Adventure Sports Journal // December 2018 / January 2019 // #106

Table of Contents

Dan Sharp

Doug Schwartz

Robbie Crawford

departments

6 7 7 8 16 28

features

Editor’s Note

Haters Back Off

Inbox

ASJ readers chime in

Earn Your Beer

Hipsters and Hippies IPA

Ear to the Ground News & notes

EPiC

Winter Wildlands Alliance

Calendar

Directory of upcoming events

San Francisco

10 14 18 22

Gift Giving Guide

The best holiday gifts

Winter Resort Guide

Where to ski & ride in California & Nevada

Adam Ü

From the slopes to the sea

Robbie Crawford Digital Artist

Kt Miller

24 25 26

Saveria Mazzola Tilden

Joanne Schwartz

Golden years adventures

COVER When conditions are right, skier Adam Ü isn’t afraid to go big.

Dwight Follien

Photo by Kevin McHugh.

The man behind the Grind

2018 Single Speed World Championship

The best shitshow on earth

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Oakland 101

880

880

17

It’s time for an

San Jose

Adventure!

Santa Cruz

Just 40mins from San Jose!

1

Monterey

Santa Cruz Mountains | 831.430.4357 4 ASJ — Dec 2018 / Jan 2019

mounthermonadventures.com

asj contributors what snow-related adventure(s) are you planning for this winter?

PUBLISHING + EDITORIAL

leoniesherman

With any luck I’ll be basking in the sunshine in the Southern Hemisphere. If that falls through I’m aiming to break in my new tele touring boots exploring Lassen National Park.

kurtgensheimer

Assuming it actually snows, going on a month-long road trip in the RV across the West, hitting a bunch of Ikon Pass resorts.

chrisvanleuven

This winter I’ll be living off the grid in a canvas cabin in the Sierra. When it snows and is cold, I’ll build a fire in the stove.

Snow season in the Eastern Sierra is one of those “never better” kinds of times and places. Long weekends of snowshoeing and snow/fat biking, with possibly some XC skiing thrown in, are winter wonderland road trips on the docket.

michelecharboneau

As a brand new skiier, I’m doing the snow dance for good conditions at Mt. Shasta Ski Park all winter because I have my season pass already! Also looking forward to some winter backcountry adventures with my bae & pup.

jenniferstein

Haven’t snowboarded in about 20 years, but my BFF — ASJ managing editor, Michele — said I must get back on the board and come to Shasta this winter.

Help!

mattniswonger

I’d like to ski out to Glacier Point in Yosemite with the kids. They have done lots of downhill, but very little cross country skiing.

BEFORE. DURING. AFTER.

PUBLISHER Cathy Claesson cathy@adventuresportsjournal.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Matt Niswonger matt@adventuresportsjournal.com MANAGING EDITOR Michele Charboneau michele@adventuresportsjournal.com COPY EDITOR Jennifer Stein jen@adventuresportsjournal.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Leonie Sherman, Chris Van Leuven, Kurt Gensheimer, James Murren, Michele Charboneau CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Leonie Sherman, Fred Pompermayer, Robbie Crawford, John Silva, Brian Leddy, Kt Miller, David Page, Kevin McHugh, Greg Sanders, Marie Hill, Chris Hoefer, Dan Sharp, Doug Schwartz, Menka Belgal, Saveria Mazzola Tilden LAYOUT Cathy Claesson & Michele Charboneau

© NOAH WETZEL

jamesmurren

FUEL FOR EVERY DAY

COVER DESIGN Juliann Klein ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Cathy Claesson I 831.234.0351 cathy@adventuresportsjournal.com EVENTS & DISTRIBUTION Matt Niswonger matt@adventuresportsjournal.com EVENTS MARKETING Michele Charboneau michele@adventuresportsjournal.com Jennifer Stein jen@adventuresportsjournal.com Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Adventure Sports Journal or our advertisers. We usually agree with our articles, but sometimes we don’t. We welcome all contributions.

All content © Adventure Sports Journal 2018. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the editors.

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cathyclaesson

Taking the kids out of school for a week to go to Tahoe.

We started this tradition when they were young.

Those frustrating early years of teaching our kids to love skiing and snowboarding have paid off ... now I can’t keep up with any of them.

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Solo alex honnold

THE LAKE TRAIL a dirt lap around Lake Tahoe for TAMBA

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PADDLING HER OWN CANOE audrey sutherland

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MTB RACE TIPS | PACIFIC YURTS | GEAR WE LOVE | EVENT PROFILES | CALENDAR TAHOE ADVENTURE THERAPY / GEAR WE LOVE / EVENT PROFILES / CALENDAR

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 ISSUE #104

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April/May 2018 • ISSUE #102

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YURI hauswald

the adventure path MING POON

gravel grinder

RIDING THE

REDWOODS FOR THE LOVE OF CLIMBING seth zaharias CLIMBING INJURY PREVENTION

KEEPER ISSUE

OUTRIGGER GOLD AT AGE 76 barbara leites KIM MORIARITY making a difference

CHANNEL ISLANDS RESTORATION

FRIENDS OF THE INYO DAVID ALLFREY from Yosemite to Baffin Island

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5

Editor’s Note

Haters Back Off

Stop treating California like a social outcast

A

s the first rains finally arrived on Thanksgiving weekend it appeared our hellish fire season was finally over. While the fire danger subsided many Californians still smoldered with anger in the wake of comments made by President Trump and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke after both men toured the devastation.

As a state we are still coming to grips with the scale of this tragedy, but President Trump considers himself highly educated on the subject and provided some “helpful” tips. There’s no predicting the pithy words that come out of his mouth on a regular basis, so when he toured the devastation in mid November and gave a speech, I paid close attention. Here is what I understood: California had a terrible fire season, but we all need to calm down and look to Finland. You see, Finland is a forest nation and they protect their forests with an extensive raking policy. That’s right, all that dead wood lying around on the forest floor gets raked up, leaving the forests all tidy and fireproof.

When people pointed out on social media that the climate of Finland is much

When it comes to natural disasters, states like Florida get sympathy while California gets a guilt trip. (iStock/JPhilipson)

major catastrophe.

For the rest of us, we can only sit back and marvel at the clueless comments made by both Trump and Zinke. Clearly we are on our own: there will be no effective national leadership to help us with this or any future tragedies associated with our multi-year drought that has been made worse by climate change.

Maybe I should stop criticizing and just appreciate the federal disaster relief funds and FEMA money we receive from Trump

So why are we being treated like a big burden on the rest of the country in the aftermath of these fires?

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colder than the climate of California to help our fire victims. After all, in a tweet (almost a third of Finland lies above on November tenth he threatened to cut the Arctic Circle) our president did not off those disaster relief funds if we don’t comment. start managing our forests better.

When others pointed out that managing This is just more infuriating nonsense deadfall in a forest with large trees using a given that we are the sixth largest simple garden rake is completely absurd, economy in the world and we add much the president had already moved on to more to the federal coffers in personal other subjects. and corporate income tax then we receive Secretary Zinke had some different ideas. through federal programs like FEMA. He said he prefers not to point fingers but Am I missing something here? Should “radical environmentalists” are to blame we as Californians feel guilty about the for California’s fire problems because they federal dollars we receive after wildfires? have stopped the state from managing Again we give much more to the federal our forests properly. coffers than we take, so why are we being When people pointed out on social treated like social outcasts who are a big media that the federal government burden on the rest of the country? manages the vast majority of California’s Please send me an email if you can forests (over half of California’s land is shed some light on this. Do you agree (in owned and managed by the feds) and whole or in part) with Trump’s and Zinke’s the Trump administration is DECREASING comments that California is its own worst the 2019 state budget for National Forest enemy and we should blame ourselves for management, Secretary Zinke did not these fires? Or maybe you agree with me respond. that they should keep their mouths shut When others pointed out that both the and send us federal disaster aid without Camp and Woolsey fires were spread by making us feel guilty or forcing us to extremely dry grasslands and chaparral in endure their cringe-worthy photo-ops. windy conditions (not timber forests), our You can email your thoughts to matt@ esteemed Secretary of the Interior did not adventuresportsjournal.com. As always we will try to print as many letters from respond.

I have a friend from high school who lost readers as space allows.

As I write this, the death toll grows and his home in the Camp Fire. The recent visits by both Trump and Zinke were not the massive scale of this tragedy unfolds. even a blip on his radar, judging by his We eagerly await the rain and snow in the Facebook posts. That’s a good thing. He is forecast, but until then all California can too busy dealing with finding housing for do is sit and smolder. his family, getting to work every day so he Send me an email, I’d love to hear from can keep earning money, and handling all you. matt@adventuresportsjournal.com the daily memories complications come2017. with ASJ a editor, Matt Niswonger on the plasitc horn.

Campfire from that Sea Otter,

—Matt Niswonger

INBOX

Fanmail, Feedback, Ideas & Opinions

In response to Editor’s Note #105 Earn Your Beer: A philosophy for living our lives EARNED MY BEER I earned my beer by mountain biking with my young nephew. I’m 60 and he’s 30. I’m 6'1, 220 and he is 6'1, 175. I’m riding a $300 hard tail mountain bike while he’s riding a $5,000 full suspension Santa Cruz. We were up in Tahoe riding the Powerline Trail. Nice and easy for an old man on a cheap bike. Nothing difficult or extreme was in the plan.

That is until my nephew expressed his desire to explore what is called the Cold Creek Trail. Straight uphill for eternity. Walking and carrying my bike over massive boulders. We finally reach the top meadow and I’m exhausted. Now the downhill is next.

I’m going probably a little too fast but not overly. I hit a tree root in the middle of the trail, it spins my handlebars around and over the handlebars I go. Face first into the dirt and bushes. My helmet saves my life. But it’s also damaged now. My head is bleeding slightly. I continue downhill of course by myself, he’s already down probably bored and on Facebook, when my one of my pedals hit the side of a boulder when I tried to squeeze between the two massive rocks. But having no skills, sweaty, uncoordinated, and hoping this mountain bike ride to hell and back will end, the pedal strikes the side of the boulder and knocks my foot off the pedal. The pedal with the spikes then rakes my right shin and it looks like I was attacked by a mountain lion. Blood is oozing from my leg only to be clogged by the dirt.

I finally meet up with him. He sees my face, helmet, and bloody leg and appears to be in shock. He has just injured his uncle. He then asks if I would like to ride his bike. It may be safer. I reply, you could have offered at the top. I went home and had a well deserved beer.

Earn your beer.

— Mike Doyle, Glenbrook, NV

MY DAD’S SINGLE BEER Cool to find your article in my first look at Adventure Sports Journal the day before Thanksgiving. My dad passed away nine years ago this May. He wasn’t a drinker, a sports addict of any type, but a hard working family man and engineer.

Dad coached my brothers’ baseball teams, enjoyed an eclectic mix of music, was always teaching us something whether it be how to change oil in the car, drain a hot water heater, or take in the stars and planets. Unbeknownst to him he taught us about simple gifts of life in doing so. In the summer he would have a beer after working for six hours in the heat of the summer sun tending to roses or whatever he needed to do to make our home a home he was proud of. That’s right, a single beer. That’s how I knew it was summer. Dad would have a beer. I think my mom cooked with the other five of the six pack.

As a young adult I had the good fortune to spend some time with my dad on his terms, which turned out to be just right for me. He bought a street bike and he’d take me for a ride up to the observatory, maybe we’d get pizza and watch the Olympics on the big screen and talk about the featured sport over a beer. I can recall dad saying once, when I was in my early 40s, “I’d sure love a good beer.” Dad died unexpectedly that year. We never got to have that beer together.

I’m a runner, an animal lover, a music lover, a star lover, a people lover, a peace lover, an adrenaline lover, a special education teacher, a grandmother. I work hard at everything I do for the love of it and for that beer I never had with dad. I wouldn’t want to not feel as alive as I am.

I recently bought my first motorcycle. My mom doesn’t know … she’d flip. But dad’s smiling, undoubtedly. My brothers asked why I bought a motorcycle. I told them I enjoyed riding with dad. They didn’t know he rode. Don’t know how they missed that

one … a nerd on a motorcycle. Whatever I do, I do it with intensity and purpose and for that beer.

Cheers to all of you out there that Earn Your Beer!

— Shelley Burke, Nevada City In response to Digital Apocalypse in June/July 2018 # 103 SEND ME THE PRINT EDITION I’m finally buying a subscription — long overdue. And I support your advertisers: gear, events, locations.

Love the coverage. And the discourse.

The print/digital paradox is crucial to us all. I understand the arguments, but we at least need to put the brakes on and get out into nature ‘naked’ (without our addicting and numbing electronic appendages) or Fahrenheit 451 is just around the corner!

I’ll never read ASJ on-line. Send me the print.

— Phil Filbrandt, Chico In response to Riding the Redwoods in Aug/Sept 2018 # 104 CORRECTION I am a plant scientist, and noticed some incorrect information that caught my eye.

On page 16 it was stated that redwoods are almost 400 feet tall; the record height is 380 feet (115 m), so about two stories less than 400 feet.

More importantly, it was stated that they are the oldest trees in the world.

This is not correct. The Bristlecone pines of western USA are much older with the oldest being just over 5,000 years old in the White Mountains of California.

I thought your outdoor enthusiast readership would be interested in these corrections. I love the publication. Keep up the great work! And, thanks.

— Michael Loik, Santa Cruz

Editor’s Note: Thanks for sharing your story with us Mike. It inspired us to introduce our Earn Your Beer column by James Murren. Similar to A Beer Worth Earning, this column will pair an adventure with a well deserved beer. In addition to this regular column, we look forward to reading our readers’ stories of a well earned beer.

Earn Your BEER Bodysurfing Ocean Beach, San Diego & Hipsters and Hippies IPA

by James Murren

I

park the car a block from the beach, getting lucky by not having to look around for a spot. My wetsuit is in the trunk. Waves are rolling in, but I cannot see them. Faintly, I hear them.

Going to be a little on the cold side, I tell myself.

One leg in and then the other, pull the torso section up and get my arms in, reach back for the long zipper pull, grab it and voila, I have some protection wrapped around my body. Smear some sun screen on your face. I grab my fins and walk to the water.

Surveying the wave that crashes out from where lifeguard tower 2 normally stands at Ocean Beach, it is breaking left. The tower is gone for the season.

Good form, not great, but I am here and so begin walking to the water’s edge. I walk in, the initial shock not being there.

I take a few more steps; the sand below my feet feels hard. No rip is present. I take a deep breath and offer thanks and respect to the ocean.

I crouch down with my back to the whitewater. Quickly, I slide my fins onto my feet and then turn and face the oncoming water. Dive down. It is cold to me, somewhere around 64 degrees with the air temperature a little more than that. Why has my tolerance for cold water waned over the years? Get in 30 minutes and call it a day, enters my head.

Relax. Don’t put time constraints on it.

Be in the ocean.

I swim past the break, catch my breath, and look up and down the coast. I tread water, playing the waiting game. Another body surfer is out this morning, farther up the coast about a hundred feet.

Surfers are down coast, by the pier.

Seeing people in the water puts a smile on my face. Ocean rhythms have their way.

A swell comes and I am lined up. Hmm? This one looks a little bigger, maybe closer to five feet. Nice. I got this. Turn.

Kick. Kick. Kick some more. I am too high and need to get down. Hold on, Jim, you are going to get tossed. I do. I am head over heels and thinking, let it roll. The water feels heavy, thick even, and it is not rushing fast. It pushes me down.

Swimming back out, I kind of have a goofy grin on my face. That was not fun.

Nevertheless, it is good every now and then to feel the ocean’s power.

Waiting, more waiting, and then brown pelicans, three of them, fly by, low, dipping to the water’s surface, but their wings and bellies not getting wet. I think of their recovery and how they have survived as a species. There is joy in seeing animals in their element. Am I in mine?

Scanning in the direction of the horizon, another wave approaches and I am ready for it. Line it up, turn, and I kick and kick some more and then the magic feeling of body surfing happens. My left hand is out in front and the right one is back over my head. My back is arched; chest is up and out of the water. I am sliding.

I soon bring both hands together and put them out in front of me. The wave rolls on me and I ride along with it, immersed in the whitewater as it rumbles towards shore. Pulling out, I pop my head and let out a little laughter. Fun. Good ole fun.

My shoulders turn and I swim back out past the breakers. I want to have more fun. ************ My wet wetsuit is back in the trunk.

Glad that the sun is shining and there is no marine layer, I walk to Pizza Port Brewing Company. It is becoming a bit of ritual, for me: body surf, beer, and a bite to eat.

I take a quick look at the beers on tap. It is San Diego Beer Week. New offerings are on the board, including some fresh hop drafts, amidst their classics. Wait. What is that? Hipsters and Hippies, a hazy IPA. It is a collaborative effort between North Park Beer Company in San Diego and Pizza Port, brewed in Ocean Beach.

Yep, it is hazy. I get pineapple. One of the guys pouring pints says he gets a lot of citrus, for sure. We talk more beer geek language, playing out our inner hipsters, perhaps. The color reminds me of drinking mai tais on a sail boat off the Kona coast.

How wonderful the human mind and memories can be. How interesting the visual cues that trigger memory, like how a song can transport you.

Thinking back on years of playing in the ocean, from childhood to now, I smile in the thought that new memories are forthcoming.

www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com 7

Ear to the Ground

Wildfires Devastate CA Communities

Recent wildfires have devastated communities in Northern and Southern California. As of press time, Northern California’s Camp Fire, which raged through 153,000 acres of Butte County and decimated the small town of Paradise near Chico, had taken the lives of at least 85 people with nearly 300 still unaccounted for. Thousands remain displaced, with 14,000 residences destroyed. Due to recent rain, the fire is now completely contained, but what’s left in its wake is overwhelming. Meanwhile, in Southern California, the Woolsey Fire ripped through the Santa Monica mountains to the Malibu coast, burning more than 1,600 structures and taking three lives. The Woolsey Fire is now contained, but mudslides are now an immediate concern. Learn how you can help at nytimes.com/2018/11/11/reader-center/california-fires-how-to-help.html.

79 Year Old Climber Climbs for Disease Research

Kris Machnick is a self-described “79 year old badass climber” taking on eight major ice and rock routes to raise $100,000 for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease research by the end of winter 2019 when she turns 80. In addition to raising funds, the 8 for 80 Project is Machnick’s way of celebrating life and inspiring people of all ages to take action for their own lives, and stand for their own physical and mental well being. The trips are self-funded with 100% of the funds raised going to the research organizations.

Learn more at krisclimbingforlife.com.

MBOSC Debuts New Membership Program

Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC) recently unveiled a new membership program, with 100% of member dues going to trail stewardship in Santa Cruz County. The program offers six levels: Trail Steward, Trail Guardian, Trail Boss, Trail Champion, Trail Hero, and Trail Angel, offering unique perks such as Trail Badges, custom socks, and jerseys. MBOSC suggests the most exciting reward is knowing this program supports local trail building and maintenance efforts for all user groups. Learn more at adventuresportsjournal. com/mountain-bikers-santa-cruz-debuts-new-membership-program.

Mavericks Contest Opens with Integrity

On October 26th, a group of elite surfers paddled out for the official opening ceremonies of the 2018/2019 World Surf League (WSL) Mavericks Big Wave Challenge. For the first time ever, ten women were invited to an opening ceremony of an official Mavericks contest.

The contest window opened on November 1st and will continue through March. The women will compete for $25,000 in two semi-final heats of five competitors each and one final heat of four women. The men will compete for the same amount of money but will have to survive more heats as over twice as many men will compete on contest day. The men’s list of 24 invitees consists of an all-star cast including Kai Lenny, Jamie Mitchell, Peter Mel, Nic Lamb, and Anthony Tashnick.

The contest will be streamed live on worldsurfleague.com. The official contest date will be announced with only about one week’s notice, depending on the right mix of swell and weather conditions. Learn more at adventuresportsjournal.com/mavericks.

Courage Project Offers Free Snowsports Opportunities to Kids

The Courage Project — a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting childrens’ mental health via adventure sports opportunities — recently announced its partnership with Tahoe-based Achieve Tahoe and Skiduck. These partnerships, along with donations from Mt. Rose will enable the organization to provide free skiing and snowboarding lessons, rentals, and lift tickets to children who participate in our events. The Courage Project continues to partner with Tahoe Rim Trail Association (TRTA) among many others to bring adventures to children in need of support. Learn more at courageproject.org.

“Bike for a Healthy CA” License Plate

In collaboration with the Friends of the California Bicycle License Plate, the California Department of Public Health plans to release the Special Interest Bicycle Theme License Plate in mid-December. Funds from license plate sales will fund grant programs that promote bicycling (mountain and road), as a physical activity, create safe places to ride bikes through cycling advocacy, support earn-a-bike programs for at-risk youth, conduct safety and share the road education programs for drivers and cyclists and support cycling as an alternative mode of transportation. Learn more at adventuresportsjournal.com/ calbikeplate.com.

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8 ASJ — Dec 2018 / Jan 2019

Photo: Fred Pompermayer

News & notes from the outdoor industry

Photo: John Silva

Sea Otter Classic Expands for 2019; Athlete Registration Now Open

2018 was a big year for the Sea Otter Classic. For four days in April, Sea Otter Classic saw over 74,000 visitors, 9,800 athletes, 8,500 campers, 900 corporate brands and 370 international media. 2019 promises to be even bigger and better.

With a completely sold out Expo in 2018, Sea Otter worked with Monterey County to expand the Expo footprint to add an additional 15,000 sq. ft. of exhibitor space for 2019. With a 10% expansion in expo space, Sea Otter now offers an even bigger gathering of brands, expanded demo opportunities, plus more exciting products and technological innovations. On-site camping available, as well as exclusive savings on partner hotels. Save when you purchase your festival passes online; 1-day passes are $15 and 4-day are $50. Learn more and register at seaotterclassic.com.

“Low Gap” Kicks Off 2019 Grasshopper Adventure Series in Mendocino County

Photo: Brian Leddy

A brand new adventure cycling event — “Low Gap” — has taken the place of Hopper Adventures’ uber-popular “Old Caz” which was cancelled for 2019 due to a slide. The January 26th ride kicks off the Mendocino County-based Grasshopper Adventure Series’ 21st year. Event organizer Miguel Crawford says, “Low Gap is the epitome of NorCal adventure riding and will not disappoint. We’ll be riding a course that’s half pavement and half dirt — and trust me, those 22 miles of dirt will be off the hook!” Learn more and register at grasshopperadventureseries.com.

Registration Now Open for 4th Annual Carson City Off-Road The 4th Annual Carson City Off-Road, scheduled for June 14-16, 2019, offers three distance options for amateur participants to choose from and a pro category offering a $30,000 cash purse. The course features world-class singletrack trails like the Marlette Flume and Tahoe Rim Trail, with panoramic views of Lake Tahoe. The 3-day mountain bike event includes a festival in downtown Carson City with live music, beer gardens and a bike + gear expo. Learn more and register at epicrides.com.

California Enduro Series Tahoe Water Announces 2019;Lake Kicks OffTrail at Ensenada Bike Fest

The California Enduro Series is shaking things up and heading to Baja for Round 1 of its 2019 season. The Ensenada Enduro is part of the inaugural Ensenada Bike Fest which takes place over Memorial Day weekend (May 25-27) at Horsepower Ranch in Ensenada, just 90 miles south of San Diego.

Also new this coming season is the Mt. Shasta Enduro, which is the third stop on the schedule, taking place July 13-14 at the Mt. Shasta Ski Park near Mount Shasta/McCloud.

In additional big news, the popular Northstar Enduro returns for a sixth season — this time around being part of the Enduro World Series. This race takes place over the August 23-25 weekend, and is the EWS Challenger event for 2019.

Three other popular venues also return to the line-up. Big mountain favorites China Peak Enduro (June 29-30) and Mammoth Mountain Enduro — formerly Kamikaze Bike Games Enduro — (TBD) will serve up the monster gnar as usual, while the Ashland Mountain Challenge will once again wrap things up on October 5. Learn more at californiaenduroseries.com.

PROUD SPONSORS OF

Women’s Adventure Film Tour Comes to Santa Cruz

The Women’s Adventure Film Tour has arrived in the US for the first time ever, and is scheduled to be shown in Santa Cruz for one night only — January 26 — at the Rio Theatre. This tour is a celebration of the fantastic women around us who are doing extraordinary things. The films are to be

JUNE 2, 2018

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enjoyed by women and men of all ages.

The event features an all-new set of short films including the premiere of Katie Walsh’s film, Surfing to Cope, about American Brianna Cope. You’ll also experience climbing, skiing, mountaineering, snowboarding and travel films from all over the world.

The Women’s Adventure Film Tour is presented in the US for the benefit of Changing Tides Foundation. The Santa Cruz showing is locally presented by Patagonia Santa Cruz.

Learn more at riotheatre.com/events-2/2019/1/26/womens-adventure-film-tour.

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10 ASJ — Dec 2018 / Jan 2019

CLIF FAMILY ADVENTURE TRIO

PACIFIC YURTS

Scaling peaks is as important outdoors as it is in the cellar. Each of the wines in our Adventure Trio represent winemaking feats while their photographic labels depict some of our favorite outdoor adventures.

The Original Pacific Yurt is a round recreational living structure that is easy to install, strong and comfortable year round. Custom options include French doors, custom colors, insulation and much more.

This trio includes three bottles of Clif Family Wines in a gift box.

Get started today with our Yurt Builder 3D, the fun and easy way to price and design your yurt.

ClifFamily.com

PacificYurts.com

COSTANOA

GIVE THE GIFT OF COSTANOA! ONE-NIGHT STAY PASSES* Lodge King Weekday $165 Lodge King Weekend $195 Tent Bungalow Weekday $85 Tent Bungalow Weekend $105

PURCHASE $500 GIFT CERTIFICATE AND RECEIVE A FREE NIGHT STAY** Receive a voucher for a one night stay in a Cypress Bungalow.

MOUNT HERMON CANOPY TOURS Give the Gift of Adventure! Join us on the Redwood Canopy Tour or Sequoia Aerial Adventure for an unforgettable experience high up in the redwood forest. Gift Certificates are available for both adventures and make the perfect high impact stocking stuffer! Purchase online at mounthermonadventures.com/gift MountHermonAdventures.com

GREGORY PROXY 45 The Proxy 45 is great for getaways. With its Full-Surround Gear Guard and load-bearing women’s-specific suspension, this carry-on compliant pack was born for active travel just like you. Need to mix business with pleasure?

Stow your laptop in the padded compartment and keep your trail running gear separate behind the ActiveShield divider.

GregoryPacks.com

* One-night passes must be used December 1, 2018 through March 15, 2019. Accommodation pass will expire on March 15, 2019. * Gift certificate must be purchased by December 31, 2018. Vouchers must be used before March 15, 2019.

Not valid on holidays. Non refundable.

Not valid with any other special or offer.

Not valid for groups.

Pricing does not include tax and fees. Black out dates and certain restrictions may apply.

CALL (877) 262-7848 Reserve your gift certificate or get away today!

Costanoa.com www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com

11

GIFT GIVING GUIDE

RIDE CONCEPTS HELLION SHOES Ride Concepts provides progressive dirt riding footwear with a focus on superior fit and function. The Hellion is the pace-setter of our Session Series, with an all-out emphasis on increased protection, durability, and awesomeness. For hard-charging riders who seek out the gnarliest conditions, the Hellion ups the ante when it comes to foot comfort and flat pedal control.

THE GIRO EAVE GOGGLES The Giro Eave™ goggle is the perfect gift for skiers and snowboarders. They’re styled with an Infinity lens design for a sleek look, feature a modern magnetic Quick-Change lens system for swapping lenses on the go, and include two VIVID lenses with Optics by ZEISS. Head to giro. com now.

Giro.com

ZODIAC GEMINI 2300 The Gemini 2300 lumen night riding system with GoPro compatible base and bar mount is the ideal gift for the mountain biker, road cyclist, or any other adventure sport enthusiast. Boasting 2300 lumens, it features five brightness settings and an integrated long-lasting, rechargeable battery. The Gemini 2300 is extremely durable yet light, and shock resistant, anti-fog and IP64 waterproof rated.

ZodiacLights.com

RideConcepts.com

MORSEL

SUPERSUB HAMMOCK

Morsel combines a fork, spoon, and spatula into one convenient utensil. The unique asymmetric shape and rubber edge helps you scrape every last bit of food, whether on the trail or in the kitchen. The fork has a serrated edge for cutting tough foods and a long handle for reaching deep.

Morsel is made in the USA from strong, BPA-free materials and is dishwasher safe.

Weighing a mere 9.8 ounces, the SuperSub™ Hammock shaves weight without sacrificing comfort. The SuperSub™ has the same spacious dimensions as the top-selling DoubleNest™ Hammock and an impressive 300lb weight rating.

Combine with the Helios Suspension System to give you all the ENO creature comforts in a trail ready package.

LEKI expands its popular Micro folding pole construction with our bestselling COR-TEC grips for the first time. The push-button release mechanism allows for quick, easy assembly and knockdown to just 15.5". The TÜV-certified Speed​​Lock 2 provides a 20cm adjustment range. This pole is packed with function and value. A great travel companion for your next adventure.

MorselSpork.com

ENOnation.com

Leki.com

12 ASJ — Dec 2018 / Jan 2019

MICRO VARIO Ti COR-TEC POLE

Micro Inflator for Vehicles, Trailers & More 4

3

AE 5-GALLON SUMMER SHOWER Designed with an efficient 4-layer construction for optimal heat retention and performance, simply fill and layout in the sun and you will have a hot shower in no time!

Whether it’s in camp, at the end of a long trail, or on the deck of your boat, a hot shower is a pleasure to have.

AdvancedElements.com/summer-shower

BUCCI POLARIZED SUNGLASSES Sunglasses that are different.

Family owned and based out of Santa Cruz, California; Bucci offers one of the most customizable sunglasses on the market. Choose your frame style, color, and lens option instead of pre-made combinations. Bucci’s are made in Italy and finished in Santa Cruz ­— insuring top quality, and a price you can’t beat.

BucciSunglasses.com

Tubeless Bicycle Tire Repair Kits

DYNAPLUG TIRE REPAIR TOOLS There's a Dynaplug for every adventure sports enthusiast on your holiday list!

Whether you're traveling on two wheels or four, we've got you covered with a wide range of tire repair tools. Designed and crafted in Butte County, California, Dynaplug is easy-to-use, neat and clean ... just plug the tire and you're ready to roll.

Dynaplug.com

HYDRAPAK STOW 1L

PHOOZY

LA SPORTIVA LYCAN GTX

A trail companion like no other, the flexible Stow 1L has an internal baffle that makes it easier to hold and pocket. The spill-proof nozzle allows for easy drinking, it’s lightweight, easy to pack and the bail handle makes for more comfortable carrying and attachment. Convenience meets performance.

Don’t let your phone freeze on the mountain this winter. PHOOZY protects your phone from the cold and extends your battery life up to 3X. Ditch the single-use hand warmers and get a PHOOZY Thermal Capsule. ColdProof / SnowProof / DropProof. Use code ASJ15 at checkout for 15% off your purchase.

For the trail runner in your life.

Hydrapak.com

Phoozy.com

Sportiva.com

The Lycan GTX is the ideal Mountain Running® waterproof shoe for training on off-road, rocky terrain where long-lasting sticky rubber and good shock absorption is needed. Available in men's and women's.

www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com

13

Snowbound Winter Resort Directory

Heavenly Mountain Resort

Boreal Mountain Resort

Donner Ski Ranch

China Peak Mountain Resort

Heavenly Mountain Resort

Soda Springs Avg Snowfall 400" Skiable Acres 380 Vertical Drop 500' Lifts 8 Trails 33 Terrain Parks 6 Scheduled Opening Day Nov 13 Miles to Major Cities Sacramento 88, San Francisco 175, San Jose 207, Reno 45 rideboreal.com

Lakeshore Avg Snowfall 325" Skiable Acres 1400+ Vertical Drop 1679' Lifts 9 Trails 55 Terrain Parks 1 Opening Day Nov 25 Miles to Major Cities Fresno/Clovis 60 skichinapeak.com

South Lake Tahoe / Stateline NV Avg Snowfall 360” Skiable Acres 4630 Vertical Drop 3500' Lifts 28 Trails 97 Terrain Parks 2 Opening Day Nov 16 Miles to Major Cities Reno 60, Sacramento 100, San Francisco 190 skiheavenly.com

Diamond Peak Ski Resort

W

inter is here and it is time to hit the slopes. ASJ is here to help you keep track of the best spots in California/ Nevada to get your turns in. Enjoy!

Bear Mountain (Big Bear Mountain Resort)

Big Bear Lake Avg Snowfall 100" Skiable Acres 198 Vertical Drop 1665' Lifts 12 Trails 15 Terrain Parks 14 Opening Day Nov 23 Miles to Major Cities Los Angeles 100 bigbearmountainresort.com

Bear Valley Ski Resort

Bear Valley Avg Snowfall 359" Skiable Acres 1680 Vertical Drop 1900’ Lifts 10 Trails 75 Terrain Parks 2 Scheduled Opening Day Nov 23 Miles to Major Cities Sacramento 123, San Francisco 178, San Jose 176 bearvalley.com

Norden Avg Snowfall 411” Skiable Acres 505 Vertical Drop 750' Lifts 8 Trails 52 Terrain Parks 2 Scheduled Opening Day Dec 15 Miles to Major Cities Reno 25, Sacramento 90, San Francisco 175 donnerskiranch.com

Incline Village Avg Snowfall 300-350” Skiable Acres 655 Vertical Drop 1840' Lifts 7 Trails 31 Terrain Parks 3 Opening Day Dec 13 (Scheduled) Miles to Major Cities Reno 27, Sacramento 135, San Francisco 225 diamondpeak.com

Dodge Ridge Ski Resort

Homewood Mountain Resort

Pinecrest Avg Snowfall 300–500” Skiable Acres 862 Vertical Drop 1600' Lifts 12 Trails 67 Terrain Parks 5 Scheduled Opening Day Dec 22 (Scheduled) Miles to Major Cities San Jose 161, San Francisco 163 dodgeridge.com

COME SPEND YOUR WINTER VACATION ON THE PRISTINE SHORE OF TAHOE

Come Spend Your Winter 2017-2018 Vacation With us on The Pristine Shores of Lake Tahoe There isn’t a more beautiful, peaceful place to come “home” to after an amazing day on the slopes or on the lake.

Homewood Avg Snowfall 450" Skiable Acres 2010 Vertical Drop 1650' Lifts 8 Trails 67 Terrain Parks 4 Opening Day TBD Miles to Major Cities Sacramento 118, San Francisco 205 skihomewood.com

Plan your vacation with us today ...

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR GROUPS, FAMILIES & INDIVIDUALS l TRANSPORTATION TO & FROM THE AIRPORT SHUTTLE Plan your 2017-2018 DROP-OFF LOCATION l MEAL OPTIONS l GROUP SPACE l ENJOY winter vacation with us today!

OUR PRIVATE BEACH l HIKING ACCOMMODATIONS GROUPS, FAMILIES TRAILS, SKI FOR RESORTS AND AND INDIVIDUALS | TRANSPORTATION TO DOZENS OFTHE WINTER AND FROM AIRPORT ACTIVITIES SHUTTLE DROP-OFF LOCATION | MEAL OPTIONS | WITHIN MINUTES GROUP SPACE | SKI RESORT AND DOZENS OF WINTER ACTIVITIES WITHIN MINUTES

We look forward to having We look forward to having youyou here ourguest! guest! hereas as our

Extensive footage of our property is available online.

Visit zephyrpoint.org and click “Watch Videos” on the bottom right section of the home page.

Extensive footage of our property is available online.

Visit zephyrpoint.org and click “Watch Videos” (bottom right section of the home page).

660 US Hwy. 50 • Zephyr Cove, NV 89448 Zephyr Pointis is aaPC(USA) Affiliate zephyrpoint.org Zephyr Point PC(USA) Affiliate

775-588-6759 PLEASE VISIT ZEPHYRPOINT.ORG OR CALL 775-588-6759 FOR MORE INFORMATION.

PLEASE VISIT ZEPHYRPOINT.ORG OR CALL 775-588-6759 FOR MORE INFORMATION. 14 ASJ — Dec 2018 / Jan 2019

June Mountain

June Lake Avg Snowfall 250" Skiable Acres 1500+ Vertical Drop 2590' Lifts 7 Trails 42 Terrain Parks 2 Opening Day Dec 21 (Scheduled) Miles to Major Cities Los Angeles 310, Reno 170 junemountain.com

Mt. Shasta Ski Park

McCloud Avg Snowfall 280" Skiable Acres 425 Vertical Drop 1435' Lifts 4 Trails 32 Terrain Parks 2 Opening Day Dec 14 (Scheduled) Miles to Major Cities Reno 234, Sacramento 254, San Francisco 282, San Jose 315, skipark.com

TAHOE’S

BEST XC

Kirkwood Mountain Resort

Kirkwood Avg Snowfall 354" Skiable Acres 2300 Vertical Drop 2000' Lifts 15 Trails 86 Terrain Parks 2 Opening Day Nov 24 Miles to Major Cities Sacramento 98, San Francisco 182 kirkwood.com

Northstar California Resort

Truckee Avg Snowfall 350" Skiable Acres 3170 Vertical Drop 2280' Lifts 20 Trails 100 Terrain Parks 8 Opening Day Nov 16 Miles to Major Cities Reno 32, Sacramento 100, San Francico 186 northstarcalifornia.com

Mammoth Mountain

Sierra at Tahoe Resort

Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe

Snow Summit (Big Bear Mountain Resort

Mammoth Lakes Avg Snowfall 400"+ Skiable Acres 3500+ Vertical Drop 3100' Lifts 28 Trails 150 Terrain Parks 7 Opening Day Nov 10 Miles to Major Cities Los Angeles 310, Reno 170, San Francisco 320 mammothmountain.com

North Lake Tahoe NV Avg Snowfall 350" Skiable Acres 1200 Vertical Drop 1800' Lifts 8 Trails 60 Terrain Parks 3 Scheduled Opening Day Oct 19 Miles to Major Cities Sacramento 128, San Francisco 215, Reno 25 skirose.com

TAHOE DONNER CROSS COUNTRY SKI CENTER VOTED #2

BEST XC SKI AREA

IN NORTH AMERICA

BY USA TODAY

Lake Tahoe’s premier XC ski area Over 100km of groomed trails across 2,800 acres of diverse terrain

300+ days of annual sunshine Pristine grooming for skating and classic skiing State-of-the-art lodge including organic cafe + bar

VISIT TAHOEDONNER.COM/XC FOR MORE INFO

Twin Bridges Avg Snowfall 460" Skiable Acres 2000 Vertical Drop 2212' Lifts 14 Trails 46 Terrain Parks 6 Scheduled Opening Day Dec 1 (Scheduled) Miles to Major Cities Sacramento 83, San Francisco 170 sierraattahoe.com

Big Bear Lake Avg Snowfall 100” Skiable Acres 240 Vertical Drop 1200' Lifts 16 Trails 26 Terrain Parks 6 Opening Day Nov 16 Miles to Major Cities Los Angeles 100 bigbearmountainresort.com

Squaw Valley | Alpine Meadows

TAG US IN YOUR RIDE & SKI POSTS! #ASJ FACEBOOK @ASJmag INSTAGRAM @adventuresportsjournal

Squaw Valley & Alpine Meadows Avg Snowfall 450" Skiable Acres 6000+ Vertical Drop 2850' Lifts 42 Trails 270+ Terrain Parks 6 Opening Day Nov 18 Miles to Major Cities Reno 42, Sacramento 96, San Francico 196 squawalpine.com

Sugar Bowl Resort

Norden Avg Snowfall 500"+ Skiable Acres 1650 Vertical Drop 1500’ Lifts 12 Trails 105 Terrain Parks 3 Opening Day Nov 30 Miles to Major Cities San Jose 210, Reno 45 sugarbowl.com www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com

15

EPiC: Environmental Partnership Campaign

WINTER WONDERLAND

Winter Wildlands Alliance protects national forests for quiet winter recreation

C

By Leonie Sherman

alifornia is ground zero for a process called Winter Travel Planning, which will regulate snowmobile use in national forests for the first time in our country’s history. The Over Snow Vehicle (OSV) plan implemented by the US Forest Service (USFS) in 2015 requires the USFS to analyze all areas in the forest that get snow and designate where motorized vehicles are appropriate and where they aren’t. Five national forests in California will set a precedent for the rest of the country when they become the first to complete their OSV plans by the end of 2019. Plumas National Forest’s comment period is open until December 10, while draft plans are in the final stages on the Stanislaus, Eldorado, Tahoe and Lassen National Forests. Boise, Idaho-based Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA), with staff members spread across the snowbelt from Idaho to California, is largely responsible for this monumental shift that will create more quiet places to play in winter.

WWA rose from the ashes of a burned backcountry ski hut. In Wood River Valley, halfway between Boise and Pocatello, conflict between motorized and non-motorized winter travelers boiled over in the 1990s when some snowmobilers torched a ski hut. The USFS sat down with both groups and explained that if they couldn’t figure out a way to work together they would come up with a plan that nobody liked. Snowmobilers were already organized; backcountry skiers got organized in a hurry. Together they wrote the country’s very first snowmobile regulations.

They called it the Snow Pact and it put aside some areas and corridors for motorized use while preserving other areas for non-motorized recreation. “Those designations mean everyone can get out and enjoy public lands, but we aren’t all on top of each other trying to do everything in the same place,” explains WWA Policy Directory Hilary Eisen.

The Snowlands Network in California and the Coloradobased group called Backcountry Snowsports Initiative (BSI) wanted to do the same thing in their home states and realized they could accomplish more by working together. The original three groups are still active, but since incorporation in 2000, WWA has grown to include 40 grassroots groups in 16 states, including six in California. From Vermont to Alaska, New Mexico to 16 ASJ — Dec 2018 / Jan 2019

Idaho, anywhere there’s snow, a community of backcountry lovers and public land, WWA is there.

As their size has grown, so has their range of activities.

In addition to their policy and advocacy work, WWA puts on the Backcountry Film Festival that raises money for their local partners. They also designed a SnowSchool curriculum to teach experiential snow science to school kids all across the snowbelt.

“Our film festival brings people together to celebrate and enjoy the backcountry community,” says Melinda Quick, WWA’s Backcountry Film Festival Manager. “We keep the licensing fee really inexpensive because our goal is to make sure each of these groups can raise some money.” Last year they raised just under $200,000 nationally. Films range from slickly produced powder porn to homegrown character-driven films. Their film festival season runs from November through early May and includes a Night of Stoke at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market trade show every January. Interest from Australia and Chile extends the season. This year’s festival includes an exclusive cut of Jeremy Jones’ Ode to Muir, where he goes into the John Muir Wilderness and shreds on his snowboard. “We helped him get the permits for his adventure,” says Dave Page, WWA’s Mammoth Lakesbased Advocacy Director. “His film really demonstrates

This page, top to bottom: Winter Wildlands Alliance ambassador Caroline Gleich under her own power (Kt Miller); Winter Wildlands Alliance ambassadors Caroline Gleich and Brody Leven and friends defending public lands at the Utah State Capital (WWA). Opposite page, clockwise from top: Talking winter recreation planning with Colorado’s Backcountry Snowsports Initiative (David Page); Studying snowpack with Mammoth Elementary SnowSchool students (David Page); Backcountry Film Festival tour screening in Mammoth Lakes (David Page).

that you don’t need to go to Alaska to get into really big ; wilderness mountains.”

Page helped get WWA’s SnowSchool going in Mammoth three years ago with local grassroots partner Friends of the Inyo. Last year they took every fifth grader in Mammoth snowshoeing. “Half the fifth graders in town never get out into the forest,” explains Page. But for one day the entire class goes trudging through the forest on snowshoes, digging pits, learning about hydrology, avalanches and how the snowpack relates to the water that comes out of their taps. “They get cold and wet and they love it!” Page says. Last year they broadened the curriculum to begin in the autumn with a classroom unit

“A lot of recreationists don’t understand what’s at stake, and getting involved in something so controversial and complicated can be intimidating. But as the stakes get higher, people can see the threat more clearly. It’s our job to show them how they can get involved.”

about watersheds followed by a field trip to a snowpack monitoring site. A website lets students check snow accumulation throughout the season. This year they’re expanding the curriculum to follow snowpack into the spring and include students from Bishop, 40 miles south.

WWA sponsors 60 different SnowSchool sites and has served over 30,000 students.

Sites and operations vary — some run all season and have their own campus while others last a week, a single day or just a

few hours. “The curriculum is pretty much plug and play, so teachers love it,” Page explains. “This is an easy way to address problems like kids getting less science education, or less time outside. And since it fits with state-based standards, everybody gets pretty excited about it.”

In addition to education and celebration, WWA gets into the policy weeds to create more quiet places for snow lovers to play. After unmanaged recreation was recognized as one of the biggest threats

to national forests in 2005, the USFS came out with a Travel Management Plan. Each forest was required to designate routes and corridors that would be open to motorized use. Any area not specifically designated for motorized vehicles was then closed to them. “Prior to that if an area wasn’t specifically closed to motorized vehicles then it was open to them. So the whole paradigm shifted after that ruling,” explains WWA Executive Director Mark Menlove. “But snowmobiles were exempt from the ruling.”

WWA led the effort to change that.

“We went back to the forest service and explained, we know circumstances are different in winter, we understand that larger areas will be open to snowmobiles in winter than are open to wheeled vehicles in summer, but it’s still national forest service duty to manage those vehicles, whatever the season.”

When a petition failed to yield results, they filed a lawsuit. The federal court district of Idaho decided that the USFS needed to manage winter travel the same way they manage summer travel and in 2015 the USFS issued new national guidelines for OSVs. “Just getting that process in place was a huge victory for us, and for human-powered recreation,” says Menlove.

WWA finds that snow sports in Alaska and California are hardest hit by climate change. Scientists in Nevada monitoring snowpack in the Sierra Nevada have documented snow line in the range of light moving up an average of 1,500 ft over the past decade. “The areas where we can ski and snowmobile are a lot smaller than they used to be,” explains Eisen. “If conflict was an issue 20 years ago, what will it look like 20 years from now, when the total area we have to play in is much smaller? How do we plan for that?”

Despite the looming specter of climate change, apathy is the biggest challenge for WWA. “Getting people involved in public lands management is kind of like getting someone to vote,” says Eisen. “You can register them and educate them about the issues, but ultimately they have to go out and vote.” Eisen is working on cultivating a team of ambassadors — athletes, guides and teachers who already have their own followings — to amplify WWA’s message of public lands stewardship and activism.

“A lot of recreationists don’t understand what’s at stake, and getting involved in something so controversial and complicated can be intimidating,” she says.

“But as the stakes get higher, people can see the threat more clearly. It’s our job to show them how they can get involved.”

www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com

17

Adam Ü

Traveling with the world’s best adventurers from the crags, to the slopes, and to the sea

By Chris Van Leuven

As a teen, Adam Ü learned to navigate the inner circles of the Bay Area’s climbing elite who took him to competitions, provided places to stay when on the road, and showed him the finest crags around. Later he joined the elite world of backcountry skiing. Today he’s a marine biologist, pro skier, musician, and full-time globetrotter.

Mickey’s Beach, California, summer 1994.

Waves roll in from the Pacific, the waters pooling into a mix of green and white, filling the spaces between the enormous jagged rocks lying at the foot of the beach. A year before these rocks were attached to the upright 4560 foot tall overhanging wall above, but a winter storm slammed the wall so hard the outer shield of rock broke free, exposing another layer of stone.

Sixteen-year-old Adam Ü is standing on the jagged platform, his gaze fixed on the wall before him, toward a line of new bolts placed in the scar of the fallen rock.

He visualizes the sequence of holds—crimps, slopers, Gastons—and plays out the moves with his hands and arms like a shadow boxer. He’s dressed in climbing shoes so tight that his balled up toes press hard against the toe box. As he starts off the ground, his long hair flies free in the wind.

His peers root him on. “Go Adam!” they call out over the pounding seas. In a balance of determination, fluidity and power, he climbs through the sequences, releasing screams during the hardest moves like something out of the movie Karate Kid. Twenty-four years ago, this is how Adam spent his youth: at the beach, or in a climbing gym close to his home in Mill Valley, either in San Rafael or in the East Bay 30 minutes away. In one of those locations he would connect with his crew, some around his own age, others

This page, top to bottom: Adam Ü skiing

home as the sun sets behind Mt. Baker, winter 2017 (Kevin McHugh); It beats a cubicle! Adam’s summer office on the flying bridge of the NOAA ship Oscar Elton Sette somewhere in the Hawaiian EEZ, summer 2017 (Greg Sanders).

22 ASJ — Dec Dec/Jan 18 20182014 / Jan 2019

decades older. These friends shared with him the intricate sequences required to ascend the rocks in world-famous Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra. Under their tutelage, he always knew where to stay, who to meet up with, and where to find the best places to climb.

Most of his crew weren’t dirtbag climbers with no direction or income; many worked jobs in San Francisco and Oakland, balancing their careers and activities.

Through them he learned that climbing was more than a sport, it was a lifestyle.

In the ensuing years he would join these friends everywhere, crashing on a couch in Los Angeles one weekend for a comp, the next crawling into his sleeping bag in the dirt at Owens River Gorge outside of Bishop.

By 16 he was so immersed in the world of climbing, that he decided to finish his senior year at the boarding high school CRMS (Colorado Rocky Mountain School) in Carbondale, Colorado, a mere 45 minutes from America’s most famous sport crag: Rifle. Not only was CRMS one of the top rated schools for outdoor pursuits in the country, it also had a competitive climbing team and coach, and he believed training with them would make him better and stronger—and become the best climber he could be.

When Adam got to Colorado for his final year of high school he found the climbing team had disbanded (it came back a few years after he graduated—ed.) meaning there was no coach to arrange off-campus trips, leaving only the rudimentary artificial wall in the school’s barn to train. He needed a new sport (the school requires all students to participate), so he joined the telemark ski team since that was what his climbing friends had done back in California.

“Up to then I had skied only one day and snowboarded one day,” Adam says. “I had no idea what telemarking

He logged ninety days on the slopes that winter, and by the time he graduated, he was so hooked on skiing that it had mostly replaced his love of climbing. was, but I knew many of my climbing friends back in California were ‘telemark skiers’ in the winter. If that’s what climbers did, then that’s what I’d do,” he told Adventure Sports Journal from his house in Glacier, Washington, located near the base of the ski area Mt. Baker. “It was a giant slice of humble pie.”

At CRMS, he chose the telemarking racing team over the backcountry ski team because it aligned with his competitive background: “I knew to compete there’d be lots of reps and learning how to move under coaching and training.” Once out on the snow, “I was like, wait, this is fucking hard. I had no idea what I was doing.”

Everyone on the team had more experience than him, making him the weakest link, but that didn’t discourage him. He logged 90 days on the slopes that winter, and by the time he graduated, he was so hooked on skiing that it had mostly replaced his love of climbing.

For Adam’s senior project at CRMS, in 1996, he chose to pursue marine studies. He reached out to several organizations but the only one that replied was the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island,

At 18, with merely ninety days of skiing under his belt and now thirty days studying marine biology, he knew he wanted a life spent on the mountains, rocks and seas: He wanted to be a skier, climber, and whale researcher.

This page, clockwise from top left : Tess Golling and Adam Ü earning their turns somewhere in the North Cascades backcountry, winter 2017 (Kevin McHugh); A squirrel’s eye view of Adam in his preferred winter habitat, winter 2017 (Kevin McHugh); Every once in a while Adam’s whale research and ski worlds collide, such as this image from Saipan, winter 2018 (Marie Hill); Adam on small boat marine mammal survey around Pearl and Hermes Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, summer 2017 (Chris Hoefer).

Washington, located north of the Olympic Peninsula. At this time they were stationed in the Bahamas, which is where Adam joined them.

For one month he studied whales and dolphins, spending his days in a field station and on research vessels. At the end of the internship the director asked if he would join them for the summer in Washington. After he graduated from CRMS he moved to San Juan Island for the summer. “I did a bit of everything, from boat driving to coordinating volunteers, to boat and house maintenance, to photo developing in the darkroom, to

data entry,” Adam says. “From the most mundane tasks to taking pictures of killer whales.” By summer’s end, he’d fallen in love with his work on the ocean.

At 18, with merely 90 days of skiing under his belt and now another 90 days studying marine biology, he knew he wanted a life spent on the mountains, rocks and seas: He wanted to be a skier, climber, and whale researcher.

That autumn he enrolled in Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, eager to earn a degree in biology. Within three weeks he became discouraged. “My professor told me to choose a different major. To this day it pisses me off

to think about what she said. Don’t tell something like that to a starry-eyed freshman during their first weeks in school. It was totally deflating.”

After that brutal suggestion from his teacher, his focus in school waned and he began spending more time with his crew near Bend, Oregon, on the slopes and in the backcountry of Mounts Hood and Bachelor, as well as on world-class sport climbs at Smith Rocks. He tried changing majors. The longer he stayed, the less interest he had in his studies and by his third semester he dropped out. Later that same year, in the middle of winter, he moved to Bend. Unable to get work on the mountain due to his long hair and all the jobs in town being filled, he continued skiing. That time on the slopes got him connected with a crew of ski racers that invited him on a five-week-long road trip to telemark races in the US.

www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com

19

“I liked how the telemark skiing world was like the climbing world, especially in those formative years.”

— Adam Ü

This page: Two of Adam’s favorite aspects of skiing are smashing powder (left) and taking flight (right), winter 2017 (Kevin McHugh).

“I liked how the telemark skiing world was like the climbing world, especially in those formative years,” he says. The group shared with him the secrets of getting reduced price or free lift tickets, and where to couch surf so he could live on the cheap while skiing at the best areas in the country. With them he saw Big Mountain, Montana for US Nationals, Stevens Pass, Washington for the Pacific Northwest Regional Championships, and Salt Lake City, Utah for the World Cup Finals and Championships.

The following summer he reconnected with the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, where he continued to work with the scientists studying killer whales.

20 ASJ — Dec 2018 / Jan 2019

At the end of the field season he moved to Whistler, BC, to spend a full season focused on skiing. While in Whistler he skied and trained with members of the Canadian National Telemark Team and traveled with them to compete in World Cup races in the US. After a full season spent skiing and now three semesters out of school, he was ready to give school another shot. That autumn, Adam enrolled in Western Washington University (WWU) in Bellingham, where his professors supported him in becoming a marine biologist. He also connected with the professional skier and photographer Carl Skoog (1959-2005).

“Once I started skiing with Carl, I really started to see that the skiing world had more to offer than racing. We started going on incredible backcountry adventures and he introduced me to my first sponsors with companies like Patagonia and K2.”

Over the next several years he repeated the cycle of going to school, skiing in the winters, and working on research vessels throughout the summers. But between skiing and research there was little time to spend at the crags, and “sadly,” he says, climbing faded from his lifestyle. “It was a drag. There wasn’t a gym in Bellingham at the time so there was no place to train.

The rocks were all soaking wet or covered in snow in the winter and in the summer, when they were in prime condition, I was on a boat.”

After he graduated from WWU he began picking up work on research vessels for

the US Forest Service and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

He continued his education, earning his masters degree in marine ecology in Scotland in 2009.

In the winter of 2005 he and Carl traveled through India and Europe, one month in each location. Later that year they planned to reconnect in Argentina but in October, Carl, then only 46, died in a fall while ski mountaineering on Argentina’s third highest peak, Cerro Mercedario (6,770m). “He was a hero of mine—badass ski photographer and ski mountaineer,” Adam says.

While an undergrad at WWU, Adam’s expert-level skiing coupled with publicity from his photographer friends gained him the attention of sponsors; this led to companies giving him gear, covering his travels, and picking up the tab for his races.

Fourteen years later he’s still doing the same thing.

He’s since traveled all over the world following his passions. To date, he’s been on the cover of over 40 ski magazines worldwide, including Ski, Skiing, Backcountry, and Telemark Skier, to name but a few. He was on seven magazine

Clockwise from top: Adam Ü making one of his signature tele turns, winter 2018 (Kevin McHugh); prepping gear in the neighborhood with legendary NW snowboarder Ryan Davis, winter 2017 (Kevin McHugh); Adam Ü often brings his sense of humor to the mountains, winter 2017 (Kevin McHugh).

www.bridgedale.com

Your All Season Resort

Over the river and Imagine through the woods...

covers this year alone. His sponsors so they can become valuable members of include Lib Tech Ski, Backcountry Access, the team.”

LEKI, Zeal Optics and a host of others.

He describes a scene from the previous Walking with him this summer through week when he was skiing in a terrain park his quiet neighborhood in Glacier, located on Mt. Bachelor for a shoot. He watched an hour’s drive from Bellingham, he shows as a skier just over half his age threw me Mt. Baker through the clouds, pointing himself so hard at the biggest jumps to out lines he and his girlfriend, Tess Golling, get the shot that he spent part of the day Your All Season Resort have skied. The two pro skiers have lived crashing and slamming on the flats. That together for six years. Skis, bindings, night his young friend had to take an ice gloves, hats and ski helmets fill the first bath to bring down the swelling on his floor of their house. Adam keeps the bruised and battered body; Adam focused upstairs, dedicated to music, filled with on smaller features and made it through speakers, mics and everything needed the day unscathed. As a professional, he for rehearsing with his (now defunct) knows you can’t force a shot, but he’ll metal stoner rock group Metalmücil and stay out for as long as it takes and jump his current group, the Season Passholes, big when conditions are right. He knows where he sings and plays guitar. when to turn it on and when to back off Sorensen’s Sorensen’ to Sorensen’s Resort you’ll to keep...injury-free, and freely passes that go for Adam’s black hair still extends down ... to Sorensen’ s Resort you’ll go for knowledge on to the next generation. “I skiing for Your All Season Resort to the center of his back, but today gray snowshoeing, cross-country for bre bre definitely admire the younger generation’s fishing, hiking, biking or just plain peeks out in wisps behind his ears. Now Over the river and or a visit to the nearby abilities and many of them are super 40, Adam sees that his role in skiing relaxing.

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21

Pink and Purple Barrels Digital Artist Robbie Crawford

By Chris Van Leuven

By capturing the light inside his local surf break and posting his shots on Instagram, professional GoPro content creator Robbie Crawford has gained some 450,000 followers—enough that he’s able to make a living at it. It’s that passion for being in the ocean that’s kept him on track and away from a life of the drug abuse that’s divided his family.

T

hirteen is an impressionable age. It’s that time when adulthood is creeping up and decisions are being made that can affect the rest of your life. To Robbie Crawford, now 43, those were the days he found the local surf break near his home in Huntington Beach called the Wedge, a surf location that contains such beauty that he’s been photographing there for decades. The Wedge is “one of the heaviest shore breaks on the planet,” the former professional bodyboarder says. “People break their necks there all the time. People die there too. It gets really shallow at the end of the wave—two-inches deep.”

As a teen, Robbie bodyboarded there obsessively and made it on the cover of Bodyboarder International Magazine when he was 16. He’s since been on half a dozen covers. But there was more to the barrel than just perfect curves and a perfect ride. During sunrise and sunset it fills with light.

“It’s like a photo studio,” he says while driving from San Francisco down to Southern California. “In the morning and evening light goes into the barrel and it lights up with these crazy colors—purple and pink. Being able to capture that is what got me stoked on photography.”

Then comes the punch: “If it wasn’t for that wave I’d probably be living inland and cooking meth. Who knows?

That wave—it’s been my life since I was 13.”

“Back in those days, my mom once guilt tripped me into threatening local drug dealers into giving her heroin. Or I’d call the cops. She thought she would die without it.” From there it only got worse.

Born in Long Beach, when Robbie was 14, two weeks before Christmas—right after his mom nearly burned the house down from a lit cigarette—he walked in on her

a job at Penguin’s Frozen Yogurt, Subway, and Round Table. Meanwhile, he continued to improve his craft as a bodyboarder.

“I knew not to ever fuck with drugs that were addictive.

But I did mess around with hallucinogens and went to raves and did ecstasy at parties until 6 a.m. Those drugs took away fear and made people talk … it helped me heal a bit and it made me want to be a better person.

“I decided I wanted to learn to be this person I discovered, to live without fear, and to do it soberly. I got what I needed from them and I haven’t done drugs in 20 years.”

As his teens came to a close, Robbie began to teach himself skills. He learned all the programs in the Adobe Creative Suite, starting with Illustrator. HTML and Flash came next. He says without developing these skills he’d likely still be banging nails or working at Round Table.

By his early twenties, Robbie found himself on the tail end of his bodyboarding career. Then he blew out his knee.

His mother, now clean and sober and working in network engineering, helped him get a job at her company, where he worked for two years before he quit over differences with his boss.

Around this time he and girlfriend, Michelle, fell in love and have remained committed to one another for the past 15 years.

From there, in 2008, Robbie went into freelance multimedia development, which he continues to do today, but not full time.

In 2010 Robbie’s friend convinced him to buy a GoPro camera and mount it to the front of his stand-up surfboard at the Wedge. When Robbie saw his footage he was so unimpressed with his surf style that he decided to start shooting his friends instead. That’s when he “If it wasn’t for that wave I’d probably be living inland and started holding his breath cooking meth. Who knows? That wave—it’s been my life underwater and poking the camera up through waves since I was 13.” – Robbie Crawford using a piece of PVC pipe.

By putting the camera on a stick, he could poke the lens out the water like a submarine shooting heroin in the bathroom while her new husband periscope—and the results looked great. From there he smoked crack next to her. Robbie had enough and he began uploading the images to social media and tagging walked out. He started his life on his own right then. His GoPro. Soon the company called him out for photo of the mother already had a history of alcohol abuse and was a day on their Facebook account and they approached him drug addict for six years before going clean. with free camera gear.

To make a living, Robbie lied about his age to get work In 2012 Robbie earned $2,500 from GoPro for winning in construction and manual labor jobs, eventually taking their photo contest. He took the money and went to Hawaii 22 ASJ — Dec 2018 / Jan 2019

This page, top to bottom: A recent self-portrait using the GoPro Fusion; One of Crawford’s first GoPro selfies from many years ago.

and kept shooting with what he had instead of upgrading to a full-size DLSR. “I don’t call myself a photographer, I call myself a digital artist,” Robbie says. “I just love that camera, I just love it.”

That same year he scored his first magazine cover with one of his shots. The following year GoPro hired him on as an ambassador. Today, “When I wake up I’m either shooting, editing my Instagram, educating people, or answering questions on Instagram. I’ve taken probably five days off over the past six years.”

By posting habitually to Instagram with his vibrant and colorful shots—almost surreal—his audience grew quickly.

Once he hit 10,000 followers, Instagram put his images on the Popular Page bringing him in hundreds of new followers a day. Soon his following grew to 100,000. And it kept growing.

Then tragedy struck. In 2015, he got the news that his mom was sick and dying of pancreatic cancer. “I remember the doctor said she had two weeks to live,” he says.

Robbie watched his mother slowly wind down in the hospital. For nine months Robbie and his wife were there every night. “When she passed away I went through a lot of being pissed off— that’s a heavy process,” he says.

“Getting through it was way more gnarly than I thought it would be, but I made it through.”

He continued: “During that time I couldn’t shoot surfing because I didn’t want to be in the water and away from my phone.” To keep his followers entertained he captured

This page, above: The Wedge, in Newport Beach, is one of the best known shorebreaks on the planet and has been Crawford’s local surf spot for the last 30 years. This shot of Rudy Palmboom was taken about a hundred yards north at the less popular area of the beach nicknamed Cylinders for the spiraling cylinders of water that spin down the sandbar, breaking in just inches of water. This page, top middle: When photographing waves it’s the subtle intricacies that make certain images stand out above the rest. “In this case, what my eyes were drawn to were the surface lines wrapping perfectly around the exit of the barrel complimented by the Champagne colored light.” This page, bottom middle: This was Crawford’s first time experimenting with slow shutter drone photography. “I really didn’t even know if it was possible as the drone would need to be still enough so that the static elements would remain sharp and only the movement of the breaking waves would reveal a slight motion blur creating a sort of dreamy effect. The concept worked better then expected and I really liked how the two children were standing in the shoreline creating a feeling of surreality.” This page, top far right: It’s fairly rare that we get water with this kind of clarity in southern California, so it’s not often that waves look like windows into the sea.

Opposite page, top far bottom: Cory Juneau frontside flip at a short lived spot ... the pipes are now in the dirt.

skateboarding instead, but that didn’t help his online presence. Soon his audience engagement dropped, but his core followers have stayed the same. The daily or weekly messages he gets from those trusted peers keep his stoke high: “ground-breaking footage,” a friend wrote him recently, “Insane.”

When we talked recently Robbie had just returned from a week in Waco, Texas, where he was capturing wave pool surfers for a GoPro athlete video. Next, it was San Francisco

at the surf shop Proof Lab where he gave away cameras to kids through a raffle and other games. It was also during this event where Robbie shared his first virtual reality edit using GoPro’s latest camera called the Fusion ($699), the company’s most expensive model.

“It captures the world around you in a way I have never seen before. For sure this is the future of photos and video.”

For the last six months, Robbie’s been compiling footage with the Fusion at spots like Wedge with the goal of making a true 360-degree film inside the barrel of a wave.

Recently he got special glasses that allow him to view ocean footage in virtual reality.

Adding to the experience, integrated headphones amplify the waves.

While watching his video recently, Robbie

thought back to his mother in the hospital and he wished that he had the chance to show her his world one more time before she passed. Though they’d reconciled their differences, she had never experienced what Robbie felt in the water. He wanted to share with her the feeling of standing on a board in the Wedge with the barrel closing out behind her.

“I also wish I could have put the camera in the center of our living room on a family night when she was healthy and strong.

This way we could have captured those moments and relived them forever.”

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23

That Kick-Ass Little Old Lady

Menka Belgal/Saveria Mazzola Tilden

Joanne Schwartz’s Lifetime of Adventure

By Leonie Sherman

Four foot ten with sparkling eyes and an effervescent smile, Joanne Schwartz was the first person to leave the campground every morning and the last person to return. While I was sitting on a deserted beach playing tin whistle, she was scaling the second highest mountain on the island, a 12 mile hike with fifteen hundred feet of elevation gain. The next day she took off for a 16 mile ramble in search of wildflowers. Over dinner she shared stories of kayaking the south pacific and an expedition to Mexico’s Copper Canyon. I crawled off to my tent while she was still laughing with the boys. She’s 70 years old.

Who is this “Little Old Lady” kicking all our asses and making it look fun? we asked each other the next morning as she shouldered her pack and strolled off to the east. Turns out her fitness and enthusiasm are the result of a lifetime of exploration and discipline. She’s not drinking a magic elixir, but she has a recipe for living a bold wild life.

Joanne’s curiosity about the natural world began as a child but blossomed in 1985, when she posted a note at an REI looking for local kayaking companions who could help her develop hard skills. Six people responded. Five of them were interested in having a good time on the ocean. One was interested in the intricacies of kayak surfing, how to roll and stay safe in foul conditions. His name was Doug and while learning to navigate tricky currents and rocky landings together they fell in love.

They began embarking on kayaking expeditions around the world. REI and other venues were proud to host slide shows about their trips: Sea Kayaking Odyssey, Kayaking Tonga, Fiji: Culture

By Kayak, Paddling the Southwest, Trip Planning, Paddling the Tropics, Kayak Camping and others. After every show they were mobbed by people who wanted to join them on their next adventure, but few had the necessary skills. So in 1987 they started a kayak guiding service called Southwind. For twenty years they taught safety skills, led expeditions, and rented and sold kayaks to a growing fan club. By the time they sold their company and retired in 2006 they’d inspired and empowered thousands.

One day I convinced Joanne to sit down long enough to share some of the wisdom she’s gained from over five decades of pursuing her passions.

What sparked your lifetime pursuit of wilderness adventures?

When I was a kid my family didn’t do 24 ASJ — Dec 2018/Jan 2019

outdoor adventures. We’d go to the beach and have a barbecue in a barbecue pit. But in college I studied chemistry and the guys I was studying with started taking me on backpacking trips. I saw things I’d never seen before, experienced the world in a way I never had. I started opening up to the natural world and that love has grown every day since then. Other girls in the dorm were into dating and fancy clothes, but adventuring and being outdoors captured my imagination and my heart.

How do you maintain it all- your drive, your fitness, your focus?

A lot of people are much more interested in having fun than building skills. Doug and I work really hard at staying competent, which is skill-based. Over the decades we’ve developed really good skills for kayaking, backpacking, snowboarding, mountain biking and photography, as well having competence with wilderness medicine. That focus makes us who we are; it makes the lives we’ve led possible.

To stay physically fit I do four or five tough strength and cardio workouts at the gym every week. Staying mentally fit is an active pursuit, just like physical strength.

That means getting a good night’s sleep, doing all sorts of meditations and cognitive approaches to dealing with things that are stressors, keeping myself grounded so I can handle the issues that life throws at all of us.

Doug and I are also really committed to having quality gear and maintaining it regularly, so we know the gear won’t be a limiting factor in our adventures. That’s essential to being free.

How do you stay so stoked?

I get most excited about citizen science and environmental conservation projects.

For example, Doug and I spent four weeks in Montana, censusing nesting Common Loons in 20 alpine lakes. And we spent over a month in Northern California’s

redwoods GPS-mapping boundaries of the old growth forests. We came up with new data that will help redefine management plans for those areas. These projects could be on our own or could be volunteering with non-profits like Earthwatch, or with the Forest Service, Park Service and other government agencies. They might be just a day or two long studying clams, plankton or inter-tidal life. Backpacking and kayaking have always been a cool way to get to amazing paces that I want to learn more about, but they’re just a way to travel, not the goal itself.

Opposite Page, clockwise from top left: Giant Ganoderma mushroom, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, CA; Above Kintla Lake, Glacier National Park, MT; Canyoneering to Virgin River, Zion National Park, UT; Kayaking at Aitutaki atol, Cook Islands. Photos by Doug Schwartz

knowledge of it is something anybody can do and they can do it while they are out having fun. Taking a trip for habitat restoration or for citizen science is just as much fun and much more rewarding than doing a trip for pure pleasure. You’re contributing to better understanding and

“I hope more people can look and touch and listen to the places they love and learn what’s going on there, whether it’s looking for mushrooms to eat, or studying intertidal life or counting old growth trees.”

What projects excite you lately?

I’ve been fascinated by mushrooms since the 1960’s. I’m just starting a new project studying the fungi of the Channel Islands.

When I hike around the California Channel Islands, I’m always wondering about the mushrooms there and as far as I know nobody has ever done a thorough study of them and how they relate to the endemic trees and plants. I was at a mushroom conference recently in Salem Oregon, and I met the President of the North American Mycoflora Prioject. After talking with him and submitting an application, his group came up with the initial funding for me to start a genetic study of the fungi of the Channel Islands. I’m so excited! There are still a lot of hoops to jump through- I need to get permission to collect from the Nature Conservancy and National Park Service- but I might be able to pull it off.

Any final thoughts for our readers?

Exploring the natural history of different parts of the world and contributing to our

management of these amazing places, and you’re also getting to explore a bit of the natural world much more closely than anyone else does. To get around a fallen 20-foot thick, 350-foot long redwood trunk in an overgrown old-growth forest with no trail is an adventure. The citizen science stuff and that kind of exploring is amazingly fulfilling and so much fun.

I want to leave people motivated to go out and explore at a deeper level than a simple mountain bike ride down a hill.

I hope more people can look and touch and listen to the places they love and learn what’s going on there, whether it’s looking for mushrooms to eat, or studying intertidal life or counting old growth trees.

There are so many ways to contribute and give back, but it starts with curiosity and wanting to be engaged. Under every rock that my mountain bike passes by there’s a newt or a salamander, a tarantula or some cool critter. Find a way to get engaged with the places you love. Figure out a way to give back.

Dwight Follien

Photo: Menka Belgal

Meet the dedicated and gregarious volunteer behind the Groveland Trail Heads & Groveland Grind

Photo: Saveria Mazzola Tilden

By Michele Charboneau

D

wight Follien is all about giving back to the sport he credits for literally saving his life. Like many kids, Follien grew up riding bikes, but priorities shifted as he got older. He rediscovered the magic of two wheels in 1993 when battling an excessive alcohol habit. He reflects, “I saw a mountain bike and thought it was cool … so I bought one and soon after put myself in a recovery program. Two of the best things I’ve ever done in my life.”

Bikes came to the rescue again nearly 20 years later when Follien lost his job, and with it, his health insurance. Significant medical issues ensued, including complications from Type 1 diabetes, gastroparesis, and neuropathy of both wrists. Due to unfortunate circumstances beyond his control, Follien became severely depressed, living off the generosity of friends and family.

One of these friends was Mark Davidson — then the president of Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC) — who encouraged Follien to get involved with the club’s inaugural Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival. Follien says, “I really needed something to do, something to inspire me ... a way to give back.”

Shortly after that, MBOSC’s main trail builder, Drew Perkins, invited Follien to assist with a new trail project, the Emma McCrary trail. The early stages of trail development made an impression on Follien. “You learn to absorb the land before flagging, before anything. Just go out and walk it, learn it. I really enjoyed experiencing what was out there, truly ‘seeing’ it, and knowing a sustainable trail would someday be there.”

Although MBOSC gave him purpose when he needed it most, Follien was unable to remain in Santa Cruz. He set his sights on Groveland, a small town near Yosemite National Park where his parents own a home. Funds from a benefit raffle spearheaded by graphic designer Kyle Maxwell, and supported by Santa Cruz Bicycles and MTBR, enabled Follien to repay debt and make the move. “I knew Groveland was a place I could put my experiences with MBOSC to work while also helping my parents out at a time they needed it, so it was the perfect transition.”

Follien knew that mountain biking trails can bring economic benefits to a rural

community while helping local youth and serving as fuel breaks in wildfire-prone terrain. He also knew there were plenty of US Forest Service (USFS) dirt roads in the area, but not much singletrack. So, he set out to make mountain biking trails.

Soon after his move, Follien met Kevin Galos, a local firefighter who shared his vision. Not long after that, Dusty Vaughn, at that time the USFS Recreation Specialist, invited Follien to present his vision to himself and USFS Public Affairs Specialist Vern Shumway. Impressed, they handed him a number of area maps and asked him to find a potential zone for trails — a dream come true for Follien.

The ideal location turned out to be a 500-acre failed tree plantation-turnedunmanaged fuel break between the Stanislaus National Forest and Groveland’s Pine Mountain Lake community. The area’s first mountain bike organization — the Groveland Trail Heads — took root around this project, called the Ferretti NonMotorized Trail System.

The organization’s original board consisted of Follien, Galos, and Vaughn, along with Galos’ wife Ariel, Ryan Byrnes, Justin Nash, and Tom Wilson. (Tom Walker later joined the crew.) They envisioned world class mountain bike specific trails at Ferretti for all levels of riders, which would put Groveland on the map as a mountain biking destination. And of course, developing trails would revive a muchneeded fuel break.

With recent USFS approval to move forward with the project, efforts now turn to raising funds and recruiting a volunteer base. Groveland Trail Heads is also actively involved with multi-use trail projects in the area, such as the Rush Creek trail system and Long Gulch Ranch.

As if that’s not enough, the group is planning its second annual Groveland Grind, a mixed-terrain cycling adventure and festival that benefits Groveland trails.

The event, which is set for May 18, 2019, is in need of sponsors and volunteers.

Follien will be right in the thick of it all, volunteering his time and talent. “I need to keep busy and to keep giving back.

It’s crucial for my physical, mental and emotional health.”

Learn more about Groveland Trail Heads at grovelandtrailheads.org.

Have you been to The Other Side?

Sand Dunes, Death Valley

The Owens River

The Other Side Of California.

Where today’s adventurers find their edge. Death Valley and the Eastern Sierra encompass more dramatic mountain and desert scenery than any region in North America. The timeless towns of Big Pine, Bishop, Death Valley, Independence and Lone Pine offer endless backcountry, camping, mountaineering, and majestic mountain vistas.

www.theothersideofcalifornia.com www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com 25 www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com 25

2018 SINGLE SPEED WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Perfecting the Shitshow Words by Kurt Gensheimer Photos by Dan Sharp

That donkey. That blasted donkey. Of course donkeys are known for being stubborn, but this particular donkey was downright iron-willed. I kept looking uphill through a dirt-hazed gaggle of crazy, costumed mountain bikers pedaling singlespeeds of different ratios, and all I kept seeing was the mane of that donkey continually gaining ground on me. The donkey’s pace was unrelenting, grinding the pedals of a mountain bike, refusing to give up or slow down, and all I could think of in that moment was how much sweat the guy in that donkey suit was yielding.

T

here’s an old saw in singlespeed circles that goes Also in the never-before category; in my 25 years of like this: if you ride a singlespeed in the woods mountain biking, never had I swallowed more dust than and nobody sees you, are you still cool? Well, what SSWC 2018. It was blinding. Literally. There were moments if there are 600 people riding singlespeeds in the woods where I couldn’t see five feet ahead, like a smokescreen and everybody sees you? Is it cool or is it just the most hiding a sea of carnage in my path. I felt like Cole Trickle in unforgettable shitshow of monumental proportions ever Days of Thunder, with the voice of Robert Duvall echoing conceived? After participating in the 2018 Singlespeed through my head.

World Championship (SSWC) on October 20 in Bend, “You can drive through it. I know it. I know it in my heart!”

Oregon, I can definitively say it is the latter.

The dust was laughable at times. I would actually just stop And when I say shitshow, I say it in the most endearing of and give riders in front of me a gap so I could have even 30 ways. There are shitshows that are full Type 3 Fun (never seconds of silt-free air to breathe. That is until another wall fun, not even in retrospect). Then there are shitshows of riders came charging around the corner behind me and I blending Type 1 Fun (always fun) with Type 2 Fun (not fun was forced to keep moving to avoid choking on even more in the moment, but fun in retrospect). SSWC 2018 was dust. I don’t even want to know the dirt equivalent of what equal parts Type 1 and Type 2 Fun, and with every great my lungs inhaled on that 40-mile voyage. event, a lot of it had to do with the course layout. It was a Of all the memories burned into my cranium that weekend, shitshow by design. the most lasting was a short section of trail involving a Bend has become internationally known for its vast diabolical hike-a-bike up a slope of volcanic scree, followed network of mountain bike trails measured in the hundreds by a pure, unadulterated, full-pucker, fall-line downhill dirt of miles, all rideable from downtown.

But SSWC “Never in my life had I been passed so dramatically. It course designers, legendary professional mountain bikers seemed as if the guy just no-braked the entire thing. And and Bend locals, Carl Decker the resulting video that spread like wildfire on social and Adam Craig, didn’t want media supported this observation, garnering 9,000 views locals or frequenters of Bend’s best singletracks to in a few days.” have an unfair advantage of familiarity. So they routed the race course far out from town, towards a little-known surf. Pepper in riders scattered everywhere walking their network of moto trails on private land to the northwest bikes downhill with dust so thick it gave new meaning near Sisters. Adding to the mystique, there was almost to the word “brown pow”. It was the land equivalent of no advance knowledge of the route by anyone, which is surfing a big outside breaking wave, threading the needle exactly what the organizers wanted. around dozens of paddlers caught off-guard.

And considering it hadn’t rained in weeks, with event day On the ascent, I couldn’t see what was coming, but I could a balmy 75 degrees, the impenetrable walls of dust Bend is hear cowbells and drums from a distance; a tell-tale sign known for was taken to an entirely new galaxy when 600 that you’re either near the top or close to something that’s mountain bikers were unleashed on miles of blown-out highly entertaining for spectators. When I rounded the moto trails and thousands of whoopdeedoos. Never before bend and saw the skyward scree slope march of humans had I gotten pangs of seasickness while riding with the with bikes on their shoulders, I knew it was going to be a constant undulations of earth under my tires. Never before little of both.

SSWC 2018, that is.

26 ASJ — Dec 2018 / Jan 2019

Top to bottom: The course included moto singletrack far out of town that few have ever ridden; That blasted donkey; Singlespeeders in Arms.

At the top of the five minute march that felt like a summertime bootpack mission, a conveniently placed aid station steeled riders for the gravity-aided portion to follow.

“Well that was definitely something,” I said to Adam Craig while chugging down a quick beer after the march skyward.

“This next section is really something,” responded Craig with his signature nonchalant smile. “Hang on.”

I pedaled past a sign that said Hospital Hill, then the plunge began.

It started out reasonable enough, then after a corner the singletrack turned to fall-line doubletrack, with riders scattered everywhere, most of whom were walking their bikes instead of risking injury in the blinding walls of dust. I pointed my rig downhill and went for it, riding a reasonable pace, surfing the bike around dozens of temporary pedestrians, trying to avoid hitting them. Just as I thought I was slaying the beast, I heard a “HEADS UP!” and a streak of red, gold, black and green went by me at ludicrous speed.

All I remember after that was brown blindness. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.

Top row, left to right: Costumes are not mandatory, but are highly encouraged; Gettin’ all NORBA on it. (The guy riding with elbows out). Bottom row, left to right: The very unofficially official finishers board, filled out as the riders came in; SSWC gives you wings.

A tall, lanky guy in full Rasta regalia, including crotch long dreadlocks, absolutely melted the fall-line drop. Never in my life had I been passed so dramatically.

It seemed as if the guy just no-braked the entire thing. And the resulting video that spread like wildfire on social media supported this observation, garnering 9,000 views in a few days. Here I was, thinking I was doing good by passing all the

walkers, then Reggae Shark went by me like I was going backwards. Good times.

That and the getting lost in the woods part, because no shitshow is complete without at least a few people on mindaltering drugs making wrong turns in the forest. Pro Tip: don’t just follow people at SSWC assuming they know where to go, because those people in front of you might be high on acid.

So where is the shitshow moving to next year? In SSWC tradition, there was a Friday evening Hosting Event to determine next year’s host location. Hosting Events always have competitive elements to determine the winner, but the elements almost

always involve anything except bikes. This year it involved beer quaffing and a regatta in the Deschutes River using boats made with cardboard bike boxes and duct tape.

Thanks to their ghetto-boat-fab skills and expert paddling technique, a crew from New York State took home the honors, however the yanks decided to transfer the honors to Slovenia.

Nothing is final yet, so it’s gonna either be in New York or Slovenia. Therefore, expect walls of dust to be replaced with shoeeating mud. But one thing is for sure, the folks in Bend know how to design a proper shitshow, one of the best I’ve ever had the privilege of participating in.

Savor The Adventure

™

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BIKING DECEMBER 6 — Tinsel-n-Tread / Santa Cruz / Fundraiser for Girls Rock. Enjoy food, drinks, a live DJ, sponsor booths & silent auction. / GirlsRock-MTB.com 26 — Low Gap / Mendocino County / Grasshopper Adventure Series #1. 43-mile cross/gravel bike race. / grasshopperadventureseries.com

JANUARY 1 — Registration for Epic Rides OffRoad Series Opens / Carson City OffRoad / EpicRides.com 11 — Rocks, Drops, Jumps & Berms / Redwood City / ASingleTrackMind.com 11-12 — Core Fundamentals / Santa Cruz / 1 or 2 day option / wheel lift & cornering day 2 / ASingleTrackMind.com

FEBRUARY 8 — Flow Riding/Technical Terrain / Marin (Tamarancho) / ASingleTrackMind.com 9-10 — 2-Day Core Fundamentals / Marin / wheel lifts & cornering day 2 / ASingleTrackMind.com

16 — Super Sweetwater / Mendocino County / Grasshopper Adventure Series #2. Mixed terrain cycling race. 73- & 52-mile options. grasshopperadventureseries.com

MISCELLANEOUS JANUARY 26 — Women’s Adventure Film Tour / Santa Cruz / Films showcase women from a variety of cultures and sports around the world. Presented by Patagonia Santa Cruz. / riotheatre.com

FEBRUARY 7 — Alpenglow Sports Winter Speaker Series / Olympic Village Squaw Valley / Caroline Gleich and Ski Mountaineering and Activism / AlpenglowSports.com 21 — Alpenglow Sports Winter Speaker Series / Olympic Village Squaw Valley / Climber Brittany Griffith / AlpenglowSports.com 21-24 — Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour - Santa Cruz / Santa Cruz / Films from the 43rd annual Banff Mountain Film Festival.

Benefits UCSC’s Wilderness Orientation Scholarship Fund. / recreation.ucsc.edu

RUNNING / WALKING

SNOW, cont.

DECEMBER

FEBRUARY

8 — Hark the Herald Half Marathon & 10K / Angel Island, San Francisco / Hilly loop / EnviroSports.com 9 — Jingle Bell Rock 5K / Santa Cruz / Plus kids’ 1K / Bring a toy for Toys for Tots / FinishLineProduction.com

FEBRUARY 24 — Surfer’s Path 10K & 5K / Capitola / Run or walk this scenic coastal course passing world famous breaks. Surfboard medals, event shirts and Capitola beach front finish / runsurferspath.com

SNOW DECEMBER Registration for The Great Ski Race is Open / Tahoe City to Truckee / See March 3 / TheGreatSkiRace.com 22 — Kirkwood Cross Country & Snowshoe Center / Kirkwood / SorensensResort.com

JANUARY 27 — Tahoe Rim Tour / Tahoe City / Spectacularly scenic 26 km point-topoint XC ski race and tour to Northstar / FarWestNordic.org

17 — Kirkwood Cross Country & Snowshoe Center / Kirkwood / SorensensResort.com

LOOKING AHEAD Mar 3 — The Great Ski Race / Tahoe City to Truckee / One of the largest Nordic ski races in the West & main fundraiser for the Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Team. / TheGreatSkiRace.com Mar 23 — Lake Sonoma MTB / Mendocino County / Grasshopper Adventure Series #3. 25-mile mountain bike race on Lake Sonomoa singletrack. grasshopperadventureseries.com Apr 11-14 — Sea Otter Classic / Monterey / World’s Premier Cycling Festival / SeaOtterClassic.com Apr 27 — Skaggs & Super Skaggs / Mendocino County / Grasshopper Adventure Series #4. 96-mile road or gravel options. grasshopperadventureseries.com May 4 — 4th Annual Santa Cruz Old Cabin Classic / Santa Cruz / Cross country mountain bike race at Wilder Ranch State Park. Benefits trail stewardship projects. / mbosc.org Continued on page 30 ...

March 3, 2019 · 9am Tahoe Nordic Search + Rescue Fundraiser

Shelley Fallon 2010

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THE

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28 ASJ — Dec 2018 / Jan 2019

A 9-dAy celebration of human powered sports including guided backcounty tours, nordic skiing, films & more. registrAtion opens dec. 15 alpenglowsports.com

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May 18 — Groveland Grind / Groveland / Gravel cycling adventure benefiting Groveland Trail Heads trail stewardship projects. / grovelandtrailheads.org May 11 — King Ridge Dirt Supreme / Mendocino County / Grasshopper Adventure Series #5. Road/gravel adventure cycling race. 80- or 62-mile. grasshopperadventureseries.com

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LOOKING AHEAD, cont.

May 25-27 — Ensenada Bike Fest / Ensenada, Baja California / Ensenada Enduro, CES #1. Horsepower Ranch. / californiaenduroseries.com

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June 2 — America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride - Lake Tahoe / Stateline, NV / Fully supported 100-mi, 72-mi, & Boat Cruise 35-mi ride options. Benefits Leukemia & Lymphona Societ’s Team in Training program. / BiketheWest.com June 22 — Jackson Forest / Mendocino County / Grasshopper Adventure Series Finale. 90% dirt/ gravel/singletrack. 75+- or 50-mile. grasshopperadventureseries.com June 29 — China Peak Enduro / Lakeshore / CES Round 2. / californiaenduroseries.com July 13-14 — Mt. Shasta Enduro / Mount Shasta / New to CES lineup, round 3 takes place at Mt. Shasta Bike Park. / californiaenduroseries.com

Aug 23-25 — Northstar Enduro / Truckee / Enduro World Series (EWS) #7; CES #4.Northstar California Resort. / californiaenduroseries.com Sept 8 — 17th Annual Tour de Tahoe - Big Big Blue / Stateline, NV / Fully supported 72-mi & Boat Cruise 35mi ride options. Benefits Leukemia & Lymphona Societ’s Team in Training program. / BiketheWest.com Sept 12 — 17th Annual Tour de Tahoe - Big Big Blue / Stateline, NV / Fully supported 72-mi & Boat Cruise 35-mi ride options. Benefits Leukemia & Lymphona Societ’s Team in Training program. / BiketheWest.com Sept 13-15 — 36th Silver State 508 / Reno, NV / 508-mile bicycle race across Nevada on Hwy 50. / the508.net Sept 14 — Big Basin Old Grownth Classic / Boulder Creek / Gravel grinder cycling race at Big Basin State Park. Benefits trail projects. / mbosc.org Sept 22-28 — 28th Annual OATBRAN (One Awesome Tour Bike Ride Across Nevada) / Lake Tahoe to Great Basin National Park / Fully supported motel-style tour. “America’s Loneliest Bike Tour” on the “Loneliest Road” US Hwy 50. / BiketheWest.com Oct 5 — Ashland Mountain Challenge / Ashland, OR / California Enduro Series finale, presented by Ashland Mountain Adventures. / californiaenduroseries.com

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