For yoga, Tahoe has Wanderlust. To celebrate music and winter, we saw SnowGlobe for the first time this year. For professional skiing and snowboarding, let’s see, there’s a laundry list of tours and comps and races that stop through the Tahoe Basin every year. We have seen these concepts stand by themselves many times. But now, we get to put them all together for the Freeride Flow Festival.
Produced by Tough Guy Productions, a film and event company based in Kings Beach, the Freeride Flow Festival is a three-day celebration of backcountry skiing, yoga, and music. Take a few turns with pro skiers and reputable mountain guides including Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Alison Gannett, Kent Krietler, Lorenzo Worster, and Brooke Edwards, who are hosting backcountry workshops and freeski clinics. Come inside to warm up with a few sun salutations with yogis Stephanie Snyder and Pradeep Teotia. Finally, dance the night away to beats by DJs Justin Martin and Michal Menert, coproducer of Pretty Lights.
Moonshine Ink caught up with Allie Bruni-Riendeau, co-owner of Tough Guy Productions, to hear more about this all-bases-covered festival.
Moonshine Ink: What set the stage for this kind of a festival?
Allie Bruni-Riendeau: We were looking to reach a wider and broader demographic and Kirkwood approached us to do a backcountry festival, which was important to their partnership with Marmot. We took the idea and ran with it, and incorporated the yoga and music component to it. Our perspective is that it’s a lifestyle, and most people that are looking to get more educated in the backcountry are also health conscious and practice yoga … And everyone enjoys dancing. So we really tried to make a well-rounded, educational, and fun three-day festival environment.
MI: The backcountry element to your festival — why was that important to you and why did you want to incorporate backcountry workshops into the festival?
AB: [We want to] educate people in the backcountry, especially with the lack of snow and people getting antsy, or wanting to broaden their horizons and get out of lift lines. This community has experienced some huge loss. It’s really, really important to educate folks on being safe and traveling with knowledgeable partners; making wise and educated decisions; knowing that it’s OK to turn back. As a community — North Shore, South Shore, Kirkwood, and anyone traveling up here — we’ve endured some hardships. So anything we can do with pro skiers and riders to give people the best experience and education as possible.
MI: What do the ski clinics
look like?
AB: There are backcountry clinics — in bounds and out of bounds — that you can sign up for … It’s just going to be a really nice environment to learn from the best. You can do anything from simple transceiver locations, digging a pit, using your probe, line choice … It can be very basic for the person who is just off the couch to someone more experienced who is looking to refresh or develop their skills.
MI: Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Alison Gannett, Kent Kreitler — some big names in skiing are coming to this festival. What about these athletes made you want to invite them to this festival?
AB: They’re the best in the business. Sage has a wealth of backcountry experience. He’s going to be fun and will guide you around the mountain.
Kent, he’s been around a really long time. He’s AIRIE certified; he’s a professional guide. He’s extremely professional and grounded and is looking to provide a really nice, safe environment.
Same goes for Alison Gannett. She’s one of the most high-profile backcountry big mountain guides. She is very dedicated and passionate to the environment and to be safe. Her clinics are women specific.
MI: Why was it important for Tough Guy Productions to put on this event?
AB: It’s really exciting. It’s truly a dream come true to produce this festival, and to provide a really great opportunity for the community and the Bay Area. We’re really pleased to work with Nomadic Event Design. They’ve hired all the artists to come play, and they will be doing all the creative design for the event, as far as a visual, spectacular environment goes. [Nomadic] is actually Sage’s company. Sage will come and his girlfriend will be doing all the [visual arts.] It’s his art side.
~ Julie Brown/Moonshine Ink
