Saturday, December 31, 2011

Skiing In Baffin Island

Baffin Island: A Skier's Journey EP2 [Season 2] from Jordan Manley Photography on Vimeo.



Beautiful videography, wonderful sound track, and a place I have always wanted to visit ever since reading the chapter about it in Doug Scott's book, Big Wall Climbing ... A long time ago.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Paintball Biathlon Race



I started the morning watching the second stage of the Tour de Ski ... Not to shabby, three skiers in the top 30, including Kikkan Randall who is in sixth. Tomorrow she is the favorite to take the sprint on the third stage. After a few hours in the office I had a great ski on our lake, and after a bit more time in the office, I took my daughter Lucy and her buddy to their first race of the season. Conditions were great as they set the course on the outrun of the 90M ski jump, on man-made snow. A good time was had by all, and I managed a few more kilometers cheering the girls on.

Skiing on the lake



Conditions are still scratchy, however with a deep freeze, I can ski the 1.3K circumference of our lake. So, I had a great workout, skiing on this old glacial kettle pond for 45 minutes and then dong some ski bounding laps up the lake hill. Quite nice!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Pitchoff Left



It was -5 degrees last night, and the ice has begun to form up again after the mid-week thaw. Larry cruised up this NEI III+ route with just two screws for pro. After he cleaned it we did many laps.

Does your local hill have a uphill ski policy?



Wishing that more ski area were as progressive as Brighton in Utah, CLICK HERE TO READ THEIR POLICY.

Skiing the Dolomites

Dolomiti from Felix Hentz on Vimeo.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Crested Butte Ski Mo



A great short video to get you excited about the ski mountaineering season - if only the weather would cooperate. Check out the transition and how quickly skis are stowed on the pack for the boot packing section.

Monday, December 26, 2011

The Eiger North Face ... one of the climbs glacial retreat has made harder



CLCK, HERE TO READ THE NY TIMES ARTICLE.

Antique Ski Gear



This morning I skied a classic workout - on modern gear - with Lucy. This afternoon I took out a pair of 30 year old skis, we call it Fossil Gear, and skied up the Whiteface Toll Road. Except for being heavy, slow, and vomit yellow, what's not to like!

Get ready for the Tour du Ski



Watch some of this replay from the World Cups sprints in Rogla two weeks ago. The first quarterfinal has America's best male sprinter Andy Newell in the heat, but he is having an off day, and does not advance. The next heat, has a young up an coming American - Simi Hamilton - who just misses out in a photo-finish but advances as a "Lucky Loser."

History of Ice Climbing



This new book looks at the topic from a European perspective. It will clealy take its place next to Chouinard, Lowe, and Twight's work. If your French is reasonable, order it now from Blue Ice. If you are an English only guy like me, you will have to wait a bit for the translation to be finished. CLICK HERE TO READ THE COLD THISTLE REVIEW.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Scratchy snow and bitter cold in the Tetons


Fossil mountaineer, Matt - I dropped my rope - Hoffman is reporting having a great time in Jackson, just wishing for more snow. He sends best wishes to Danny, Gary, Frank, and Edward. In fact, both Edward and Matt have expressed a continuing fondness for cuy, and look forward to sampling that Peruvian taste treat this summer.

Skiing On The Toll Road

How to train your upper body for climbing and skiing?



Here is Lucy on Christmas morning, trying out the roller board that Selden made as a present. Lucy is a J2 Nordic racer and she is starting to get pretty serious about training, having already skied in some big races like the Lake Placid Loppet and the Canadian Ski Marathon.

What's the best food for a long day in the mountains?



Gu? Cliff bars? Snickers? For many decades I have sworn by fruitcake - delicious and the most calories for the buck - now that my mom has passed away, every year my sister sends me a new stock of Claxton's famous fruitcake. Truth be told, there are some Fossils who have not been able to warm up to this taste treat, because of an incident over 30 years ago on Denali, when our fruitcake was spoiled by a leaking can of Blazo.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Ski Workout With Lucy

Skiing the Whiteface Toll Road



A beautiful day, with scratchy snow that got better as you gained elevation. Lucy is pretty fit and strong.

Stellar Plate Snow Crystals



A pretty good picture with an iPhone!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A Skier's Wish For Santa



Christmas Dreaming

A week before Christmas and thru much of the west—
Lies a shallow snowpack with facets to test.
But before this occurs and sleighs leave the North Pole—
The prevailing west winds need to get on a roll.
Recent ridges have dominated incoming storms—
Along with split flows that make the new norms.
But harken I hear happy bells on the sleigh—
Could it mean a late Christmas is at last on its way?
A bit early to tell, but models look quite alluring—
That colder deep snows we may soon be enduring.
So open your minds to let snowfall within—
For our dreams are a great place to begin.
But remember with snowfall comes a new load—
On all of those weak layers about which we’ve been told.
So increase your caution if your dreams all come true—
Don’t be found in the snowpack, all white and blue.

. Thanks to Mark Moore at the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center

Monday, December 19, 2011

Adirondack Ice Is Firming Up



The twins throwing some tools, their goal was 25 laps before I fired up the sauna!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

AT Demo at Whiteface



Thanks to Brian and High Peaks Cyclery. William is looking happy with his Garmont tele-boot demo. As for me it's hands down the Dynafit TLT boots that stole the show ... word on the street is that they double as great ice climbing boots.

Winter Is Back

Finally, it is starting to feel like an old-fashioned winter

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Thanks Dave!



Dave spent the morning farming snow, and so now we have a 1.2K loop, that actual can hold a classic track ... Yahoo it feels like real skiing.

THE MAN IN BLACK ... climbing an M-something on Pitchoff



Gary and I spent the morning dong laps on this very thin section of Pitchoff Right .... As you can see a fair amount of dry tooling. It is going to be cold until Christmas so the ice should build up nicely.

Roping Up On A Glacier ... Systems



CLICK HERE TO READ A GOOD SHORT ARTICLE ON THE STRAIGHT CHUTER WEBSITE.

Friday, December 16, 2011

First Ice Of The Season



Carter and Larry were outstanding, leading on very thin ice, on the north-side of Pitchoff. The grade was only NEI III+ but given the conditions it sure felt stiffer.

The Harvard Cabin



Some of my fondest climbing memories were from caretaking the cabin in the winter of 1977-78. My last visit was about four years ago, when Brian and I scoured New England in search of early season ice, and we ended up there late one evening after an epic drive. If truth be told, even though the 'dacks probably will have some climbable ice this weekend, we ought to head over to Huntington Ravine again.

CLICK HERE TO READ A SHORT ESSAY ABOUT THIS VENERABLE HUT.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

SOLITAIRE ... a brilliant film



This wonderful film about ski mountaineering in the Andes, is available from Steep Edge Films. Stunning visuals, impressive use of "The Heart Of Darkness" for narration, delightful soundtrack, and oh, did I mention stunning visuals! You get a great feel for the variety and diversity of landscapes in the Andes ... One only wished you saw a bit more of the Andean people.

Brian, you ought to use this to kick-off the Winter High Peaks Cyclery film series. (CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE PHOTOGRAPH.)

The Ice Is Climbable

Friday, December 9, 2011

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Back on skis



During a pre-dawn 40 minute workout the skiing was gritty, marginal, and scratchy but better than jogging or the rowing machine!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Barry Blanchard's Alpine Archives



CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN GRIPPED MAGAZINE.

El Presidente Is Not Getting Any Younger

Midnight Lightning



A very young Ron Kauk cruising up this classic testpiece ... we should be thinking about winter, however it feels more like spring!

The Vallee Blanche of the Dolomites


CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT SKIING THE SELLA COULOIRS.

The Skier's Mantra

Monday, December 5, 2011

USA wins silver medal in Dusseldorf team sprint

Nice early season telemark form



A video snippet from my Sunday excursion at Whiteface ... younger legs than mine!

Video: Kikkan Wins the Dusseldorf Sprint

In Case The Ice Climbing Season Is Cancelled ...

A Fine Line - Film Trailer from Andrew Kornylak on Vimeo.



This wonderful trailer will get you psyched to trot down to the nearest bouldering area!

Ode to the alpine ice axe



CLICK HERE TO READ THE ESSAY ON THE COLD THISTLE BLOG

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Old skiing posters from the early days of the sport



This particular piece of art was inspired by the head wall of Tuckerman's Ravine on Mount Washington.

A Good Day At Whiteface



They only had one trail open, and it was thin in spots, however it was a beautiful day, and it was great to get out on my AT gear.