Bill Moyers Tribute to Charles Houston

Bill Moyers does a 16 minute video tribute to his friend Charles Houston who passed away a month ago at the age of 96. Click on this text to access this superb video with wonderful historic footage from Nanda Devi, Alaska, and K2. (The story of the K2 trip, and the attempt to save Art Gilkey is a mountaineering legend ... how wonderful to hear the story from Houston's own lips.)

Classic Ice Climbing Video

This 1976 video produced by Yvon Chouinard, follows a day of soloing on Ben Nevis by John Cunningham. The gear is vintage fossil-ware ... ice hammer, bamboo 70cm piolet,and first generation chouinard rigid crampons (the ones that broke all the time). This is a long forgotten, rarely seen video, however those that own a well-thumbed copy of Chouinard's "Climbing Ice" will recognize some stills taken from the video. Click on this text to watch the 8 minute video.

Lucy Turns Twelve!

Lucy holding up her diamond studs that she got from my sister; she also got a microscope; a gift certificate to amazon.com and some clothes for the ski season. Today we are in the process of looking at fly wings, salt crystals, pond water ... you name it ... the young scientist is super curious. (As always, click on the image to enlarge the photograph.)

A New Movie Out

Click on the text to read the New York Times Review of "The Wildest Dream." This is a documentary about Mallory and his ill-fated 1924 attempt on Everest. The movie has already had its limited release, and will begin to play nation-wide in April. The Times said: “The Wildest Dream” is devised as a kind of “Julie & Julia” for the rugged. It follows Conrad Anker, an Everest veteran, and Leo Houlding, his protégé, through an attempt in 2007 to mimic, if not quite duplicate, the ill-fated climb in which both Mallory and his companion, Andrew Irvine, died near the summit

Yoga at the Yurt Boulder

I went out to do a bit of bouldering late in the day, however the rock was pretty wet, and so I did a 30 minute yoga session. Of course, just as I was finishing up it started to rain, however I had my special 3 ounce Magic Anorak ... so all was well on the walk home. The soundtrack is by Buffalo Springfield from the late sixties.

Union College Lacrosse

In between climbing on plastic at the Albany Rock Gym, and climbing at the Gunks, I made a quick trip over to my alma mater. It was great to see my old Coach and be able to applaud the good works of an old buddy who led the nation in assists, and was being inducted into the college Hall of Fame. Notice the two game balls in a display of memorabilia ... we beat Syracuse three years in a row (I had a hat trick in the first quarter of one of those games), and we beat Siena, one of five current D-1 teams that we used to play ... back in the old days.

Training for Alpinism

Click on the text to access a great Jackson Hole link to a site called MOUNTAIN ATHLETE. It has a host of good exercises and routines, with pictures, descriptions, and videos to illustrate how to do the poses and exercises.

Video: an interview with BD

Brian gives an articulate, and concise summary of Mark's visit touching on the high points: missed plane flight, sluggish starts, broken coffee machine, clipping the bolt, and cruising "Middle Earth." Of course the final portion of El Presidente's visit was at North Country School where among other things he did some laps on the classic 5.7 "Unexpected." To all the missing fossils ... we wish you were in the Gunks with us.

Gathering of the Fossil Clan

Several fossils got together on Saturday and Sunday. As it was pouring rain on Saturday, Gary-Mark-Hock met at the Albany Rock Gym for a few hours of pulling on plastic. Hock seemed most sensible (whimpy if you talk to the other guys), and he stayed off all the overhanging problems and severe crimps. Sunday cleared into a spectacular Fall day and Hock-Brian-Mark-John spent the day climbing at the Gunks. The enclosed pictures are of Mark a bit strung out on the "Thin Slabs" lead, and cruising the mega-classic "Middle Earth" first pitch.

Mental Training

Click on the text to access this short article by Will Gadd. It was posted on his blog and was written about the subject of mental training for competition climbing, however I think it applies equally as well to cutting edge alpinism. I will go further and venture to say that this is the most overlooked element of an alpinist's training.

Another Blast from the Past!

The enclosed slide is 30 years old. Mike Brochu, Michael Franklin, and I are headed up to do an early repeat of the Black Dike on Cannon. This is still a classic hard route, although in those days its reputation was fearsome. This morning it was 15 degrees, and the ice climbing season is probably only a couple of weeks away. Sharpen your tools, and reserve the third week in December for the Fossil Icefest.

Oh, and Mark is coming east this weekend, so the next postings will be from the Gunks!

Third-classing on Owl's Head

This short video profiles a late afternoon workout on Owl's Head. After a full day of meetings and computer work, the desk jockey turns into a crag rat ... there is nothing like a 20 minute hike followed by 7-8 laps up the easy route (5.2) and then a nice walk down as the sun sets.

First Turns of the Season

Greg - our traveling alpinist - is back in Africa with Tori, however on the way back from his geology gig, he stopped for some climbing and skiing in the Canadian Rockies. The pictures are of Greg and his buddy Trevor skiing Highwood Pass. As an unrelated aside, it is 15 degrees this morning, please set aside the December long-weekend for ice climbing; I think the routes will be nice and fat.

Incredible Trailer

Reading the current issue of Vertical - a French alpine magazine that gets translated into English - I saw a blurb about a new video with Catherine Destivelle ... Au-dela des Cimes. Click on this text to watch the 90 second video which has amazing footage of her climbing in the Mont Blanc region. If this doesn't get your blood flowing nothing will. (Oh, and by the way, the Barnes and Noble at Exit #15 in Saratoga is the only store I have ever found that carries this terrific magazine.)

Tentative Agreement

A by-product of yesterday's cragging was that Gary and I made plans for a late June trip to the Cordillera Blanca. The enclosed picture of the West face of Tocllaraju - 12 pitches 60 degree ice - would be our prime objective, with another route on a near bye 6000 meter peak as a possibility as well. The other picture is the bergshrund crossing to get onto the route. ANYONE ELSE INTERESTED!

Video: more cragging

A 20 second video from the NCS crag. Hock is just back from three days in Manhattan.

A day at the Crag

Gary the fossil came up to spend the afternoon cragging. He was also very excited because he got the teaching job at the Lenox High School. There was snow on the ground, it was about 40-45 degrees, however the sun was out and a good time was had by all. We did four laps on "Hock's Blessing," "Unexpected," and "One Taste" ... for 12 laps total. Finally, can anyone help me fit my helmet so that it sits on my head correctly?

Believe it or not, the northeastern ice season has started!

The enclosed picture is from the first ascent of the season - last week - of Pinnacle Gully in Huntington Ravine on Mount Washington. This classic NEI 3+ in New Hampshire is typically the first ice route done every season. The close-ups are photographs ar4 posted on the NEIce website ... the climbing looked pretty good!

An Invitation

Hock makes a plea - from the top of a very windy Owl's Head - for all Fossils to set aside the third weekend in December for the traditional Icefest. The temperatures are going to be in the 20s every night this week, the ice climbing is going to start early this year. Pull out your gear an sharpen those ice tools and crampons ... who is going leash-less this year?

Still Polling

Come on Fossils, friends, and wannabes ... how many of Steck and Roper's Fifty Classic Climbs of North America have you done? The enclosed photograph is of the Northcutt-Carter route (III 5.7) on Hallett Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. I climbed this route with my South African friend Richard in 1979. Click on the text to access the link which lists all 50 of the classics ... then take the poll
.

NCS: potato harvest

The same poor, wet weather that has curtailed our rock climbing in the Adirondacks, has also led to "late blight" in our potato fields. This is the same infestation that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the mid-1850s. Late blight has ruined almost all Northeastern potato crops, however about a month ago, on the advice of the Cornell ag school, we cut off all the potato tops which has saved the crop. So, yesterday I turned in my gore-tex tops and bottoms for my farm coveralls, as we harvested over 5000 pounds of red, blue, and yellow potatoes.

"50 Crowded Classics"

The North Ridge of the Grand Teton (IV 5.7) is the right-hand skyline ridge. I did this route in the late 1970s with South African Richard Wilmott. We did a bivouac on the Grandstand and summitted early the next morning. Click on the text to access Steck and Roper's list of "Fifty Classic Climbs in North America." Count how many of these gems you have done and enter the polling data on the sidebar to your right. (As an aside this is one of the best alpine routes I have ever done, and one of three Fifty Crowded Classics that I did with Richard, the others being Royal Arches in Yosemite, and the Northcutt-Carter route on Hallett in RMNP. I also third-classed the Sentinel Rouge on the Brenva Face with Richard.)

Visitor on Campus

50 Classic Climbs Poll

Click on the text to access Steck and Roper's list of "Fifty Classic Climbs in North America." Count how many of these gems you have done and enter the polling data on the sidebar to your right. The enclosed picture is of the Wolf's Head (East Ridge III, 5.5) which I climbed with Michael and Mark in the late 1980s ... oh, and I have climbed 10 of the "crowded classics."

Alpine Dreams

As the rock climbing season winds down, and the ice is still 4-6 weeks away, I find myself dreaming of trips that might come to pass. Chamonix for instance - I would go back in an instant - anyone have two weeks free this summer? Click on the text to access Chapter 7: Chamonix, in Krakauer's book "Eiger Dreams." He captures the essence of the place amazingly well.

The Bad Weather Traverse

Just a mile from school - down in the Cascade Pass - there is a great hand traverse that is totally protected by a large roof and so it is climbable in even the wettest weather. Given how damp things have been, Dave and Larry took our students down to climb on the Pitchoff practice slabs (5.4) and to explore the cave at the top of "The Great Chimney Route" (5.6). As an added bonus they got to try the 150 foot long, very strenuous bouldering traverse. The video footage shows Dave completing the outbound leg, and know that he also completed the inbound leg as well.

Amazing Film Festival

The Second Annual Adirondack Climbing Film Festival was brought to us by Brian and High Peaks Cyclery ... it was incredible! Click on the text to view the 90 second trailer of the "Reel Rock Film Tour 2009." Simply put - if it comes to a town near you - go see it. In particular the 25 minute video of Alex Honnold's big wall free solos are unbelievable. In addition to previously third-classing Astroman and the Rostrum, now you can see close him close soloing the Moonlight Buttress in Zion, and Half Dome in Yosemite. (As an aside, I did not win any of the cool prizes in the raffle ... all proceeds went to the Beer Wall cleanup project.)

A New Fossil Poll

Click on the text to access Steck and Roper's list of "Fifty Classic Climbs in North America." Count how many of these gems you have done and enter the polling data on the sidebar to your right. The enclosed picture is of the Petit Grepon (South Face III, 5.8) which I climbed with Michael Franklin in the 1980s ... oh, and I have climbed 10 of the "crowded classics."

A literary blast from the past

Click on the text, to access a copy of Messner's "Murder of the Impossible." This famous short essay was published in Mountain #15 in 1971. The Austrian Messner was considered the alpine god at the time, of course he then went on to become even more famous as the guru of himalayan alpine style ascents, and the first person to climb all fourteen 8,000 meter peaks.

Funniest Climbing Book Ever

If you have never read it - order a copy immediately - they don't come any better than Tom Patey's "One Man's Mountains." Patey was a talented Scottish doctor that climbed with all the hard British lads from the 1950s and 1960, including Whillans, Bonington, Brown. You may be familiar with the story, "A Short Walk With Whillans," as it has appeared in many climbing anthologies. A more hilarious account of an Eigerwand climb you couldn't imagine. Click on the link to access the verses and songs at the end of his book ... he was famous for playing his accordion, around the campfire, as the bottle of single malt made the rounds, he lampooned all the top alpinists of the day. A gem!

Andean Glaciers Retreat

A recent OxFam study outlined the dire consequences of continued glacial retreat in the Andes from global warming. The picture enclosed shows the retreat of a key Bolivian glacier since 1940. Click on this text to access an article that summarizes the report. Here is a quick quote from the article: "Focusing in on the Cordillera Blanca in Peru, which contains 26 percent of the world’s tropical glaciers, researcher Edward Sprang reports that the area covered by glaciers shrunk more than 15 percent in the last half of the 20th century."

October 1st in the Adirondacks

Two More Images from the Past

As always click on the images to enlarge the photographs. Both images are 30+ years old ... one from a very cold day on a very difficult ice route on Mount Kathadin in Maine that I did with John Waterman and Mike Young. The other is from a wonderful month-long stay in Yosemite with Mark and Michael Franklin.