Cover – B.J. Baur big mute grab between the trees

The Tahoe region has a take action into your own hands attitude the goes back to the humble beginnings of the sport. Guys like Terry Kidwell, Mike Chantry, Bob Klein, Shaun Palmer, Tom Burt and so on made the first snowboard halfpipe back in the early 80's. It comes as no surprise that the diy spirit is still alive in Tahoe. In this particular scenario the legendary Roan Rogers has had Helltrack going all winter. We were up there earlier this season but we went back for the bigger, better jumps that could not be hit before due to the snow being too slow. These things are no joke; way harder than any 60 foot table at any park. Weaving in and out of trees, jumping through the trees, very narrow jumps and conditions that vary from hour to hour. Even though those guys put in more hours digging and shaping than riding it gets back to what snowboarding should be; kids (and adults) with a common goal; working together to have really good time. Sure, I love paying $87 to ride pow Mammoth but not only are lift tickets cost prohibitive to many people (including me) but resort riding can be sterile, go make your own Helltrack, no rules, no one telling what you can't do, back to the roots, skipping school to build jumps...good times.

Roan Rogers puts the finishing touches on a jump. Russell Winfield was supposed to come down from Washington for the session but he wasn't there. Props go out to Russell since he was kind of the reason I went back for Helltrack II

obstacle #1 - BJ Baur, front 180 nose bonk off the pole jam

Obstacle #3 is more of a fun little set up gap than a big jump – Kevin

B.J. Flies around obstacle #3, a jump into a high speed berm, of yea, with trees in the middle of the berm to dodge

Into obstacles 4 and 5, two big ass jumps

Roan Rogers nose grab off obstacle 4

B.J. gets all the way to obstacle 5, a challenging task on this particular day due to the variable snow, shifty nose to tree tap

B.J. Gets a full six pack and finishes it off with a indy grab back 180 over the little gap, transfer jump

Roan Rogers and B.J.

Lyle finds a dry spot to enjoy the Sierra Nevada hazy sunshine – maximum cuteness

Roan Rogers moment before full impact with a tree followed by a 10 foot fall to the flat. Roan is a tough dude for sure

Kevin – maximum altitude

Curtis was charging all the hits on his skis, even doing the pole jam in a way that meant possible nut crackage

Helltrack shovel master Kevin launching

tail grab

Helltrack is more or less 47 miles from Grass Valley, at the time, home of Chris Roach, the first person to do a method air kicking out the back leg or grasser air, one of the best ticks in snowboarding. B.J. Pays tribute in a tight spot

more Helltrack here

www.snowrev.com/Features/All/Roan_Rogers_Hell-Track