Every year the local ski reps put on a Demo in early December. This is a "love and hate" demo. I love it and they hate it. I love it because I often have new employees that have to sell gear that they have not tried themselves. Until this demo opportunity they simply have to take my word for how the different skis perform. For this reason the shop owners insist on this event. Of coarse, I also love it because it is an opportunity to demo skis and I can never get enough of that! The reps hate it for a number of reasons. First and foremost is that they really wish that they did not have to still have their demo fleets available. The reps typically have to buy their demo fleets from their own company. After the last demo before the dealers have placed their orders in March they would love to sell their skis. They are "next years" skis and would go for top dollar. Also, their spouses would love to have enough garage space to fit a car in there. In addition the reps must give their skis to a bunch of yahoos in early December. Yahoo's skiing over light snow coverage on skis they do not own could mean a lot of maintenance on an entire fleet of skis before they can be sold.
The demo must be at this time in December because that is just when it works best. Earlier, and hiring may not be done, and there is not a good chance of snow. Later, and we are pushing up against the Christmas rush and shop owners cannot afford to let their staffs off to go ski. So there it is. Some years it is cancelled due to lack of snow. Some years it can be epic conditions. Most years it is just what we got last week- enough snow but early season conditions. So off we went to Reno.
With the event happening at Mount Rose we would have to leave at four in the morning to do it in one day. Therefore, we packed up and left after work on Tuesday night. The group was ten strong. The rookies needed to go. Someone needed to teach them how to demo skis. Being the man that I am I volunteered for the job. So that I would not be stuck with a bunch of youngsters, I had some previous employees along and a few friends that have demo experience. Also in the caravan was Erik Boone of Boone skis (http://www.booneskis.com/).
We arrived in Reno at about midnight at the casino. A nightcap was necessary. One thing led to another and we got to bed at about the same time that we would have had to leave if we had not driven up the night before. The end of the night came when the bartender would not fire up the mechanical bull for us. Looking back we should have tipped him better for probably saving all of our butts!
The wake up call came at 6:30, so we got up and had some breakfast and scoped out the weather. Ouch! The "Pineapple Express" that had been forecast looked to be in full swing. A pineapple express is a storm that comes from the land of pineapples. That means warm air and lots of moisture. Not ideal for skiing. Oh well, there was not a good option but to drive up the hill and check it out.
We got to Rose and there was heavy discussion amongst the reps. There was no precipitation at the moment at the lodge. Up top it seemed to be howling with 80-100 mile per hour winds. Mt Rose was deciding whether to even open up the hill. The reps were deciding if they should cancel the event even if the mountain was open. There were not many dealers there. Most local Tahoe shop employees certainly woke up, looked out the window, and decided to pass. Only a hand full of dedicated testers were there. Jim Fowler from the Start Haus in truckee is always willing and was there with bells on. From the Bay Area only Arturo from Mountain West in San Francisco was around that I saw, and a few REI type youngsters that I did not know. I pushed for them to have the event as we had driven up and paid for rooms just to be here. The ski patrol came over and said they would open- but only the Ponderosa Lift. Ponderosa is their beginner chair by the lodge. The reps looked to be less than psyched about that, but were given little choice. The Demo was on!
In a funny moment Chris Tiller (a Salomon rep) yelled out in his best Squawlywood accent "Dudes- boot up! I heard a rumor they will be opening Ponda in ten minutes!". This may not be KT22, but it was all we had, so boot up we did. And then we skied. Testing on beginner runs is hard. We got some things accomplished though. Wayne Wong was there with his Anton demo's so we skied them. The Antons blew the staff's minds. The rookies also got to see what we meant when we said the Blizzard Magnum 8.1 was "full of pop", and why we said the Peak 78 from Head was "intuitive and easy to ski". Plus they got to see the reps again and feel the bitchin' vibe of a ski industry get together.
And then it all came undone. The skies opened up a bit and Uler spit down what seemed like Elmers Glue. Sticky, sticky, sticky. A light rain combined with a less than steep slope meant we were done. We headed into the lodge for a few minutes to see if it would clear again. It didn't. So at 1:30 the reps began to pack up and we hit the road.
So now what?- I thought. Snow play? No there seemed to be a movement towards dry comfy clothes. Snow play was out. Go home asap?. No, that was no fun. And then I got an idea.
I had found out about a great little restaurant on the way down the hill in the Sierra Summit area that would be a perfect finale for this group. It is called The Rustic Table. I set it up so we would all meet there for dinner. "The directions are easy" I said, "It is the Laing road exit". I explained that Laing is like Lange of Lange ski boots. Others thought it was pronounced "laying" and chose to remember it with a different association. Hmmm...
We got to the restaurant a bit before it opened at 3:30. Luckily we got Therese's attention through the window and she let us wait inside. Therese is one of the owners and was just starting to set things up for the evening. Her husband Adam is the Chef and was still napping before the dinner shift. We chatted with Therese and her daughter. Some of us drank wine or beer in the lounge area. I put in a holiday DVD and the fire was stoked. The rest of the group was all together within a half hour and joined us.
Therese set up a large table and nine of us gathered around and enjoyed a multi course meal for the next three hours. Everyone seemed to be blown away by the Rustic Table. Most agreed that it would be a popular 5 star restaurant if it was in Berkeley or San Francisco. And the prices are good too. We got out of there at 7:00 and zipped down through the valley and back to the bay. The Rustic Table put a great topper to a really fun 24 hours. We played, we skied, and we enjoyed fine dining. All with a great group of friends and employees. What a great day!
Many customers know I ski each Wednesday and ask about conditions and the like. The actual skking last Wednesday was certainly terrible as far as conditions. On the other hand it was great to slide around for a few hours with sticks on my feet no matter what the conditions were. On top of that I had the company of some people I really like to spend time with. So when people asked me how the skiing was this last week I simply say "it was a great day!".
The Rustic Table is a great place to stop on the way down the hill for adults or families. It gets a big CalSkiCo thumbs up!
43440 Laing Rd
Emigrant Gap, CA 95715
530-389-8900
