Mind the Track

Recorded deep in the Toiyabe Range of central Nevada far from civilization, the guys talk about the Toiyabe Crest Trail project and the tumultuous arrival of summer in Lake Tahoe, where 11 people perished in a couple days due to a boating accident and hikers drowning in a swimming hole. The boys discuss complacency in the mountains and how it can be deadly, Trail Whisperer recaps his Wilderness Fi...

As summer riding season settles in amidst massive plumes of tree pollen and afternoon thunderstorms creating hero dirt conditions, the boys discuss a bunch of random topics from 888 COR LORD listener call-ins, emails and messages. The boys dope or derp a variety of topics from petunias and the wind to dogs on leashes, UGG boots, bike racks on motorcycles and flat versus clipless MTB pedals. The bo...

Along one of the best stretches of the Truckee River for fishing, a private landowner in Hirschdale has been blocking legal public access by placing no trespassing signs below the high water mark of the river. Longtime Hirschdale resident Matt “Gilligan” Koles, who’s been a fly fishing guide on the Truckee River for more than two decades, has been fighting these illegally placed signs, as well as...

In an age where local journalism is struggling to survive, Lake Tahoe is fortunate to have Julie Brown Davis, a West Shore native and staff writer for SFGATE who exclusively covers Lake Tahoe. As the daughter of ski bums who moved to Tahoe in the 1970s, Julie grew up skiing Homewood and Alpine Meadows, worked her first journalism gig at the Sierra Sun and eventually became managing editor of Powde...

The 888 COR LORD phone line has lit up the last couple of weeks, and the boys address numerous calls from listeners with questions about backcountry skiing, DOPE or DERPs including wearing full Lycra while mountain biking in the backcountry, riding a splitboard inbounds at a ski resort, blasting music on a Bluetooth speaker while riding and tracking vert skied at a resort and posting to Strava. Th...

Few families in the Lake Tahoe region have had more of a positive impact on recreation than the Fish family. Ben and Amy revived the Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA) in 2010, and started both the 60-mile Rose to Toads epic and Corral Night Ride. Their son Max, about the same age as TAMBA, grew up alongside the organization, and as soon as he could walk, he was on two wheels in dirt,...

BAM! KERPOW! From winter to spring in a matter of a couple days, the boys chase the change in season with an East Side pow mission and new trail construction on Mount Hough. Pow Bot laments the “get off my wave” localism culture of surfing that’s creeping into splitboarding, Trail Whisperer ASS rants about @sugarbowl opening Palisades to only elite athletes in a competition and the disdain he has...

April arrives with 3 feet of new snow in Lake Tahoe, making it feel more like January than spring. PowBot recaps his best tour of the year at Lassen National Park while Trail Whisperer breaks his snowmobile. The boys give some listener shout outs and play some 888 COR LORD call-ins, diving deeper into whether or not solo backcountry skiing is dope or derp and if a van is better suited for adventur...

Recapping a polarizing winter that has been “clear and still” – either literally clear with no snow and still with no wind, or snow clear up to your ass and still snowing, the boys catch up on a number of topics including PowBot’s surf trip to Costa Rica, Trail Whisperer’s Death Valley four wheeling adventure and helicopter skiing, the sketchy last month of avalanches and the lack of stoke for res...

With a focus on simplicity, minimalism and human-powered adventure, Nick Russell embodies what it is to be a free-spirited, big line splitboarder while making a living at it. Russell has eschewed guidebooks for true adventure, hunting for big lines and pow based more on a feeling than a calculation. This organic approach to becoming an expert in the backcountry takes years and more than a couple s...

After a weeks-long dry spell in January, the first day of February bring a week-long series of atmospheric river storms to the Lake Tahoe region, with a foot of rain, multiple feet of snow and hurricane force winds. PowBot recaps his Canadian hut trip, giving kudos to Big Sky resort and reminisces on atmospheric river storms of the past while Trail Whisperer rants about tire chains and the evil em...

Two weeks into his Powder Highway road trip, PowBot calls in from Revelstoke, British Columbia to chat about life on the road in the new van, the differences between the U.S. and Canada when it comes to snow and ski culture, hiring a ski guide in Whistler to go big in the Blackcomb backcountry and interviewing “Trailhead Tim” Gibson, who PowBot met at the trailhead and suddenly became his backcoun...

In the final episode of 2024, the boys catch up on a variety of topics just before PowBot hits the road for a month-long ski adventure on the Powder Highway of Canada, including Trail Whisperer’s story of driving the Powder Highway right as COVID hit in early 2020. The new snow reporter, Al Powcino, makes his debut with a wet and soggy forecast, Trail Whisperer presents the most compelling evidenc...

In the last couple years of record-breaking snowfalls, budget shortfalls, staffing shortages and lack of affordable housing for CalTrans road crew workers, plowed parking areas for backcountry access are no longer a given. The Tahoe Backcountry Alliance is working with community leaders to help address these issues, focused on expanding winter access for all non-motorized users. Since 2015, TBA ha...

Pull up any social media feed on big line skiing and there’s a good chance you’ll see Molly Armanino stomping a serious cliff drop. There’s also a good chance you’ll see her tomahawking. In her rookie year on the 2023 Freeride World Tour, Molly’s checkers or wreckers approach – skiing lines no other woman dare ski – landed her a 2nd place finish. Perfecting her art of the send at Kirkwood amidst i...

In the wake of a Thanksgiving bomb cyclone that walloped Northern California with rain and snow, the boys celebrate reaching 50 episodes with superfan #1, Scott Kessler. In addition to recapping their personal favorite episodes and the most listened to ones, the three amigos chat about chasing pow in Mammoth and Lakes Basin, telemark skiing versus splitboarding versus pow surfing, Scott’s days as...

As daylight hours wane, leaves fall from trees, dustings of snow grace the ridges and winter jackets emerge from closets, the boys catch up on the coming ski season while recapping what’s been a warm but dry fall for riding. Are Pit Vipers, Crocs and skiing in jeans with an Ikon Pass dope or derp, what (if any) magazines do you still subscribe to in print, are ebikes really more “green” than tradi...

To most of America, October 31 is synonymous with Halloween, but in Nevada, it signifies statehood and one of the greatest parades ever. Nevada became a state on October 31, 1864, at the height of the Civil War, hence its status as the “Battleborn State”. On this Nevada Day, we sit down with the authoritative expert on all things Nevada, @sydneymmartinez . For more than a decade, Sydney and her hu...

As fall colors hit their peak in the Sierra Nevada, the guys chat about a variety of topics, highlighted by sharing some new must-ride trail beta on Buzzards Roost Ridge and Mill Canyon/Lost Cannon loop, news of the Forest Service not hiring seasonal employees in 2025 and what it means for the public, the ups and downs of Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) with traffic, congestion and a lack of...

Recorded at 7,250 feet elevation atop Mount Hough near Quincy, California, in Episode 46 the boys talk to Emily Kachorek about her first summer as a fire lookout for the Plumas National Forest. Sitting in the three-story tower for 10 hours a day, 10 days in a row, Emily talks about spending time alone and the inspiration for creativity that comes from solitude. She also talks about her background...

Despite a hot, dry and smoky September, Trail Whisperer and Pow Bot reunite after a month off to compare living in Colorado against Lake Tahoe and how much better we have it in the Sierra Nevada than in the Rockies. Not only weather and snowpack-wise, but also fewer people, less busy trailheads, more affordable cost of living and a wider range of recreational options. The boys also talk about the...

In Episode 44, the second and final installment of coverage from the Breck Epic six-day mountain bike stage race in Breckenridge, Colorado, Trail Whisperer and Adam Mahomed document a week of suffering, random shenanigans and high elevation hypoxia. They also document the trajectory of their good friend James Adamson, who ended up finishing second overall in the Men’s 40+ category as well as secon...

In Episode 43, Trail Whisperer is on assignment in Breckenridge, Colorado with a special edition of Mind the Track covering the Breck Epic, a six-day mountain bike stage race featuring some of the most amazing high alpine singletrack in North America. But unfortunately, for the first time, the pod is without Pow Bot this week. Avid listener and an old friend of Kurt’s who’s been coming to Breckenr...

In the midst of record-breaking heat, out of control wildfires, brazen bears and dry, dusty blown-out trails, the boys catch up on a grab bag of topics including Pow Bot’s harrowing adventure sailboat racing on Lake Tahoe, Trail Whisperer’s week of trail work spent in the Toiyabe Range with no cell service, a recap of the Downieville Classic, whether you should buy an SL-style ebike or a “full pow...

In a shift away from skis and bikes, Episode 41 profiles two Truckee trail running core lords, Jenelle Potvin and Steve Martelli and their passion for ultra distance running events like the Western States Endurance Run. Just like Western States itself, this episode covers a lot of ground from how the couple had their first date on a seven hour trail run, to the history of the Western States trail,...