Apriluary | E58
April arrives with 3 feet of new snow in Lake Tahoe, making it feel more like January than spring. PowBot recaps his best tour of the year at Lassen National Park while Trail Whisperer breaks his snowmobile. The boys give some listener shout outs and play some 888 COR LORD call-ins, diving deeper into whether or not solo backcountry skiing is dope or derp and if a van is better suited for adventures than a pickup with 4 Wheel Camper. They also discuss the show’s intro and outro songs and where all the sound bites came from, decide which of the five senses are most important to them, chat about corner crossing over private land and the controversial reintroduction of the gray wolf into northern California. The show ends with a song called RNO by Trail Whisperer’s old band, Man Downstream, paying tribute to the Biggest Little City in the World.
Papsura - Peak of Evil | Nick Russell | E56
With a focus on simplicity, minimalism and human-powered adventure, Nick Russell embodies what it is to be a free-spirited, big line splitboarder while making a living at it. Russell has eschewed guidebooks for true adventure, hunting for big lines and pow based more on a feeling than a calculation. This organic approach to becoming an expert in the backcountry takes years and more than a couple sandbag missions, but in the process creates a deeper connection with the land and with his comrades. Russell’s most recent mission, captured in the Patagonia Films feature Papsura – Peak of Evil, along with his partner Jerry Mark and filmers Morgan Shields and Blake Gordon, claimed a first splitboard descent on an iconic line in the Indian Himalaya, a month-long mission that exceeded all expectations.
The Fifty Episodes in Review | Scott Kessler | E50
In the wake of a Thanksgiving bomb cyclone that walloped Northern California with rain and snow, the boys celebrate reaching 50 episodes with superfan #1, Scott Kessler. In addition to recapping their personal favorite episodes and the most listened to ones, the three amigos chat about chasing pow in Mammoth and Lakes Basin, telemark skiing versus splitboarding versus pow surfing, Scott’s days as a chain installer on Interstate 80 and building his business, Truckee Overhead Door, his European mountain bike vacations and opening up about the loss of his first wife, Kathy Kessler, in the 2002 British Columbia avalanche that also took the life of Craig Kelly and five others. Also, are the BOA lacing system, fat bikes and Cody Townsend’s 50+ project Dope or Derp?
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.
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.