21+ ADULT ALL-INCLUSIVE WINTER GATHERING
BEAR VALLEY, CA
SESSION 1 - THURSDAY - SUNDAY, MARCH 7 - 10, 2024
PACKAGES:
INCLUDES 3 DAYS OF FOOD & LODGING, LIFT TICKETS, AND PREMIUM COACHING
ALL INCLUSIVE DOUBLE QUEEN: $2,199
ALL INCLUSIVE SINGLE QUEEN: $2,499
ADITIONAL NIGHT: $99 DOUBLE PP/$199 SINGLE
HOST: BLAISE ROSENTHAL (5.0), AND SPECIAL GUESTS
#HCSCxBLAISEBOOTCAMP
About: Gatherings are organized independently by snowboarders trusted by HCSC.
Join Blaise and an all-star cast of coaches and VIPs for a truly unique event. We’ll ride Bear Valley, a special spot in the Sierras That Blaise grew up riding. This place is incredible, off the beaten path, and offers a range of terrain and beautiful vistas that make it truly special. We’ll ride it all, the steeps, the trees, Their extensive groomers, and their fun little terrain park. And We’ll even check out a few secret runs that only the locals know about. Aside from its average 400 annual inches of snowfall each year, Bear Valley is known for its hospitality and small-town feel. Each season, the Bear Valley team works closely with our eager crew to share in the experience of this amazing mountain and ensure that guests have an incredible time. Spots are limited, so book now before they sell out. We look forward to riding with you!
-Blaise Boot Camp Crew
OVERVIEW
Welcome to our third edition of Blaise Boot Camp™ Gatherings at Bear Valley, California! This Event Is a blast, involving a fun group that includes our team, VIPs, and Bear Valley’s generous and hospitable mountain community.
This “camp” isn’t just about coaching, it’s a fully immersive experience, an opportunity to ride, hang and bond with a crew of other shred-minded people. On slope we focus on session-based learning, with every rider having the opportunity to learn from our excellent coaches, as well as from one another. It's a great opportunity to have a good time, push yourself just a little, develop your skills a bit, and get familiar with a very special place.
Together we will celebrate our passion for riding, and our collective snowboard culture through après engagements and presentations by our special guests.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Bear is a well-kept secret and Blaise knows it better than most. We’ll be flowing top-to-bottom right up until the last chair loads, exploring and interpreting all of the natural terrain this humble mountain offers: seeking out untouched pow stashes and whatever odd leftovers remain to banking turns on technical snake runs to coming up on silly side hits and jibs, as well as playing in the park. Blaise likes to find the weird lines and live beyond the boundaries, so riding with him at his home resort with late winter / early spring conditions will be a blast.
Spots are super limited (just 20 per session) and these are expected to go quickly.
“I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about my experience @blaisebootcamp and the delta between community in theory and community in practice … It exists as a hollow space, where the beauty of the human experience withers and dies, strangled by expectations and reciprocity. The authentic space of community in practice is one of shared love, pain, joy, exhilaration, frustration, motivation, fear, and passion, all without pretense or judgement. While snowboarding is the glue that bound our group together, it was everything else that will keep me coming back. I will never miss one.”
— @howdyitsdavid
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Lift tickets: Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Accommodations: Bear Valley Lodge - Double occupancy Thursday thru Saturday nights (*Single rooms and/or a Sunday stay-overs are available at discounted rates w/ advance booking)
Breakfast: Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Lunch: Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Dinners: Thursday, Friday & Saturday
Hosts:
help with your total gear set up
double check your stance
pointers on waxing & sharpening
riding pointers & tips
keep it fun and crew motivated, on & off the snow
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED
Airfare or transportation to/from Bear Valley Lodge
Equipment
Travel insurance
Bar tab & room incidentals
SKILL LEVEL
Able to ride intermediate runs (blue squares). You don’t have to go BIG to join in the fun or be adept going switch or have ever jibbed something.
WHAT TO BRING
Prep for winter yet think spring when packing. We hope for perfect, bluebird powder days but will, of course, hit it whatever conditions present at this time in the season. Over our inaugural gatherings in 2022, we ran the gamut over the two sessions from: sunny skies and slurfy snow to grey bird and flat-light days with the freshness falling and laying down decent accumulations. Here’s a good, foundational checklist to consider:
Board, bindings, and boots (if you prefer to travel lighter and rent, rental gear is available via SNAC - Arnold; please defer to FAQs for their contact details)
Outerwear: Shell jacket/puffy and pants/bibs, additionally: coaches jacket/hoodie (not required)
Helmet (encouraged, though optional)
Goggles w/ extra lenses, suggest: mirrored/reflective (sunny), rose (party cloudy), yellow (storm day), pocket goggle squeegee, anti-fog cloth are also nice
Performance layers, socks, incl. face mask/balaclava, beanie
Backpack
Water bottle
Sunscreen & lip balm
A cozy/casual kit for après hang-out and dinners in the lodge, maybe even bring a pair of slippers to shuffle around in
Board shorts or swimsuit, depending (there’s individual outdoor ice baths and hot tubs offered via AlpenGlow Spa & Fitness)
Phone charger
Reading book
Optional equipment ideas: Theragun, foam roller, a yoga mat to tend to, stretch out, and treat those tired muscles (massage and infrared sauna are also available for self-care)
* Lastly, if/when traveling into the mountains, being well-versed and safe on the road is of paramount importance. Accordingly, this video on basic Winter Driving Tips is some helpful reference.
DAILY SCHEDULE - OVERVIEW
Special guests and activities do vary between session offerings. We encourage you to check both downloadable daily schedules before registering to figure out what one appeals to you the most.
Thursday - 5 pm - 6 pm check-in, followed by welcome reception and casual catered dinner from 6 pm - 8 pm.
Friday - Breakfast, ride, lunch (vouchers), ride, apres, pizza.
Saturday - Repeat: Breakfast, ride, lunch (vouchers), ride, apres, catered dinner.
Sunday - 3-Peat: Breakfast, ride, lunch (vouchers), ride, goodbyes (see you next week!)
YOUR HOSTS
BLAISE ROSENTHAL
With a timeless style and an unmatched love for snowboarding, Blaise Rosenthal sets the pace at every one of our events. And though he’s been shredding since ‘89, and had a storied professional career, there’s not a jaded bone in this guy’s body. He’ll be the first one on the hill, the last one off it, and he’s always stoked to ride. no matter what the conditions or terrain, he’ll be riding hard all day long, doing everything he can to keep you as stoked as he is. In fact, the concept behind these camps came from seeing how Blaise interacts with a diverse group of riders. A subtle nudge here, a suggestion there, Blaise is constantly looking for opportunities to gently push every member of the crew to be their best and expand their sense of their own potential. Whether you want to get better at snowboarding, or just have a great time doing it, you couldn’t ask for a better guide.
KELLIE WRIGHT WHITLOCK
As our Executive Director Kellie puts to use decades of experience working with @highcascade as a Coach and Adult Camp manager. Her dedication to perfection is applied to every Blaise Boot Camp™ event resulting in seamless schedules that ensure all of our guests have a great time, both collectively and with consideration of each rider’s individual needs. In addition to running Blaise Boot Camp™, Kellie has been involved in numerous nonprofit campaigns, with the project closest to her heart being the Rocker Memorial Skatepark in Truckee. As a founding member, Kellie played a crucial role in securing approval for this state-of-the-art 25,000 square foot skatepark by the Recreation and Park District. Kellie is also currently an active board member of the Boise Skateboard Association, tirelessly advocating for the construction of skateparks in Boise and nearby towns. Kellie's dedication to her skate and snow shred communities is driven by her love for the outdoors and her belief in the positive impact that shared outdoor spaces and experiences can have on our individual lives and our collective story.
DYLAN HOPKINS
Our main hype man and the guy charged with pulling everything together and making Bootcamp happen in real time, Dylan Hopkins- our Director of Operations, is a guy on the go. Born and bred out East where you gotta really love snowboarding to be a shredder, Dylan became an instructor in 2015 so he could share his stoke with others. From here, a summer gig as a coach at high cascade at Mt Hood Oregon was a natural progression that allowed him to extend his seasons into the summer months. A natural leader and an expert in making sure everyone’s having a good time, it wasn’t long before High Cascade named Dylan as their Adult Camp Manager, a role he continues to fill in the summer months. While he excels at coordinating and executing logistics, and accommodating our groups with considerable care, you’re gonna find that he’s got a fun side too. On the slopes and off them, whether you're taking a lap, or having a beverage, we’re sure you’re gonna love hanging out with this guy as much as we do.
KELLIE SPEHAR
Free-spirited, free-range, fun-to-be-around, sweet and humble as pie, patient beyond belief in helping even the most novice riders progress — Kellie is certified and qualified to Host you at Bear Valley.
Idyllwild, California born and raised, she came up as a park kid on the So Cal slopes before heading north to live in Bend, Oregon, to teach at Hoodoo and train at Bachelor; taking her knowledge of transition, inherent jump sense, and feature-flavor learned over the years to new terrain … including her recent ventures into the world of backcountry riding.
While her style is pretty laid back, she has a depth of formal training and experience that allows her to decipher each rider’s small body movements and how they correlate to their movements on a snowboard. Simply put, if you’re just figuring out the shred game, Kellie is here to help you level up!
Dedicated to our community locally and at-large, we’re excited and honored to have her with us, and we look forward to her contribution to what is sure to be another awesome experience for one and all at BV for Blaise Boot Camp™ 2023.
MIKE McDANIEL
With a booming laugh and a perennial smile, Mike McDaniel is a fun and fly guy to shred and hang with. Originally from San Diego, and riding 19 of his 24 years, he moved to Salt Lake for a few to pursue competitive snowboarding … but fell in love with stacking clips instead — an agenda that’s now since taken over. As a self-proclaimed handplant enthusiast, he’s forever seeking a good or novel set-up to get inverted on, if only to wreck-it radical for several seconds upside down.
A credible sponsor list supports his efforts professionally, while a passion for making snowboarding for everyone is at his heart. Having coached at HCSC, he’s hyped to host at these gatherings, sharing in the high vibes among the collective crews; eager to bring his own way to play on the mountain to Bear Valley for the first time this winter.
OLIVER DIXON
Freestyle wild man, one-foot master, excellent Hula Hooper, twerks like a jerk, straight out of Detroit (Pine Knob local, dawg), Oliver might be the most unique human in snowboarding, having made it an art of his own, and if you haven’t yet gathered from all the descriptives here — he’s the life of the party. LET’S GO!
For his sensitive side, he’s a very giving coach with endless patience and really celebrates the victories and accomplishments of his campers. Having turned up at Bear Valley last March, quite unexpectedly mind you, he brought a character and charisma, unmatched and almost unyielding.
While he did receive a stern warning from our resident regulator, Dylan, of “If you get naked … I’m gonna kick your ass”, Oliver abided, keeping his clothes on for the duration, and turned it out nonetheless, amping attendees with his brand of comedy, camaraderie, and capacity for shred.
These upcoming gathering sessions in March actually see him returning to the scene, this time in the invited and formal role of host, with the caveat that that above order hold firm, stands fast.
THE BEAR VALLEY AREA
Bear Valley Resort is literally located at the end of the road (scenic Highway 4) in the heart of the Stanislaus National Forest, a zone known as the California Alps, situated between Tahoe (to the north) and Yosemite (to the south).
From the parking lot or the top of the Mokelumne Express chair, looking across the valley, you can see the backside of Kirkwood, just seven miles away as the raven flies. But direct access in winter via Tahoe is no go. You’ve got to come at this place from an alternate route.
Amidst this vast, secluded, alpine basin, sits a fully functional ski and snowboard resort boasting an average annual snowfall of 400” inches, 1,900’ vertical feet and over 1,680 acres of in-bounds rad-ness, as well as access to shuttle-served side country.
The scene is mellow here, yet just as frothy, holding a similar reverence for shred to those zones more known. Rockstar Damian Sanders and legend Dave Seoane both owned it back in the day, when and then the resort was called Mt. Reba Ski Bowl.
The Village berg, with a population of 150, is a mellow 10 minute drive away, where the Lodge is centrally focused and self-contained with three restaurants (two bars) on-site within it’s walls, plus general store for any food stuffs and necessities. This is a stepped-up version of “summit dwelling” with a few upgrades and niceties which make for a cozy and casual stay after a day of riding.
