Return to Winter | Sky Tavern | E81

Return to Winter | Sky Tavern | E81

From Mind the Track by @Pow_Bot and @trail_whisperer

February 17, 2026 · 1h 39m · Season 4 · Episode 4

About this episode

The episode discusses the return of winter weather, the 2026 Winter Olympics, and features an interview with Sky Tavern representatives about their ski program.

Amidst a sudden return to winter with 5 to 8 feet of new snow after a 5 week dry spell, on this two-part episode, in the first half the boys cover the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, seeing a Lake Tahoe Knight Monsters hockey game and field some listener calls on the COR LORD hotline. With big avalanches a near certainty, Pow Bot advises people to be smart during this stormy period, give the snowpack time to heal and abide the F.A.C.E.T.S. snow safety acronym. The second half is a discussion with Christopher Brown and Rick Reed of Sky Tavern, talking about the history of the largest and longest-running community non-profit ski program in America, why the operation recently implemented a no uphill access policy and some exciting news coming for the 2026 mountain bike season.   2:50 – PB drives to Santa Barbara for a surf/mountain bike trip, TW goes to Santa Cruz. 5:50 – Hasn’t snowed in a month but a huge storm is incoming. 7:30 – Skiing on dirt across the American West – one of the worst winters ever on record. 9:30 – Recording at Sky Tavern – discussing uphill policy – no uphill ski access currently. 11:30 – Going to see the Lake Tahoe Knight Monsters in South Lake…

People in this episode

Hosts: Pow Bot, Trail Whisperer

Guests: Christopher Brown, Rick Reed

Topics covered

  • Winter Olympics
  • skiing
  • snow safety
  • community ski programs
  • hockey
  • mountain biking

Keywords

  • Winter Olympics
  • Sky Tavern
  • snow safety
  • hockey
  • mountain biking
  • community ski program
  • avalanche

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Lake Tahoe, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Milano Cortina

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