Back in Tahoe again

It has been awhile since I have posted mostly due to my preoccupation with an incredible Jackson vacation. It was a long drive back, but split between two days made it a lot more bearable. Unfortunately madman Marty had a harsh ending to the trip as we found out that he had multiple compression fractures in vertebrae in his back. Hoping he recovers fully and gets back out there shredding soon. In more positive news, I brought a ton of Jackson Hole-esque blower pow back to Tahoe with me (you can all thank me later) and Alpine was super fun yesterday. This was one hell of a welcome back from Mother Nature. It was really great to get back out with the usual Alpine crew for some incredible slackcountry runs. Here's a quick edit of some footage from yesterday at Alpine. 

Alpine Feb 27 2012 from Max Schneider on Vimeo.

I pulled a bonehead move and forgot my camera in Reno, so I will have to wait to get it back before I can make a comprehensive Jackson post. I will have some more video up soon, but all the pictures from the trip will come later. Here are a few shots from my phone in the meantime:

Pre-Jackson Costco trip: Beer, lunch meat, bagels/bread, avocados, and 8 lbs of bacon. And it wasn't enough bacon ...

Awesome cologne dispenser in random truck stop bathroom

Red Rock Brewery in Salt Lake

Snow sculptures in downtown Jackson square

'Billy's after effect: can't stand up, but you're HAPPY' ... Billy's burgers in Jackson

Apparently if you pull up bumping 'California Love' to the Jackson Hole parking lot, this is the result when you return to your car after skiing. We all found it absolutely hilarious...Some Cali fags shredded Jackson so much harder than you!!

Quick Jackson post

Just a quick post before I pass out tonight. Marty and I survived the drive out to Salt Lake to pick up the crew and then arrived at Jackson yesterday at about 4:30 AM. Naturally we had to go out and get our shred on with almost no sleep. The holiday crowds were not as crazy as I expected, especially by Tahoe holiday standards. Jackson Hole is incredible; the mountain is so much more intimidating than anything that we have in Tahoe. Such intense sustained pitch on the majority of the mountain, even the "easier" blues and groomers are so steep by Tahoe standards and I couldn't be more stoked. We found some decent turns even late on a holiday Saturday, which never ever happens in Tahoe. It snowed intermittently throughout the afternoon, a pleasant precursor to the storm that rolled in for the evening/night. We woke up today to slightly less than the total projected snowfall the night prior, but we still got out there and found some incredible turns in the sidecountry. My knee started to give out a bit on the hiking, which hindered my day slightly and turned me into the tokin' whiny bitch for the day. Other than that minor set back (I'm typing this as I ice my knee and we watch the newest Shameless), the shredding has been the best of the season so far. I am so spoiled to get some incredible Tahoe pow days right before I leave and transition seamlessly to Jackson pow days. Life is good... Here's some quick footage from the first run off the Crags today. First time filming with the GoPro2 and the sweet GoPole mount. Turned out pretty damn good, if I do say so myself.


Second day at Jackson from Max Schneider on Vimeo.

Jackson is just a little bit better than Tahoe right now.... (upped it in a low quality, I'll have to wait to get home to edit a good high def video, the net out here on the ranch leaves much to be desired).

Hopefully get some more good footage tomorrow.

Cheers.

Finally some fluffy white stuff to play in

It finally snowed again in Tahoe. Cold, fluffy, blower pow on top of hard ice. There was plenty of snow and some incredible turns were had all over the mountain today. Most of the easy-to-get-to terrain was tracked out by the time I got to Alpine after work this afternoon. It seemed like most people left the hill early, either were tired or over it, who knows, the end result was an empty mountain with pow turns galore.

Last men standing once again

Had some early afternoon laps with Mike off Summit and Scott, then met up with C. Mills for some serious hot laps in Scott and Yellow before cruising down an incredible, day-ending condo run. Today certainly helped build up the less-than-stellar powder legs for the Jackson trip.

Trying to scope a half-way decent line off Scott

I was slightly disappointed with the conditions, as NOAA and other weather sources were calling for snow showers to continue all day, however this was not the case at all. The sun came out early in the day, and continued to be a mixed bag, rotating between sunny with blue skies, cloudy and even snow showery at times. The sun was out long enough to add a crunchy top layer in some spots as well.

Mike praying for the land sharks to leave the new board in one piece

Conditions were far from what we are used to for mid-February, but damn it was fun to finally get an actual powder day on the hill. We were all long overdue for a decent storm, even if this one also joined the long list of disappointments this winter in Tahoe. It really seems like we are cursed this winter with storm after storm either missing us completely or severely under-performing in the snowfall category. I'm trying my best this year to remain positive and focus on having a great time out on the hill regardless of the conditions. It's not an easy task, especially when I am constantly reminded how bad of a winter it is by almost every person I come into contact with in the Basin, whether they be local or from out of town. We need to stay positive, Mother Nature has to have something in store for Tahoe... And if not, then I don't care, I'm going to Jackson Hole this week.

Hopefully more of this is in my future...

I'm exhausted, but I've been meaning to toss this track up for awhile now: Zedd's recent remix of Skrillex's 'Breakn' A Sweat.' This is the track that Skrillex produced in collaboration with the surviving members of the Doors for the Re:Generation music project, but Zedd remixes this beast of a track adding his own electro house style to it. The result is a high energy banger perfect for shredding pow turns... or the dance floor.

 DOWNLOAD: Skrillex feat. Members of the Doors - Breakn' A Sweat (Zedd Remix)

...And more of this

"Our goal is zero fatalities"

It feels great to be over that cold at long last. In fact, I felt so good today that I decided to spend my day off doing something every Tahoe local enjoys (yet simultaneously despises), driving to Reno to go shopping! 80 is a mess in Reno with construction currently and as you enter the outskirts of the city the double-fine construction zone signs are there to greet you. It was a little taste of home; Highway 101 back home is pretty similar with its never-ending construction mess. Also greeting you in Reno is the overhead highway message sign that currently ends with "Our goal is zero fatalities." I found this oddly hilarious, it's like the state of Nevada is telling motorists, "it's just a construction zone, nothing worth dying for, so just slow down guys." I almost wanted to try and take a picture while driving, but I didn't want to end up ruining their construction zone goal. After a long day in Reno hitting the usual spots and doing a little gearing up for Jackson at Sierra Trading Post, it was time to make the trek back to the lake. There is nothing like a day down in Reno to make me appreciate how much I love Tahoe. On my drive down the west shore this evening, I was welcomed home with an amazing sunset.

Awesome phone pics, really wish I had my camera on me...

Hey, I can see Gunbarrel from here!

Spent some time in the shop last night waxing and tuning the quiver for Jackson. The sad reality of this Tahoe winter hit me once I had finished... I'm still on my rock board because the conditions still suck... And I have these two beauties waiting quietly in the boardroom, all three of us eagerly awaiting some actual snowfall to save us.

2012 Quiver, ready for Jackson!

 Anyways, back to work tomorrow, looks like I might go out to Squaw early for some laps in the morning. 

And in the meantime, more music!!!

Michael Myers and his twin bro marking their next victims... or just Knife Party dropping some club bangers

Today, I've got Knife Party's newest four song EP that they decided to give away for free a few weeks back. Knife Party is the electro/dubstep group founded by two Australians, Rob Swire and Gareth Mcgrillen, both of Pendulum fame. This album has a ton of energy and each song has a slightly different feel to it. Fire Hive goes more of the hard-hitting dubstep route, complete with glitched out reggae-esque vocals prior to some massive drops. Internet Friends is an absolutely hilarious track, I highly recommend this solely for the ridiculous female text-to-talk voice playing the role of an obsessed online girlfriend. The computerized vocals and multitude of samples flow in and out of a seriously fun electro-house banger; these guys clearly had a lot of fun putting this song together. Tourniquet has more of a progressive house feel, and Destroy Them with Lazerz jumps right back into the high paced electro craziness these Aussie producers are so good at.

Knife Party - 100% No Modern Talking EP (2011)

Fire Hive:

Tourniquet:

Destroy Them With Lazerz:

Internet Friends:

That's it for today, more tomorrow!

Still sick, recovering at home, so here's a ton of new music

I am still getting over this nasty cold that has completely dominated me the last few days. I finally am feeling better today, but no more snowboarding for a few more days until I am 100%, I need to be sickness-free for my Jackson Hole trip that is coming up here in a little over a week. In the meantime, I have put together a ton of tracks that I have been hooked on the last week or so. I've got a little bit of everything here today: hip-hop/drumstep remixes, some electro-house, a mash-up and some filthy dubstep.

Since my last post was about Snowglobe, let's start this off with some tracks featuring artists from this past year's festival. Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover, aka Troy from Community) put on one of the sickest sets on the main stage this year.

Childish Gambino, main stage Snowglobe 12-31-11. We were pretty close up front!

 I am a huge Community fan and have really enjoyed Glover's more recent stand up specials on Comedy Central, so I was expecting big things from Glover performing as his rap alter-ego, and did he ever deliver. At one point, he got the whole crowd to sing Adele's Rolling in the Deep acappella, and then transitioned it perfectly back into his set, carrying the momentum from the crowd's involvement. The man certainly knows how to work the crowd and get them super stoked and involved in the set, and his live band was incredible. If you haven't checked out Childish Gambino's album 'Camp' from last year, do yourself a favor and grab it up, or check the man himself out when he embarks on another tour later this year.

Comedy or rapping, dude is killing it.

Anyways, this track is a mashup done by Styles & Complete combining Childish Gambino's 'Heartbreak' with Zedd's 'Slam The Door,' and the result is awesome, Zedd's new electro-house banger with Gambino's lyrics mixed in. Check it out.



Another artist I really enjoyed at Snowglobe was drumstep madman Figure. I only caught a few minutes of his set at the actual festival, but I did see him at Blu at the after-party on Friday with Mimosa.

Figure @ Blu afterparty 12-30-11. Always sick to see big names in small venues.

 That was probably one of the highlights of the weekend for me, Figure and Mimosa absolutely crushing it at Blu in the wee hours of the morning. His live set was amazing, and I highly recommend checking him out if you have the chance in the future.

Here's a new remix he just released of XV & Wiz Khalifa's 'Gobstopper.'



I just can't get enough of this next track, the Camo & Krooked remix of 'Hot Right Now,' by DJ Fresh ft. Rita Ora. You've probably heard this track or other remixes of it floating around recently, but Camo & Krooked absolutely murder this remix. If this doesn't get you jumping around, then you might want to check your pulse, because you may be dead. Camo & Krooked are on fire right now, having just released their new album, 'Cross the Line,' and touring the U.S. later this year. I am really hoping to get down to San Fran to see these Austrian drum&bass beasts live in March.

C'mon, dude is rocking a Burton shirt, this music is made to shred to.

This song has been out for a few weeks, but it is still making its rounds on my playlists lately, HULK's 'Run Train.' This is a fun new dubstep mix heavily sampling Ozzy Osbourne's 'Crazy Train,' and CLAW and Ritchie August (HULK) kill it on this track creating a really fun remix of a classic.

Here's a sick remix by an up-and-coming producer out of California named RUNVS. This is definitely a more mellow track compared to the rest of the tracks in this post, but it still packs a serious punch. RUNVS gives this track a much needed melodic dubstep makeover, and coupled with Wynter Gordon's soothing vocals makes this so much better than Laidback Luke's remix of the same tune.



This is a drumstep remix by Eliminate of a sick hip-hop song that samples Perry Band 'If I Die Young.' An interesting combination to say the least, but the result is really dope, check this out.



And lastly, an electro house mix from R3hab that he made for his show at the infamous Ruby Skye in San Fransisco recently. R3hab has been dropping so many incredible official and unofficial remixes lately that it is a bit overwhelming at times. This one is certainly one of his better ones as of late, and it is makes it that much cooler that it was made to be dropped at Ruby Skye. I am in no way a Lil' Wayne fan, but he has a minimal verse in this track, and R3hab makes this track into a straight electro house banger. This should get the party dancing for sure, turn up the bass and enjoy!



That's it for today, enjoy some (or all) of the tracks and happy Super Bowl Sunday everybody!

Snowglobe 2011 Recap Vid

Check out this video that Colorado-based Cinesthetics just released, the official Snowglobe 2011 recap video. So all you folks that unfortunately missed the sickest New Years party in California can pretend you were there while you enjoy this vid.

This festival was so much fun, definitely the best New Years of my life. Can not wait for next year!

New Nike Boots for 2013

All the SIA shots have leaked over the past week in the tradeshow aftermath. Here's a glimpse of the 2013 line of Nike Snowboarding Boots. The Zoom Ites are a new addition this year with 3-level adjustable stiffness.

Zoom Ites

Zoom Kaiju

Zoom DK

ZF-1

Vapen

Minnesota Remixes and sickness

I may have pushed it a little too much the last few days because I am now sick. Probably should not have gone out shredding in the shitty weather yesterday, but it was SNOWING!.... Small price to pay.

Anyways, tons of new music out the last few days, tough to keep up with it all. I'm super excited about these two new remixes that Minnesota just released, as he is one of my favorite producers at the moment. Christian Bauhofer from Santa Cruz has been flying under the radar as of late, but with his incredible live shows and constantly improving production and remixing skills, he is poised for an even bigger year in 2012. I witnessed him live many times up and down California in the last year, and it seems that every show he brings it harder and keeps topping previous shows. He definitely knows how to put on a good live set and I'm looking forward to seeing him crush it again soon.

First up, we've got Minnesota remixing Demons by Fenech Soler, adding in his signature synth-heavy melodic dubstep sound.

DOWNLOAD Fenech Soler - Demons (Minnesota Remix)

Next is the first cut off Kraddy's remix album of his 2011 release Anthems of the Hero. Minnesota remixing Kraddy with some great vocals from Erica Dee, certainly a recipe for a sick track.

DOWNLOAD Kraddy - Forbidden ft. Erica Dee (Minnesota Remix)

Seeing white...

Was an unexpected pleasure to awaken to a nice coating of fresh snow on everything this morning, although it was only about an inch or two at the house. Snow showers lingered for most of the day on the hill, and with them low visibility. In my current powder-starved state, I am excited to ride anything resembling fresh snow. The conditions at Alpine were definitely dust on crust, some good turns were had over on Scott, and overall it was an entertaining day. But soon the reality that this storm was just a giant tease began to set in, and we ended up calling it early for fear of further base damage. Forgot the camera, so I have no visuals to add here, but snatch up this new Break Science album that just dropped yesterday on Pretty Lights Music to ease your dissatisfaction:

Loved the first Break Science album and they have definitely taken a new direction with this one; after hearing the results, that is not a bad thing at all. Monolith Code has a really unique feel to it, fusing funky elements and a lot of bass with futuristic overtones. Check it out, PLM artists are always worth a listen (or many).

DOWNLOAD Break Science - Monolith Code (2012)

Oakley Canopy

We've all see the shots from SIA and edits of Oakley riders rocking these new over-sized Oaks for next year. Here is a great overview and features breakdown of the new Canopy goggle for 2012-2013.

One more to start us off with a bang.

All right, last post for the evening. Wanted to get the blog rolling the right way, a little snowboarding, and now a little music.

Pretty Lights just dropped this new track a few days ago and I've been really enjoying it. It's called "We Must Go On" and has a more chill, soulful hip hop vibe coupled with a nice vocal sample. I had the pleasure of seeing him play it live at Snowglobe over New Year's in South Lake and I've been eagerly awaiting the release ever since. Derek and his girlfriend also filmed and edited this music video for the track:

Download Pretty Lights - We Must Go On:
Mediafire Download

Since we are on the topic of Pretty Lights, here is an electro remix of his collaboration track with LeAnn Rimes and Dr. Ralph Stanley for the Re:Generation project. It is quite similar to the original track, with a bit more of a crunchy electro vibe sprinkled in there. You may scoff at the idea of country stars and electronic producers meshing, but give this a listen, you won't be disappointed (c'mon it is Pretty Lights...).

Download Pretty Lights feat. LeAnn Rimes and Dr. Ralph Stanley – Wayfaring Stranger (Pretty Lights Electro Mix):
Mediafire Download

Chance of showers? How bout some sun and great spring conditions.

So NOAA was again calling for chance of showers today on the hill, but the sun and warm temps prevailed for much of the morning allowing the snow to soften up enough to get after it up at Alpine. Some great spring conditions over on Sherwood allowed for some fun turns to be had.

C.Mills takes a moment from killing it to pose for an impromptu photo.

It is definitely still rock board/ski season out there, as there is a lot of exposure and plenty of hungry sharks looking to chomp on your base. Some day I will be able to take the new board out for some fun, but we are going to need a lot more snow up here before that happens.

The hike along the ridge towards Grouse rock.

Clouds rolling in...now if only they were bringing snow...

Yesterday was a bit of a wash at Squaw, as the early morning sun was pushed away quickly by cloud coverage and lower temps causing most of the soft snow to quickly return to chunky ice. Today was a redemption day and mother nature cooperated, hopefully tomorrow will be just as good!

Bring on the snow!

Here we go...

Well after much talk, I have finally started this blog. It will certainly be a work in progress for awhile as I get acquainted with the whole blogging thing and further narrowing the subject matter. I had envisioned this blog as becoming a way to show friends and family exactly what we do up here in beautiful Lake Tahoe. That will certainly be a huge part of it, but I will also be incorporating various other things, e.g., forcing my musical tastes and other random ramblings upon the reader. And without further ado...