Post by: Natalie Gough

I'd been hearing about it all last year and this past summer: "El Niño winter this '09/'10 season," and sure enough the predictions came true. "El Niño " (the warming of the pacific ocean waters) has already affected and continues to impact the southern United States. What this means for anyone in mountainous regions is endless snow! According to the National Weather Services, regions from California to the Southeast are expected to get above median precipitation. What better place to be to benefit from these predictions than Tahoe, California.

Here's a little taste from the past month in Tahoe.  More to come as this current storm is only at the half way mark!

Natalie Gough, Alpine Meadows

View from the peak of Alpine Meadows with Lake Tahoe in the background.

Alpine Meadows

Brendon Drury, Alpine Meadows

Sunset at Squaw Valley.

First snowshoe experience, Jake's Peak.

Fresh tracks all the way down! Heavenly, South Lake, as the back drop.

Top of Jake's with a six-day storm creeping in.

Nothing but snow on the forecast.

Home sweet home! Pro skier & semi-professional snow shoveller, Michelle Parker getting at it!

The snow won't stop.

Three days later—bet they wished they checked on the family mini-van!

Post by: Natalie Gough

Closing weekend at Squaw definitely surpassed both mine and Bre's expectations. The park setup was beyond fun, with jumps of varying sizes, boxes and rails to satisfy anyone's needs. For being the last resort open in Tahoe, they definitely killed it. Bre and I met up with Tahoe locals Brendon Drury and Silver Serino, who were nice enough to take some park laps with us Canadian tourists.  

Getting a solid day in the park, and hit runs down the mountain, it was time to check out the annual pond skim. Make no mistake, this was a rather large pond surrounded by mass amounts of people, all gathered to party and watch the debauchery unfold on the freezing cold waters. After a farewell cerveza with the boys, it was time to say our goodbyes and meet up with the Whistler homies to begin our journey back home.

Squaw Valley closing weekend.

Bre with Tahoe shred locals Brendon Drury and Silver Serino.

Silver Serino, Back 5 sender.

Nat Gough, Front 5 sender.

Bre's obviously a pill-hittin' junkie.

Off-road style -- good thing for deck hook-ups!

Classic spring carve.

Nothing like end-of-the-season spring parties. That pond is massive!

Bre, Nat and Tahoe homies. Thanks for showing these two Canucks a great time!

At Jesmond's request to take his virgin ocean swim, and Chuntz's wish to go through the Redwood National Park, we decided to drive back up along the coast. Driving in darkness like a rally car -- windy road, along with teary moments watching Grey's Anatomy on our laptop, the night portion of the trip was more than entertaining. Crashing at yet another Motel 6, we were back enroute bright and early, our target set at Clam Beach. A successful ocean swim, some more kite flying, a couple family photos and Chuntz submarining his truck -- we were quite satisfied with our beach experience. On to the Redwood National Park!

Our decision to take the scenic route home up the coast was probably the best idea we'd had and I would definitely recommend it to anyone driving from Cali to BC. Many thanks to all those who helped us along our journey, making this last minute trip not only possible but certainly memorable! 

 
Best sandwiches ever! Beach Hut Deli, South Lake Tahoe.

Quintessential California sunset.

Clam Beach.

Jesmond Dubeau's first-ever ocean dip!

Family portrait.

Adam Chuntz putting his truck to the test.

In the redwoods.

For any Star Wars nerds, this is where they filmed the forest scene of Return of the Jedi.

Huge wood!

Playing footsies with Paul Bunyan.

Q: How badass is this car? A: Very.

Post by: Natalie Gough

With a 9 a.m. wake-up call, our early start on the mountain was the best thing we could have done. Soft, not too slushy, we were able to hit the features we'd been ogling the day before. A perfectly cut pipe, jumps with soft landings, a wide variety of rail features, how could you not have fun? Right?

This late in the season, the early start is key to avoid the slush fields that accumulate in the afternoon and claim many victims, myself included. Front 5, landing in mashed potatoes, only to get gobbled up 15 feet down the tranny and tossed into a Switch Front Flip, my back arching in ways I didn't think possible. With no injuries sustained, Bre and I had a good laugh at the circus routine I had just performed for everyone to see on the landing of Mammoth's bottom jump. I would, however, go up and have my redemption on that jump next lap...

Doesn't this shot make you wish you were shredding with Nat Gough in Mammoth right now? 

Ethereal sun ray plant.

Side launcher. Why hit a jump straight on when you can gap the sides?!

Looks like a massive 3D road pylon.

The victim.

The bad guy, err, girl.

Front 5 sender.

Danger: Water-gun war zone.

After a night on the town for our Whistler neighbour Andrew Geeves' birthday, we woke up to discover we were kicked out of the Motel 6. Another epic day on the slopes, minus a mild case of heat stroke, it was time for us to move on...

Happy Birthday Geeves!

Motel 6 pre and post party.

Luck being on our side, Breanna and I were able to catch a ride with Analog/Anon team rider Silver Serino back to Lake Tahoe. Upon arriving at the SASS house at Northstar, we were greeted with the most amazing family style dinner. Stuffed to the max, we would pack it in and prepare ourselves for our final day of Cali shredding.

Our sweet ride to Tahoe. In-N-Out round two!

Sunset over Lake Tahoe.

Not bad.

Finally a home-cooked meal -- SASS does it right!

SASS family reunion! Myself, pro skier and coach Michelle Parker, and Luke Shelly.

Post by: Natalie Gough

Where to begin? From Cinco de Mayo's tattoo party to the discovery of two bear cubs at our hotel, the past couple of days have been quite eventful. While running around aimlessly trying to get up the mountain, we finally made it on some snow for an afternoon shred session. Sunny and warm, slushy and soft -- you couldn't ask for a more perfect spring day.

Our late start sort of hindered us being able to hit anything crazy due to snow slowness and slush fields. We decided to cruise the mini shred area, the main park and some hit runs, getting the full Mammoth experience. The mountain has quite the lineup of features for spring shredding. Game plan for tomorrow: wake up early and get 'er done!

Mini-shred session!

Nice bum, where ya from?

Back Lip Bre.

Breanna Stangeland.

Olympic racing steez!

Hit-run sender.

Ample features late into the spring -- Mammoth does it right.

All tuckered out.

On set of an episode of Mammoth Ink -- nice artwork ladies.

All tatted up and good to go. Neck tatts are the true sign of a total badass.

Clay's foreshadowing of a future bear run-in.

Difficult to see, but look closely at the head poking out at the top left of the stairs... Bear cub #1!

Post by: Natalie Gough

Two hours prior to a potential departure, Breanna Stangeland and myself checked the Whistler forecast for the upcoming week only to realize it was going to be horrible. In light of this tid bit of information, we hopped on the chance to go on one last road trip for the season. Destination: California. The line up: Breanna, Adam Chuntz, Jesmond Dubeau, Jon Versteeg and myself.

Before we knew it we had all piled into Chuntz's truck, still trying to grasp the rationality of this last minute decision. Five snowboard bums crossing the border didn't seem to be a problem at all, though we would be faced with our first challenge somewhere in the depths of Oregon. Amidst the seemingly never-ending forest, we were running out of gas with no gas stations open for business. End result: we posted up at a closed gas station, "napping" from 4 to 6 a.m. until it finally opened.

Fast forward 24 hours later, one mandatory pit stop at the Eldorado casino in Reno, and we finally arrived in Mammoth. The Motel 6 is our new home, and we're all ecstatic to no longer be in a vehicle.

Day 1 in Mammoth

High winds had the upper portion of the mountain closed, and the first day of the men's component of Superpark was put on hold. We decided to meet up with other fellow Canadians to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in good company. Armed with five kites and a case of Corona, we headed to an open field to make use of the high wind situation. Kites and beers with the homies, what more could you ask for? Crossing our fingers that the weather simmers down and we can get on some snow tomorrow!

Stay tuned for more from Nat Gough and Co. as Superpark unfolds.

More photos on www.adamchuntz.com

Everything but the kitchen sink...


"But, why can't I bring my Star Wars replica collection?"

Ain't nothing like a quick game of cards in Reno to break up a road trip.

Umm, wow. Broadway hit?

Where is the lil' cheeseburger?

There you are!

Nat Gough indulging in one of California's finer institutions -- In-n-Out Burger!

Don't buck with Breanna or she'll buck you up!

Mammoth, California.

In case it's not obvious, that's a boo-urns on the conditions.

So let's totally go fly kites instead. I mean, what else do you do on a windy ass day?
PS: Is that a hippie kite?

It's go time.

Sweet kiting skills bro!

"I get high with a little help from my friends." Right?

Captain Kite Man