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Alaska seemed further away than ever last spring. We had been stuck in Mammoth all season with a record breaking snowfall which had closed the roads out. And the old adage hung in our minds, “Don't leave good surf in search of better surf.” But it was possibly the last year of Tailgate Alaska and we had made such a bond with Thompson Pass and the community that congregates there in the spring. So we decided to send it.
We barely escaped Mammoth to Tahoe in our friend Nick’s small 3 seater plane with just enough room for the board bags.
From Tahoe we hopped a commercial flight to Anchorage, met the rest of the crew and picked up our RV.
For 10 days off grid we did a full Costco supply run in which Rachel is a pro shopper. With the RV packed we hit the road for the 5 hr drive to land at Thompson pass just as the sun was setting behind the mountains - a symbolic sign as it is the moment represented in our logo.
We acquired the snowmobiles and began with a day of light exploration and getting accustomed to the machines and our driving partners.
To our slight dismay, all the snow that had fallen a few days prior has completely blown off and even with 10,000 acres of access it was exceedingly difficult to find even the smallest of soft snow pockets.
We knew this was a risk, and why we had booked close to 2 weeks to hope for a weather window, but this first look dampened our spirits.
Instead of pushing the riding directive, we focused on community, supporting the setup of the Tailgate event, keeping the stoke high with all we had gathered from the epic season in Mammoth, tended the fire at the hot tubs and soaked away the days and nights under the northern lights.
We knew this was a risk, and why we had booked close to 2 weeks to hope for a weather window, but this first look dampened our spirits.
Instead of pushing the riding directive, we focused on community, supporting the setup of the Tailgate event, keeping the stoke high with all we had gathered from the epic season in Mammoth, tended the fire at the hot tubs and soaked away the days and nights under the northern lights.
It was disheartening to look out at the beautiful terrain that we had gotten a taste of the previous year and had been anticipating expanding our canvas this year with the new shapes, but no matter our desires or prayers, we had no effect on making it snow.
Each day we would venture further and deeper to the glaciers to seek out small pockets that had collected a bit of powder from the wind load.
Music by @tunednotion
Danny (@ParkinglotPoacher) was a tahoeian-army knife of a human as an experts sled driver, filmer and supportive crew member, ripping us up to the highest we could get and then rolling down, popping up the drone and simultaneously shooting photo and video with 2 other cameras and long lenses. We communicated by radio and made the best of what we had. On many occasions - the greatest moments were just being on top of the mountains and absorbing the view.
And while the conditions were less than ideal, we made the best of what we could find.
In the end we concluded that it was better to go and get skunked than to not even try. And a few months later when the video had been compiled, with a bit of editing magic we witness an accumulation of great memories during this expedition. Come along for the ride, enjoy the show, and big thanks to all the crew of Tailgate Alaska for cultivating the vibe.
@Aaron_Sababba