Mind the Track

Spring is in full swing and Tahoe trails are opening for business quickly. In Episode 86, as the snow vaporizes, the boys chat about a bunch of trail tales, some funny, others concerning. After an extended Rumspringa on the ebike, Pow Bot returns to the traditional “Amish” mountain bike, but will he be Sin Bot for still occasionally riding his ebike? The boys share four-wheeling stories with their in-laws, talk about new trails being built, trails north of Truckee being closed for the season and some trails in burn zones being sprayed by the Tahoe and Lassen National Forest with glyphosate, aka Roundup, known to cause cancer. Trail Whisperer asks is it dope or derp to go on a road trip when gas is $6/gallon, jokes about Breckenridge opening local trails to ebikes (only with a medical condition) and a Core Lord calls in with a rant that South Lake Tahoe doesn’t have any cool, progressive mountain bike trails. 2:40 – Everything in Tahoe is a month early – riding hero dirt and Pow Bot hanging up his snowboard.3:45 – A recap on Winter 2025-26 – Ended up at average snowfall for the season.6:15 – Pow Bot comes off the ebike Rumspringa and returns to the Amish bike community.11:20 – Early season Tahoe trail conditions – Riding the Tahoe Rim Trail and Flume Trail.12:40 – Trail Whisperer building new trail on Verdi Ridge.16:15 – Tahoe National Forest has closed trails in and around Emigrant Trail, Prosser, Boca.20:00 – Shout out to Tahoe Mountain Sports – helping TW out with a ski binding issue.20:50 – The Truckee Follies – Rated X fundraiser for Downtown Merchants Association.23:15 – Truckee Dirt Union Loam Masters Rally happening May 29-30.24:08 – Sugar Bowl is selling off all their vintage 1950s gondolas for $10k a piece.28:40 – Randy Robbins thinks snowboard beaver tail slapping is DOPE.29:45 – Parkhill has some thoughts about hallowed vs hollowed ground and gatekeeping.31:02 – Reno Tahoe tourism blowing up a sensitive hot spring on social media.33:00 – Gatekeeping – don’t blow up the spot when its firing.34:10 – Chris has a rant about public versus private property.40:30 – Jacob really enjoyed VCGP episode – big divide between motorized and non-motorized communities.44:00 – Breckenridge is finally legalizing ebikes…but you have to have a doctor’s note.45:40 – Moab allows ebikes on some trail but not all, but Jeeps and side-by-sides are all over.47:55 – Pow Bot’s story of four wheeling in Telluride in a rental Chevy Blazer with his in-laws.50:40 – Trail Whisperer’s 4x4 story of getting stuck in a Land Cruiser and spending the night in it with his ex father-in-law.58:15 – DOPE or DERP – going on a road trip when gas is $6/gallon.1:00:54 – Tahoe National Forest and Lassen National Forest spraying toxic Roundup weed killer on public lands.1:10:18 – Big Sally calls in with a trip report from Lost Cannon Loop MTB and Sonora Pass ski.1:13:20 – Chad wants to know why there aren’t more progressive MTB trails in South Lake Tahoe.1:27:20 – If you get baptized for coming back to the Amish bike, then you ride the ebike, are you a sinner?

Twenty miles east of Lake Tahoe, high up in the Virginia Range at 6,500 feet elevation is one of the best preserved Old West towns in America, Virginia City. Known to locals as VC, in the 1860s, it was once the richest city in the world, home to the Comstock Lode, one of the largest silver strikes in history. In fact, the gold and silver from VC in the 1860s built all of San Francisco. Today, VC still has wooden boardwalks on C Street, ornate Victorian-era homes, two dozen saloons, a cemetery almost as large as the town itself and an Old West vibe that’s admittedly a bit touristy, but undeniably genuine. VC also has the Grand Prix, a 55-year long tradition of dirt bike racing, as wild and rugged as the town itself. Episode 85 documents this year’s Grand Prix, in the field on race day, talking with event volunteers and racers with different experience levels to really understand what this race is all about and how compares it to another legendary race on two wheels in a Gold Rush town, the Downieville Classic. 3:00 – Introducing the Virginia City Grand Prix.9:05 – Larry Sussman – getting peer pressured into racing dirt bikes.10:40 – How does the Downieville Classic differ from the VCGP?12:30 – What’s more intense, the chaos of a mountain bike race or a moto race?14:20 – Thomas Lay – growing up in Virginia City, getting into dirt bikes and organizing the event.16:50 – How long has the Virginia City Grand Prix been happening?19:00 – How many people race in the VCGP and where do they come from?23:00 – Who owns the land the event is on?27:30 – How long is the race and how are people staged at the start line?30:20 – Talking with Darcy about course design.31:20 – What’s the hardest part of this year’s course?32:55 – Moving from Truckee to Virginia City and becoming a Nevadan.34:40 – What got Darcy into riding dirt bikes?38:30 – What’s the secret to surviving the VCGP?39:31 – Talking with the local legend Josh Wilson about the moto community.44:30 – Talking with Ryan Downing about the racer who passed away on course.46:10 – What’s the secret to surviving VCGP?48:04 – How does mountain biking compare to dirt biking?49:30 – How do they stage racers at the start?52:00 – Catching up with Pow Bot and talking about the start of the race.56:10 – Reporting from Chaos Hill on course in the middle of the race.1:01:00 – Would Trail Whisperer ever do the VCGP?1:03:30 – Seth Johnson goes from last to 9th place, passing 400 racers.1:05:15 – Missing the race by a month on Seth’s first attempt.1:08:50 – Catching up with Thomas after Day 1.1:13:30 – Beginner riders biting off more than can chew attempting the VCGP.1:17:40 – How did the electric dirt bikes – a Stark Varg – do in the race?1:20:45 – Running into Tobin Ortenblad after the race.1:22:15 – How was the race course and how does it compare to bicycle racing?1:25:55 – What was the start of the race like?1:28:50 – Garmin stats: 20,000 feet of climbing!1:30:00 – How do the Downieville Classic and VCGP compare and differ?1:36:00 – Is there anything the bike community can learn from the moto community?1:44:20 – Is Tobin doing the Lost and Found Gravel Festival? 

With five feet of new snow on the Sierra Crest in April, Tahoe is finally getting the snow we should have gotten in March. As a result, the boys are back to skiing, with a couple days at the resort and a backcountry mission to the Eastern Sierra for the annual Green Creek Chute-Out. The boys talk about the concept of hallowed ground – places with spiritual significance and importance, and how social media has led the charge in exploiting these places, resulting in “hollowed ground”. The concept of gatekeeping is also discussed, and asking, is gatekeeping actually a bad thing when you are trying to protect hallowed ground from abuse of the masses?Other topics include new ebikes launched at Sea Otter, lift line DOPE or DERPs, is AI music a plague that should be resisted, upcoming events to check out, discovering the original ice cream man song has racist affilations, and CALL US BACK, GORDO!  2:30 – Winter isn’t over yet – recapping a busy late season Palisades pow day11:25 – DOPE or DERP – The Rogue Single in the lift line16:20 – DOPE or DERP – Smacking your snowboard off the ground to remove snow18:08 – Pow Bot went wing foiling and Trail Whisperer got some hero dirt19:28 – Skiing the east side of the Sierra Nevada – Green Creek Chute-Out29:20 – The concept of hallowed ground and respecting special places35:45 – The Jackson Hole Air Force – the first JH skiers to ski out of bounds39:00 – White Man Hallowed Ground vs Native American Hallowed Ground42:40 – Gatekeeping and protecting Hallowed Ground44:50 – Hallowed Ground vs Hollowed Ground49:20 – Downhill Phil calls in – POP-CORN was the phone number, prefers the original theme52:44 – Colin says AI music is DERP. AI is a plague54:15 – Seeing the band DEVO in RENO – the importance of the band and their art1:02:50 – Discovering that the original Ice Cream Man song is super racist1:05:45 – Call back GORDO!1:08:40 – Amery wrote in about Russell, the Canadian snow Yoda, and his funny words1:11:45 – Clark wrote in about the reintroduction of grizzly bears1:16:55 – Lots of new ebikes introduced at Sea Otter Classic1:24:00 – The value of ebikes in making you a better rider in less time1:30:00 – Upcoming trail work days in the Reno/Tahoe area1:32:30 – Going to the Virginia City Grand Prix1:36:05 – May 15-17 – Spring Epic Trail Work/Ride in Quincy

A wild hut trip in Canada with dramatic avalanches and a snow sage sharing avalanche wisdom. A deep dive into beacon training, gear choices, and multi-burial practice. A historic zero-inch March at Donner Summit and debate over social media’s effect on April Fools. Bike wheel trends, uphill-right-of-way trail etiquette, a near-mace trailwork mishap, and a heated grizzly reintroduction debate.

They revisit a deadly backcountry avalanche and the shock of being nearby days earlier. They discuss storm patterns and a critical snowfall forecast that signaled extreme danger. They reflect on media response, public remarks and apologies. They outline community principles for compassion, planning, avoiding groupthink, and safer decision-making in winter travel.

Amidst a sudden return to winter with 5 to 8 feet of new snow after a 5 week dry spell, on this two-part episode, in the first half the boys cover the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, seeing a Lake Tahoe Knight Monsters hockey game and field some listener calls on the COR LORD hotline. With big avalanches a near certainty, Pow Bot advises people to be smart during this stormy period, give the snowpack time to heal and abide the F.A.C.E.T.S. snow safety acronym. The second half is a discussion with Christopher Brown and Rick Reed of Sky Tavern, talking about the history of the largest and longest-running community non-profit ski program in America, why the operation recently implemented a no uphill access policy and some exciting news coming for the 2026 mountain bike season. 2:50 – PB drives to Santa Barbara for a surf/mountain bike trip, TW goes to Santa Cruz.5:50 – Hasn’t snowed in a month but a huge storm is incoming.7:30 – Skiing on dirt across the American West – one of the worst winters ever on record.9:30 – Recording at Sky Tavern – discussing uphill policy – no uphill ski access currently.11:30 – Going to see the Lake Tahoe Knight Monsters in South Lake Tahoe.13:50 – Going roller skating in Santa Cruz.15:00 – The 2026 Winter Olympics are underway in Milano Cortina.16:12 – Ryan Wedding – Parallel Giant Slalom Olympian who turns Mexican drug cartel kingpin.19:40 – Breezy Johnson got checkers in the downhill and Lindsey Vonn went wreckers.20:40 – Czech Republic is now known as Czechia.21:15 – Nordic skier wins bronze in Nordic skiing then confesses to cheating on his girlfriend.22:00 – Weinergate – Olympic long jumpers injecting their dongs with fluid for more surface area.24:30 – Downhill Phil is angry about the ICE CREAM MAN!26:40 – Boyerman calls in with a report about wolves, localism, volunteering and the Olympics.29:00 – Localism and giving back to the community – a true requirement of a local.29:50 – Confirmed report of a gray wolf spotted in Truckee.32:20 – Gordo talks about localism and people who brag about how local they are.35:50 – Gordo calls in again – buy Indy Pass or buy the Mt Rose Double Down pass.39:25 – On a Musical Note – PB recommends songwriter Josh Ritter and Royal City Band.41:15 – PSA – 17 people have died in avalanches in Europe this season. Slow down and be careful during this next incoming storm cycle.45:05 – Human factors with avalanches, abide the acronym FACETS – Familiarity, Acceptance, Commitment, Expert Halo, Tracks, Social Proof.50:00 – Chatting with Christopher “Toph” Brown and Rick Reed about Sky Tavern.50:45 – Toph grew up skiing Brian Head ski resort in Utah.53:50 – New man-made snowmaking systems implemented in the last year.55:45 – Sky Tavern Learn to Ski and Ride Program – longest running youth ski program in the country.58:55 – Working to get more people involved, reduce costs for members and offer more programs.59:30 – Is there a season pass that adults can purchase to ski at Sky Tavern?1:06:35 – Why there is currently no uphill ski access allowed at Sky Tavern.1:16:45 – Operational season at Sky Tavern is mid-December to mid-March.1:18:25 – Is there avalanche terrain at Sky Tavern?1:23:50 – What’s coming up for the summer mountain bike program at Sky Tavern.  

In this how-to episode, the Professori of the Pow, Mr. Dr. Pow Bot teaches Trail Whisperer how to set up his new Jones splitboard. Never having snowboarded in the backcountry before, Trail Whisperer learns a lot about proper body positioning, stance, and the finer details of making sure your split board is dialed. So if you’re new to the backcountry and wondering if your split board is set up correctly, this episode is 100 percent for you! We will return next week with our somewhat-regularly scheduled programming, but in the meantime, enjoy this tutorial on proper split board setup. AND PRAY FOR SOME DAMN SNOW!!

They unpack Colorado’s dire snowpack and what a dry West means for water and hydropower. They tell wild lost-rider and search-and-rescue stories that highlight unprepared outdoor users. They debate the fading ski-bum dream and suggest wind-sports life in affordable coastal towns. They cover trail politics, e-bike rules, lift-line locals, and pay tribute to Bob Weir with personal Dead-show memories.

In today’s world of the mega pass like Epic and Ikon, small independent ski resorts are struggling to survive. But one of the oldest ski resorts in America – in one of the snowiest places on Earth – is thriving. Founded in 1939 by Hannes Schroll and funded by Walt Disney, Sugar Bowl Resort on Donner Summit has welcomed both families and hardcore skiers for generations, offering a friendly, laid back vibe and expert terrain. In Episode 78, we spin yarns with Sugar Bowl CEO, Bridget Legnavsky – a CEO who absolutely shreds on skis – discussing a recent $100 million investment, helping “The Bowl” stay competitive against Epic and Ikon resorts while honoring its blend of European and American traditions. We also chat about why Bridget thinks Sugar Bowl is one of the most unique resorts in the world, the differences between her home country of New Zealand and America, the future sustainability of skiing, why Lake Tahoe isn’t more of an international ski destination, and if Summit Chair will spin more than 3 days this year.  2:30 – Recording from Sugar Bowl Resort.4:30 – Last episode, zero snow. This episode, 10+ feet of snow. Instant winter.7:00 – Dangerous snow conditions – lots of avalanches. Inspecting a slide at Latopie Lake near Sonora Pass with Bridgeport Avalanche Center.11:30 – Fatal snowmobile-triggered avalanche on Castle Peak. Reel the program back.14:25 – Ski Patrol fatality at Mammoth Mountain during the post-Christmas storm.15:20 – Telluride ski patrol went on strike and are still on strike.17:30 – Interviewing Bridget Legnavsky, CEO of Sugar Bowl Resort.19:50 – If you’re a snowmobiler – get educated. Understand the risks of the backcountry.21:40 – New amenities at Sugar Bowl – new deck, locker room, restaurant and Ratskeller area.25:13 – What are some of Bridget’s favorite Kiwi slang words?26:05 – What words do New Zealanders use to describe snow conditions?27:30 – Sugar Bowl community is heavily into performing music.29:20 – Bridget’s first winter was the winter of 2022-23, one of the biggest in Sierra history.30:45 – Working as a ski instructor in Japan, Europe, Breckenridge and Aspen, Colorado.33:50 – What makes Sugar Bowl unique in the ski industry?35:30 – How did Bridget find Sugar Bowl?37:30 – The unique structure of Sugar Bowl – owned by homeowners.43:30 – Replacing the village gondola – a $50 million project.        48:30 – Misconceptions about mountain operations and ski patrol.54:04 – The rising operational cost of running a ski resort.58:20 – Are the Vail Epic Pass and Alterra Ikon Pass the biggest threats to the future of Sugar Bowl?1:05:45 – What’s the difference between Kiwis and Aussies?1:07:45 – How has the family adapted to American life?1:09:00 – Are there things Americans can take from New Zealand culture and vice versa?1:12:30 – Are you a shoveler or a packer?1:14:30 – What is the vision for the future of Sugar Bowl?1:19:00 – Listener questions: What’s up with Summit chair lift?1:21:20 – What is Sugar Bowl doing to keep skiing affordable for families?1:23:30 – Paying more for a season pass but getting a lesser experience.1:25:40 – Why is Lake Tahoe not an international destination ski market?           1:32:00 – Ease of access to skiing in the Tahoe region is second to none.1:35:15 – Where do you see Sugar Bowl in 20 years?1:39:40 – Dope or Derp Sugar Bowl report card.1:48:30 – Why has the season pass purchase turned into a March thing instead of fall?1:50:40 – Does Sugar Bowl have plans to expand mountain bike trails in the summer?1:54:00 – What does Mind the Track mean to you?

After a month of being ridged with displeasure and no snow, a series of atmospheric rivers dumps buckets of rain before changing to snow, finally delivering major dumpage to Tahoe just in time for Christmas. In the final episode of Mind the Track’s third season, in Episode 77 the boys recap a month of inversions, brown pow and Tule Fog, contemplate chasing snow up into Canada, shout out the core lords for their 10th Shredmandment recommendations and DOPE or DERP making sound effects when riding your bike or filling uncomfortable silences. Pow Bot gives a gray wolf update, SKI BORG makes an appearance and the boys ask listeners to send in their questions for an upcoming interview with the CEO of Sugar Bowl resort. 2:10 – SKI BORG vs POW BOT5:00 – No snow in Lake Tahoe with a huge storm a-coming just in time for Christmas chaos.8:50 – On an airplane - window shade open or window shade closed?11:00 – Trail Whisperer still hasn’t bought a ski pass for the season.  13:55 – All the different taglines describing the snow dry spell in Tahoe. 15:20 – Gnarly Tule Fog in the Central Valley of California for the last month. 16:10 – Washington State flooding – Stevens Pass, Crystal Mountain and Mount Baker roads blown out.18:14 – Vail Resorts discounting ski lift tickets and medium range lodge bookings are way down.22:50 – Pow Bot is finally maturing – he isn’t frothed out on chasing pow.25:35 – DOPE or DERP – Do you chase the pow north to Canada right now?27:15 – Alpenglow Winter Speaker Series Opener – Truckee Dirt Union raises $120,000!30:40 – Spotify year-end wrap-up statistics for Mind the Track podcast.32:20 – Shout out to Core Lord listener Stavros on Mount Hough in Quincy!35:20 – HOT TIP: If you have poison oak, don’t scratch it, use the hottest water you can tolerate to flush the histamines.38:10 – DOPE or DERP – Humming or whistling to fill an uncomfortable silence.42:00 – DOPE or DERP – Making sound effects when you ride your bike.46:10 – Listener Feedback – Finders Keepers stories.49:25 – Atlanta, Georgia is the most surveilled city in the World.50:45 – Pow Bot uses his Garmin watch to find his lost smartphone.56:20 – Listener Feedback – Grocery gear baskets.57:30 – Kurt Refsnider mountain bikes the whole Orogenesis Route – 4,275 miles in 135 days. 59:25 – Sugar Bowl asks if Mind the Track would like to interview the CEO of the ski resort.1:01:40 – Listener Feedback on the 10th Shredmandment. Steve says respect the trailhead.1:05:16 – Liz and Cam – Always be learning and avalanche education.1:06:45 – Stu – Be a capable backcountry skiing partner.1:09:30 – Tony from Lee Vining – Observe, consider and decide. 1:12:30 – Alex – Keep your gear tight. Know how to use a first aid kit.1:13:00 – @patagonia_snow Instagram shouts out Mind the Track and the Butt Vest.1:15:55 – Wolf pulls a crab pot out of water with the buoy and rope to eat the bait.1:20:30 – Gray Wolf is de-listed by the Endangered Species Act.1:25:00 – Cam says Snack Man is DOPE. 1:26:30 – Telluride Ski Patrol is threatening strike, could shut the whole season down.1:33:00 – The unsustainable game of buying a season’s pass at a ski resort.