Keeping warm while skiing or climbing

Those that know this book (and it's companion volume) love them. These five cartoons clearly illustrate the ways your body loses heat ... so put a pad or the rope under you for insulation to prevent conductive heat loss. Put a windbreaker on to prevent convective heat loss ... You get the picture!

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE PHOTOGRAPH.

10th Mountain Division

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE.

Kuusamo Nordic World Cup

Kikkan (wearing the new black uniform) skiing strongly in the pursuit skate race. The temperatures were just above the FIS legal limits, at -15C.

Sunset Over Algonguin

I managed another scratchy ski workout - skating 5 or 6k - however for the next few days it is going to rain. We have just a bit over two weeks left until winter break, and I have a presentation to prepare for Friday at a conference in Baltimore. (AS ALWAYS CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE PHOTOGRAPH.)

Video: ski to skin transitions

Aside from being fit, being organized and minimizing the length of your stops, are key to make good time in the mountains. Not only that, but having your act together makes the stops in bad weather less miserable ... you are not always putting those skins on during a warm, bluebird day!

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO WATCH A THREE MINUTE VIDEO, WITH A SWISS GUIDE GIVING HELPFUL TIPS.

Demise of the Ski Bum

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

Early season tour

Just before dark Lucy and I did a 5k tour in scratchy conditions with rock skis. (Earlier in the morning I skied uphill for an hour - 1200' - on the Whiteface Toll Road.)

The Most Reliable Ice in the East

As you can see even last weekend with little snow and relatively warm temperatures the ice was thick and fat in Huntington. I have very fond memories of care taking the Harvard Cabin in the late 1970s. Even with better gear, I am pretty darn sure I wouldn't be able to do all the routes in a day (like I used to), certainly twice in a day like Waterman and Young is out of the question.

Training for a Winter ascent of the Matterhorn

Yesterday I skinned up to the crag in what the Scots call "full conditions," rapped down the cliff, and then self belayed myself climbing up "Buried Treasure." It was hard to imagine that a 5.3 route could be so challenging!

Upcoming Fossil Ice Fest

Aside from some great climbing between Dec 17-21, the food is going to be pretty darn good too. Those that have participated before know that Selden pulls out choice home-grown cuts from the freezer. For instance, yesterday we fried up some bacon ... "Amelia" was named by Lucy after Amelia Earhart because she was such an intrepid and courageous little piglet ... In the freezer now, she sure is tasty.

Sunrise Over Cascade And A Quiet Campus

All the students and their families have left and NCS will be quiet for a couple of days. Gary had to bail-out and so I am canvasing the young staff to see if anyone is up for some laps on "Pitchoff Right." Maybe later today, we may just have enough snow for me to take out the rock skis again.

The Ice Is Back

CLICK ON THIS IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT AND READ THE TEXT.

Happy Thanksgiving

Up at 4:00 am to write my speech, a sit down dinner for 280 with 250 pounds of turkey, 125 potatoes, 55 pounds of squash, and 84 pies ... all homemade. I hope your feast and family are all good. Gary and I may be ice climbing on Saturday; if not rock climbing in the Gunks with Brian might be the other alternative.

History of Skiing in the Northwest

Lowell Skoog has added a new chapter to his on-line history ... Superb.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THIS HISTORY OF SKIING.

Guide to Zermatt

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE ABOUT ZERMATT.

Amazing Climbers

Check out these ibex soloing on the 5.9 wall of the dam!

The Best Backcountry Skiing In The Northeast

Watch this short video, which gives some visual highlights of a new guidebook published by the AMC.

THE MOUNTAINEER: mountainfest and the ski festival

Whiteface

Another tour up the Toll Road. It was 11 degrees this morning so the ice routes should be getting fat soon.

Touring Up The Toll Road

For the first 2k the cover was icy and spotty, and then it improved considerably. I skinned up over 1500'. It was very windy with gusts up to 50 mph. On my way down I passed the NCS group heading up. (My daughter Lucy is in the middle wearing the neck warmer.)

Greg Lands in Antarctica

Beautiful weather, only -8 C.

Video: self arrest

When was the last time you practiced or performed a self-arrest? Having just come back from the Andes having asked myself that question; and as I am getting ready to go back to the Alps, I thought it might be a good idea to put a thorough review of my basic skills on the agenda for this winter.

Guides Wall in the Tetons

Another blast from the past ... El Presidente and The Historian teaming up the summer after their first Denali trip.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE PHOTOGRAPH.

ANOTHER CARTOON ... the start of the world cup season

Tomorrow the 5 month long world cup series kicks off in Gallivare Sweden. This weekend the athletes race a 15K and a 4 X 10K relay.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE CARTOON.

Ski Construction: camber and rocker

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE PHOTOGRAPH.

Receding Glaciers in the Himalayas

FYI ... Not just climate change, pollution also accelerates ice melt and the shrinking of tropical glaciers.

CLICK TO ACCESS THE FULL STORY IN THE ECONOMIST

IMPORTANT ALPINE WEBSITE

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS WILD SNOW

Video: FIS Muonio Sprints

Kikkan Randall kicks butt, winning her first race of the season against a deep and talented field which included several Olympic medal winners.

Climbing Blog Breaks 5,000 Barrier

This morning the Fossil blog registered it's 5000th reader!

Video: Bachar-Yerian

This amazing route was done in the 1980s, and although it is "only 5.11" it rarely gets done, as it is super run-out, highly technical, and has a history of gigantic whippers. This great video is the record of a recent onsight attempt.

The Bachar Yerian 5.11c R/X from cole gibson on Vimeo.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

In honor of Mark - El Presidente - this week's quote is from Gaston Rebuffat. "Some mountaineers are proud of having done all their climbs without bivouacs. How much they have missed.".

Nordic Combined Gold Medalist In The Backcountry

Bill Demong, a native of Saranac Lake is out for a tour and some turns on Cardiff Pass in Utah before he heads to Norway for the World Cup circuit. Obviously this guy is an all-round mountain man, as one might expect of an Adirondacker. I remember him skiing in the Bill Kockh League when he was five years old.

Crevasse Rescue

Needless to say I am not watching this reality show, however the news is that Sarah Palin goes mountain climbing in Denali Park but first she needs to learn how to do crevasses rescue. Anyone know what peak she is climbing?

First Skate Session Of The Season

Good To Be Back

Yesterday as I snapped pictures of the Adirondacks from high up on Whiteface, I remembered this photo I took in Manhattan. As I mentioned before, it was a productive trip, however it was hard to believe seeing all the stores, even at this early date, readying themselves for holiday shopping.

A Skier's Math Homework

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE THE IMAGE IT IS VERY HUMOROUS.

50 Classic Ski Descemts of North America

50 Classic Ski Descents of North America from art burrows on Vimeo.

THE BOOK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED AND HERE IS A PORTION OF THE LIST:

The East

Polar Star Couloir, Mt. Beluga, Baffin Island
Tuckerman Ravine, Mt. Washington, NH
Huntington Ravine, Mt. Washington, NH

Colorado

Landry Line, Pyramid Peak
North Maroon Peak, North Face
Cross Couloir, Mt. of the Holy Cross
Wilson Peak, Northeast Face
Silver Couloir, Buffalo Mountain

Utah

Mt. Superior, South Face
Hypodermic Needle, Thunder Ridge
Cold Fusion, Mt. Timpanogos
Mt. Tukuhnikivatz, La Sals
Wyoming
Ford-Stettner Couloir, Grand Teton
The Skillet, Mt. Moran
East Face Glacier Route, Middle Teton

Custom Hand-made Skis At An Inexpensive Price

FIS MUONIO ... TWO IN A ROW

Kris Freeman won the 10K classic event in Finland, with 150 entries, and a deep field that included several Olympic medalists ... a pretty good start to the season. Kikkan finished 14th in the women's 5K classical race ... given that she is a sprint specialist this is one of her best distance results ever at the international level. Go USST.

Training for the Loppet and Haute Route

On this beautiful, sunny, and mild day I hoofed it up 750' on Whiteface and then skinned up another 750' ... Good workout and nice snow conditions.

FIS RACE IN MUONIO

Kikkan wins the skate sprint handily, which is impressive given the size (120 racers) and depth of the field. Ida Sargent finished 11th and Andy Newell finished 16th. Tomorrow is a distance race ... A great start to the season in Finland.

Catskill Mountains

Yesterday I had a gorgeous sunset view of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains as I rode the train into Manhattan.

A New Novel ... Birkebeiner

Amazing technology, one click and I have this new historical novel on my iPad for the train ride home tomorrow. The first world cup Nordic races start this weekend, I already have six days on snow, and so I am excited about immersing myself in the story of Prince Hakkon. (Also, I plan to take Lucy to Norway when she graduates North Country School to ski the Norwegian Birkie.)

10th Mountain Division History

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ ABOUT THE TRAINING AT CAMP HALE DURING WW II.

Roping Up On A Glacier

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO AN INFORMATIVE ARTICLE FROM THE AMERICAN ALPINE INSTITUTE.

Rock Skis

I toured for 40 minutes again this morning, and as you can see, Lucy and I are starting to pull the rock skis out of storage. Unfortunately a warm front is moving in, and all the snow will be gone by tomorrow.

Video: Yosemite Glaciers

A very nice, informative 8 minute video about the small alpine glaciers still found in Yosemite's high sierra.

THE VIDEO GOT ME STOKED ... Heading Out With Rock Skis

Whiteface Auto Road - 10/16/10 from Matt Charles on Vimeo.

WATCH THIS RECENT VIDEO OF FOLKS SKIING UP THE TOLL ROAD ON WHITEFACE AND KNOW THAT THE SKI SEASON IS NOT FAR OFF.

FOSSIL ICEFEST

As you can see, its only the first week in November and things around the Fossil Cabin, sauna, gear room, and crapper are looking positively wintery. I believe there will be plenty of ice for our tools and our single malt!

North Face of Gothics

A trustee and I took a charter flight to Maine to have lunch with a major donor. On our approach back into Lake Placid I snapped this photograph ... It looks climbable.

FIS NORDIC RACES

The first races of the year - classical sprints - were held today in Munio. Ida Sargent a Dartmouth co-ed made it into the final heat, pretty amazing considering the other three women were 2010 Olympians.

NCS Net Zero Energy Use Residence

DOUBLE CLICK TO WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO WHERE HOCK TALKS ABOUT GREENING THE CAMPUS AND THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE!

Harry is onboard for the Haute Route

SUNRISE ON DAY FOUR!

THE BLACK DIKE ON CANNON IS LOOKING GOOD

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE TEXT.