Truckee
by Chris Carnel
Photography by Carnel, except as noted

Mummified, I find myself nearly asleep. Ever so slowly, a vapor trail of breath floats above my head. It creeps toward the darkest depths of an A-frame ceiling on the encapsulated west shore of Donner Lake. Another winter storm rages outside. The roads by now are impassable and the raccoons have retreated from their potato chip feeding frenzy hours earlier on the snowed-in front porch to a cozy spot underneath the house. This is a standard luxurious night’s visit with some of Truckee’s finest transients. Namely, Scotty Whitlake and Paul Laca. And a good place to start this story.
I’ll always remember waving bye to longtime Truckee resident and world renowned snowbarding photography pioneer Bud Fawcett as he motored off into a “warm” Sierra sunset with only the glow of his license plate frame shining a whimsical, “Where the hell is Truckee, Ca?!” That was before a revolution of sorts; I wonder if the question still applies?
The Plumas County town that’s divided into an older and newer section now enters the 21st Century with a plethora of conveniences. Included is a new roundabout intersection (adjacent to Interstate 80), a Starbucks Coffee (next to Safeway), and one of the best skateparks in California (right off Highway 267). Since that day nearly seven years ago, Bud became married, moved to Reno, and sold the license plate frame along with its host, Bud’s worn out Toyota 4Runner. “Tahoe and Truckee are way too crowded, it’s becoming a Vail,” he recently told me. “The cost of living has skyrocketed!” The hectic increase of population, a phenomenal 50% in the last 10 years, is somewhat due to the influx of a popular winter activity called snowboarding. Truckee and snowboarding are synonymous. Prior to the sport’s mainstream popularity Truckee was basically a mellow, historic train town closest to some of the best and now most well known “world class skiing.” The “new” side of town to the west hardly existed 25 years ago. Over the last decade, a growth spurt has snowballed and sent out a shock wave. The result is an unearthing of today’s youth from all parts of the world seeking the gold of California powder and bluebird-winter sunshine.
When I think of Truckee, Calif., I think of a lot of popular names: Jim and Bonnie Zellers, A.V. (Aaron Vincent), Jim Moran, Noah Salasnek, Jim Rippey, Kevin Jones and Chad Shetler to name just a few. Almost all of them own homes here and are what I would definitely call successful locals. They live in Truckee year-‘round and have all the necessary tools to weather the elements. But another type of local comes to mind. These ones are not on the road doing contests and photo shoots, aren’t pros and probably don’t have the resources to purchase a place to live. One of these people is Nate Hesse, who is on his five-year tenure. Nate is a true snowboarder who can be seen holding down precious powder days at Alpine Meadows or Sugar Bowl in the morning and running a coffee house called Truckee Coffee Roasters owned by former Olympic skier Kristen Krone who also owns Truckee cafe Wild Cherries. Regardless of winter conditions, Hesse rides everyday and spends his summers fighting forest fires. Another unsung local is Jon North who only owns his 1996 Nissan truck. On being a snowboarder in Truckee he reflects, “Eight years of being here. I can only wonder why I’m still here. Nothing ever changes. My situation never changes.” Don’t let ‘im fool you though. Jon is the epitome of one who lives for the snow and whatever new address, new hair color, or sleeping arrangement he has in his truck, which acts as his armor to withistand the cold on a particular night. “Everyone thinks it’s some alcoholic wasteland. Just look around. Today the sky is blue, the sun is out; this is only my second beer and it’s like 11:45 a.m.” Don’t get me wrong, Jon is not afraid of hard work and does the 40-mile commute over the hill to Reno to do time at local board shop Excell Skates. Be it a local mountain or as far away as Mt. Rose, North can be found out tracking up some high angle slope wherever the snow is best.
Truckee’s a counterpoint; the options are random and many. Throw a stick a few miles and you are bound to land on some resort property in the proximity. There is Alpine Meadows, Squaw, Sugar Bowl, Donner Ski Ranch, Northstar and Boreal to name a few. Truckee statistically boasts a population of about 12,000 humans and is rated home to one of the coldest overnight lows in the nation. Throughout the night, the valley sucks in the coldest air via jet stream over the top of Donner Summit. So when you awake to crank your engine on that early winter morning, expect your tires to be frozen to the ground.
The high influx of tourists in Truckee come and go with the specialty holidays, i.e., 4th of July, Thanksgiving (if there’s snow yet), Christmas, New Year’s, etc. Remember, your bargain mid-week pass won’t work on many of these and other holidays like President’s Day and Columbus Day. Long time Burton rider Kellie Wright has lived here off and on for six years and calls this town home when not on the road. However, she also feels the invasion of more people becoming a factor. During a Starbucks frappuccino induced tangent, she talked about Truckee. “One time I drove for four miles on the shoulder of Highway 89 coming back from Squaw on a Sunday afternoon passing 4:00 p.m. traffic. People were honking at me, pulling in front of me, and trying to cut me off. At one point I had to get out of my truck and tap on some guys window. I was like, ‘Can you get out of my way,’ and I pointed toward West River Lane. ‘I live over there!’ He then apologized and pulled over. It’s funny though ‘cause people ask me all the time, ‘How can you live there, it’s freezing cold?!’ But then I say, ‘Have you ever seen how many people are rooting at a Truckee High School game?’ There’s so much pride in this town!”
The off-season would have to only be what’s left over between the winter and summer seasons, namely the months of May and June then September and October. Interstate 80 runs through town and my home, Reno. Reno is the biggest little metropolis (major airport) and land of 24 hour food and gambling, so it’s “the city” to Truckeeites. In Truckee after about 9:00 pm nearly everything for eating closes down. But the early shut down doesn’t stop the hardcore from having fun. Boreal, home of the infamous Jibassic Park, stays open till 9:00 pm, features a nightpass and makes snow through the late evening. Squaw, renowned for it’s night pipe, also stays open for the truly dedicated. Back in town, local band Watch it Burn might play a raucous set till the wee hours at the Tourist Club in old Truckee. Many go to Tahoe Taps who supply the pool tables and drinks till you can’t walk. As well, bongloads among bongloads of weed are consumed after dark and into the night. Then it’s time for bed. But others such as Blaise Rosenthal, are sober and up into the night watching (sometimes starring in) and playing videos with Scotty (Whitlake) and cinematographer Brad Kremer whilst his girlfriend Jessica sleeps. Originally from Sonora, California, Blaise has lived in Truckee for almost 10 years and doesn’t claim anything except “burning the furniture up in the fireplace for heat” back in his early years living in this town. Up the street in Tahoe-Donner out of their home, Jim and Bonnie Zellers randomly debut a documentary slide show of a semi-recent Himalayan expedition to an aspiring group of local mountain conquerors. Just as expected, the photos and the stories are world class as is their new born child Dillon. Mid-season, when things are really busy in Truckee, it’s hard to tell the natives from the greenhorns. “I meet people at the bar all the time who claim they’re from Truckee,” 24-year-old Nate Mott claims. “And after talking to them for a while I discover that they’ve been ‘a local’ here since the beginning of the season. Whereas I’ve lived here almost my whole life!” Nate Mott grew up in the ever popular Tahoe-Donner housing sector. He’s been snowboarding forever and is out looking for action wherever he can find it (only after he’s ridden morning into night). “Truckee has the tourist club and there’s always women drinking here. But the ratio is one of them to about 10 men. The woods here aren’t full of single women.” Regardless, Nate has all the break-beat dance moves wired, on the snow and off.
The sprawling lifeline continues here with other such notables as Tracy Latzen, Jason Cochrum, Shawn Sterken, Salomon Arthur, Dave Burrite, Dave White and Chris Haggin. Holly Lyons, Adrian Olsen and Janna Meyen are some ripping female staples of the town as well. So what does the future hold? The building boom is on and the city is well placed for development.
The cost of rent has jumped considerably high and availability is scarce. If you want to move here, start looking in June or July and as Paul Laca says, “It’s impossible to find a place if you wait around ‘til September.” He recently did such and ended up back in Reno for the winter. But how about the year-‘round summer lifestyle you might ask?
The cement park and the Northstar ramps (for about $5.00 and all of your pads) are buzzing with people and offer a lot in the way of varied skate terrain. Donner Lake and Tahoe are swim and wakeboard friendly as the winter sports enthusiasts are somewhere far away, yet magically begin their mass exodus come September through October. By then you will somehow be ready too. Just bring your chains, your money and your battery powered electric sleeping bag. Watch your beautiful car turn to rust and slowly rot. The locals by trial and error have this life all figured out. After their years of withstanding winters, working all summer to buy resort passes and hiking for countless powder (and even cement) turns; they are the talented individuals who give Truckee, Calif. a unique flavor that separates it from the rest of the modern world.