The loch ness monster...wakeboard

When you hear about Loch Ness, in Scotland, you typically think of the prehistoric monster residing in its depths, popping his head out every few years for a photo, not as a testing ground for prototype wakeboards.  According to the below link, though, there was a secret mission this past summer by some of the best wakeboarders in the world to Loch Ness to test out the newest and best boards that their sponsors were working on. Loch Ness wakeboard testing

Enjoy the short article and, as always, keep shredding!

September on the lake!

I have always said that September is the most underrated month in the Lakes Region in New Hampshire.  The water is still in the 70's, the sun is strong during the day and, best of all, no one is out on the lake! I have been having a blast up on Merrymeeting offering private lessons to individuals, groups, and families as well as doing a lot of stand up paddling.  I found the below article on WMUR this week...it is good to see other people having some fun as well!

http://www.wmur.com/escape-outside/september-is-a-great-time-for-a-waterski/35300794

Enjoy the fall!

Goodbye old friend...

Last month we said farewell to the O.G. Water Monkey boat.  Our 2012 Centurion Avalanche C4 Special is what got us started and, while we were sad to see it go, it will provide many more hours of fun to a new deserving family.

Hundreds of our campers since 2012 have progressed their riding, surfing, and skiing behind this amazing boat.  As we pulled it out of the water for the last time we definitely marveled at how good the Centurion looked for a boat with 650 hours of camp use.  I hope that our new boats can last as long and perform as well.

I took one final shot of the boat as it departed with its new owners.  Adios!

Adventure fun in Lake Tahoe, California (and Nevada) - part 2

Having scoped out the lake from the shore and from the mountain peaks it was time to get out there.  Unfortunately I did not bring the Axis with me to California so wake surfing was out.  Good thing that paddle boards are everywhere so we (wife and I) grabbed two and some paddles and headed out on the water for some exploration.

Pictures do not do justice to the ridiculous clarity of the water in Lake Tahoe.  We are super spoiled on Merrymeeting Lake in NH with clean, clear water but this lake is on a different level.  You can cruise around on the board and without a problem look down to the bottom at 30 or 40 feet like it was right there.

We started early and the giant lake was perfect glass.  The scale of the lake was hard to comprehend when we were out there.  I picked a remote, isolated beach as a destination to explore and it took almost 90 minutes to paddle there in a straight line.  Coming from Merrymeeting Lake in NH that is only a few miles long it is hard to imagine that just crossing a small bay in Lake Tahoe is equal to the length of our lake.

We arrived at the little beach and parked our boards for a few minutes.  The view of the lake and mountains in any direction was amazing.  In the corner of the beach was a little cave that looked ripe for a grizzly home but fortunately (or unfortunately) there were no bears in sight.

After the beach break it was time to get back out there.  We paddled around some cool rock formations, into little coves, and generally just anywhere we thought looked interesting.  SUPing is always a good time and getting out on the big lake was a new experience.

...we did see a grizzly later that day

It is kind of blurry but this was the best shot I could get on my cell phone at the time.  The grizz came out of the woods in front of our car, sauntered across, and disappeared into the woods again.  Bears are sweet!

Adventure fun in Lake Tahoe, California (and Nevada) - part 1

It is always fun to get out and explore; especially in a new place.  I have visited Lake Tahoe, CA in the winter for some epic snowboarding in the past but last week was my first summer trip to this spectacular spot.  The two adventure highlights of the trip were mountain biking the Tahoe Flume Trail and SUPing on the crystal clear lake.

The Tahoe Flume Trail is a 17 mile or so mix of single track and fire roads that pack in breathtaking views, a calf-burning uphill, speedy downhills, and adrenaline inducing corners on thousand-foot cliffs.

The day started at tranquil Spooner Pond where I did a quick two-mile warm up around the pond and then linked up with the Flume Trail.  There is no honey-coating what the start of the trail entailed: it was four miles of climbing with a little more than 1,000 feet of elevation gain - just straight up and up and up.

I stopped about two miles into the climb to catch my breath and snapped this quick selfie.  It was a gorgeous, hot day and although the hill seemed never-ending, the reward at the top was worth it.

From the top of the first peak the ride got fun.  An intense downhill brought me to a smaller lake (Marlette Lake) which was picturesque and serene.  After biking a few miles along its shores I got to a dam and the start of the Flume Trail.  From then on it is fast paced cruising at 8,000 feet on single track that varies from three feet wide to just a foot or so in some places.  On the right of the trail was usually cliff or woods going up and on the left was a sheer drop for about a thousand feet.  There was nothing technical about this trail but it was super fun and full of ridiculous views of the lake and mountains.

For miles the trail hugged the cliff, letting me traverse the mountain and try not to ride off the side while taking in the views.  The trail eventually peeled away from the edge of the mountain and, after a few warning signs regarding speed, variable terrain, and death, I arrived at a four or five mile downhill which was, needless to say - awesome.  The downhill dumped me back at the bike shop that I started at and the adventure was over.

Part 2 - SUPing the lake - next post.