Creating Conversation Within a Network Society
May 23, 2008
Over the past year as the recreation correspondent for OurTahoe.org, I developed an interactive, environmental journalism Web site called, LifeMoreNatural.com. Life More Natural is a platform to for conversation about the environment and the role that outdoor enthusiasts play in sustaining it. Working within an existing network of outdoor enthusiasts, I’ve been able to create conversation and drive user-generated content. To do this, I had to change my relationship with my audience and frame the conversation as a collaborative effort in which all of us were both producers and consumers of the news and information at my site. In the process, a dramatic series of events put these efforts to the test. Read more
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Off the couch and onto the river
April 29, 2008
South Fork Yuba River, Calif. - I’ve heard about California kayaking for years now. “It’s the best there is…there’s nothing like it,” they say. While I’ve had the opportunity to paddle a couple of California rivers, the ones I have boated are more closely akin to Oregon’s boating than the classic Sierra Mountain streams that California is world famous for. Yesterday afternoon I finally got a taste of what the spring season holds for Golden State boaters. Read more
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Celebrating Earth Day
April 22, 2008
Reno, Nevada - Despite the chilly temperatures, the sun was out and so were the people of Reno for the 2008 Earth Day celebration. Individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations congregated en masse at Idlewild Park along the banks of the Truckee River for the Sunday Celebration.
A solar powered stage provided the center piece as seven different bands kept the cool air filled with warm vibes. More than 100 booths were set up for shoppers and information seekers alike. People picked up plants, shirts and knowledge about how to compost, use solar power and even support local farmers. The Reno Bike Project had a bike valet for those that peddled to the event. Read more
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Environment takes center stage leading up to Earth Day
April 18, 2008
Reno, Nevada - Thursday’s greenUP! news conference at Patagonia’s Reno Distribution Center, brought together politicians, business leaders and community members to kick-start the the greenUP! springtime promotional campaign.
“Achieving sustainability is one of the hardest goals to achieve,” Sparks Mayor Geno Martini said. “We must all work together to achieve that goal.” Read more
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In quest for gold, Olympic skier seeks to help Reno youth
March 7, 2008
Reno, Nevada- Though she is traveling the world chasing her Olympic dream, skier Shelly Robertson maintains close ties to her hometown of Reno, Nevada.
This spring, while she’s competing in Europe, Asia and across North America, Robertson, 28, will be working to give back to the Reno community by raising money to sponsor underprivileged kids to learn how to ski in the Sky Tavern Junior Ski Program. Robertson has partnered with LifeMoreNatural.com to put on a pledge drive based on her training and competitions with all money raised going to the local non-profit ski program.
“I want to give children the same opportunity that I was given as a child–the chance to ski,” Robertson, currently ranked fifth in the world and second in the U.S., said. “Skiing is an amazingly fun sport and we all know that it isn’t cheap. By sharing my story with children and offering financial assistance, I hope that I can get them as excited about skiing as I am and give them a safe, fun environment in which to set goals and achieve them.”
The Sky Tavern Junior Ski Program is an all volunteer-run snowsports program dedicated to teaching Northern Nevada children how to ski and snowboard. Sky Tavern operates at the City of Reno owned Sky Tavern Park Sky and is an 8 week program that starts the first weekend in January each year. Children receive a 2 hour lesson from certified snowsports instructors and then have the rest of the day to free ski or ride.
“Learning how to ski is so good for the kids,” John Morrow, a volunteer Instructor Trainer for Sky Tavern said. “When they first start the program they’re timid and unsure. By the end of the season they’re flying down all the main runs. It really helps there self-esteem and confidence and that’s something they take with them. It’s a great feeling to be a part of that.”
Sky Tavern first opened in December of 1945, and has been trying to represent the best of what skiing and community are all about ever since.
“I chose to help support the Sky Tavern Ski Program because I feel it is a great program that helps the children of Reno experience skiing and snowboarding in a safe environment,” Robertson said. “My mom instilled a deep desire in me for skiing when she taught me how to ski at age 3 and she continued to support my sister’s and my dream of competing at the national level. Ever since I was a kid I dreamed of going to the Olympics and with hard work and the support of others I plan on accomplishing this goal by attending the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. By sharing my story with children and offering financial assistance, I hope that I can get them as excited about skiing as I am and give them a safe, fun environment in which to set goals and achieve them. By providing children with the opportunity of sport I feel that they will gain a sense of accomplishment and a stronger self-esteem and may even pursue their own Olympic dream.”
Though teaching Reno’s youth to ski is what Sky Tavern is all about, safety and fun are what’s most important to the organization.
“With two doctors, a bunch of firemen and paramedics, we’re really one of the best ski patrols around,” Eric Lamberts, a local physician and Sky Tavern Ski Patroller said. “One of the great things about skiing is that you can do it till you’re 60, my age.” Lamberts began as an instructor at Sky Tavern 23 years ago when he first started bringing his daughters up to ski. “It’s such a good thing to do for these kids. It creates lasting memories, gets them out from in front of the T.V. and builds their self-confidence. Besides, it doesn’t make sense to not learn how to ski in Reno.”
“I like to ski with my dad,” Caleb Gardner, 11, of Spanish Springs said. “We come up here every weekend that we can. It’s fun to come up with my family. Sometimes the neighbors come too.”
For transportation, lessons and lift tickets the cost is $195. Through the pledge drive at LifeMoreNatural.com, Shelly hopes to raise money to send 15 underprivileged Truckee Meadows area kids to ski school.
“I love it,” Todd Carns, 14, of Reno said. “Every weekend, I can’t wait to get up to the mountain.” Now in his third year in the program Todd is one of the many children that gets picked up by Sky Tavern’s buses at one of six local schools. “I want to be a ski patroller one day,” he said.
People can donate to Shelly’s cause based on a per mile basis or on how she places at her competitions.
“I’m currently back on the circuit in Europe, where we will be going to the Czech Republic, Sweden and Italy,” Shelly said. “We will finish the season in Deer Valley, UT for National Championships (March 27-30).
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Announcing Green Rewards
February 20, 2008
Register today to win lift tickets at Sugar Bowl and Kirkwood ski resorts, beer from New Belgium Brewery and wine and coffee from Java Jungle Vino. All you have to do is join us at LifeMoreNatural.com in a conversation about the environment, recreation and what we as individuals can do to keep outdoor lifestyles sustainable.
The Green Rewards program is our attempt at LifeMoreNatural.com to get people more involved in protecting our environment through conversation, storytelling and volunteering. Green Rewards is a points competition with weekly and monthly prizes, which encourages readers to interact with our Web site by contributing content in the form of comments, photos and stories. You earn points with each contribution but also by volunteering with an environmental or recreation based organization.
“There’s a natural connection between recreation and conservation,” Daniel Pistoresi, Kirkwood ski resort’s marketing communications manager said. “We at Kirkwood want to be a part of that. People who play outdoors do so because they love it, so we have a vested interest in protecting the environment.”
“Sometimes you just do something because it’s the right thing to do,” Greg Murtha, marketing director for Sugar Bowl ski resort said. Sugar Bowl is happy to support doing the right thing when it comes to the environment, he said.
So register today and start getting involved in conserving our environment and recreation opportunities and win yourself some cool prizes by doing it.
Here’s How To Win:
- First you need to Register so that we can keep track of who’s doing what and notify you if you win.
- For each verifiable Volunteer activity that you engage in related to the environment or recreation you will earn 50 Green Rewards.
- Volunteer opportunities are not limited to the one’s listed in our guide, if you get involved in one not listed, add it to the database for an extra 5 Green Rewards.
- For each feature story about an environmental or recreation issue that you contribute to this site you will earn 20 Green Rewards.
- For each description that you contribute to the Recreation Guide or the Volunteer Database you earn 5 Green Rewards.
- For each substantive comment that you post on one of the stories you will earn one Green Reward.**
- Lift tickets from our sponsors at Kirkwood and Sugar Bowl ski resorts will be awarded as weekly prizes to the top four points earners.***
- A pair of lift tickets from Kirkwood and Sugar Bowl ski resorts will be awarded to the top two points earners for monthly prizes as well as a case of beer from New Belgium Brewery to be awarded to the third place points earner.***
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South Lake Tahoe man shares journey around world
October 20, 2007
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In Rick Gunn’s latest e-mail home, he boasted, “been there done that.”"I did it!” he exclaimed, with more exclamation points than would be prudent to print.The South Lake Tahoe man was celebrating having cycled across 1,900 miles of Australian desert, but the sentiment could have referenced a larger accomplishment.Since Gunn left from the Golden Gate Bridge in July 2005, he has ridden his bike through 31 countries, taking photos and writing stories along the way to share his experience.”It’s been important to me to tell these stories because it is all too easy to forget that each decision we make in our personal lives is capable of having a profound effect outside of our lives, outside of our communities, outside of our borders. To offer a gentle (or not so gentle) reminder that the way we eat, shop, consume and vote can have a severe effect on many we may never see,” he wrote in an e-mail. “I’ve always hoped that by the telling my stories of these deeply personal encounters in the world, it may motivate some to switch off that TV set, and switch on their motivation to help find sustainable solutions to these problems.”His stories and photos have been printed in several publications including the Nevada Appeal, Tahoe Daily Tribune and on his Web site rickgunnphotography.com. Calling his trip the Wish Tour, he’s encouraged readers to donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The 43-year-old moved to South Lake Tahoe from Castro Valley, Calif., 15 years ago to attend a junior college. He never left, citing a “severe, unending bout of outdoor enthusiasm.”
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A wild ride at South Lake
February 17, 2007
High in the Sierra, the summer sun was torturous. Hundreds of feet below and miles behind us, it had felt like enjoyable weather to go mountain biking. The crisp, mountain air of Lake Tahoe had been a player in the ruse to sucker me into this game of chance. Groaning and wheezing my way up a seven-mile, 3,200-foot vertical climb, chances were I wasn’t going to make it.
Photo Gallery: Tahoe mountain biking |
I was up at the lake for work and had brought my bike just in case. I thought I had gotten lucky when I caught a friend of mine already on her way up the mountain from Reno and still in cell phone range. Alex was on her way to meet some buddies to do a loop on a trail called Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Sounded perfect. Now, with holes burning through my quads and my heart about to overheat, I realized Lady Luck wasn’t on my side after all.It seemed as though we had been climbing for days and we weren’t even to the single-track dirt trail yet. Flashes of what Alex had said as we peddled down Highway 50, the car already a mile behind us, kept popping into my head, “20-mile loop…really burly…collegiate bikers.” With no water, no food and no idea what I had gotten myself into, all I could manage was an exhausted, half-hearted grin. I’ve sandbagged plenty of friends before, kayaking or skiing, and just knew that I was getting what I had coming to me. Life always manages to bring me a twist of fate and return me to a sense of humility. This was, after all, only the second time I had been mountain biking.The first time I went biking was with my roommate on the Tahoe Rim Trail from Brockway Summit to Tahoe City. We shuttled the uphill section and rode a great 8 to 10-mile downhill single-track through a forest of dense fir trees. The deep blue waters of Tahoe shimmered below us in the California sun. Passing in and out of the shade, we stayed cool. The day was perfect for a newbie to the area and to mountain biking.Since moving to Reno in July, I’ve realized that there’s nothing you can’t find for great mountain biking in Northern Nevada. Whether it’s a 13-mile traverse 2,000 feet above Lake Tahoe on the Flume Trail, or an up and down, twisting and turning ride through the trees along Galena Creek, the Reno/Tahoe area is a premier place to be introduced to mountain biking. Just be
careful to ask what the trail is like before you get there.With my first ride in mind, I was all smiles and excitement as the five of us gathered at the trail head near Meyers for the ride up Toads. Geared up and ready to go, we started down the narrow forest road back towards Highway 50.”Why are we heading back out to the road?” I asked.”Because we loop around and end up back at the car,” Alex told me. “We go down the highway for a little bit then cut off down a neighborhood road and end up climbing on a forest road.”"Oh, alright. I just figured we’d be on the trail the whole time,” I said.”Well, it’s still mostly single-track trail,” Alex said nonchalantly. “These guys are just looking to get in a longer ride. They’re all collegiate bikers that I know from racing.”"Collegiate bikers?” I stammered. I imagine my face looked something like that of a confused dog. “You race?”"Yeah, I’m on UNR’s cycling team,” Alex said.I had only known her as a University of Nevada, Reno graduate student and fellow Alaskan. It dawned on me that I may have gotten in over my head.”It’s a long, tough climb and pretty technical on the downhill but it’s supposed to be one of the best rides in this whole area,” she said. “I’ve never done it because all the friends I ride with have always told me I couldn’t handle it. You’ve been on a long ride before though I’m sure,” she said confidently.Laughing, I killed her confidence.”Oh yeah, you know…that Brockway ride we did last week.”"Well, that wasn’t really a cross-country ride, that was just downhill,” she said. “What’s the longest ride you’ve done besides that?”"Oh. Well, let’s see. There was that Brockway ride we did last week and, um, well that’s pretty much it,” I said in good-humored embarrassment.”That’s the only time you’ve been riding?” she asked, jaw dropping.”Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” I said, echoing the advice I pass on to all my friends before I take them kayaking.An hour later, with stinging sweat blurring my vision, I wasn’t too sure. My only saving grace was that Alex would stop periodically to wait for me, give me a sip of water and a worried look.”Well, we made it to the single track,” Alex said pointing across Highway 89 to the start of the Tahoe Rim Trail. “Now the real climbing begins. I’m not sure how long it is to the top but it’s supposed to be pretty brutal.” She laughed.If brutal is climbing straight up hill on a skinny, loose-dirt track over granite boulders and the roots of trees in order to hike your bike up an even steeper section of rock laced terrain, then I’d say the next hour and a half of my life fit the description.By the time we got to the top my inner being was dancing a jig and wailing in jubilation. Externally, all I could manage was a mumbled, “Thank God,” and collapse on a massive fallen pine tree.Alex’s friends weren’t too sympathetic to my suffering and quickly gathered up and took off blazing down the trail.”Well, it’s all down hill from here. Not that it gets any easier,” said Alex, as if trying to soothe me with her taunting laughter. “But, you’ll probably be out in front of me. I go pretty slow on the downhill.”
The next 12 miles brought redemption and punishment both. The trail is fast and smooth for sections–just long enough to make a fatigued rider enjoy the speed and get cocky. Then a sharp corner dropped into a 100-foot long stair case section. My cockiness demonstrated to Alex, behind me, how to do a perfect aerial dismount into a head-first landing. Rock gardens and more tree stumps kept me on my toes but my ability to focus was fading fast. With each crash though, I started to feel that perhaps Lady Luck was on my side after all. I was bruised and battered, but not actually hurt.Rock gardens became less and less frequent and sharp corners gave way to perfectly banked turns I settled into something like cruise control. The trees went by in a blur and the path in front of me was all there was. I no longer saw the rocks that scattered the trail–instead I saw the gaps between them and weaved through like a skier in the trees. The roots no longer served as obstacles but became ramps for mini jumps. The wind on my sweat and dirt stained face was like a splash from a mountain stream. We crested a hill and a combination of joy, sadness and disbelief took hold of me as I spotted the car. Not only had I survived, I was hooked.
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Latest Headlines
- Hearing planned in Incline tree-felling case - The federal trial for an Incline Village woman charged with hiring a tree-cutting company to chop three Ponderosa Pines from her Lake Tahoe property has been canceled and a change-of-plea hearing scheduled May 1.
- Truckee man takes torch to North Pole - A Truckee man who reached the North Pole this week carrying an unlit torch for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games plans to discuss his experience and environmental issues Saturday by audio and video transmissions with participants at a Lake Tahoe festival.
- Quake pattern watched closely - As earthquakes continue to shake Reno, two reports released this month give new insight into the likely characteristics of a temblor at Lake Tahoe.
Winds are North at 6 MPH. The pressure is 30.17" and the humidity is 23%. The heat index is 75. Last Updated on Jul 5, 10:55 am PDT.
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