Tag Archives: San Francisco

You’re invited: Ski & Ride Winter Season Kick-off Party

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*** Annual Ski & Ride Winter Kick-off Party ***

What: Join to increase your ‘fun factor” by expanding your circle of ski, ride buddies for Tahoe ski trips & powder trips to other snow destinations especially covered by a multi-resort pass such as the
EPIC PASS, IKON PASS, MOUNTAIN COLLECTIVE PASS + POWDER ALLIANCE PASS.

Our Host is Emily ..

“I was born & raised Vermonter, and a current Epic Pass holder. Most weekends you can find me at Kirkwood, or Heavenly shredding the pow. Interested in carpooling on weekends, or weekdays to any Epic Resorts. Looking forward to meeting everyone!”

– Swag giveaway: $25 Sports Basement gift card Sports Basement + other swag in the works

– Watch ski/ride video from last season to get stoked for winter season powder ski/ride trips to Tahoe, Colorado, Utah, British Columbia, South America Europe and Japan.

– Share POWDER Stories from last season and enjoy complimentary drinks and light snacks 😉

– Expand your circle of friends/buddies for snow sports & backcountry ski/ride partners as well

Find yourself driving to/from Lake Tahoe with mostly empty seats?

Carpool/RideShare with skiers, boarders who love snow sports as much as you, share expenses and help preserve our environment by ride-sharing to/from Tahoe.

Got your skis/snowboard tuned & waxed?

Get 20% off at this event to shop at Sports Basement for ski/ride gear & winter attire and get your skis, snowboard waxed, tuned/serviced while waiting for resorts to open.

When: Tuesday November 5, 2019 from 7 pm to 9 pm.

At 8 pm, we will have a swag drawing giveaway so get there early to partake – print your event ticket and it will be used as your drawing entry to win event swag.

7:30 PM – New ski & board gear demo
8:00 PM – Event Swag Giveaway Drawing
8:10 PM – Learn how to wax your skis / snowboard based on the type of snow slopeside

Where: Sports Basement Bryant, SF

1590 Bryant St

San Francisco, California 94103

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RSVP for this event on Eventbrite.

Important: PLEASE be courteous and let us know if you can’t make it after you have RSVPed; sign into EventBrite to change your RSVP so that we can get an accurate count of how many folks to expect. Behind the scene, we work tremendously hard to put together events so in return please be mindful to give us a heads up if your plans have changed and you can no longer attend. Much appreciated!

View events in other parts of the Bay Area.

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Fun Poll Questions

Which Tahoe resort do you ski / ride at most often?

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What's your Skiing / Snowboarding Experience?

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* New to SnowPals? Join us to expand your circle of ski and ride buddies and Tahoe ride-share contacts for powder trips to Tahoe and beyond.

Affiliates and Partners

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Photo Credit: Sierra-at-Tahoe

Page created on December 10, 2019.

Best in the Business: Our Affiliates and Partners

At SnowPals, we invite snow-sports businesses (world-wide) to join us as an affiliate to cross promote/share with San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe Area snow-sports consumers about what you do best: (1) services you offer, and/or (2) products you sell.

We strive to build stellar long-term business relationships with consumers; we strive to deliver great value and service to customers in order to build a genuinely loyal customer base; if this sounds like your business’ endeavor, please reach out to become an affiliate by submitting the form at the end of this page.

Our 2019/20 Affiliates List

South Bay

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Apres’ Ski Club Lodge at Kings Beach (North Lake Tahoe): Join Apres ski and snowboard club based out of the Santa Clara, CA (South Bay) is a singles club for active adults residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. Website: http://apres.org

Lake Tahoe

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Backcountry Ski Maps is the best all-in-one backcountry ski touring maps on the marketplace where you can find all the route information you need on one piece of paper or via digital format on your smartphone or laptop. Website: https://backcountryskimaps.com

Canada

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SkiBuds: Find friends to ride with based on skill level making the skiing experience in Whistler, British Columbia more enjoyable. Website: http://www.skibudsapp.com

Our 2019/20 Partners List

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If you’d like to partner with SnowPals, please reach out to for metrics and benefits of partnership.

What does becoming an affiliate entails? Send us a one sentence description detailing what you offer as a business, a URL link to your biz’s website and your business logo.

Please use the following sentence and logo to add SnowPals to your affiliates’ page (your business must have an affiliate page that you can easily include us on your page as well). We will in turn do likewise on this page, please contact (Monday to Friday, non-holidays, 9 AM to 5 PM) once you have added SnowPals to your business’ website. View a sample of what an affiliates’ page look like on SkiBuds’ website.

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For Lake Tahoe ski trips, join SnowPals.org – San Francisco Bay Area based snow-sports club for busy professionals, since 1999.

Become an Affiliate

Submit this form to become a SnowPals affiliate,
  • Send us a one sentence description detailing what you offer as a business.

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One day and multi-day discount Tahoe ski bus trips

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Bay Area Ski Bus to Tahoe Promo Discount Code ‘ 17snowpals ‘ is valid only for NEW Registrants.

 

Get the following discounts:

  • $6 off per person on one day trips
  • $10 off per person on two day Bay Area Ski Bus Trips
  • $30 off per person on travel ski destinations trip packages

Bay Area Ski Bus trips goes to Kirkwood, Heavenly, Sierra at Tahoe, Northstar, Sugar Bowl, Squaw Valley USA, Homewood and Alpine Meadows. 1 day and 2 day hotel, house weekend trips and overnight ski bus trip packages. The Bay Area Ski Bus offers the most ski bus trips to Tahoe resorts; operating four days weekly with 11 SF Bay Area pick-up locations.

Bay Area Ski Bus offers:

  • Adults Only Ski Bus Trips
  • Family Ski Bus Trips
  • Teens Exclusive Ski Bus Trips
  • Singles Ski Bus Trips(“Singles” Ski Trips give solo skiers & snowboarders a chance to meet other singles in a fun and engaging setting: meet that special person who shares your love for snow sports)

These trips include:

  • round- trip transportation
  • a full day’s lift ticket
  • breakfast
  • free energy drink for the slopes
  • after- ski hot cocoa(wine/beer tastings on selected dates), snacks, and on-bus featured movie entertainment
  • optional: add ski/snowboard rental and/or lesson package

Treat family, friends and/or yourself to a fun day at your favorite Tahoe ski resort. Gift certificates available for the holidays or that special occasion.

  If you already have a ski season pass or lift ticket, you can choose to purchase a ‘ ala carte ‘ round-trip bus ride only service/transportation for $93 with the ‘ 17snowpals ‘ promo code(regular price is $99).

SAVE $30 ON SKI TRIP VACATIONS 

Use discount code  ‘ 17snowpals ‘ at payment checkout* to get $30 off.

Treat yourself, family and friends to a Ski & Snowboarding Destination Vacation: 

 Get $30 off ski / ride and stay vacation to ..

       Jan 2 – 8, 2017         Powder Hunt Ski Trip
       Jan 14 – 21, 2017      Banff and Kicking Horse, British Columbia Ski Trip
       Feb 9 – 20, 2017       Japan
                

Reserve your spot(s) with a deposit. Space is limited; register early as trips will fill up. A DEPOSIT secures your spot!

Browse the Tahoe ski bus schedule, register and use our discount code ‘ 17snowpals ‘ to get your discount. Please note discounts only valid for NEW registrants.

Here’s what a typical ski bus day trip with the Bay Area Ski Bus is like:

Looking to buy gear, skis, snowboard or snow sports clothing? REI is having their REI’s Winter Clearance Sale.

Save up to 50% on Cold Weather Clothing and Footwear. Plus Save 50% off or more at REI Garage! Shop early for the best selection. Free U.S. Standard Shipping on all Skis and Snowboards. Earn a $100 REI Gift Card when you apply for an REI Mastercard. Browse clearance sale items.

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Warren Miller Ski / Ride Film Showing with pre-event PIZZA

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Join us for Warren Miller’s 67th ski and snowboard film screening at 9 PM on Saturday November 19, 2016 of Here, There & Everywhere with Snowpals’ exclusive pre-show pizza social. Here’s a great opportunity to meet local skiers and boarders to expand your social circle/meet a few new friends for Tahoe ride share and ski trips for the winter season.

Got season pass? Maximize your ski season pass by joining a ski lease and expand your circle of friends and activity partners in the process.

Pre-show Pizza Social Tickets Remaining: 3 tickets left as of 11/17/2016. Ticket sales via Snowpals close at 11:59 PM PST on Friday Nov. 18, 2016.

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Pizza Social Tickets: $10 per person ~ buy tickets.

Join us for our exclusive pizza social prior to the movie from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM. Pizza is included. Buy your own drink(s). Pizza social location is in Campbell; exact address will be given to all participants by email on Saturday Nov 19, 2016 by 11 AM.

Once you have purchased your ticket(s); PayPal will send you a receipt by email. Please print the receipt and bring it to the Pizza Social get together to redeem. If you have any questions, please  Tim or text/sms 408.341.9744.

*Pizza social tickets are non-refundable but transferable to someone else; you are responsible to sell /transfer your ticket if you can not go. If you missed or can not make it to the pizza social, there’s no refund.

Got film tickets? You can still buy tickets on Eventbrite to see the film screening of Here, There & Everywhere film screening 9:00 PM showing on Saturday November 19, 2016 at the Heritage Theatre in Campbell, CA.

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Film Ticket Holders will receive coupons at the film showing for:

     2-FOR-1 LIFT TICKET TO SQUAW VALLEY | ALPINE MEADOWS: Everyone attending this screening of Here, There & Everywhere will receive a voucher good for One (1) 2-FOR-1 lift ticket to Squaw Valley | Alpine Meadows. Buy One (1) adult lift ticket at the resort rate and receive a second lift ticket for FREE. Offer valid from Opening Day 2016 through Closing Day 2017. OFFER NOT VALID Saturdays AND the following blackout dates: 12.17.16 through 12.31.17, 1.14.17 through 1.15.17, AND 2.18.17 through 2.25.17. Not valid with any other discount offers. No cash value. No refunds.

     FREE LIFT TICKET TO MT. BACHELOR: Everyone attending this screening of Here, There & Everywhere will receive a voucher to Mt. Bachelor good for One (1) FREE lift ticket valid Opening Day 2016 through Closing Day 2017, Sunday through Friday (non-holiday). One (1) coupon per person. Not valid with any other discount offer. No refunds. No cash value. Non-transferable.

     FREE EARLY- OR LATE-SEASON LIFT TICKET TO STEAMBOAT: Everyone attending this screening of Here, There & Everywhere will receive a voucher good for One (1) FREE lift ticket to Steamboat. OFFER VALID 11.24.16 through 12.16.16 OR 4.1.17 through 4.16.17. Non-transferable. Not valid with any other discount offers. No cash value. No refunds.

     20% OFF YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE AT SPORTS BASEMENT: Everyone attending this screening of Here, There & Everywhere will receive a voucher good for 20% OFF your entire purchase. One (1) coupon per customer. Cannot be combined with any other coupons or discounts. Some exclusions apply. OFFER EXPIRES 11.30.16.

About the movie:

It’s been 67 years since ski-film pioneer Warren Miller picked up a camera to capture the wonder, the adventure, the humor and the beauty that is skiing. Since that time, Warren Miller film crews have traveled the globe—from storied slopes to hidden, snow-covered corners—to celebrate all things snowsports. Their quest has taken powder-hungry filmgoers, well, Here, There & Everywhere—and this year continues that legacy.

In this 67th annual Warren Miller film, take a freeski adventure with industry veterans Ingrid Backstrom and Wendy Fisher in Crested Butte, tour Eastern Greenland by dog sled with Seth Wescott and Rob Kingwill and follow Jess McMillan and Grete Eliassen on a Swiss holiday aboard the Glacier Express. Explore the backcountry of Western Montana’s Glacier Country with Tyler Ceccanti, Collin Collins and Keith Curtis and catch a powder day with Kaylin Richardson, Matt Elliott, Marcus Caston and the Kicking Horse ski patrol in British Columbia.

Travel along as Warren Miller Entertainment commemorates Stein Eriksen in Deer Valley, captures the big air at Boston’s Fenway Park (yes, that Fenway Park!) and rides the steeps of Squaw Valley to the big lines of Cordova, Alaska, plus much more. This year, don’t miss original ski bum and filmmaker Warren Miller himself in on-screen interviews as he spins tales of the past as only Warren can do, reminding us that through the years, these films have truly taken audiences Here, There & Everywhere.

Sponsors of the 2016 Warren Miller Film Tour include: Western Montana’s Glacier Country, Gosling’s, L.L. Bean, Moosehead, Switzerland Tourism, Helly Hansen, Korbel and SKI Magazine.

Featured Athletes: Aaron Blunck • Chris Anthony • Collin Collins • Grete Elliassen • Ingrid Backstrom • Jeremy Jones • Jess McMillan • Jonny Moseley • JT Holmes • Kailyn Richardson • Keith Curtis • Marcus Caston • Matt Elliott • Morgan Hebert • Rob Kingwill • Ryland Bell • Seth Wescott • Tyler Ceccanti • Wendy Fisher

Narrated by: Jonny Moseley and Featuring Warren Miller

Featured Locations: Squaw Valley, CA • Crested Butte, CO • Deer Valley, UT • Montana • Switzerland • Kicking Horse Mountain Resort • Cordova, AK • Greenland • Boston’s Fenway Park • Steamboat Springs, CO

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Top Pick for Bay Area Ski Shop

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Snowpals’ Top Pick for Bay Area Ski Shop goes to California Ski Company 

 

 

California Ski Company is a premier San Francisco Bay Area’s ski equipment shop specializing in:

  • alpine skiing(aka downhill skiing)
  • backcountry – the only SF Bay Area ski shop specializing in backountry
  • expert custom boot fitting
  • professional ski tuning
  • high-performance ski rentals

What is most important to you when you’re looking to buy or get your gear serviced? California Ski Company provides stellar customer service and has an experienced,  knowledgeable and capable staff with insightful answers to your product and gear questions. Most importantly, they care about your snow riding experience and have the track record to prove it — thousands of loyal customers.

“For more than 16 years, California Ski Company has been the Bay Area leader in specialty alpine ski sales, offering knowledge, expertise and experience that few volume retailers can. Our staff is what makes our store unique. We are a group of ski enthusiasts drawn together by the desire to work in a SKI ONLY environment where skiers come to learn about the latest and best products from people who spend every available moment using those products.”

Exclusive promotional offer 

Receive a free beanie or cap with any purchase of $50 or more; just mention that you saw this video on the Snowpals website to get in on this promo.

“Please click on the thumbs up ‘like’ button if you find our Youtube video informative. Thanks!”

 

 

 

 

 

California Ski Company | 843-A Gilman Street, Berkeley CA 94710 | 510-527-6411

Website: http://www.californiaskicompany.com

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Gear Review: Praxis MVP Skis

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Praxis MVP Skis Skill Level: for intermediate to free ski professionals. Currently the ski for Drew Tabke – freeride world tour champion.

Price when purchased: $689 for stock version. $879 for custom version with carbon layup.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Category: All mountain ski

Dimensions (mm): 133-110-126

Actual Tip-to-Tail Length (straight tape pull): 183cm

Sidecut Radius: 24 meters

Measured Weight Per Ski: 2,119 grams

Boots/Bindings: ie.. Lange RS 130/ Look pivot 18

Mount Location: -4 cm from Recommended Line

FLOTATION/SURFABILITY: EXCELLENT

STABILITY AT SPEED: EXCELLENT

QUICKNESS/BUMPS: GOOD

FORGIVENESS/FUN: GOOD

CRUD PERFORMANCE: EXCELLENT

HARD SNOW INTEGRITY: ACCEPTABLE

Test Location: Squaw Valley USA, North Lake Tahoe, CA

Days Skied: 6

Parting thoughts: Great all around ski. Can be a quiver of one ski.

What follows is a gear review of the Praxis MVP skis from your everyday working man who’s passionate about that sensation of floating on untracked powder: 

I just finished three days on my new MVP’s and thought I’d tell you about them since there doesn’t seem to be much out there about them. I’ll start by telling you a bit about me so that you can determine if you want to take what I say with a grain of salt or decide that maybe this may be helpful to you. then I’ll describe my observations with this ski and you can do what you want with the info. My hope is that you will gain some sort of insight (good or bad) about this ski if you are in the process of pulling the trigger or not.

So, I am a early 40’s guy, 6’0, 205 lbs (athletic, gold medal at SF tri last year, scratch golfer that wins amateur tournaments), that is now able to ski again because my kids are now old enough to enjoy time on the mountain. I used to ski lots in high school and college and was considered an expert. Zipper lining was my favorite past-time. the bigger the bumps the better. I would also huck cliffs and anything else that would impress my friends and girls because I was fearless. They tried to get me to race in Nastar stuff, but I just wanted to rip around with my buds.

So, fast forward many years, three kids later and a great career. I’m back to skiing again and its like riding a bike. You never forget how to although it seems like “carving” is all the rage these days. When I learned, I was taught to ski as fast as you can in as strait a line as you can, keep your upper body pointed downhill and only pivot your skis to control your speed. I skidded my turns to control speed.

With this “carving” thing all the rage, my trusty 195 K2 5500’s weren’t going to cut it anymore so I bought some used Atomic Slalom skis and skied them all last season. They are pretty awesome skis and you can turn so quick in them. They are stiff as boards too.

Then all I kept hearing about last season is “rocker” and wide skis. So this year I bought a pair on a leap of faith without trying any. I orignally ordered Praxis Pist Jibs. Keith then recommended that I go with MVP’s and that’s what I did. Praxis MVP, 184’s, Medium/Stiff with Carbon/glass layup. Bindings mounted on boot center on dot indented on left side of ski. They are not nearly as stiff as my Atomics.

I skied them for the first time on Friday at Squaw. Basically all on groomers, the steepest terain being Siberia Bowl, but mostly on the runs off Shirley Express. I love moguls so was happy to see little bumps form. Anyhow, on Friday the skis felt very “spinny” or pivoty. They wanted to pivot at the slightest movement. I’m guessing my first experience with rocker?

The tails kept washing out on me and the tail tips would cross a lot. I also felt very forward on this setup and noticed that the bindings looked too centered on the skis. When the speed increased the tails seemed to behave a lot better and so I started seeing how fast I could go until I felt unsafe on them. At higher speeds, they would start twisting around on me. Its like there is some sort of speed sweet spot on these. Not enough speed and the tails misbehaved and too much speed and they start being thrown all over the place. I was not happy on Friday. I hated these skis. I wanted my Atomics back.

So after Friday I needed to do something about these skis since I dropped a boatload on them. I took the skis to the Squaw shop and asked them to remount them for me. The centeredness of the bindings bothered me so I eyeballed the binding position that looked right to me and asked the guys in the shop to remount them there. That ended up mounting the bindings with the boot center mark 4 cm behind the mark on the left side of the skis.

What a difference that made!! It is like a totally difference ski. Not sure of the technicalities of moving the mount position but it looks right now. Better for my old style of skiing? Don’t know.

By today, I’ve got them so dialed in and I feel I have total control over them. Not one crossed tip or tail, zip through bumps, great skidded turning and sometimes I would even get on the edges and carve some nice turns that felt locked into the snow and solid. I had lots of fun Saturday and today. I don’t feel a speed limit anymore and they are now stable at high speeds. I did plenty of beginner slopes too, teaching my kids skiing and these skis are much better when going faster.

Anyways, that’s what I have to say about these so far. Again only three days on these and all on piste. I feel like I have the control like my Atomic slalom skis with solid edges that I can lock into the snow, but also with the rocker for deeper snow that hopefully I’ll be able to experience soon.

I totally love them now and have confidence to do anything on them now. I have the feel of my Atomics in a modern form factor that will add to the terrain I can ski with them. I want to try the 187 to see if I can control them as well as I can mine at 184.

Those are my thoughts on these. Hope this review helps someone in the purchasing decision process . Take care!

Gear review by Joe Woo who mainly ski Squaw and Alpine; he’s based out of the North Bay.

Snowpals is looking for snowboard, related snow gear and apparel review contributors; if you have a unique writing style that engages the reader, to share a writing sample.  

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Interest polls – what’s your two cents?

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Share your preferences via our polls

 

INTEREST POLL 1

→ INTEREST POLL 2

→ POLL QUESTION 2

What's your Skiing / Snowboarding Experience?

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→ POLL QUESTION 3

Which Tahoe resort do you ski / ride at most often?

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Did you know we’re having one final POWder party on WED, DEC 5 at 6:30 PM, view event details and RSVP. 

 

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