WHAT TO EXPECT
Bear is a well-kept secret and Blaise knows it better than most. We’ll be flowing top-to-bottom right up until the last chair loads, exploring and interpreting all of the natural terrain this humble mountain offers: seeking out untouched pow stashes and whatever odd leftovers remain to banking turns on technical snake runs to coming up on silly side hits and jibs, as well as playing in the park. Blaise likes to find the weird lines and live beyond the boundaries, so riding with him at his home resort with late winter / early spring conditions will be a blast.
Spots are super limited (just 20 per session) and these are expected to go quickly.
SKILL LEVEL
If you're able to snowboard intermediate runs, those marked by blue squares, come join in the fun. You don’t have to go BIG, be smooth going switch, have ever jibbed something, or even ridden powder. That casually stated, make no mistake, you'll leave either session with a bit more skill and swagger on-board than before.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- Lift tickets: Friday, Saturday & Sunday
- Accommodations: Bear Valley Lodge - Double occupancy Thursday thru Saturday nights
- Breakfast: Friday, Saturday & Sunday
- Lunch: Friday, Saturday & Sunday
- Dinners: Thursday, Friday & Saturday
*Single rooms and/or a Sunday stay-overs are available at discounted rates w/ advance booking
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED
- Airfare or transportation to/from Bear Valley Lodge
- Equipment
- Travel insurance
- Bar tab, room incidentals, or spa treatments
WHAT TO BRING
Prep for winter yet think spring when packing. We hope for perfect, bluebird powder days but will, of course, hit it whatever conditions present at this time in the season. Over our inaugural gatherings in 2022, we ran the gamut over the two sessions from: sunny skies and slurfy snow to grey bird and flat-light days with the freshness falling and laying down decent accumulations.
Here’s a good, foundational checklist to consider:
- Board, bindings, and boots (if you prefer to travel lighter and rent … rental gear is available via SNAC - Arnold; please refer to FAQs for their contact details)
- Outerwear: Shell jacket/puffy and pants/bibs, additionally: coaches jacket/hoodie (not required)
- Helmet (encouraged, though optional)
- Goggles w/ extra lenses, suggest: mirrored/reflective (sunny), rose (party cloudy), yellow (storm day), pocket goggle squeegee, anti-fog cloth are also nice
- Performance layers, socks, incl. face mask/balaclava, beanie
- Backpack
- Water bottle
- Sunscreen & lip balm
- A cozy/casual kit for après hang-out and dinners in the lodge, maybe even bring a pair of slippers to shuffle around in
- Board shorts or swimsuit, depending (there’s individual outdoor ice baths and hot tubs offered via AlpenGlow Spa & Fitness)
- Phone charger
- Reading book
- Optional equipment ideas: Theragun, foam roller, a yoga mat to tend to, stretch out, and treat those tired muscles (massage and infrared sauna are also available for self-care)
BEAR VALLEY RESORT
Located literally at the end of the road (scenic Highway 4) in the heart of the Stanislaus National Forest, this zone is known as the California Alps, situated between Tahoe (to the north) and Yosemite (to the south).
From the parking lot or the top of the Mokelumne Express chair, looking across the valley, you can see the backside of Kirkwood, just seven miles away as the raven flies. But direct access in winter via Tahoe is no go. You’ve got to come at this place from an alternate route.
Amidst this vast, secluded, alpine basin, sits a fully functional ski and snowboard resort boasting an average annual snowfall of 400” inches, 1,900’ vertical feet and over 1,680 acres of in-bounds rad-ness, as well as access to shuttle-served side country.
The scene is mellow here, yet just as frothy, holding a similar reverence for shred to those zones more known. Rockstar Damian Sanders and legend Dave Seoane both owned it back in the day, when and then the resort was called Mt. Reba Ski Bowl.
The Village berg, with a population of 150, is a mellow 10 minute drive away, where the Lodge is centrally focused and self-contained with three restaurants (two bars) on-site within it’s walls, plus general store for any food stuffs and necessities. This is a stepped-up version of “summit dwelling” with a few upgrades and niceties which make for a cozy and casual stay after a day of riding.
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