Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Tahoe Snowcial 1/18-21

TAHOE SNOWCIAL

Heavenly Tahoe is hosting their 4th annual winter tech conference this year on January 18th through 21st.  They bill themselves as a "SXSW for the Ski Set" and besides a rocking list of entertainment acts including a concert by Young the Giant at Harrah's South Shore room, All the biggest names in social media will be there to talk about thier products and how you can use them to improve your standing in the social media world and promote yourself and your products in the skiing and tourisim industries up here.


I gotta say it's a pretty exciting list of speakers for me 'cuz I'm a social media freak myself:

I'm not only on YouTube, but also Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Google Currents, Yelp, Klout, AND Google+ besides having just about every Tahoe related android app there is on my cell phone.  Hell, I even have my own QR-code!  So I guess I'm uniquely qualified to tell you all about who's speaking at Snowcial this year and why you should be interested in what they have to say:


The headliner this year is going to be Joe Fernandez, CEO and co-founder of one of the most truely usefull social media sites on the internet: Klout.  If you've got a presence on a bunch of different social media sites, you get some feedback from each site about who follows you, who thumbs-up or plusses your post, and the like; but how do you know how much influence you have overall?  That's where Klout comes in: Klout aggregates all the information across all of your social media and boils it down to a couple of easy-to-understand score that updates every day so you can tell what subjects you're influencing people on and just how influential you are relative to all the other people in your network.  Like here you can see how I stack up against one of my friends: I'm more influential overall, but I'm mostly influential on Twitter while his influence is spread a little more evenly between twitter and facebook.  I gotta say that, for me at least, having the feedback of watching my Klout score go up and down over time has been one of the very most valueable tools for learning how to play the social media game more effectively and so influence more people across a bigger range of networks and ultimately get more exposure for whatever it is that you're trying to promote.

Next up is Jonathon Crowley from Foursquare.  Besides being a lifelong skiier and mountain man, Mr. Crowley is a leading expert on creating and monetizing digital content with partners like Fox and NBC.  Forsquare is a location service that lets you check in at a place and let all your twitter and foursquare followers know that you've gone somewhere cool like Heavenly Tahoe.  Foursquare is going to be providing one of the coolest special features for the event: an interactive map of all the events going on and who's attending each one.  You should all check out the cool map at http://www.tahoesnowcial.com/2011/12/snowcial-foursquare-list/ which has links to a lot of my favorite small businesses in Tahoe as well as check-ins for all the forsquare users attending the conference.

Next up on the list is Hope Frank and Justin Kitzner from Webtrends.  If you have a blog or a YouTube channel you're probably familiar with the analytics page that tells you how many people have been visiting your site, where they are, what they're browsing on, whether they're clicking the ads or not, etc.  For example I can tell you that my audience is mostly male and largely located in California and Nevada because YouTube tells me so.  But, If you're a big corporation like Heavenly, not just a blogger like me, you need an industrial strength solution that can tell you things like how much time people are spending in which parts of your android app and whether it's any different from what the iPhone users are doing; or to calculate in dollar terms what the return on investment in all these different social media products is, and WebTrends is the solution for those people.

Also speaking at this event will be several important travel industry CEOs to talk about their social media strategy and how it has shaped their business including our own Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts, the company that owns and operates Heavenly and Northstar-at-Tahoe ski resorts; as well as Porter Gale, former chief marketing officer of Virgin America; John Burns of Discovery.com, and and Mike Sloane, CEO of travel marketing company Amadeus



Sunday, December 11, 2011

Exploring new trails

Lost Gloves in the dog park

You find all the most interesting things on the back trails of Tahoe... Me and my dog were out taking a walk in the dog park... I took a side trail to avoid a dog at the dog park and accidentally found a trail that runs all the way to Zephyr Cove!

I found myself way at the other end of Nevada Beach back behind Our Lady of Tahoe Catholic church, a place I've hiked 8 miles round trip to get to the long way before.








Our Lady of Tahoe in Round Hill

At least now I have a good loop route to the mail in roundhill and back and don't have to walk the same, very steep trail back. On the way back I spotted some power trandformers I had always wondered about and decided to go exploring again.

Power Station behind Kingsbury Middle School

 I found myself all the way back up by Chimney rock.  Not far from the power station I found this super-cool alien head with the caption "KNOW" spelled out in sticks  in a clearing off a back trail I never even knew existed, that I only found because I happened to take that side trail to see the power station.

The truth is out there...
I ultimately wound up way up on middle Kingsbury where the civic "Happy Holidays" sign is looking a little shabby without the deep snow that usually covers the rock face behind it...


Check out my "Summer Hiking Safety Tips" and "Winter Hiking Survival Guide" on Youtube for more information about hiking in Lake Tahoe.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

December 2011: Mavis Staples, Daniel Tosh, SnowGlobe festival

December 1 - "Beat the Clock" w/ DJ Gerry Byrnes @ Lakeside @ Night behind safeway
December 2-4 - Tahoe festival of Trees and Lights @ Montbleu, Barton hospital, and the Y
December 2 - Aceyalone w/ Aesop and Z-Man @ Mo's Place
  - Swamp Donkey, Spiral Arms, Dimension 13, Envirusment @ American Legion
  - Mighty Diamonds (Pass the Kutchie) w/ guest @ Whisky Dicks
  - Baron von Remmel (Saxophone) @ Mark Twain cultural center in Incline Village
  - Dear Winter Carpenters @ Crystal Bay Club

To SEE these bands in action, check out My December 2011 playlist on YouTube.

December 3 - Sola Rosa @ Montbleu
  - The Dan Band @ Harrah's South Shore room
  - Vinyl and The Real Nasty @ Crystal Bay Club crown room
  - Frostbyte feat. Frooz and Hamm FM @ Lakeside in Tahoe City
December 4 - Bandit and Groovebox @ Whisky Dick's
  - Live Jazz @ Tahoe Biltmore
December 6 - WNC holiday choir @ Western Nevada Community college
December 7 - Groovebox feat. Piece Puzzle @ Mo's Place (Their 3-year annaversary)
  - Trampled by Turtles @ Crystal Bay Club
  - Annual "Toys for Tots" kickoff party @ The Chateau in Incline Village
December 8 - Anne Roos and Sean Cummings @ Murphy's Irish Pub
  - Occupy Tahoe rally @ Heavenly Village
December 9 - How Hip-Hop stole Christmas Feat. Pigeon John, Radioactive, and Kytami @ Mo's Place
  - Ullr's Night of Sacrifice toy drive @ Lakeside Inn
  - Monophonics CD release party @ Crystal Bay Club
December 10-11 - Sing Christmas choral concert @ Squaw Valley
December 10 - Mavis Staples @ Harrah's South Shore Room
  - Tahoe Adventure film festival @ Montbleu (from 6:30)
  - Local hip-hop holiday Chor Boys, OsKillah, and The Prophets @ Rojo's Tavern
  - Dead Winter Carpenters @ American Legion
  - Shane Dwight @ Crystal Bay Club
December 11 - Bayou Trash Cajun Pot Luck ft. Chor Boys @ Whisky Dick's
December 12 - Death Crisis, the Beerlords, and Pig Farmers @ Whisky Dick's saloon
December 13 - "Drink to That" night benefit for Tahoe Institute for Natural Science @ Tahoe Mountain Sports
  - Cash Only Band @ Harvey's Cabo Wabo
December 14 - Snow White Goes West @ Sharkey's casino in Gardnerville
December 16/17 - Daniel Tosh @ Montbleu
December 16-27 - Johnny Cash tribute w/ Alan Dryman and Bethany Owen @ Horizon cabaret
December 16 - Jeff Jones @ Baxters in the Village at Northstar
  - John Nemeth (blues) @ Crystal Bay CLub
  - Weapon @ 7800
December 17-19 - TOCCATA presents Handel's Messiah @ North Tahoe Events center
December 17 - Night Ranger @ Harrah's South Shore Room
  - JellyBread @ Crystal Bay Club
  - Martin and Vargas Falmenco guitar @ Mark Twain cultural center
December 18 - Live Jazz @ Tahoe Biltmore
December 22 - "Beat the clock" DJ @ Lakeside @ Night in Incline village
December 23 - Buster Blue @ Crystal Bay Club red room
 - Sub Reactor @ 7800
December 24 - Hellbound Glory @ Crystal Bay Club
December 25 - The Loose Ends @ Crystal Bay Club
  - Live Jazz @ Tahoe Biltmore
December 26 - Mark Sexton Band @ Crystal Bay Club
December 27 - Swamp Zen @ Crystal Bay Club
December 28 - Dirt Nasty and Smoov-E @ Mo's Place
December 29-31 - Snow Globe 3-day festival @ Lake Tahoe Community College
    Featuring: Bassnectar, Pretty Lights, Thievery Corporation, The Glitch Mob, Fishbonem, and 40 more
    http://www.snowglobemusicfestival.com/
  - Jackie Greene w/ The Mother Hips and Jabe Beyer @ Crystal Bay Club
December 29 - Dads LPs @ 7800 in Kirkwood
December 30 - Bruce Hornsby @ Harrah's South Shore Room
  - The Cataracs @ Montbleu
  - Thrive Raggae show @ 7800 in Kirkwood
December 31 - Lloys Aaron Douglas @ Horizon
 - Jellybread @ 7800 in Kirkwood
Coming up: Jan 3, NOFX @ Montbleu

Every SUNDAY:  Karaoke @ Rojo's Tavern
Every MONDAY:  Open Mic Night @ Mo's Place
Every TUESDAY:  Dubstep DJs @ Whisky Dick's
Every THURSDAY: Karaoke @ 7800 in Kirkwood, Open Mic Night @ American Legion
Every FRIDAY:  Raggae DJ @ RoJos Tavern, Karaoke @ Horizon Aspen Bar
Every SATURDAY: Karaoke @ Horizon Aspen Bar
FRIDAY Through TUESDAY: Bethany Owen's "One Voice" show @ Horizon Cabaret
THURSDAY through MONDAY: Jesse Kalin and Cool Black Kettle @ Harvey's Cabo Wabo
WEDNESDAY through MONDAY: Improv comedy @ Harvey's


December 2011: Artist Playlist

This is my YouTube playlist for who's playing Lake Tahoe in December 2011:


Saturday, November 5, 2011

November 2011: Bush, Johnny Lang, Foghat, Christopher Titus

November 4 Country rocker Junior Brown @ Crystal Bay Club
November 5 Christopher Titus @ Montbleu
  The Blues Broads @ Harrah's South Shore room
  Shotgun snowboards winter launch party @ Lakeside Inn feat. live blues band
  Kraak & Smaak Dutch DJs @ Crystal Bay Club Crown room
  Telemark film "Loyalty" @ Sawtooth Ridge cafe in Tahoe City
November 6 Koffin Kats (rockabilly) @ Whisky Dicks
November 8 Toubab Krewe (african influence) @ Crystal Bay Club
  "Keep Tahoe Dubbin" w/ DJH DRek and DJ Symptoms @ Whisky Dicks every Tuesday
November 10 Pray for Snow party @ Montbloue Opal loungue (See it on TNTV)
November 11 Afroliscious @ Crystal Bay Club Crown Room
November 12 Foghat @ Harrah's South Shore Room
  Sound of Ill @ Blu nightclub at the Montbleu
  Feat. Sporty O, Whisky Pete, Sue cho, DJ Fixx and many more.
  Triple Bluegrass @ Crystal Bay club: Feat. Hot Buttered Rum, Greensky bluegrass
  X-country ski swap in Tahoe City
November 16 Cancer Benefit for Manny Morales @ Harvey's convention center
  Thanksgiving clothes giveaway @ S. Tahoe High School
November 17 Drew Emmett Band and the Infamous Stringdusters @ Montbleu
  4th Annual winter film series @ Sawtooth Ridge cafe, Tahoe City
  Feat. Mountain climber David Nettle and his new film
November 18 The Brund, LG, Hip-hoppin @ Whisky Dick's
November 18-26 Opening week at Heavenly ignite's the winter season with special events
  http://www.skiheavenly.com/winterignite: apres ski partes @ Tamarack Lodge
  and the Lakeside Inn
  Tall Trees "Paint it Gold" snowboard movie premiere @ Horizon
November 18/19 Heavenly ski and snowboard swap @ Montbleu convention center
  Opening of the 7800 bar at Kirkwood.
  Warren Miller's "Like There's No Tomorrow" @ Montbleu
November 19 Blues guitarist Johnny Lang @ Harrah's South Shore room
  Valhalla holiday faire @ Camp richardson
November 21 Shwayze feat. Cisco Adler, mod sun and G. Easy @ Crystal Bay Club
November 22 Another dubstep Tuesday @ Whisky Dick's
November 23 Planet of the Abts @ Crystal Bay Club
November 25 Orgone w/ Whitney Meyer Band @ Crystal Bay Club
  Life in the Fast Lane Eagles Tribute @ Harrah's
November 25-26 Smooth jazz Thanksgiving @ Hyatt regency (north shore)
  Feat. Jeffery Osborne, David Benoit, 
November 26 Bush @ Montbleu (With pool party and afterparty)
  Kip Yeager @ Jake's On the Lake in Truckee
  "Locals Last Waltz" w/ Buster Blue @ Crystal Bay Club Crown Room
November 26 The Fab Four Beatles tribute band @ Harrah's South Shore Room

November 2011: Concert Playlist


A YouTube playlist of the bands and movies coming to Tahoe this month, November 2011:


Friday, November 4, 2011

First significant snow storm

First big snow storm of the season and all my dog can think about is playing ball with the neighbors.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Freaker's Ball 2011 at Montbleu


I went back to the the Montbleu resort for the 33rd annual Freaker's Ball in Lake Tahoe this year and ran into a lot of old friends in costume from last year.  Great costumes, line interviews, and more outrageous partying at the costume party of the year.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Sunset in Tahoe

Walked 10 miles in the sunset in Lake Tahoe last night... Got these great pictures from Ski Run Marina:



And these from the construction zone at El Dorado Beach:



Saturday, October 1, 2011

October 2011: Octoberfest, Chris Isaak, Dave Mason, Halloween planner

Updated 10-14-2011 (updates BOLD) September 30  - Bass Quake with Claw, Ultragore, Billy Wonka and XM freddie
  Devil Makes Three at the Crystal Bay Club crown Room
October 1/2nd - Octoberfest at Camp Richardson, the Montbleu, Squaw Valley, and many more.
  Kokanee Salmon festival at Taylor Creek Visitor center
October 1st   - Chris Isaak @ Harrah's South Shore Room
  March into Paris w/ Sonic Shift and Synergy @ Whisky Dick's
  Digital Roots festival @ Lakeside Tahoe city 
October 2nd   - Fish Out of Water and We Upon for a night of Punk and Reggae @ Rojos
  Eliot Lipp w/ Virtual Boy and Damnesia @ Crystal Bay Club
October 4th   - Dark Star Orchestra (continuing the Greatfull Dead Experience) @ Montbleu
       - The Cash Only Band @ Harvey's Cabo Wabo
October 6th   - Lubriphonic chicago funk @ the Crown Room @ Crystal Bay Club
  The Rockets @ Whisky Dick's Saloon
October 7th   - Acapella quartet The Standards @ Montbleu (Presented by Tahoe Arts Project)
  South Tahoe Car, Truck, and Motorcycle show @ Heavenly Village
October 8th   - Dave Mason @ Harrah's South Shore Room
  "Attack of La Nina" ski movie @ Montbleu
October 9th   - Winemaker's dinner @ Thunderbird Lodge on the East Shore
       - Live Jazz trio @ the Tahoe Biltmore
October 10th  - Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers @ Crystal Bay Club
October 11th  - Cash Only Band @ Harvey's Cabo Wabo
October 13th  - Juno What? Electrop funk @ Crystal Bay Club
  Cool Black Kettle @ Harvey's Cabo Wabo
  Open Mic Night @ the American Legion
October 14th  - Antique Scream and Lazer Wolf w/ The Shames @ Whisky Dicks
October 14-18 - Alan Dryman tribute to Johnny Cash @ Horizon Aspen lounge
October 15th  - Ledgendary blues review @ Harrah's South Shore room
  feat. Coco Montoya, Tommy Castro Band, Curtis Salgado and Sista Monica
October 16th  - Live Jazz @ Tahoe Biltmore
October 20th  - Open Mic Night @ American Legion
October 21st  - Haunted walking tour of Truckee, CA @ Moody's Bistro 5:30
October 22nd  - Frank Sinatra, Jr @ Harrah's South Shore room
October 23rd  - G.O.A. (former Tahoe punk band) @ Tahoe Skatehouse 867 Eloise,6PM
  Live jazz @ Tahoe Biltmore
October 28-30 - Lake Tahoe Food and Wine festival @ Harrah's
October 28th  - Game, the red tour @ Montbleu
  Punk Rock vs. Outlaw Country @ Whisky Dicks
  feat. Joihnson Creek Stranglers, Amador Farm Drunk, Riot in Paradise

October 29th - Freaker's Ball @ Montbleu (NOT THE 30TH like it says in the video)
October 29/30 - Hangtown Halloween Ball - El Dorado County Fairgrounds, Placerville
  feat. Railroad Earth, The Funky Meters, Jackie Greene, Melvin Seals,
  JGB, and many more. 2PM http://www.hangtownHalloween.com

October 29th  - Tainted Love "The Creeper's Ball" 80s dance party @ Crystal Bay Club
  Adam Richtman (from "Man vs. Food") @ Harrah's South Shore room
  Mo's Haunted Mansion @ Mo's Place feat. DJ Kennan and the Late Nite girls
KARAOKE: Every Friday and Saturday @ Horizon's Aspen Bar, Saturdays at Lakeside Inn, Open Mic Night every Thursday @ the American Legion

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Day Trip: Nevada City and Washington, CA

Washington, CA (est. 1849), one of a FEW places in northern CA where you can still pan gold yourself with some success.  (And the green capital of Nevada county.)






Steve and Throttle in the hills above Washington, CA with gold mine visible in the background...
Nevada City, CA a later hub of the CA gold rush with a lot more tourist facilities.  Buy your gold panning equipment here.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Lake Tahoe Dog Show - Sept. 25 at Nevada Beach

The Lake Tahoe Dog Show
12-3PM Sunday September 25th
Nevada Beach dog area
Open to all dogs big and small, free to enter, win prizes, see your dog on TV and YouTube
This will be a made for TV event, each dog will get the chance to show why he or she is TOP DOG
10 seconds of introduction, 20 secnds of action, beach play, agility course, or "special talent"
It's like "American Idol" for dogs!
Limit 75 dogs at once, Each dog must have a human handler: 5 dogs = 5 people. 
All posted rules for dogs must be obeyed.
Sponsored by: Tahoe Network Television, Fabulous Lake Tahoe, True Value hardware, and Dog Dog Cat.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

TNTV Exclusive: "I Cleaned out Barney Chartrand's Safe!"

During the recent remodel of the former Bills Casino in Stateline, NV a safe belonging to previous owner Barney Chartrand was discovered by new owner Joe Laub.  Barney died mysteriously in an unsolved car bombing in 1968... An exceptionally well-made safe, it resisted every attempt to open it.  According to the Tahoe Daily Tribune Oprah Winfrey paid for a locksmith to discover what was inside and air it first on her new cable network. -- I just scooped Oprah!  I just got this exclusive interview from the man who actually cleaned out Barney Chartrand's safe at the old Barney's casino before it was sold the first time. 

Check out the YouTube video below for our exclusive interview.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Tour de Tahoe Bicycle race

The Tour de Tahoe bicycle race started before sunrise at the Horizon casino resort in Lake Tahoe after a brief commeration to mark the 10th annaversary of 9/11.  For more information visit: http://www.bikethewest.com/

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Hope Valley sunset

Some pictures from my overnight camping trip to Hope Valley, CA







You can see my YouTube video about fall photography in Hope Valley here...



You can see video of Red Lake here...