From the Streets of Reno to the Mountains of Tahoe
If you’ve been paying any attention to weather reports this winter, you know we’re still digging out here in Tahoe. With record-breaking snowfall (at 700+ feet and counting), at times too gnarly for even the resorts to open – our winter went something like this: shovel, pow, après, repeat. Snow banks up at the higher elevations still kiss power lines; locals are secretly whispering “no more” to one another in coffee shops. The good news? All this weather set the stage for an epic inaugural NIKITA RETREAT-A in Tahoe a few weeks ago – uniting brand ambassadors, reps, retail buyers, and the NIKITA team for an all-women adventure (along with our dads—shout out to Rob, Dave and Tim!) that we’re still talking about.
Let’s be honest. When you wrangle a bunch of women together from all over North America you’re gambling a little (or a lot) but amazingly, this trip couldn’t have been the more perfect union of personalities and panache. Stoke levels were at an all-time high the first night after the crew had all landed in Reno. Dinner was at one of my favorite local joints: Brasserie St. James (think French pub food) before heading to El Dorado for gambling, live music and dancing. The evening commenced at a very questionable karaoke dive, as all good Reno nights tend to do (tattoos were talked about, but we’ll save those for next year). I finally tumbled into bed around 4 AM and deemed it a successful round one.
The following couple of days were a whirlwind at Northstar California Resort as a rogue April blizzard found its way to Tahoe, dumping over a foot of welcome freshies and epic bluebird conditions. On the final day, we split into teams and tackled a scavenger hunt (throw something on the party tree, switch pants with someone, take a selfie with a liftie – bonus points if he/she shows you a nipple – ride downhill with a beer without spilling it) and it became hilariously competitive. Crossing off all the items on the list between hot pow laps, NIKITA took over the mountain – a party that later continued at the Cabana Bar and then back at the house, where shenanigans included breakfast for dinner, king’s cup, inexplicable inside jokes centered around a photo of a particularly disturbing baby, sledding out a window, and dancing to the official NIKITA RETREAT-A playlist all night long.
Simply put, it was just one of those nights you’ll remember forever.
Another highlight was a sneak peek at the upcoming outerwear from designer and resident badass Natalie Sullivan. As she showed off her inspirations and designs for what we can expect coming ahead, let me tell you – we were STOKED on what we saw. You will be too. Only good things ahead!
While I’m still catching up on sleep, I wish the RETREAT-A was still going on. It’s not often you stick a bunch of hell-raising females together for a week and emerge with genuine friendships at the end.
Cheers to next year! I’m already clearing my schedule and waxing my board.
Words/Photos: NIKITA Ambassador Laura Lawson Visconti
