From pow surfers to twin tips and back again, the history of snowboarding can be seen in the evolution of board designs, some of which have made a comeback after decades of dormancy [caption id="attachment_11337" align="alignright" width="404"] Chuck Barfoot, 1984, photo by Bud Fawcett, budfawcett.com[/caption] In 1978,...
After years of filming, the Squaw Valley skier has turned to North America’s most daunting lines for a new adventure It’s late July, and a tan Cody Townsend takes a sip from a Yeti mug. It couldn’t be further from midwinter, and the nearest skiable patch...
Orland Bartholomew’s three-month solo ski traverse of the Sierra Nevada was an improbable, groundbreaking feat that was nearly lost to history—today, it still inspires new generations of adventurous Sierra Nevada skiers [caption id="attachment_11265" align="alignleft" width="234"] Orland Bartholomew[/caption] When Orland Bartholomew pushed off his rake-handle ski poles and...
Fresh off his starring role in Free Solo, Alex Honnold is seeking out challenging new routes in the Tahoe Basin with Charlie Barrett Alex Honnold is hunkered down in an airport in Detroit, preparing for a flight to Seattle. He’s been doing a lot of waiting...
What better place to have a midlife crisis than 14,000 feet high on an active stratovolcano? [caption id="attachment_11115" align="alignright" width="600"] Going up, photo by David Bunker[/caption] Mount Rainier rises like a wayward iceberg from the green sea of moss, fir and ferns that drape both sides of...
Flamboyant style and innovation defined ski ballet until the sport flamed out in an explosion of tassels, synth pop and spandex Bob Howard had been benched. Again. For five games in a row, the college football coach had stared hard at the lanky running back from...
Those who experienced Tahoe’s 2018-19 winter will not soon forget it. After a modest start, Old Man Winter socked the Tahoe region with one powdery storm after another in January and February, blanketing the mountains in a thick coat of white and treating skiers and...
Squaw Valley groomers experience adventure and beauty in their nightly mission to create pristine runs It will be hours before the sun peeks above the shoulders of Marlette Peak, splashing pink color into Emerald Bay and across the freshly frosted peaks of Squaw Valley. Pine martens...
A small but adept crew overcomes difficulties to provide prime skiing surfaces at Tahoe Cross Country On the evening of April 30, I was in mourning. It appeared as if I had skied my last day of the great winter of 2019 at Tahoe Cross Country...
Raised on Tahoe’s terrain parks, young Cody LaPlante is flying high again after injury, with his sights set on progression [caption id="attachment_11199" align="alignright" width="600"] Cody LaPlante, photo by Graeme Murray, courtesy Red Bull Content Pool[/caption] The sound of metal edges slicing over hardpack gives way to silence...