Two South Shore men came away with hardware from the 2014 USTA NorCal NTRP Grand Prix at the Gold River Racquet Club in Rancho Cordova.

Ryan Johnston, who was seeded second, took out the No. 1 seed to win the 4.5 men’s division. South Lake Tahoe resident Johnston beat Michael Don 6-4, 6-3.

Paul Bruso made it to the semifinal round in the 3.5 men’s singles. The South Lake Tahoe man lost in three sets to Kenneth Greene, the eventual winner. The score was 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Players had to be invited to the Oct. 18-19 and Oct. 25-26 tournament based on points they had earned throughout the year at a series of tournaments.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The International Mountain Bicycling Association’s Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew will be in Reno on Nov. 1-2 to share sustainable trail building techniques and other info with local mountain bikers, land managers and recreation specialists.

The visit, which was requested by the Poedunks/Biggest Little Trail Stewardship, is one of about 70 stops on the 2014 schedule.

The Reno visit will include a fun group ride on Peavine with the crew on that Saturday evening and the Trail Building School on Sunday. Participants will meet at the main ranch house at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park at 9am for the classroom session, and relocate after lunch to the field session to construct a new connector trail on Peavine.

The Trail Care Crew teaches “sustainable” trail building, which means building fun and lasting trails that require minimal maintenance. This helps reduce trail damage, protects the environment and enhances user enjoyment.

There is no cost to attend, but pre-registration is requested.

Sue and AJ enjoy lunch with a view of Granite Chief Wilderness Area. Photos/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

HOMEWOOD – Variety is what the trail to Twin Peaks is all about. The terrain and views seem to change around each bend.

Rugged at times, lush at others. Granite and volcanic rock. A few remaining wildflowers and a field of brittle dry mule’s ear. Wide-open expanses, closed-in by towering pines. Lake Tahoe in the distance.

This West Shore hike in the Desolation and Granite Chief wilderness areas also at times follows the Tahoe Rim Trail and Pacific Crest Trail.

The Barker Pass trailhead is at 7,500 feet. The end point is at 8,878 feet. But most of the climb is gradual, so the elevation gain is not a deterrent. There is a small stretch that requires going down a bit after climbing. This is never ideal because it means on the return there will be an uphill segment.

Not far in there is a side trail to the right. This provides the first view of Lake Tahoe. While it would have been easy to stop there and call it a day, we were glad we didn’t.

Not too much farther we come across a rock outcropping. The narrow trail with a significant vertical drop makes it not the best place to be for someone with a fear of heights. A little handholding and I get through it. More spectacular views of Lake Tahoe are the reward.

It would have been possible to climb the rocks, but we didn’t want to take the time and we had a dog with us. The mostly single-track trail is well maintained. At times it is soft dirt, other times it’s rocky. We are surprised to find water in a couple sections. This delighted AJ so she could stay hydrated without her people’s assistance.

The water provides for lush vegetation like ferns.

It’s a Saturday in early September and we see few people. One guy is on the PCT headed south. We are happy to just be doing what we estimated was a 6-mile round-trip.

No bikes or motorized vehicles are allowed, though we could hear dirt bikes at the start of the trip on the road we came in on.

We get to the peaks and stop for lunch on the saddle. The vastness of Granite Chief Wilderness Area is mesmerizing. It looks like the forest goes on forever. It’s easy to feel very small and insignificant, but also very appreciative to be able to embrace Mother Nature’s raw beauty.

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Getting there:

From South Lake Tahoe take Highway 89 north. Beyond Homewood and before Sunnyside in Tahoe City will be a sign for Kaspian Campground. Turn left there. The road goes for about 7 miles. Veer to the left and don’t go straight on the dirt road. At the end of the hill the pavement turns to dirt. Go beyond the start for the trek to Ellis Peak. Parking for the trailhead will be on the right.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

High Altitude Fitness in Incline Village is hosting a Winter Warm Up on Nov. 6.

There will be fitness classes, personal training assessments, chair massage, climbing demonstrations, nutrition, wellness talks, and more from 4:30-8pm.

Classes will range from TRX, Pilates, cycling, winter sports conditioning to training for rock climbing. Information about
voice print nutrition analysis, essential oils, natural supplements, and more will be available

While the event is free, donations will be accepted to benefit High Fives Foundation.

For more info, email kyra@highaltitudefit.net or call 775.831.4212.

By Bob Jordan and Steve Edelson, Asbury Park Press

TRENTON, N.J. – A federal judge says Monmouth Park can’t cash in Sunday on Gov. Chris Christie’s plan to launch betting on NFL football at the Oceanport racetrack.

But track officials said they are considering taking bets in future weeks on soccer, NASCAR racing and other sports not covered by the ruling.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp late Friday put in place a temporary restraining order that will prevent the track from taking bets on this weekend’s NFL games, and also applies to NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and NCAA games.

Track officials said they were expecting a crowd of 10,000 Sunday to bet on Jets-Bills, Eagles-Cardinals and other NFL games. The track was scheduled to open 7am Sunday in order to accommodate customers wishing to wager on the Lions-Falcons game being played in London at 9:30am.

Read the whole story

Mats in Emerald Bay as seen from the air. Photo/LTN file

It may take until the end of November for divers to remove the 5 acres of rubber mats that were laid on the lake bottom at the mouth of Emerald Bay.

This was done two years ago as a pilot project to control Asian clam populations in the area. The mats measure 10-feet-by-100-feet and weigh 300 pounds.

Boaters are asked to exercise caution when entering and exiting Emerald Bay and obey a no-wake zone that extends 600 feet from shore.

The mats were used to smother and kill the nonnative Asian clams by starving them of oxygen. Early sampling indicates at least a 90 percent mortality rate in the treated area, according to Tahoe Regional Planning Agency officials.

Asian clams can stimulate algae growth, displace a variety of native species, and increase the potential for other invasive species such as quagga mussels to establish in Lake Tahoe by increasing calcium concentrations in the water.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Cliff Weathers, AlterNet 

You’d be hard pressed to find an article — outside one written by a CrossFit enthusiast — that reviews this exercise phenomenon without asking some real tough questions about its safety, effectiveness, cost, and even the philosophy behind it. Shouldn’t all products, whether good or bad, be held up to such scrutiny? Maybe General Motors, Comcast and Apple grudgingly accept this, but CrossFit — both the corporation and its acolytes — can’t seem to take criticism in stride. And there’s been a lot of it going around lately.

The New York Times magazine was the latest publication to take issue with CrossFit and other extreme fitness programs, likening them to nothing more than labor camps you pay a king’s ransom to join. “Why not join a roofing crew for a few hours instead? Surely there’s a tunnel somewhere that needs digging,” sniffs Times columnist Heather Havrilesky.

In response, commenters, many of them CrossFitters, swarmed the online version of the article, posting more than 800 messages. Many were sharply critical of Havrilesky’s assessment of the workout routines.

The Times magazine article is only one in a recent wave of brickbats hurled at the sports-fitness brand, which now boasts an estimated 10,000 affiliates. Its critics are as diverse as medical researchers, fitness organizations, sportswriters, and social commentators. They’ve all found a bone to pick with CrossFit, and no, they’re not joining them for a Paleo diet dinner.

Critics and online commenters have likened CrossFit to a cult, insinuating that it’s not much more than a paramilitary, post-apocalyptic wet dream. They’re fitness preppers ready to take on whatever catastrophe awaits mankind. CrossFit’s own website hints at this on its ” What is CrossFit?” page: “We have sought to build a program that will best prepare trainees for any physical contingency — not only for the unknown, but for the unknowable.”

CrossFit’s founder, Greg Glassman takes the rhetoric a step further in his CrossFit newsletter, stating “nature, combat and emergency can demand high volumes of work performed quickly for success or for survival.”

Read the whole story

Squaw Valley began a monthlong forest thinning project this week.

More than 5,000 dead or diseased trees will be removed from the Red Dog region of the lower mountain in an effort to improve the natural habitat, reduce the risk of wildfire, and provide better access to tree skiing and riding in that area.

When the project is complete there will be 100 acres of enhanced skiable terrain near Red Dog. The terrain will include three newly designated glade areas — Red Dog Glades, Paris Glades and Heidi’s Glades — as well as a new connector trail on Champs Elysees that will eliminate the current lengthy traverse.

Trees will be taken out via helicopter. Most of the trees will be processed for timber, and the remaining materials will be chipped for future use.

Gardner is Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care’s newest cub. Photos/Provided

By Tom Millham

Briefly we were 12.

Last Friday, California Department of Fish and Wildlife brought us the Gardner Mountain bear cub we assisted in trapping on Oct. 9. Yes, we still have Cinder (more on her later) and we still have the cubs in the bear cage (also later), but, now, we have Gardner (as we are calling him).

For those of you not familiar with Tahoe’s South Shore, Gardner Mountain is the northwest corner of the South Tahoe Y, where South Tahoe High is located. On Oct. 4, Gardner’s mother was hit and killed by a car on Highway 89 across the street from the Cantina. Gardner was up a tree, directly adjacent to where his dead mom was laying.

Over the next five days, LTWC received many calls telling us Gardner was in their area. But he was moving from street to street and from the west side of Highway 89 to the east side of Highway 89.

On Oct. 16, I went on all three local radio stations pleading for help from the residents and workers in the Y area that if they saw Gardner to please call LTWC and let us know where he was.

We had spoken with CDF&W and they were sending a biologist up with a trap to get Gardner and help him.

It worked.

We got a call from 13th Street telling us that Gardner was right across the street from Anderson’s Bike Rental. I got there within 10 minutes and found Gardner within another 15 minutes. He had already crossed Highway 89 to the west side. When I saw him he was at the base of a big pine tree and I “convinced” him that his best place was up the tree. He conveniently did as I requested and I awaited the arrival of CDF&W.

They brought two cages and loaded them with all kinds of yummy food. It didn’t take his nose long to get the scent of that good, scrumptious food and, shortly he was in the trap chowing down. CDF&W took Gardner to their Region 2 headquarters in Rancho Cordova and kept him there until Oct. 17, at which point they brought him up to LTWC so we can rehab him with the other bears.

So, like I said, that made for 12 cubs at our center. However, that didn’t last long. They came up here Oct. 22 to get the three cubs that came from Paradise (just east of Chico) and will be releasing them in the foothills nearby.

So, almost as quickly as we got cub No. 12, we are down to nine. Eight are in the bear cage and, of course, Cinder, who is in the bobcat cage.

Cinder

Here is some good news for you regarding where we are at with Cinder. Kevin Willitts was here Oct. 9 to examine her paws. He had not seen her since Sept. 30 and at that time he decided to put her into her cage without any bandages on her paws. This was the first time since Aug. 3 that she was without bandages. On Sept 30 he told us to watch and see if she does any excessive licking or if we see any small pools of blood. On Oct. 9, he saw nothing to change his mind and decided to let that good Tahoe air get to her paws and scheduled his next visit for two weeks.

That is indeed great news. In addition, he said that we could go ahead and start preparing to transport her back to Washington around the middle to late November so she can complete her rehab closer to where she will eventually be released. Yes, she will be released sometime next year. He wants her to spend the winter in the same area she came from and then can be released either in the winter or spring next year near the Methow Valley.

I have contacted the Washington Fish and Wildlife biologist, Rich Beausoleil, who will coordinate the exact location she will spend the rest of her time in rehab. It sounds like Beausoleil wants us to take Cinder to Sally Maughan’s Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation Center in Garden City, Idaho, just outside of Boise. When Cinder was examined Oct. 9 she weighed in at a very healthy 80.8 pounds, more than double her weight when she arrived at LTWC on Aug. 4.

Tom Millham is co-founder and secretary-treasurer of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.

Homewood Mountain Resort wants to offer guided snowcat skiing and snowboarding tours in the Ellis Peak area this winter.

Before it can do so the U.S. Forest Service must approve the proposal. The feds until Oct. 31 are taking comments on the idea.

Homewood wants to provide six to eight trips per day, three days per week depending on weather and snow conditions. Each trip would transport 10 to 12 passengers via a snowcat to the Ellis Peak area. Passengers and guides would ski back to the resort via existing glades, bowls and trees.

If the proposal is approved, the Forest Service would issue a temporary special use permit and evaluate the operation to determine the viability and appropriateness of the use for future seasons.

Comments or concerns should be sent to Jonathan Cook-Fisher at jcfisher@fs.fed.us.