right before PowBot’s departure for Japan, the boys do a catch up, recapping the of the most dangerous periods of avalanche conditions ever in the Sierra Nevada. The boys discuss the unfortunate inbounds fatality on KT-22 opening day at Palisades Tahoe and PowBot recounts the only time he’s ever been fully buried in an avalanche – inbounds at Sugar Bowl – and a second recovery he was involved in immediately after being unburied by a partner. The boys also chat about the inherent dangers of skiing inbounds on a storm day, terrain management, proper recovery gear, the dangers of group think and the expert halo, the risks of traveling in the backcountry and methods employed to stay safe even on considerable and high avalanche danger days, and why PowBot thinks avalanche education and safety is better in Canada and Europe than the U.S. The last third of the show recaps the boys’ trip to the Frog Lake Huts (where Mind the Track was born a year ago) and successfully negotiating avalanche terrain in dangerous conditions en route. They also discuss why there are so many no-shows at Frog Lake despite sold-out reservation status. 2:00 – PowBot and Trail Whisperer fresh off a hut trip to Frog Lake. Lots going on with the snowpack in Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada. 5:15 – Trail Whisperer featured on PBS Reno Wild Nevada show, an episode about the Toiyabe Crest Trail project. For interested volunteers, reach out to us with a DM or message. 9:00 – Unstable snowpack and a dangerous avalanche cycle in the Sierra Nevada including a fatality inbounds at Palisades Tahoe on KT-22. 11:45 – What are snow facets and why do they make for dangerous avalanche conditions? 15:30 – PowBot’s full burial inbounds avalanche story from Sugar Bowl 26:00 – The safety culture of ski resorts with open boundaries featuring sidecountry and backcountry access. 28:00 – The difference between RECCO and an avalanche beacon. 31:00 – Being aware and cautious when skiing inbounds on a storm day and ski with a partner. 35:00 – Terrain management is the number one consideration when skiing in the backcountry. 38:00 – Where are things at currently with the snowpack? Has it stabilized? 39:45 – The Snoop Pow Dogg Snow Sizzle My Dizzle Powderiffic Snow Report 41:15 – PowBot going to Hakuba, Japan to slash Japow for the first time ever. 42:20 – Conjecture around the inbounds fatality at Palisades Tahoe. 46:45 – The Loveland Pass avalanche and the topic of people not reporting avalanches. 48:45 – Information sharing system in Canada regarding snowpack and avalanche activity. 49:50 – New York Times feature by John Branch – “Snow Fail – The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek” 50:30 – Jeremy Jones video about an avalanche burial on the north face of Castle Peak. 51:30 – It’s really hard to die in the backcountry mountain biking. It’s really easy to die in the backcountry skiing. 55:00 – Recap on the Frog Lake Huts trip and traveling in considerable avalanche conditions. 1:11:00 – The difference between riding a singletrack and a cutting in a skintrack. 1:14:00 – The high no-show rate at the Frog Lake Huts and PowBot’s rant about guides booking out the huts in advance, and Truckee Donner Land Trust opening reservations to more than two nights. 1:25:00 – Where do you carry your avalanche beacon, probe and shovel? 1:32:00 – The dangers of group think and the expert halo. 1:34:00 – PowBot getting fired up for his trip to Japan.

Welcoming in 2024 with a bang, as soon as the New Year hit, winter finally arrived in Lake Tahoe with multiple cold storms dropping a couple feet of blower pow. PowBot and Trail Whisperer go into Season 2 of Mind the Track talking on a variety of topics including riding the South Yuba River Trail, the history of Malakoff Diggins and what tree blazes are, skiing pow on Mount Shasta for New Years, attempting to Nordic ski at Mount Rose on Christmas, the importance of keeping all your printed maps, CDs and DVDs in an increasingly unstable digital world, the sketchy state of the snowpack in North America and Snoop Pow Dogg’s Snowsizzle My Dizzle Powderiffic Snow Report. Trail Whisperer goes off on two ASS (Angry Singlespeeder) rants about ebike haters and the looming chaos that Artificial Intelligence will bring to our lives, and he also shares an embarrassing and hilarious story of the time he pooped his pants while skiing at Heavenly. A question for listeners: what’s your preferred episode length – An hour or less or 90 minutes plus? Let us know! 3:00 – PowBot goes to Shasta for a mission. Trail Whisperer and Swan John go Nordic skiing on Old Mount Rose Highway. 6:00 – Super busy winter holiday in Lake Tahoe and Truckee. Gong show at Sugar Bowl and Palisades Tahoe. 11:15 – Riding the South Yuba River Trail, Missouri Bar and Malakoff Diggins. 13:30 – The history of Malakoff Diggins hydraulic mining and the Sawyer act, the first environmental legislation ever passed in America in 1884. 19:00 – Angry Singlespeeder Rant #1 – Snide remarks about ebikes on the South Yuba River Trail. 25:00 – Tree blazes and the history of trail blazing and trail markings. 28:00 – John and Jim Morrison’s slide show presentation at Alpenglow Winter Series. 31:30 – Snoop Pow Dogg Mind Z Track Snowsizzle My Dizzle Powderiffic Snow Report 33:30 – The difficulty in forecasting the weather during an El Nino season and massive coastal surf in California. 39:00 – Old James Niehues ski resort maps and the importance of a physical product, not a digital product. Keeping your CDs, DVDs and hand drawn maps when technology melts down. 44:00 – Angry Singlespeeder Rant #2 – Technology has dominated and taken over our lives and the scary proliferation of AI and ChatGPT. 57:00 – PowBot’s Mount Shasta backcountry skiing mission recap. 1:05:00 – Does PowBot wear a butt pad at the ski resort? 1:07:00 – Have you ever peed or crapped your pants while skiing? 1:16:30 – The sketchy state of the snowpack in North America in early 2024. 1:21:00 – Brett “Kowboy” Kobernick – giving his opinion of how dangerous the snowpack is. 1:25:00 – Let us know how long of an episode you like. 60 minutes or less or 1.5 hours? 1:26:00 – Listener shout outs - Katie Pesce.

We first interviewed @notjakemann in Episode 11 right before he embarked on a two-month bikepacking journey from Truckee to Bellingham, Washington. In Episode 28, the boys catch up with Jake and hear all the good times, scary times, wet times and confusing times he had, including harrowing encounters with skunks and toothless rednecks, abundant cats, and friendly folks happy to accommodate a stinky mountain biker who raised nearly $8,000 for World Bicycle Relief, funding nearly 50 bikes for people in third world countries. The boys also give some listener shout outs, reflect on the first season of Mind the Track, chat about more bear encounters in Sierra County, Reno’s shrinking homeless population, Truckee’s increasing cost of living woes, more Hunga Tonga theories and Snoop Dogg’s Snow Sizzle My Dizzle Powderrific Snow Report. 3:00 – Introducing the return of Jake Mann after his summer-long bike adventure. 6:30 – Listener shout outs. 11:00 – News – Bear attacks man in Calpine, California and bears at Heavenly. 13:00 – Snoop Dog Snow Sizzle My Dizzle Powderrific Snow Report. 16:55 – Thousands of dead fish off the shore of Japan – Hunga Tonga? 20:30 – Reno, Nevada has among the lowest homeless rate in America. 23:20 – Avant Werks, Audi repair in Truckee shut down because they can’t find employees. 26:00 – Winter Solstice – Vivaldi Winter Movement – Looking back on 2023 29:45 – The bicycle adventures of Jake Mann riding from Truckee to Port Townsend, WA, he raised almost $8,000 for nearly 50 bikes for people in third world countries. 33:00 – Riding the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest and the Cascades National Forest. 38:00 – Riding through tons of snow in Lassen National Park. 41:00 – Riding the Bizz Johnson trail in Susanville, CA. 43:20 – Riding through Klamath Falls, Oregon. Allegedly really good mountain biking. 45:30 – Jake Mann gets attacked by skunks. 47:45 – Jake’s favorite food for a long bike ride – cheese. 51:00 – Jake Mann considered moving to Bellingham, but ended up staying in Truckee because of a promotion at his employer, New Moon Natural Foods. 58:15 – Warm Showers – a host program for bike touring. 1:00:30 – Pro Tip: Wearing a head net to keep the face flies at bay. 1:03:00 – Jake Mann is handed a joint in Randle, Washington after riding Dark Meadow Trail. 1:07:30 – Rode into Leavenworth, Washington, stayed in Wenatchee. 1:10:00 – Riding the Olympic Peninsula. 1:14:00 – Jake Mann almost freezes to death in a rain snow storm near Bend on the Oregon Timber Trail. 1:18:30 – The Whispering Pines story. 1:24:00 – Olympic Peninsula – Jake’s favorite place on the trip. 1:25:00 – What’s next for Jake Mann? Great Britain Divide and the Trans Am Tour. 1:28:00 – Wrapping up 2023 and taking Mind the Track into 2024 with thoughts of POW.

After a radical Thanksgiving on two wheels, the boys escape to Downieville to sample some late fall hero dirt on the ebikes and catch up on a variety of topics including the struggles of trying to survive in rural California amidst draconian laws and policies designed for big cities, the outlawing of gas-powered everything in California and the problems with electric battery powered replacements, living with constant power outages, the unregulated bear population that’s been wreaking havoc in peoples’ homes and in their cars, abandoned vehicles deep in the forest, the meaning of “Make Downieville Gold Again” and the much anticipated reopening of The Lure Resort, now known as The Yubaverse. Snoop Dogg weighs in with his Snow Sizzle My Dizzle Powderiffic Snow Report, shout outs to listeners and a PowBot photo makes Jerry of the Day. Also, go see PowBot present about Canadian Hut Life at Donner Creek Brewing in Truckee on Wednesday December 6. 2:00 – Riding ebikes aka the Rumspringa in Downieville. 4:00 – Make Downieville Gold Again – the meaning behind the hat. 7:00 – Recorded on site at The Yubaverse, formerly the The Lure Resort where Kurt used to part own and work at. 13:00 – Shout outs – Adam Mahomed, Forest, Todd Birtch and Andreas. Thanks for listening! 16:30 – Snoop Dogg’s Snow Sizzle My Dizzle Powderiffic Snow Report 19:30 – We might not be getting snow, but it’s the best Fall ever for mountain biking. 20:30 – PowBot presents at Donner Creek Brewing – Canadian Hut Life Photo Essay 22:00 – Fall mountain biking in Downieville on Second Divide, Third Divide, Halls Ranch, Fiddle Creek and Brown Bear Mine trail. 24:01 – PowBot rides Annadel Park with Duncan Meyers and Scot Nicol after going surfing with Storm Glover. 28:30 – Undersea water temperatures are super warm. Hunga Tonga 29:30 – California banning the sale of all gas powered lawn and garden equipment, and no more two stroke dirt bikes. 32:00 – Trying to survive living in rural California with draconian restrictions and laws. 39:00 – Woman died in her house in Downieville, and a bear smelled the body and ate her. 40:00 – All about bears breaking into cars and houses and their overpopulation in Lake Tahoe area and Sierra County. 50:00 – A Ford F250 gets stuck in the bottom of Rattlesnake Canyon above Downieville and bears eat the interior out of the truck. 53:30 – PowBot’s photo of a tipped over 4runner at Mount Rose makes Jerry of the Day. 59:30 – Thanksgiving talk

If you’ve ever watched Josh Daiek’s POV ski footage, you’ve probably been more gripped staring at your phone than he is straight-lining a couloir at Mach Chicken. So when Josh and his filmmaking adventure partner Hazen Woolson set out to make a new ski film for their sponsor Salomon, they wanted to do something different and unexpected to blow peoples’ minds. Mountain State and Mountain State 2.0 were the result; two films exploring the rugged and seldom skied wilds of Nevada and the Great Basin, the latter of which recently took home “Best Backcountry Segment” from the IF3 Film Festival. In Episode 26, the boys sit down with Josh and Hazen at Gear Lab in South Lake Tahoe to chat all about the making of the films, from the highs of scoring in last year’s record-breaking winter to the lows of getting skunked the two previous winters and Josh’s terrifying skirt with certain peril skiing the East Humboldt Range. Also, Pow Bot introduces Mind the Track’s newest correspondent, the one and only Snoop Dogg with his Snowsizzle My Dizzle Powderiffic Snow Report. 2:00 – PowBot finds the fresh pow on Mount Rose backcountry, first turns of the season. 5:00 – Snoop Dogg Snowsizzle My Dizzle Powderiffic Snow Report. 7:45 – Introducing Josh Daiek and Hazen Woolson – Mountain State and Mountain State 2.0 10:00 – Mountain State 2.0 wins IF3 Film Festival for “Best Backcountry Segment” 15:00 – The genesis of creating the Mountain State film and skiing in Nevada. 17:00 – Remote triggering avalanches in Arc Dome Wilderness of the Toiyabe range. 18:00 – Not going to the Ruby Mountains because everybody knows the Rubys. 20:00 – How Hazen and Josh met up with each other. 25:00 – Losing a GoPro on a ski line and trying to find it in the summer. A week of lost footage! 27:00 – The importance of snow machines and snowmobiles. 32:40 – Crashing and getting hurt far from any help way out in the Great Basin. 41:30 – Josh growing up in Rochester Hills, Michigan and skiing Boyne Highlands as a kid. 45:00 – Moving to Lake Tahoe, skiing at Kirkwood and meeting Craig Garbiel. 50:00 – PowBot is an ordained minister, the Pastor of Pow, is officiating weddings now. 52:00 – Mountain State 2.0 – Redemption and great conditions all winter. 55:00 – Dealing with federal agencies and getting permits to film. 1:02:30 – Hazen’s upbringing, growing up in New Hampshire, skiing and filming. 1:05:00 – Skiing the Sand Mountain sand dune out east of Fallon, Nevada. 1:08:45 – Middlegate Bar – a must stop. 1:12:45 – Going to Belmont, Nevada after skiing the Toquima Range and Mount Jefferson. 1:15:00 – Great Basin National Park stood out as the most impressive zone for skiing. 1:18:00 – Riding sleds and skiing in Jarbidge, Nevada. It’s Jar BIDGE not Jar BRIDGE. 1:26:00 – Hazen crashes into Josh at 30 mph on snowmobiles. 1:29:30 – Google Earth is the most valuable resource for figuring out new ski zones. 1:36:00 – Not following a guide book and making your own adventure. 1:38:00 – What’s on tap for winter 2023/24? 1:41:45 – What does Mind the Track mean to you? 1:43:00 – Follow @joshdaiek @hazenfilms and @trevski123 on Instagram

When it comes to skiing, there may be no other person in the Lake Tahoe region with more influence than Bryan Allegretto, known to many powder hounds as “BA”. With one word – Snowpocalypse – BA can send the entire region into a frenzy. As the lead Tahoe region snow forecaster and co-founder of OpenSnow.com, BA consistently outperforms the most advanced and complex snowfall computer weather modeling data through 20+ years of observational forecasting, studying other forecasters and the experience that comes from seeing thousands and thousands of model runs day after day in the Sierra Nevada. In Episode 25, the boys let their meteorologist alter egos fly free, nerding out on all things weather, including the origins of OpenSnow, the challenges of accurately predicting exactly how much it will snow and where, El Nino vs La Nina, Atmospheric Rivers, and if BA thinks volcanoes like Hunga Tonga have an effect on weather. BA also answers the burning question every powder hound is asking – will Tahoe have another big winter? 2:00 – Pow Bot skis the white ribbon of death at Mount Rose and the boys ride Badenaugh Canyon Trail. 4:30 – Introducing Bryan Allegretto – BA – Snow Forecaster for OpenSnow Tahoe. 7:30 – Pow Bot’s life history with weather. 14:30 – Interview with Bryan Allegretto from OpenSnow Tahoe. 16:30 – Growing up in Pennsylvania, skiing the Poconos and Camelback Mountain. 18:30 – Figuring out how to blend a business degree with meteorology. Moves to Truckee to work for Booth Creek right out of college. 20:30 – Starting a weather blog in 2006 connected to a weather page at Northstar and Sierra-at-Tahoe. Reading Howard Sheckter’s weather blog for Mammoth. 28:00 – Starting OpenSnow in the 2011/12 season when a five year drought started. 31:45 – The “Beard Shaver” storm idea during drought – 2 feet in 24 hours. 34:00 – Creating a community around weather – the comment section of the Tahoe Weather Blog. OpenSnow forum in testing phase. 41:20 – OpenSnow launching their first ski film (more of a snowboard film) about one of their forecasters chasing powder across the country. 44:05 – Trail Whisperer’s obsession with weather and finding the OpenSnow snow forecast. 46:05 – How does BA regularly outperform National Weather Service with snow forecasting? 47:20 – Dealing with criticism, angry emails, trollers and mean comments on social media. 55:20 – Weather forecast computer modeling like GFS, Euro, Canadian, NAMM versus observational weather forecasting from people with experience. 1:00:05 – Trying to be perfect in the world of imperfect weather forecasting. 1:04:20 – The challenges of trying to accurately predict seasonal forecasting, and the warm ocean temperatures of 2023 and the potential El Nino winter. 1:09:20 – Learning from past winters to help more accurately predict future winters with climate change – the variable that pushes seasons over the top: ocean temperatures. 1:15:20 – Has Lake Tahoe been getting more Atmospheric River storms over the last 20 years? 1:17:50 – Is Trail Whisperer’s theory of volcanoes warming ocean temperatures and Hunga Tonga affecting weather patterns accurate or inaccurate? 1:25:00 – El Nino versus La Nina seasons – when does the most snow fall in Lake Tahoe region? 1:28:30 – The importance of human observational forecasting in a world of mathematics and computer modeling in meteorology and the AI bots that are coming. 1:35:00 – What webcams does BA use to give him a gauge of snowfall? Sugar Bowl, Palisades, Alpine Meadows and Mt. Rose. 1:36:45 – Where does it snow the most in the Lake Tahoe region? 1:38:30 – What does Mind the Track mean to you? 1:40:00 – How can people get in touch with BA? Tahoe Daily Snow at Opensnow.com – hello@opensnow.com 1:43:00 – What is BA’s season prediction for this winter? We will be have snow level issues and a late start to the winter.

On the heels of Halloween, the boys catch up on a cornucopia of topics including the Hunter’s Moon, a recap of Trail Whisperer and Swan John’s annular eclipse wedding in the Ruby Mountains that Pow Bot officiated, taking the “Florida Man Challenge”, feeling out of place when traveling to a flat part of the country, Pow Bot’s sailboat racing adventure with John Morrison, Trail Whisperer’s weekend of granite slab riding in the annual Giro di StaMMina and a SENDY Send of the Week (Year?) shout out to Cam Zink for winning the 2023 Red Bull Rampage, along with his winning build crew and Mind the Track guests Henry Wilkins and Damon Iwanaga (Episode 10). The boys also debate whether or not you should kick over rock cairns, whether or not you are an early season skier on the “white ribbon of death” and whether or not getting rid of Daylight Savings Time will have an effect on ski resort operations. What say you, do you kick over cairns or let them be? Let us know in the comments, drop us a DM or email us. 2:00 – Snooze Bot – Tom is stress free and is getting good sleep! 5:00 – Fall is fully setting in, time change, Harvest Moon and Hunter’s Moon. 7:00 – Trail Whisperer’s wedding in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada during the annular eclipse. 16:10 – Feeling out of place in a flat part of the country with no mountains. 18:20 – Florida Man Challenge. 22:00 – Hurricane Otis - Rapid Intensification, warm ocean water and Hunga Tonga. 25:30 – Prime season for kayaking on Lake Tahoe, no motor boats in the lake. 27:00 – Halloween – celebrating your alter ego. 29:15 – PowBot goes sailing on a Santa Cruz Express with John Morrison at Richmond Yacht Club. 35:15 – Trail Whisperer rides with Fred Stamm in his annual Giro di StaMMina in Pinecrest. 42:30 – All about rock cairns. The importance of them, and when they are worth kicking over. 52:30 – West View Park, Kennywood and amusement parks in Pittsburgh, PA. 55:20 – Early season skiing – the white strip of death - do you get after it or do you wait until the snow is deep enough? 1:03:30 – Daylight Savings Time – are you in support or against it? It’s effect on ski resort operations. 1:13:30 – SENDY Send of the week goes to Cam Zink, Henry Wilkins and Damon Iwanaga for winning the Red Bull Rampage.

At age 54, Alenka Vrecek decided it was never too late for an adventure by bike, rolling out her front door in Tahoe City, aiming 2,500 miles south to her other door at the tip of Baja Mexico. For nearly two months Alenka rode alone, giving her ample time to think about life, struggle, love, loss, family and the meaning of home through the eyes of a Slovenian immigrant. A cancer survivor dealing with her husband’s recent diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease, Alenka made the tough decision to temporarily leave her family behind, achieving a lifelong desire to adventure before she couldn’t any more. Alenka’s book, She Rides – Chasing Dreams Across California and Mexico is an exceptionally well-written account of the adventure, channeling the great alpinist authors Reinhold Messner and Nejc Zaplotnik, her literary heroes. Our discussion with Alenka is more than just about the bike or the book; it’s about self-discovery, finding strength within yourself and mustering the courage to persevere against all odds. 2:00 – Trail Whisperer gets married, Pow Bot served as officiant. 9:00 – Introducing Alenka Vrecek, moving from Slovenia to Lake Tahoe. 13:30 – Was it challenging to get on her feet once she first arrived in Alpine Meadows? 15:45 – Ski racing, ski instruction and being a certified ski instructor, working at River Ranch. 18:00 – Skiing at Squaw Valley in the 1980s with Mike Slattery, Tommy Day and Scot Schmidt. 22:30 – Getting into alpinism and looking up to Nejc Zaplotnik, who was a writer and climber. 23:30 – Capturing the essence of Reinhold Messner, a huge inspiration in in writing She Rides. 26:00 – The importance of mountains, being outside and exercising regularly. 29:00 – Living with tragedy and personal struggle, and rebuilding your life and identity through being outside and completing a personal journey. 30:00 – What made Alenka want to ride her mountain bike 2,500 miles from Lake Tahoe to Baja? 35:30 – The love of being alone, the power of spending time in the outdoors by yourself. 39:00 – Riding alone in Mexico, feeling less safe around people than around animals. 42:00 – Appreciating simple luxuries of life like hot showers and good food. 44:15 – The difference between riding in California and Mexico through the Sierra Nevada. 47:30 – What is the meaning of home? Being content at home, finding adventure in the backyard and learning a life lesson from Alejandro. 53:30 – Pow Bot quotes “Truckin” from the Grateful Dead and its metaphor for life. 56:00 – The concept of living to work vs working to live and city culture vs mountain culture. 59:00 – Would you do the trip again alone or with someone? 1:02:20 – The process of writing the book, “She Rides”. 1:12:00 – Promoting and marketing the book. 1:15:00 – Pow Bot opens up about his wife and her journey with breast cancer. 1:17:00 – Did the bicycle heal Alenka mentally and physically? 1:20:30 – The flow state and being in the zone and its importance to life, moving meditation. 1:25:25 – Wing foiling, e-foiling and being on the water. 1:27:50 – Alenka rode an Ibis Mojo 3 mountain bike, aka The Beast, from Tahoe to Baja with help from Big Tall Wayne and Karl Rogne at Olympic Bike Shop. 1:31:00 – What “oh shit” moments did Alenka have on the ride? 1:37:30 – What does Mind the Track mean to you?

If you’ve ever piloted your mountain bike on the trails of Jackass Ridge (now called Donkey Town) and Yogi Bear, and finished with an ear to ear grin, you can thank the @truckeedirtunion . Formed in April of 2020, the TDU is the only trail organization in Truckee specifically focused on enhancing and expanding rad trail experiences for mountain bikers. In its short 3 years of existence, TDU has already amassed a volunteer trail force 550 people strong, supporting a crew of #corelord community builders who’ve been digging in the forest for 30 years, putting Truckee on the map as one of the best towns in the American west for mountain biking. In episode 22, we sit down with TDU founders Matt Chappell (@chappawitz), Skye Allsop (@tahoemtbiker) and Greg Forsythe (@cyclepathsmtb) and talk all about the past, present and future of mountain biking and trails in Truckee, where TDU fits into this quickly changing town and how you can help get involved with the #singletrackradness movement. Get on the dumb end of that shovel, kick some rocks and put some love, sweat and tears back into the trails you enjoy every day by joining TDU on their next volunteer trail day. Show Notes: 2:30 – Introducing Matt Chappell, Skye Allsop and Greg Forsythe of Truckee Dirt Union. 7:00 – The history of Jackass Ridge and Hobo Hill. 13:20 – The history of hidden and illegal trails in Truckee and adopting formerly social trails. 16:50 – How has TDU grown from nothing to 550 supporters in only three years? 18:40 – Jackass Ridge and Donkey Town trail – a network that accommodates everyone from beginners and families to experts. 21:30 – Who are the main builders for Truckee Dirt Union? 22:30 – The history of mountain biking in Truckee. 25:00 – The history of JP Trail – the first mountain bike trail in Truckee. 28:20 – Why was TDU created? 33:30 – Taking community builders creating social trails and bringing them into the fold so they can get paid for their craft. 42:30 – What is TDU working on currently and into the future? Enhancing the Jackass trail network, creating more trails after logging operations are complete. 45:45 – What can Truckee learn from what’s going on trails-wise in Bellingham, Washington? 53:00 – The evolution of mountain biking and its impact on Truckee and Greg’s business, Cyclepaths. 55:55 – Parallels between the founding of TAMBA and the founding of TDU. 57:45 – What is going to happen with Martis Peak area trails? 1:03:40 – How can people step up, support TDU and support mountain biking in Truckee? 1:10:00 – Jonnie Benda – the shaper, the visionary for TDU trails. 1:19:00 – A couple more volunteer days before end of season on Jackass and JP Trail - @truckeedirtunion on Instagram and truckeedirtunion.org 1:20:25 – What does Singletrack Radness mean? 1:22:00 – What does Mind the Track mean to you?

In line with Episode 21 and its Fall theme, @pow_bot and @trail_whisperer chat (rant?) about a cornucopia of topics ranging from the possible arrival of a Super El Nino in Tahoe, looking back on summer’s favorite rides and new trails, the etiquette of riding illegal trails, Strava and social media, the season pass conundrum, Palisades Tahoe announcing parking pass reservations and overcrowding due to Ikon and Epic Pass sales, a 15 mph speed limit on trails in Truckee, a gang of Truckee kids on ebikes throwing apples at people and evading the law, Reno’s ranking by Outside as “happiest place to live in America”, remembering the legend of Robb Gaffney and more. Like most one-on-one episodes with the boys, this one gets a little ranty, channeling a bit of the Angry Singlespeeder (aka The ASS) in Kurt. The boys also ask listeners – what do you prefer to wear when riding, a hip pack or a backpack? Let us know your preference! 2:00 – Trail Running. 4:00 – It’s Fall and it’s Snowing! Getting ready for winter. Trail Whisperer loves pumpkin pie. 8:20 – Ski Films – Do you watch ski films to get fired up for ski season? 12:30 – Summer Recap – Lots of rain, never got too hot, no smoke. 14:05 – Super El Nino is coming! Fall Tahoe weather is setting in. Early Winter? 17:30 – What was your favorite mountain bike ride this summer? 19:45 – What’s the etiquette of riding unsanctioned trails? 22:00 – Strava and social media rant. 30:00 – PowBot and 2NBen’s bear and bee encounter on JP Trail. 32:20 – Favorite new trail? Shark Bait at Sky Tavern and flow trail at Sugar Bowl. 35:40 – PowBot is almost 2 months into not drinking alcohol and he’s loving it. 39:30 – Season Pass sales – PowBot buys Mount Rose, Epic Pass and Ikon Pass. 41:50 – Palisades Tahoe announces parking reservations and pay for parking details. 48:30 – Fighting for preserving the culture of Squaw Valley. 49:20 – In memoriam – Robb Gaffney. 51:40 – Outside ranks Reno as the happiest place to live in America. 58:50 – City of Truckee passes 15 mph speed limit on multi-use trails in town in response to an ebike gang of high school kids roaming Truckee throwing eggs and apples at people. 1:05:00 – Focus on education, not enforcement. 1:08:00 – Sky Tavern fundraiser – Party in the Sky – October 14 at 10AM. Be there! 1:08:40 – Sendy Send of the Week - @cascadeconnections – skiing POW in September. @amymo_11 winning the Enduro in Killington and @marcoOsborne92 taking 2nd in Enduro and 14th in the US Cup Downhill. 1:13:00 – Hip packs vs backpacks. What do you wear mountain biking?

In 2020, Harrison Biehl bought his first mountain bike and immediately put his mind in the track, progressively doing bigger and bigger rides. In summer 2022, he successfully completed his first “Everesting” mission - repeating the same climb until reaching 29,032 feet of elevation gain. As a fundraiser for TAMBA, Harrison tackled Stanford Rock trail on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe and completed the mission in under 24 hours. In the afterglow, tragedy struck when his close friend Joe Fazzio took his own life a week before Christmas. To honor Joe’s life and bring awareness to mental health, Harrison partnered with High Fives Foundation and launched the Pedal for Positivity. His new mission; “Trench to Everest” - climbing 65,099 feet - the elevation difference between the lowest point on earth, the Marianas Trench, to the highest, Mount Everest. Harrison did the ride on Old Highway 40 from Donner Lake to Historic Donner Summit on September 8-9 with a group of friends who rode by his side, completing nearly 60 laps in 29 hours. Recorded on Donner Summit at the site of the event, this is a heavy story of friendship, community, commitment, struggle and loss. 3:30 – During the latest brown pow cycle, Tom crashes his mountain bike hard. 6:40 – Steven Kotler – Gnar Country – learning to become a park skier at age 53. 9:40 – Introducing Harrison Biehl – Everesting Stanford Rock, trenching Old Highway 40. 13:30 – Another sign of a big winter coming – crazy squirrels. Another Hunga Tonga correlation. 16:22 – Harrison Biehl interview recording on old Highway 40 on Donner Summit. 20:00 – Riding from the lowest point on the planet, Mariana Trench to the highest point on the planet, Mount Everest. 381 miles and 65,249 ft of climbing in 29 hours 42 minutes. 24:20 – Completing massive rides with only three years of experience cycling. 26:30 – Everesting Stanford Rock trail on the west shore of Lake Tahoe, a fundraiser for Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association. 29:00 – Learning fitness, strength and training from Derek Teel of Dialed Health, who Everested Braille Trail in Soquel Demo Forest near Santa Cruz. 30:30 – Using the ride to raise funds for new mountain bike trails in Lake Tahoe, including the new Meeks Ridge trail. 37:00 – What did Harrison learn from the first big Everest challenge on Stanford Rock? 39:45 – The backstory of the Old Highway 40 ride – in memory of Joe Fazzio. 41:00 – Living with loss and suicide, trying to make sense of those who take their own lives. 46:00 – The bicycle as a vehicle for blowing off steam, helping deal with the stress and loss. 48:00 – Finding Joe on Donner Lake. 54:00 – Angry riding in the wake of Joe’s passing, starting Pedal for Positivity with High Fives Foundation. 1:04:00 – Riding Old Highway 40 from Donner Lake to Historic Donner Summit. 1:11:00 – Pro grade support from the folks at Paco’s bike shop in Truckee. 1:13:00 – Contribute to the Pedal for Positivity – highfivesfoundation.org/pedal-for-positivity/ 1:14:00 – Tom’s grandfather, Raymond Beckering and Robert Schuller, of Garden Grove Ministries, built the Tower of Hope in the early 1970’s; the first suicide helpline in North America – New Hope. 1:18:00 – What was harder, Stanford Rock or Old Highway 40? 1:25:30 – Did Harrison ever think he couldn’t complete the ride? 1:28:30 – What does Mind the Track mean to you? 1:30:00 – Follow Harrison – @harrison_biehl and @pedal_for_positivity

In Summer 1983, Max Jones jumped on a strange new contraption called a #mountainbike and went looking for trails to ride around #laketahoe. There wasn’t really any singletrack until he discovered an abandoned flume line running high above the east shore of the lake. After a few failed attempts, Max finally uncovered the overgrown track, taking five hours to “ride” only four miles, fighting through brush and hundreds of downed trees. For the rest that summer, Max cleared the trail with nothing more than hand tools and dogged determination. 40 years later, thanks to Max’s efforts, the Marlette Flume Trail has become the most scenic trail in the world and a gem of recreation in Lake Tahoe. Max and his wife Patti have built a life and career around the Flume Trail, promoting the Great Flume Race for more than a decade, starting Flume Trail Bikes to shuttle visitors and opening Tunnel Creek Café to feed them at the end of the adventure. This is the story of Max Jones, a Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee, the resurrector of the Flume Trail and an early pioneer of ecotourism in Lake Tahoe. 1:40 – PowBot gets a new vanity license plate – MRDRPOW – on his murdered out Crosstrek. 3:45 – Experiencing technical difficulties with our podcast player while interviewing Max Jones. 5:20 – Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Max Jones reopening the Marlette Flume Trail. 10:00 – The first “winter storm” on September 1; a Pacific Low coming off the ocean! 11:30 – Rose to Toads TAMBA ride is going to get snow Labor Day weekend. 13:20 – SENDY Send of the Week – 11 year anniversary of Joyce Beckering’s passing – Tom’s mom. Incline Burger taking donations for victims of the Maui fire in Lahaina. 17:00 – Max Jones interview at Tunnel Creek Café. 20:00 – The history of Max Jones’ family, a fourth generation Nevadan. His family was into ranching. The Settlemeyer family came from Minden, Germany to what became Minden, Nevada. 23:00 – Max’s history as a rock climber and ski racer and the first generation of his family to be a recreationist. 26:30 – The Germans came into the Carson Valley after the Mormons left. The Germans weren’t miners, they were ranchers, so they raised cattle and fed the miners. 29:30 – Max transitions from rock climbing to mountain biking, and picks up Ritchey as a sponsor and started racing. 35:00 – How Max originally discovered the Flume Trail. 41:00 – Helicoptering all the old aluminum flume pipe off the trail. 45:30 – The Great Flume Race put the Flume Trail on the map for visitors. 47:25 – The spiritual power of Herlan Peak – a leyline from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake. 50:30 – Working with the Nevada State Park Ranger Mark Kimbrough in reopening the trail. 53:30 – The original purpose of the Flume Trail – created for water in Virginia City during the Comstock Lode silver rush. 58:30 – Max’s first summer working on the trail, carrying a chainsaw and falling off the trail. 1:03:00 – Max joins the Tahoe Rim Trail Association board representing mountain bikers. 1:08:50 – Max started shuttling people in 1999 with Flume Trail Bikes. 1:10:30 – Flume Trail Bikes moves to the old Ponderosa Ranch site at Tunnel Creek and opened the cafe. 1:12:40 – Max innovated a form of ecotourism that’s been sustainable for Lake Tahoe, shuttling 5,000 to 6,000 people per year, keeping extra cars off local roads. 1:15:00 – Flume Trail Bikes might start running a shuttle for Cap to Tahoe trail, and building a new singletrack to Tunnel Creek from Flume Trail. 1:19:00 – Building a life and a career around the Flume Trail. 1:21:00 – What does Mind the Track mean to you?

After the best winter and spring ever, the best summer in Tahoe ever continues its run with a return of rain and mind-blowing hero dirt. @pow_bot and @trail_whisperer go mano a mano and catch up on a variety of topics including crazy weather and its relation to the Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption, nature’s signs of a big upcoming winter and the chances of an El Niño season, the “Amish bike” versus the Rumspringa (e-bike), an epidemic of bears getting hit by cars in Lake Tahoe, the migration of a wolfpack into the southern Sierra Nevada, preparing for 150 miles of new singletrack north of Truckee and an audience poll: do you wash your bike after every ride or do you just ride it dirty? 1:30 – Hero dirt in Tahoe in August! The encyclopedia of brown pow. 3:45 – Pow Bot gives Trail Whisperer a D.I.A t-shirt. Director of the Dirt Intelligence Agency. 5:00 – Trail Whisperer flagging new trail out by Boca, finding an old crosscut saw. 7:00 – Working for Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship and the Connected Communities project. 10:00 – Ground truthing new trail using a clinometer. 11:30 – The Verdi deer herd and their migratory paths. 13:00 – Brief uninformed history of Truckee – Gray’s Crossing and Coburn Station. 14:00 – Hurricane Hilary drenches southern California and Nevada. 15:00 – Donate to Maui Strong to help people who lost everything in the wildfire. 18:30 – The Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption and its effect on weather in North America. 23:30 – Are Lake Tahoe and Reno going to have an El Nino winter? 24:40 – Nature’s signs of a big winter coming 29:00 – Lake Tahoe and an epidemic of bears getting hit by cars. 31:30 – The brain check – like a chain check, but for tourist brains. 34:00 – Pro Tips – Do you ride your bike dirty or do you wash your mountain bike regularly? 40:00 – The Amish bike aka muscle bike aka push bike vs the ebike aka the Rumspringa 46:00 – Riding Martis in mid-August after 3 inches of rain. ALL TIME CONDITIONS. 48:00 – Pow Bot takes a break from drinking alcohol. 51:45 – The deeply ingrained culture of mountain biking and alcohol consumption. 53:00 – Tyrolian Downhill – originally called the Chinese Downhill. 58:00 – The migration of a gray wolf pack into the southern Sierra Nevada. 1:05:00 – Sendy send of the week goes to Nate Arnold and Keegan Swenson at Leadville. 1:11:00 – Pow Bot skis pow on Mount Elbert on May 5, Mount Hope couloir, A-Basin and Loveland Pass. 1:14:30 – Shout out to Matt Garrett – heal fast!