Northstar at Tahoe: 2008 first ride - A girls point of view
Words by Inga Beck
Pictures by Jason Van Horn
post date: 6. 26. 08
Alas, a female perspective on Northstar at Tahoe. While Downhill is typically a male dominated sport, over the years I have seen more and more female riders enjoying the thrills Northstar’s Bike Park has to offer.
While I was excited and eager to ride, I was a bit disappointed that the Tahoe Zephyr Express was the only lift open due to the early season's conditions. That being said, we were left with only 4 trails to ride at the top and 3 heading back down to the village. Not a whole lot considering we are the type of people who like to start riding when the Gondola first opens, up until the park closes.
Inga waits for her bike after the gondola ride up
Typically, I like my first run of the day to be pretty mellow. I want to feel the bike and make an acquaintance with the terrain. It isn’t every day that I get to ride loose, sandy dirt. So we started off riding Coaster, marked as a blue fire road. I actually did several rounds on Coaster, mainly by myself. I like to practice hauling ass downhill, not touching my brakes and taking the turns at an impressive speed. It’s a great run that helps me build my confidence. You can also hop onto the end of Live Wire, marked as a black diamond run, or the middle of Gypsy, also marked as a black diamond, if you are feeling like more of a challenge. I took Gypsy down a couple times by myself and then hopped onto Upper Mineshaft after I passed the lodge, to Lower Mineshaft. I really enjoyed taking the trails all the way down to the Village. Upper and Lower Mineshaft were fun flowing blue single tracks, offering good riding all the way down to the lodge. If you want more of a challenge, you can hop onto Lift Line, which features new jumps and stunts for the 2008 riding season.
The third run of the day we rode was Boondocks, marked as a double black single track. This by far was the most challenging, technical trail I rode in the park that day. I rode it, but with one foot down the entire time, and with almost no speed. I definitely did not feel comfortable on this trail at my current skill level, but have been taking part in the prototype Ihatebikes skills clinics, and I hope that I can re-write this at the end of the season with nothing but praises on how technical and fun this trail was!
Inga rides a relatively calm section of trail on Boondocks
One of my last runs of the day was on Live Wire also a black diamond rated trail. This trail is something else, full of jumps and massive berms all the way down. It is a Super fun trail that can be ridden without actually having to jump, if you are not comfortable doing so. It’s easy to roll over everything but it’s almost impossible to not get any air. However, those loose, dusty, and rock filled berms can definitely trip you up. I was advised that the key to successfully navigating them is to take them with speed, and letting your momentum carry you through. They are unlike any berms that I’ve ridden locally, super loose and sketchy. To do them right, one must be comfortable with being a bit out of control.
That pretty much sums up my first ride of the season. I am looking forward to heading back up and taking the Vista Express and exploring the other side of the slopes on my next trip!
http://www.northstarattahoe.com/