Training Log

Anally compulsive as I am, here are the relevant end of year totals:

- 280 days with at least a minimal workout
- 297 total hours working out
- Almost 60,000' in vertical done hiking, skiing, or climbing
- 91 days with at least a 30 minute hike
- 81 days with at least 30 minutes of skiing
- 67 days bouldering, rock climbing, or ice climbing

Certainly a better year physically than the previous two with their knee and prostate surgeries. However, we can also put it in perspective by remembering that Lewy used to log 60,000' feet of climbing in a week during his annual trip to the Selkirks! (Click on the picture to enlarge the spreadsheet.)

Lone Pine Peak

Click on this text to access a link to detailed route description of the North Ridge as well as a fantastic slideshow of the climbing on this one-mile long alpine climb. Looks fantastic!

NCS: yurt boulder

A 60 second snippet of my first bouldering workout. The image is not of the highest quality, as I am capturing footage that is playing on my computer with the video-camera. Nevertheless, the message is a sound one ... fossils it's time to get off the couch.

Talk Around Town

El Presidente and the Historian have started discussing suitable alpine mountaineering objectives for a 60th birthday. So, far one option rising to the surface is both the North Ridge and the South Face of Lone Pine Peak on the East side of the Sierras. The Ansel Adams photograph clearly shows the beautiful alpine ridge, as well as Mount Whitney and Keeler Needle in the background. The discussion thus far has focused on the third and fourth week of June, so with plenty of snow around crampons and ice axes will be required.

Yoga

Before I headed on the road to Alta and NYC, I downloaded an application to my iPhone for $1.99. Yoga Trainer Pro is a great little item that keeps me being active even when I get back to my hotel room late ... highly recommended. (Click on this text which will transfer you to a link to download it.) Remember the two things that fossils lose the quickest is strength and range of motion.

The Big Apple

The past five days have been spent in New York City with trustees and various alumni. The tools of the alpinist and climber have been out of sight and out of mind. It was a very successful trip and a terrific board meeting, however it is great to be heading back to the family and the Adirondacks.

Do You Like Murder Mysteries?

The newest additions to Hock's mountain collection, are a murder mystery series about special agent Antonio Burns - a cop really - who is based in Wyoming, and whose hobby is high end mountaineering. Many of the scenes are set in places that are full of alpine memories: The Snaz, north face of the Grand, the Diamond, Vedauwoo, and the Skillet Glacier. The action is fast paced; with one minute Burns stacking arm-bars in an off width crack and the next reading a criminal his rights. Highly recommended; you can buy them used from Amazon.com or for a few weeks more on Michael Chessler's $.99 sale. (Of course, the other option is to borrow them from me, for by definition, if you are reading the blog you have library privileges.)

Training for Alpine Mountaineering

Last week while rowing to the tune of an old VHS tape, I stumbled across this movie scene, and thought it a good trial-run of the new gizmo the school bought. The "Flip" is the size of an iPod and captures two hours of high definition video which you can drag and drop onto your computer without any adapters or cables. This two minute video has important tips - from Clint Eastwood's Eiger Sanction - on how to get fit for your next trip to Yosemite, the Sierras, Alps, or Peru. It is particularly pertinent for older climbers ... fossils.

Humorous: worst mountaineering video scenes ever (including this shot of Tom Cruise)

Click on this text to access a link to a two minute video montage of excerpts from some of the most outrageous depictions of climbing ever seen on the big screen ... from The Eiger Sanction to Mission Impossible and from Third Man on a Rope to Bugs Bunny!

More Beta

Click on this text to access a link with details about climbing the West Face of Leaning Tower. The fossils are starting to gear up. Nothing definite yet, but El Presidente is getting fitter by the day and is in mobilization mode!

Testing, testing, testing ...

The school just bought a new "magic" electronic device. The FLIP is smaller than an iPod and takes and hour of HD quality video which easily is transfered to the computer (without cords or adapters). Watch the short video of Lucy playing with her dogs. This is going to be incredible item to take on alpine routes.

Old Mountain Books

Click on this text to access the link to the largest purveyor of antiquarian mountain books, engravings, maps, and paintings. Incredibly interesting browsing.

Alpine scenery

The view of the Wasatch Mountains, shortly after take-off was superb.
A wonderfully compact range with great alpine touring and rock
climbing potential.

Heading home

Sunrise on the Wasatch. (Click on the image to enlarge the photograph.)

No climbing but ...

A great trip to the Wasatch. I ended up not climbing on Mount
Superior, however in addition to countless telemark turns, I did four
tours with a combined 3500' of climbing. It was great to be immersed in the alpine scenery for a few days.

Devil's Castle

My alpine holiday - actually a camp and school reunion - continues to
go well. At the end of every day of lift skiing at Alta, I try to do a
bit of vertical. The picture was taken at the base of Devil's Castle,
and I am about to rip the hides having toured up 1100' in 75 minutes
on my skins. Clearly the Wasatch are a ski mountaineering paradise. (Click on the image to enlarge the photograph.)

Taking a break

This year at the NCS and CTT Alta reunion I pledged to take a daily
break from skiing the lifts and do a tour. Here I am getting ready to
rip the hides after skinning up 750'. I will have to be very conservative in my route selection as the avalanche danger is high, and I will be solo on these alpine ski tours.

Friends of Tuckerman's Ravine

A small non-profit started by Brad Ray - who was the snow ranger during my tenure as the Harvard cabin caretaker - has the mission of protecting the integrity of the ravine and working in collaboration with the National Forest Service. Click on this text to watch a short six minute video about their work, and the alpine history of Tuckerman's Ravine. There is some great footage of skiing in the early 1920s.

Bouldering

A gorgeous day. After work I schlepped a 25 pound pack up Owl's Head
and did 10 laps up the 35' corner. It was only 5.2 but it was a good
way to unwind and start the season.

Adirondack Alpine Trilogy

She’s a stud ... On the same beautiful day that the Fossils were hoofing their climbing gear into in Avalanche, Lake Emilie Drinkwater linked up the North Face of Gothics, the Grand Central snow chute on Marcy, and the Trap Dike on Colden. We must have just missed her on our way out. Click on the text to access a link and read her article.

Chapel Pond

Something you probably overlooked on your recent alpine adventures when you were swinging ice tools on Chouinards, cruising up the slabs in your rock shoes, or bagging the nearby peaks ... click on the photograph to enlarge it and read my son's article.

Ski Mountaineering Videos

Click on this text to access the enclosed link featuring video clips of various extreme ski mountaineering trips: Huascaran, Robson, Waddington, and Valdez. (A bit of eye candy for those that are already suffering from a bout of depression now that the winter alpine season has ended.)

Tuckerman's Ravine Today

This webcam view from Wildcat mountain shows pretty good conditions ... of course its still pretty darn cold on the summit ... no velvety corn snow yet!

A Short Hike

Last evening just before dinner I hiked up Owl's Head. The trail is almost mud-free, and the crag is dry, so next trip up I will bring my shoes to boulder. Of course, you can see in the distance that Giant Mountain still has a very thick snow cover. (As always click on the photograph to enlarge the image.)

The Mayor of Alta

I am getting ready for the School and Camp reunion to Alta next week, and came across this great article about our host - Bill Levitt - who is married to an NCS graduate and is a former NCS parent as well. Click on this text to access a link and read an interesting profile of Bill Levitt in the New York Times.

On a related note, I enclosed a picture of Mount Superior's classic south ridge as I am hoping to take a day off from the lifts at Alta and climb the South Ridge of Mount Superior (II, 5.5 and 50 degree snow).

The Adirondacks are grey, drizzly, wet, and cold ...

but Chamonix - the epicenter of all things related to skiing, mountains, and alpinism - is enjoying some fabulous weather. These webcam shots were from this morning, and I believe that webcam shot of Flegere must be from the lift that Larry and I bivouacked in!

Last Tour of Season?

Maybe? With the 2" of fresh snow from last night, and the 0-2" base, I headed out for a 60 minute tour on the Porter Mountain loop. Typical Eastern Spring nordic skiing ... one part gritty, one part clumpy, and one part delightful striding. When I bumped into another tourer, we both agreed, it sure beats running!

My Last Whiteface Day of the Season

Conditions were scratchy to say the least. I spent Saturday telemarking on the mountain with about half of the NCS students. Conditions didn't seem to phase these Korean students one bit, although I can tell you it was taxing for my mountaineering boards and tired alpine legs.

Brad Washburn Photos

A small sampling of the 62 photos in the Mount Washington Observatory gallery, all of which are for sale. These pictures profile both Huntington and Tuckerman's Ravines at different points in the Winter. This recently deceased renaissance man - scientist, author, photographer, expedition leader, alpinist, and mountaineer - also proved to be the source of the photos for the original fossil attempt on the Cassin Ridge of Denali. (Click on the text to access the link which will allow you to visit the Washburn gallery.)

Where will you be on May 2?

LEGEND 1 - Left Gulley
2 - Chute Variation South
3 - The Chute
4 - Chute Variation North
5 - Center Gully South
6 - Center Gully North
7 - The Icefall
8 - The Lip
9 - The Sluice
10 - Right Gully (Lobster Claw, Lion Head Gully 1 2 & 3 further over)
Easier routes are Left Gully, Right Gully (and Hillmans over and south of the bowl) from my experience.

The cornice at the top of Left Gulley has been measured at 55 degrees.

Middle routes are steeper reaching 40-50+ degrees at their steeper sections. Most routes get steep the higher you go with the sever pitches just below the lip of the headwall.

Certainly the Icefall is the steepest and usually involves some airtime, at least in the spring.

The Lip and Sluice are very steep up higher. The Lip averages 40-45 degrees.

The Chute is very intimidating from the top in the spring since it narrows with ugly looking rock walls on either side.

Dodges Drop which is located to the left looking up at Hillmans Highway is apparently over 50 degrees. Hillmans Highway is most consistent I found and is probably in the neighbourhood of 40 degrees.

Tuckerman's Ravine, alpine skiing the way it used to be ... An Eastern ski mountaineering classic! (Click on the photo to enlarge the image.)

Mountaineering Literature

A terrific short essay about one climber's favorite books. Great minds think alike, as several of his favorites would make my all-time hit list. So, what is the best book about mountain climbing or the alpine world that you have read? (Click on this text to access a link and read the short article.)

Chouinard: a reprint of his famous article

As I think about going back to Yosemite this summer, to climb the West Face of Leaning Tower with Mark, I have re-read this seminal work on "modern yosemite climbing." STRONGLY RECOMMENDED! (Click on the text to access a link and read this famous 1963 essay.)