All you need to start with is a paddle and a stand up paddle board! A paddleboard is a long stable surfboard with a deck pad and maybe a leash. Paddleboards come in many shapes and sizes, some you paddle in the prone position but the growing rage is in the stand up paddleboard. Some are less than ten feet and these are great for smaller paddlers and average size people that may spend more than half their time surfing. You should go longer if you want to tour long distances. Consider using a paddleboard that is over eleven feet for more touring. Racers will be on longer paddleboards twelve feet and up for the serious racers competing in one of Tahoe’s many competitions scheduled for the summer of 2010. Touring/racing boards are typically a displacement type hull with a v-shaped bow and a very flat bottom. Your paddle is basically a long canoe paddle which should be very strong to handle the extra torque required to power these SUP’s. The paddle has an angled single blade with a T handle. Paddles are typically cut to length or adjusted to be about 8 to 12 inches over the top of a persons head for maximum power with each stroke. Paddle boards are very efficient in calm winds when standing but when it’s windy you will find that it is easier to paddle in the prone position (on your stomach) or on your knees for more stability and efficient paddling.

It is always a good idea to take a short lesson to get started; here are some simple tips to paddling. One safety tip is to start out in clear water so you can see any obstacles. It is a good idea to avoid shallow water and the rocks just below the surface. You can paddle on your knees through shallow waters to avoid hitting a rock and subsequently falling from a standing position onto your board or worse yet into the shallow rocks you just ran into. So now you have safely navigated away from the shallow water and you can now stand up on your board. Take a look at where your knees are positioned on your stand up paddle board and most likely your knees are straddling the handle in the center of your paddleboard approximately shoulders width apart, this is the “sweet spot” You may notice that your knees make an indent in the deck pad of the paddleboard, this is where the balls of your feet will go for instant stability once you get on your feet. Bend your knees and gently begin making short forward paddle strokes remember to hold the paddle with the paddle blade angled forward for optimum reach. The most efficient paddle stroke is obtained with a somewhat rigid straight arm position. This position allows you to use more of your core and back muscles when you crunch to paddle. This crunching forces the paddle deep down and back for a stronger forward paddling stroke. Experiment with sweeps and draws as well as forward and reverse strokes. You may like to move around on your board once you are confident and stable. Moving around on your SUP allows you to experiment with added maneuvering and faster turning techniques. Get to know how the board responds to different foot positions and your weight distribution changes so when the water gets rough you will have better control over your paddleboard for surfing those small waves.

North Shore Lake Tahoe’s crystal clear waters are the perfect place to get started on you SUP journey. You can see down seventy feet on a calm morning paddle adding to the extremely unique natural experience. So not only will you look cool and get ripped but you will see things that you would not typically see anywhere else on the planet. So take the plunge, make the journey to Tahoe and experience paddle boarding first hand. The north shore of Lake Tahoe is surely the ultimate stand up paddling destination anywhere!

Like most people everywhere the locals and visitors to Tahoe can get the blues but unlike many people they often go out looking for them. Sometimes they are out on kayaks or standup paddleboards. They could even be out on a sailboat or skiing when they get the blues.

There is over a foot of the best snow of the entire winter falling in Tahoe’s back-country today. I have already skied twice but I can’t help thinking about how much I would like to climb back up to the ridge above Lake Tahoe for one last run before sunset. I know that I could be on my paddleboard paddling out to Bucks Beach or kayaking out of Sand Harbor to Whale Beach or possibly sailing a Hobie Cat across Lake Tahoe to Chimney Beach but I can’t stop thinking about all that fresh powder that’s waiting to be skied on this bluebird day.

I have not been kayaking much this week (because of the fresh snow) and April is typically the best time of year to start paddling on a daily basis on Lake Tahoe. Don’t get me wrong I am not complaining in fact I have paddled quite a bit this winter. I was going out on Lake Tahoe nearly every other day in March and the kayaking was great. The North Shore of Lake Tahoe is truly magical this time of year, there’s so much to see and do and if you don’t like the weather wait ten minutes. I like to participate in as many as three or four different sports on a good day because it helps me with the blues.

There is so much incentive to get outside in Lake Tahoe the scenery for one, the fresh air, the peace and quiet and those unforgettable Lake Tahoe views. I did say views, not blues, at least not the cry in my beer kind of blues. Lake Tahoe blues are more often associated with the color of the Lake or maybe with summer music festivals but not usually associated with your frame of mind. I don’t think you can legally get the blues in Tahoe in fact it’s against the law, the law of nature that is. If you feel yourself slipping into the (nasty) blues then you simply slip on your ski boots or maybe your wet suit and drive those (low down) blues away by getting out into the great outdoors.

This time of year I like to start each day of adventure by watching the weather forecast. If the forecast is for two feet of fresh snow like today, I might start by getting up early and popping on my back-country skis and heading right out the backdoor to the ridge and beyond for skiing on what might be a perfect bluebird day. If the spring snow has set up hard as rock then I might strap on my bike shoes and climb the forest service roads and trails for an hour or two on my mountain bike. I like to stop at the top and take in the blues. After a hearty snack I ride the snow back down for some blue skies and big blue Tahoe views. If I have more time I might then check to see if the lake is glassy, if so I could suit up for a late morning paddle on a paddleboard or kayak, did somebody mention having the blues? If somehow I do feel a little glum I might then consider an afternoon ski on the corn snow, I love the corn. If there is still any chance of feeling a little down I might take a relaxing sail with a Hobie Island sailboat for an amazing Lake Tahoe sunset and some of the bluest blues available on the planet.

By the time I head home my brain is so full of endorphins that there is no room for the blues at least not the low down dirty kind. The only blues in my head now are the visions of blue skies draped against snowy cliffs and blue waves rolling over deeper blue waters and maybe the splashes of sunlight shining through dark blue clouds that reflect off the sparkling blue surface of Lake Tahoe. These are the kind of blues that will never get you down the bluest of blues I am talking about those awesome Tahoe blues.

Of course I know that winter has to end and that the snow will melt and I will have to put away my skis and studded bike tires for the season but I still won’t get those down and dirty blues. By the time the snow melts Lake Tahoe will have warmed up a bit and a record number of people will be breaking out their paddleboards and kayaks for a fun filled summer paddling on Lake Tahoe. Yes I will reluctantly put away my skis for a kayak or stand up paddleboard but I refuse to get those knock down, drag out blues because I really look forward to feeling the full effects of the sun on my pale skin while paddling, I can’t wait to peel away almost every layer of clothing and soak up huge amounts of vitamin D during a long paddle in the hot sun.

I can’t get enough of paddling paddleboards and the way SUP’s make me feel. Paddleboards take the kinks right out of your back and neck you know the kinks you get from sitting around too much on those long cold winter nights but soon there will be no more short days, no more going out after dark to get in a few short slippery miles and definitely no blues, at least not the low down dirty, crying in my beer, you’re a bad neighbor, hey don’t kick my dog, I’m stuck in traffic, you just crashed my car and how much is a gallon of gas…blues.

I paddled a few times this week and had the privilege of paddling with John and Brenda for an amazing day on Lake Tahoe. John and Brenda live on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe and they squeeze in lots of paddling year round. Brenda competes on a recreational level and has some major paddling skills. She recently completed the Tahoe Fall Classic 22.9 miler and has even finished first in her class. John is no couch potato either. John has been on surf boards for many decades and more recently took to paddling sup. When you see him paddling you can see that paddle boarding came easy to him. He spent most of his life on Kauai raising his family and surfing but from now on, according to him “will always” reside in Tahoe.

We started our paddle in Kings Beach and paddled a mix of closed deck kayaks and stand-up paddle boards along the shore past Brockway Hot Springs to Bucks Beach where we stopped to soak up some much needed winter sun among the giant boulders, it felt like 70 degrees on the beach! We ran into a half dozen other kayakers headed around the point, they were all on sit on top kayaks. John pointed out some bands of crystal outcrops that I had never seen before, I pointed out the thousand pound mother of all crystals to him which he had never seen. It is likely that Crystal Bay was named after these rocks. Meanwhile Brenda found a very comfortable stretch of warm sand and was napping, even though she missed “all the excitement” seemed very content to take a siesta in the warm sun. We were a little pressed for time so we cut the paddle short and extended our beach time, which seemed like a priority, at the time.

Marty and Walt Washington of PT Outdoors paddled their Hobie SUP boards south out of Sand Harbor on the same day and Walt was quoted as saying that the paddling was like “paddling a flying carpet over the boulders”. These boulders are visible for as much as 70 feet below Lake Tahoe’s surface. Lake Tahoe gets so calm that people sometimes experience vertigo from looking down from their paddle boards; sometimes it is hard to judge where the water surface is especially when the water is so clear and calm. Walt also mentioned that he found some large cat tracks in the snow on one of the State Park beaches. Wow, just imagine catching a glimpse of that “cool cat” walking down the beach, not Walt “the cool cat”, but the furry four legged kind.

Needless to say Lake Tahoe water is very cold this time of year and you would not want to fall into the lake without the proper clothing. Some winter paddlers are wearing booties, gloves and three to five mil neoprene farmer johns or pants combined with a comfortable “fast” wicking base layer on top. This combination might be good for experienced paddlers who know their limits but to guarantee your survival in extremely cold water consider a complete dry suit with skull cap and gloves. This combination is obviously not aerodynamic for racing or distance paddling on a sup but great if you for any reason find yourself swimming. The one general rule for winter/spring paddling is to “dress for the water temperature” Protect your chest from the cold water, at minimum wear an appropriate base layer under a dry top. Besides protecting your heart from cold shock wearing dry suits makes it possible to cool down by getting into the water if you overheat. Always check the weather forecast before taking your SUP or kayak out on Lake Tahoe and paddle with a buddy and a cell phone/radio.

Be prepared out there because the weather can change fast on Lake Tahoe. In fact the weather on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe is changing back to winter as I write. So I think I will wax up some tele skis and go find some steep and deep powder a.s.a.p. Who knows maybe in a few days I will mix it up and strap some x-c skis to my kayak so I can paddle out to Walt’s “cat beach” on the next glassy day, so much to do, so much to see, so lets go!

To see our local Tahoe/Truckee athletes competing in the Olympics makes us Tahoe locals wake up a little earlier, slap on our skis with a lot more enthusiasm and ski a little faster, even if some of us are old! Yes we old folks will continue to admire and shamelessly live vicariously though these amazing young Tahoe/Truckee athletes. We will continue to break trail with the enthusiasm of an Olympic hopeful with the strength twenty couch potatoes and the precision of not less than a thousand motor toys! Yes we will do this until our skis no longer turn and our hearts no longer beat.

You can see and support Tahoe/Truckee’s Olympians starting Feb. 13th with the mogul’s competition with Tahoe resident Shannon Bahrke and the downhill competition with Tahoe grad Marco Sullivan. The next day Feb. 14th see Tahoe super G gold medalist Julia Mancuso. On Feb. 15th see Nate Holland from Tahoe/Truckee in the snowboard cross. Then on Feb. 17 see Tahoe’s Mancuso and Stacey Cook of Truckee in the downhill event. Then tune in to see the girls from South Lake Tahoe, 2006 gold medalist Hannah Teter and Elena Hight for the half pipe competition on Feb. 18th. Be sure to look for Mancuso again on Feb.20 for the super G women’s alpine event where Mancuso will be defending her gold from four years ago! Feb. 21st see the Truckee/Jamaican ski team with Tahoe/Truckee locals Daron Rahlves and Errol Kerr for the exciting skier cross country event. The womens’ giant slalom, scheduled for Feb, 24th, will again feature Tahoe/Truckee local gold medalist Julia Mancuso. Go Tahoe.

Unfortunately we may not be able to travel to Vancouver to support these Tahoe/Truckee athletes but we that must remain in Tahoe and Truckee (boo-hoo) should plop down in front of our TV set for each event and cheer loudly (like we do) for our local Tahoe/Truckee athletes but as soon as the competition ends I know you all will not fall asleep with melted ice cream on your face and pie on your lap. No you, you will share the Tahoe/Truckee Olympic athletes enthusiasm and jump up from your easy chair, slap on your skis and hit the trails for at least one last run before dark.

Thanks to a few local residents the fences (literally) came down last week and locals and other assorted Earthlings celebrated on Sunday January 31st. Once again you can paddle your kayak or meander down the scenic path with your paddle and SUP in hand to Bucks Beach. Once again you can paddle your SUP or kayak or sail a sailboat to Bucks Beach and spread out a blanket and spend the day on this pristine little stretch of public property. Hike there or paddle there and see first hand how your tax dollars now benefit you. Now stretch out on your blanket, look up at your clean blue sky, listen to your gentle surf, the robins song from the trees and forget for a moment all your cares but never forget that not one person can own this beach and that it is important that simple ordinary people help protect Americas public places and wildlife for generations to come.

Now go parents and children alike, paddle your kayak, SUP or sailboat and see the giant crystal on the beach, feel the glittering clean sand between your toes. Then paddle and drink the pristine water, dive down and swim through the underwater caves, come up and feel the sun on a hot summer day but take only pictures and leave only footprints. Never give the people that would hire top dollar lawyers’ reasons to fence off places like this again. Our mothers and fathers fought way too many battles to just let this kind of thing happen, especially in America! So let it be known that some people fought a battle for a piece of that sweet “freedom pie” and that this time they won! Maybe we could have avoided all the fuss by considering this one ancient proverb; “The Earth was not given to you by your father it was loaned to you by your children”. So take care everyone and don’t forget to share your toys…damn it!

Tahoe Eco-Sports gregarious expert guides will be sure to take you on a fun filled paddle you will not soon forget. Winter is an amazing time to kayak and it is the only time of year that you will see bald eagles on a daily basis. Witness first hand our nation’s most majestic bird from up close.

Paddle along beautiful rocky shorelines covered in snow and learn from our knowledgeable guides as to what other wildlife lives in Tahoe. Tahoe’s history surrounds you and you will learn much about it while kayaking on the north shore. Come be our guest and soon Tahoe’s best-kept secrets will be revealed to you during a fun winter paddle!