Goodbye Juneuary, Hello Febuburied | E55
After a weeks-long dry spell in January, the first day of February bring a week-long series of atmospheric river storms to the Lake Tahoe region, with a foot of rain, multiple feet of snow and hurricane force winds. PowBot recaps his Canadian hut trip, giving kudos to Big Sky resort and reminisces on atmospheric river storms of the past while Trail Whisperer rants about tire chains and the evil empire of Amazon. Al Powcino makes his return with another Powderiffic Snow Report, the boys are compared to Statler and Waldorf from the Muppet Show, TW raves about a George Carlin documentary, lots of listener shout outs and a few Dope or Derps including the Butt Vest, electric snow bikes and wearing hunting gear for skiing.
Checkers or Wreckers | Molly Armanino | E51
Pull up any social media feed on big line skiing and there’s a good chance you’ll see Molly Armanino stomping a serious cliff drop. There’s also a good chance you’ll see her tomahawking. In her rookie year on the 2023 Freeride World Tour, Molly’s checkers or wreckers approach – skiing lines no other woman dare ski – landed her a 2nd place finish. Perfecting her art of the send at Kirkwood amidst its treacherous volcanic “death rocks”, Molly’s fearless approach has inspired all skiers, regardless of gender. Equally inspiring is Molly’s perseverance in the face of unimaginable loss, opening up about the accident that took her brother Sam’s life just as she was finding closure after losing her best friend in a car accident. Molly talks about the therapeutic healing the outdoors brings her and also shares the story of losing her big toe to frostbite while skiing in Montana. Lots of laughs mixed with heavy emotion in this episode. See an advance screening of her first feature film, “Slopes of Change”, at 8PM on December 19 at Alibi Ale Works in Truckee!
Snow Science | Nick Bliss | E32
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. They discuss 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, Cody Townsend’s The Fifty episode about Split Couloir, KT-22 at Palisades Tahoe, the dangerous early season snowpack and what this big incoming storm will do to that snowpack. We talk about Nick’s escape from Tahoe to Sonora Junction and off-grid living.
Amy Morrison | Serious Fun | E7
Turning professional after only her first Enduro race, Amy Morrison is one of America’s top mountain bike talents, winning U.S. Elite Enduro National Championship three times. Although she didn’t discover the mountain bike until adulthood, Amy grew up waterski racing and jumping internationally (and barefoot!), as well as competing at the national level in swimming and diving, and holding a state track and field record as a pole vaulter before competing at the varsity level at Clemson University. Her combination of athleticism, determination and not being afraid to crash is what helped her climb the ranks so fast in mountain biking. That and knowing how to balance the seriousness of training with the joy of simply having fun on bikes. Fresh off a 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place at the Sea Otter Classic in the Pro Enduro, Downhill and Dual Slalom (and days after speaking with us won the TDS Enduro) , Amy sat down with us in her Carson City home to talk trails, mountain bikes, skiing, mentorship and balancing her racing career with being a teacher at Dayton High School while starting the mountain bike club to get more kids on bikes.
Duncan Meyers - Arnot Roberts | Winemaking Shredder | E6
Recorded in the beautiful wine cellar of Dawn and Bryan Bertsch in Tahoe Vista, Episode #6 profiles legendary winemaker and core lord shredder of pow and loam, Duncan Arnot Meyers (@duncanarnot). That’s right, a ripping skier, snowboarder and mountain biker who makes and drinks fine wine! Duncan’s wine brand Arnot-Roberts (arnotroberts.com), is world renown, and his story of growing up as kid in Napa Valley exploring the region on bicycles and its connection to winemaking is fascinating. Duncan also dives into the recent privatization of Homewood Resort and its concerning future as the Yellowstone Club of Lake Tahoe, he documents the hilarious origin story of Tom’s nickname PowBot, their adventures at Ice Creek Lodge in British Columbia, his sister Vanessa Hauswald and her efforts running the NorCal MTB League getting thousands of kids on bikes, shifting priorities as an athlete turning 50 years old and what “Mind the Track” means to Duncan. PowBot and Trail Whisperer also talk about their recent trip to the Toiyabe Range of central Nevada and the great snowmelt of 2023.
Daron Rahlves | Training for Life | E5
As the most decorated American male ski racer in history, Red Bull athlete and local legend Daron Rahlves know how to send two sticks downhill. But as Daron approaches 50 years old, he is finding more enjoyment in putting his mind in the track, going deep in the backcountry, skiing with his son Drey in Alaska and his dog Zoe in the backyard, appreciating the beauty and incredible terrain of the Lake Tahoe region. Daron also recalls two of his top ten days ever skiing in the backcountry were with PowBot, one big day in Desolation Wilderness, and the other unknowingly racing PowBot to the bottom of Bear Scratch. It was a tie.
Record Breaking Tahoe Winter | Scott Kessler | E3
The last couple weeks in the Lake Tahoe region have been historic, adding to an already crazy winter, this episode is all about SNOWMAGEDDON and the mayhem of relentless storms. Scott Kessler, owner of Truckee Overhead Door, has lived in Tahoe since 1976 and has seen a lot of big winters here. Scott declares 2023 to be a “1 in 50 winter”, so we sat down in his Hirschdale workshop and talked about the shovel quiver, snowmobiles, Telemark skiing, the early days of Squaw Valley, the Alpine Meadows avalanche of 1982, snow loaded roofs, minimizing property damage, snow removal and playing in the best quality snow we’ve ever seen in Tahoe.
Adventure Begins Where Certainty Ends | E1
Adventure begins where certainty ends. PowBot and Trail Whisperer embark on a new journey of storytelling with the first episode of Mind the Track. In the inaugural episode, the boys discuss why they decided to start Mind the Track, who the show is for and what topics will be discussed, the huge winter so far in the Sierra Nevada, learning to snowmobile, touring out in Desolation Wilderness, the etiquette of the skin track, always skiing “Fall-line Freddy”, traffic woes in Truckee and Jackson Hole sidecountry.