We spent Memorial Day Weekend camping in Big Sur at Andrew Molera State Park which is home to one of the most popular surf spots in the area. The beach is situated at the mouth of the Big Sur River about 1/2 mile from the parking lot and 1/4 mile from our camp site. I wasn't looking forward to carrying a board down the trail so I decided to SUP the river.
There were some portages on the river but some really good moments standing up.
The surf wasn's great and the wind was howling just past the shielding cliffs that make this a popular surf spot. The waves were breaking in about 2ft and allowed for 2 very quick turns. Despite the less than incredible surf paddling the river was an incredible experience and catching a couple waves was a bonus.
You could spend a lifetime driving a VW bus up and down highway 1 finding different waves to ride each day, many people have. There must be 100 hidden secrets between Pacifica and Santa Cruz alone. A couple weeks ago we checked out the American Windsurfing Tour (AWT) at the legendary Waddell Creek. All of the pros came from Maui and the spectacle of talent on the water was amazing.
Just across the street from the wind and waves of the ocean, Waddell Creek winds its way past the largest Redwoods south of the Golden Gate.
Follow the river far enough and you will find a 90ft waterfall.
There have been so many good days recently I haven't had a chance to even think about the session from the day before. It all started 2 weeks ago (4/17) when there were 20+ knot days at 3rd ave every day until the weekend when the wind backed off just enough to make for some good racing at St. Francis where there was a fleet of 22 J105's. Don't get me wrong there were 25 knot puffs but I was thankful there weren't any 30+ puffs. During the 2 days of racing I finally made some sense of the crazy currents and wind around Crissy. Since then there has barely enough time for wetsuits to dry before the next good day.
The American Windsurfing Tour is also hosting a competition at Waddell. There is sure to be some awesome action and fun events there starting tomorrow (5/2). Here is some action from last year.
When we first moved to San Francisco everyone insisted there was never lightning in the city. Last night was indeed a unique event that resulted in 750 lightning strikes around the city (reported by NOAA). From our apartment you could hear the booms of thunder rolling through the Bay and could only imagine what it looked like. Luckily Phil McGrew shared an amazing picture he took from his apartment that overlooks the Bay Bridge.
It appears spring hasn't made its way to Lake Tahoe yet. April has been the best month for skiing all year. If only the mountains looked like this in January... it would be last year. I am getting my final day in Saturday, I might be able to squeak out one more weekend but I think this is it. All is well since the North Pacific High is strong and there should be plenty of 20+ knot days in San Francisco Bay. Hopefully the forecast below holds and I can end the winter season with a bang.
Given what the mountains looked like in the beginning of March it is amazing that the Chimney is open at squaw. Every line is a little scarier right now because of how little snow fell earlier in the season. Got to love that Sierra Cement and how it sticks to the steeps so well.
Most people are still thinking about the awesome days from April Fools weekend. It doesn't line up so perfectly that often. As you can see Squaw is also milking the good shots they got from that weekend for all they are worth.
So after an epic weekend of skiing I had just enough time for my legs to recover before the wind picked up around the Bay starting Wednesday. Sorry, I didn't take any video because I was testing new gear, the conditions were full on, and there were some issues coming in at the end of the day because of low tide. Frankly the conditions were so crazy it took me some getting used to. Here is the wind graph from the 3rd Ave. channel Wednesday.
There was giant swell all afternoon because of the ebb that was running until low tide around 6pm. I was out on a 4.1m sail and 78L Goya Quad and was pretty much overpowered the entire time. I tried sailing until 6:45 when the tide would have been high enough to make it to shore but as you can see from the graph the wind really started pumping at 6 and after feeling like the sail was getting ripped out of my hands during jibes I decided to trek through some mud to make it in. Sailing the swell is an incredible experience in these conditions. There are sections where sandbars and weird currents cause mogul chop to form but once you make it through that into the middle of the channel the swell is smooth and from my perspective mast high. The wind blew through the night into Thursday afternoon making the swell even bigger.
Thursday I got right after it so I could make it in before low tide. No practice jibes on the inside or making sure my gear was tuned right, I went straight out into the thick of it. The wind was pretty much the exact same but the swell was bigger (mast+) and more organized. When there is that much current and wind it takes some courage to turn downwind into the bowl of swell but once you do the sail pressure eases up and everything gets quiet. You can really concentrate on steering the board down the swell and enjoy yourself before turning back up onto a reach to the roaring wind. This video from Kevin of Sunset Sailboards sums up what I am talking about completely:
I had Friday off and got a little surprise when the wind filled in at Crissy and I got a nice booze cruise session on a 5.8m sail 100L board under the Golden Gate Bridge. I hope you enjoyed the write up and video from Kevin. I hope to have more to show you next time... which shouldn't be long from now.
The snow that fell last weekend also brought out some serious crowds. When we drove by the entrance to squaw the traffic was backed up past the entrance to the access road. We continued to Alpine where there was no traffic and probably more fresh lines available all day. Squaw always draws a large crowd on powder days with good reason. The extreme terrain that makes Squaw famous needs a lot of snow to make it skiable. As you can tell from this video the really good skiers at Squaw know every cliff, chute, and line they can take on the mountain.
Later is better than never. At least that is how the winter season around lake tahoe is shaping up. The snow that fell on the mountains this weekend doubled the season total bringing the snow levels up to 80% of Tahoe's average snowfall. When we got to the mountain (Alpine) we could hear the booms of charges exploding above the parking lot and looked up to see an avalanche pouring down from the peaks above. Instantly, we knew it was going to be an epic day. Avalanche safety must have gotten up really early because the mountain opened up on time despite 2+ feet of snow falling the night before.
Great view while hiking alpine bowl to the keyhole
There was so much snow and fresh tracks to be had you could get the goods anywhere on the mountain. After getting as many fresh tracks as we could in Alpine bowl we ventured to Scott chair, a slow lift near the backcountry. After a few runs in The Promise Land (actual name of the trail) we started eying the snow just past the signs for the ski boundary. The snow looked a little sketchy because it was built up from wind blowing it off a ridge but everything seemed stable so far that day. Little did we know the warm midday weather had weaken the snow and even though our friend Mike made some fresh lines when Elizabeth took her turns a large section released from under her. Luckily she stayed above above the snow and was funneled between a few trees and came to a reasonably safe stop in front of Mike. Needless to say we took more care during the rest of the day.
Elizabeth taking it in
I also had a scary experience at squaw on Friday when some snow released from under me. It was not nearly as large but there were some rocks I did not want to take a ride down. Elizabeth and I have never had such a close encounter with avalanche conditions and will probably do some homework before next season. There were still plenty of fresh lines off Scott but when we headed to the other side of the mountain most of the far bowls were closed. It was clear from the avalanche crowns we traversed by the far bowls were not safe.
While I can't wait for summer and windy conditions on the bay this weekend I can't wait to get the mountains and get back to Silverado. Snow was dumping the past 2 days and even though I didn't get today's fresh tracks I am sure there will be some left at gate 7 tomorrow (Friday).
Epic huck off a Silverado cliff
Pretty empty at Squaw, hopefully it stays that way
Nothing beats a nice day on Maui. Can't wait to get my 78L Goya quad out in some waves in Waddell as well as make my first trip to Maui at the end of this summer. Keith Taboul really knows how to get vertical and spray 100 pounds of water off the lip.
Last weekend was epic whether you were trying to harness the wind on the bay or conquer the Sierra Mountains. A storm that dropped 6 feet of snow on the mountains led to epic clearing winds in San Francisco Bay. Elizabeth headed up to Lake Tahoe to enjoy the fresh snow while I stayed in the Bay to enjoy the breeze. Even though it took the crew heading to the mountains close to 10 hours to get there due to snow and hi-way closures the snow was worth the wait.
All of the new snow definitely made for some hair raising conditions!
Saturday I sailed a J105 out of St. Francis YC and consider it the first time I sailed in SF bay conditions. The experience was exactly as I imagined it: windsurfers & kiters bombing out of Crissy Field while tight packs of boats rounded a windward mark just before the Golden Gate Bridge all the while you could see the Oracle America's Cup boats practicing. I was able to get a quick session in at Crissy Field Saturday night and Sunday morning before heading to 3rd ave for a long afternoon session. Here is a video of what it was like at Fort Pt. in the afternoon. I was there in the morning and the wind was less consistent but the swell was pumping all day.
Well I guess I spoke too soon when I said the seasons were changing. It appears winter has been very timid and only started to bless the mountains with snow this past week. Its hard to believe over a year ago I came out to Tahoe for a visit and they had 290" of snow by the first weekend in January. I guess all good things come to those who wait. While a large portions of the mountain terrain is still closed it was nice to lay some fresh tracks in the 4 feet of snow that fell over the weekend.
Sunday was nothing short of amazing. We could barely see through all the snow while we skied in the morning then we watched some football playoffs in the mid mountain lodge at squaw. During the pats game we could see snow poor down on the mountain and had to take some laps during half time.
