Funny, but this is the perfect example of a downhill mountain bike race gone bad. What was supposed to be a downhill race with a time of about three minutes turned into a Nascar looking event with riders sliding, flipping, and crashing into each other. Finish times went from three to five times the norm for that course. No amount of downhill, freeride, or trail work seems to prepare for this. None gave up, the result being the ultimate display of riding(?) skills.

It was a surprise to find snow on the trail. This is one tough group of riders. Check out the snow and shear cliff at the start of the ride! Ripping through snow, ice patches, mud, fallen trees, rock fields, monster boulders, and river washes- cool! At 9,400 ft., this ancient volcanic rim has an incredible view 360 degrees with Lake Tahoe visible to the north. The video is captured from a Viosport Adventure cam 3 and the rider is John Michael Breazeal. Wyatt, the Border Collie, keeps up with the riders but he cheats by cutting the corners!

John Breazeal and the gang ready to ride Thunder Mountain. Oh ya, there's some(!!!) snow where the trail should be. The view from Thunder Mountain is incredible. To the north is Lake Tahoe and Yosemite to the south. Straight down is the Kirkwood Ski Resort.