Big Canadian Rockies Ski Line

Click here to read about the ski descent of the North face of Clemenceau.

Spectacular Chamonix Alpine Footage

Olympics ... who will light the torch!

Many believe it may well turn out to be Roger Bannister, the Brit who broke the four minute barrier in the mile. Click here to read a wonderful recount of that amazing race, as told by Bannister himself. If it peaks your interest find a copy of the book, The Perfect Mile ... fascinating.

On The Circuit: bouldering in RMNP

BIATHLON: the development team pipeline

Click here to read the article in Faster Skier ... is this our opportunity or does it expose the soft underbelly of our current successful team?

10th Mountain Division

In recognition of Memorial Day I have enclosed a link to Lou Dawson's concise history of these mountain troops, found on the Wild Snow website. CLICK HERE.

Mountaineering Rivalries

Click here to read about George Mallory v George Finch, and Paul Petzoldt v Fritz Wiessner, and four other key matchups on OUTSIDE online.

First day out since knee surgery

Just four weeks after getting 'scoped Gary was out running laps (8) on "Hock's Blessing" the classic 5.6 on the NCS crag.

Book Review: the science of yoga by William j. Broad

Click here to read a balanced review at the MRC website, about this important subject for runners, climbers, and skiers.

Shattered with Steve House

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS ENGAGING VIDEO OF STEVE HOUSE SOLOING A ROUTE AND MUSING ABOUT LIFE, MORTALITY, AND DEATH.

Racking your climbing gear at the belay

Click here to read a short essay by Will Gadd. He brings some clarity to the simple but often infuriating exchange of gear between leader and follower at the belay.

More about the Marathon Monks

Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei

As I re-read BORN TO RUN over the past few days, I became very interested in the legends of the Japanese Marathon Monks. This book is out of print, but I believe someone scanned it, and posted a PDF on the Internet. Click here to read a New York Times book review.

Ibuprofen (vitamin I) and altitude sickness

Click here to read the Outside magazine summary of a new study written up in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Nordic and Biathlon Teams doing a speed workout in Bend

Click here to read the Faster Skier website article.

Camping in the snow

Click here to read a great article about cook tent architecture on the Straight Chuter website. IT REMINDS ME OF ALL THE WINTER MOUNTAINEERING COURSES I TAUGHT AT COBS, SLEEPING UNDER MY MEGA-MID, AS WELL AS THE DENALI TRIP WITH GARY, T, DANNY, AND ME HUDDLED UNDER THAT GLORIFIED TARP.

Adirondack Trail Runner

CLICK HERE TO READ A REVIEW OF THIS NEW TRAIL GUIDE.

Skiing Mount Shasta

Click here to read the recent article on the TGR website.

Steep ski descents continue in Chamonix

Emperor Face in a Day

CLICK HERE TO READ A SHORT SUMMARY OF THIS IMPORTANT SECOND ASCENT.

The All Free Rock Climbing Triple Crown

Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold free routes on Watkins, Half Dome, and El Cap, all in a day. Click here to read an account on the Patagonia blog.

Another Adirondack Spring Day

Caballo Blanco's Last Run

CLICK HERE TO READ THE EXCELLENT NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE ABOUT THIS MYTHICAL FIGURE FROM THE BOOK BORN TO RUN.

A Good Weekend of Training

Spectacular and unseasonably warm weather allowed a couple of short hikes, some third class laps at the crag, plenty of yoga, a bit of time on the rowing machine, and a session on the track. Starting to feel fit.

Blast From The Past ... 1980 ... 28 year old stud

As I begin to run again (6-8 miles a week), after more than a decade away from the sport, I am reminded of the bygone years when I average 60-90 miles a week.

Video trailer: Town of Runners

Where is the "wax pocket" for your skins?

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS EXCELLENT TECHNIQUE ARTICLE BY ANDREW McLEAN.

Haute Route (Wild Snow article part II)

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FINAL INSTALLMENT OF THIS TRIP REPORT.

La Grave

I have never been ... No groomers, no crowds, and I hear it is like Chamonix was 50 years ago.

The Running Life

CLICK HERE TO READ AN ARTICLE FROM THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE.

Haute Route Trip Report

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPORT.

Missing the Nordic season already?

Join the biathlon and Nordic teams out at Mount Bachelor ... looks pretty darn nice ... Certainly better than any skiing I did this winter!

Climber's Tendonitis

See this link to an article on Will Gadd's website:

http://willgadd.com/?p=688

Alpine Travel Brochures

Many of you know that I am a sucker for mountain posters of the early 20th century, as I just love the graphic design esthetic. Well I happened upon a great website of travel brochures from the 1920s and 1930s. The artistry is so evocative of the romance of the Alps that you just want to pack the rucksack and buy a plane ticket.

Use this link to access this wonderful site:

http://www.travelbrochuregraphics.com/Top_Level_Pages/Switzerland/Switzerland_Main_Page.htm

Meeting Ueli Steck

Hard-core alpinist and professional photographer Jon Griffith tells the story of how he met Ueli, did his first photo shoot, and rapped down the 1200m North Face of the Jorasses. See the link below to his website:

http://www.alpineexposures.com/blogs/chamonix-conditions/6057852-a-story-picture-2-working-with-the-steck

Another track workout

I took some NCSers back to the track today and did some 100m repeats, a timed 1600m, and several jog laps. (Additionally, I introduced them to high jumping and the Fosbury flop.) Lucy managed a 16.2 into a strong wind in the 100m, and a 7:46 during a downpour in the 1600m.

I continued to get my running legs under me, and enjoyed playing with this new iPhone app.

Spring has finally come to the Adirondacks!

Kikkan Randall ... what an animal

Click on the link to read the Wall Street Journal article about her dry land training ... pull ups with 60 pound weights! Pull ups while clapping!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304746604577384021387990452.html

Celebrating Mother's Day

Quote of the Week

I recently found this on a Nordic ski racing blog.

Ski Mountaineering Race

Where are the snows of yesteryear?

This essay from Lito Tejada-Flores published a few years ago brought to mind many of the feelings that arose during this winter, use the link below to access his website and read this short piece.

http://www.breakthroughonskis.com/Pages/_ski_writing/essay44.html

Still ski touring in Chamonix

This being Chamonix, they are also skiing outrageously steep lines, and pushing the envelope, and of course some push it too far. Use the link below to read a recent trip report from the world capital of Alpinism:

http://chamconditions.blogspot.com/2012/05/tour-ronde-leschaux-hut.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chamconditions+%28Blog+for+make+benefit+of+Cham+climbers+and+skiiers%29

US Nordic and Biathlon Teams Gathering At Mount Bachelor For The First On Snow Training Camp Of The Season

2012 Patrouille des Glaciers

Use the link below to access a race report on this year's truncated event, compliments of the foehn.

http://lasportivawhiteroom.blogspot.com/2012/05/wrath-of-foehn.html

Skiing the Cascade Volcanoes

This looks like fun, and something that a peak bagger like me could enjoy. Good vertical and only moderately steep downhills ... Just my style. Click on the link below to follow their progress:

http://blog.spyder.com/tagged/volcanotour

USST Nordic sprinter - Andy Newell - takes the Tough Mudder

One of the largest sporting events in New England was the 10 mile, 30 obstacle Tough Mudder held recently in Vermont with almost 20,000 participants. Newell claimed that it was as tough as any 50k race he had ever skied. Click below to read his race report ... Awesome pictures.

http://blogs.fasterskier.com/andynewell/2012/05/08/mudder-pics/

Track workout

I took my daughter and two other NCSers down to the local track for a short workout. We did two miles of jogging, and 4 X 100 at 15.5 second pace. (I, of course, timed and jogged the sprint intervals.)

Having just finished a biography of Steve Prefontaine, and a novel about runners (Carthage Again), I am game to work more running into my program. The other reason, is that I suspect Lucy will run track and ski in high school, so I thought I would give her a little exposure.

Notice the Olympic Flame in the background ... the track was where the opening ceremony was for the 1980 Winter games.

Chamonix ... second week in May

Closing in on Mother's Day and there is still great powder skiing to be had. Use the link below to read a trip report about skiing the COSMIQUE Couloir. Still, up in the air about the summer ... Peru or Chamonix?

http://chamconditions.blogspot.com/

A Beautiful Spring Adirondack Day

I got in at 2 am after a three day road trip, my second trip in ten days. I managed a pretty hectic Monday on campus - including teaching my ethics class - in sort of a haze. I did however, take advantage of the great weather to do a short 40 minute hike on my favorite section of the super-loop. I am home for ten days so I ought to be able to get into a more regular training pattern.

Staff and students are busy in the greenhouse where we have about half of our 15,000 seedlings already started.

Chamonix: they are still skiing powder in May

Take a look at this trip report from Andreas Fransson:

http://andreasfransson.blogspot.com/2012/05/perfect-last-day-of-season-first-tracks.html

Ski Mountaineering Video

The title is a bit of a misnomer, as most of the video is about skiing in Alaska (Denali and the Wrangells), skiing in South America, skiing Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, and Mustagh Ata. Nevertheless, the footage of the failed attempt on Everest is good, the interviews interesting, and the history of high altitude ski descents informative. You can stream it from Amazon.com.

Another Blast From The Past

A picture that Francis - a former NCSer - sent to me. Back in the early 1980s he took this stuffed animal wherever he went including to the top of Adirondack peaks, like trailess Seward, or even to the top of Tungurahua and Cayambe in Ecuador during Treetops West.

Chouinard the unlikely business guru

Click on the link below to access the Wall Street Journal article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303513404577352221465986612.html

Blast From The Past ... Nike circa 1976

I have been trying to get my Nordic racers to do a bit of running this Spring. (Hard to manage as the weather has been crap, there are too many things going on at school, and of course, hiking is more fun.) They get bored easily and so I mix things up, and yesterday we went down to the Lake Placid track and did some timed runs: 100 meter, 400 meter, and 1200 meter.

It has been ages since I have done any running, this from someone who used to run a lot from 5k to ultras, and there was even one period in my life when I averaged 60-90 miles a week.

Anyway, I have now used my rowing machine to watch three movies about running in the late 1960s and 1970s: WITHOUT LIMITS, PREFONTAINE, and FIRE ON THE TRACK. I am also reading am excellent novel about a serous runner, with a mid-life crisis returning to his sport (AGAIN TO CARTHAGE).

Finally, I bumped into this original Nike ad, which came out just as I put down the lacrosse stick and started to lace up training flats and EBs. At this point in my life, I am not sure running is ever going to be a big part of my "training routine" but it has brought back some great memories.

YOSEMITE: the range of light

Stockpiling Snow For Next Winter

The Telemark Resort stockpiled a massive amount of snow in March - covered with sawdust - and they may host a summer Nordic race. Click on the link below to read the article.


http://blogs.fasterskier.com/continentalcup/2012/04/30/a-big-pile-of-snow-waits-at-telemark/