Fred Stamm has a Posse | Truckee Bike Night | E39
In Episode 39, the boys sit down with @fresh_hamm , the founder of @truckeebikenight and Tahoe’s favorite underground mountain bike adventure rides, Giro di Stammina. Since he was tall enough to ride, Fred’s life has revolved around bicycles, taking his Dad’s fancy road bikes for long rides as a teenager with nothing more than some paper maps, a few quarters (for the pay phone) and a desire to get lost and find himself again. After being exposed to the devoted cycling community while attending Caly Poly in San Luis Obispo, Fred was inspired to bring similar community gatherings on bikes to Truckee, including Truckee Bike Night (first Thursday of each month) and Giro Di Stammina. The boys also discuss the confirmed first fatal bear attack on a human in California history, which happened in Downieville last fall, and a recap to the 2023-24 winter.
Avalanches and the Frog Lake Huts | E30
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.
Sh*t Happens | E29
Welcoming 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 and massive crowds. 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 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!
All about Weather with Bryan Allegretto aka “BA” of OpenSnow | E25
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?
Fall Arrival and a Super El Niño? | E21
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!