Getting Fit For The Nordic Season

Glen Plake ... from the NCS ski hill to Manaslu

Back on Track

After a week off at the end of Camp Treetops, Lucy has started to train again for Nordic skiing ... hiking, biking, roller skiing, trail running, roller boarding, and doing some 100 meter repeats after a thorough warm up on the track.

When to replace old gear?

Truly it is always such a tough decision! Selden has almost reached the point where she thinks she ought to retire this pair of hiking boots? What do you think? Premature?

5k Trail Run With Lucy

Getting Physical For My 60th Year

New Avalanche Airbag

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REVIEW IN OFF PISTE.

Ice Climbing In The Olympics

CLICK HERE TO READ A WINTER OLYMPIC UPDATE.

GLACIAL MELT AROUND THE WORLD ... climate change

Click here to read this important photo-essay from Huffington Post.

Ottawa Ankle Rules

I read a funny posting about a Black Diamond Trail Race in Utah, however the best part of the article was reading about the clinical rules of thumb doctor's use to evaluate whether you need x-rays or not.CLICK HERE TO READ THIS SHORT SLC SHERPA ESSAY.

The Art Of The Bivy ... Continued

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... jim bridwell

"It is a fine line between BAD ASS and DUMB ASS."

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... Robson

In 1974, on my first big mountain trip, I attempted this route. Thankfully, I backed off quite low on the route ... I was seriously in over my head!

Favorite Olympic Picture

I think this says it all ... sure the bikinis on the beach volleyball courts were pretty photogenic, however the picture of these two gals, who gave it their all for almost 2.5 hours, finishing 10th and 11th, is what it is all about ... Citius, Altius, Fortius.

Fist Ski Descent Of Mount Blanc

READ THE BACK STORY FROM LOU DAWSON.

The Art Of The Bivy

Freddie Wilkinson crawling into a two-man bivy sac on the Moonflower Buttress. CLICK HERE TO READ HIS ARTICLE IN OUTSIDE MAGAZINE.

The Lightest AT Boots In The World

CLICK HERE TO READ THE SHORT ARTICLE.

Fell Running ... Two fine videos from Steep Edge

After a successful knee surgery, coupled with a layoff from running for 15 years, seasoned with multiple readings of BORN TO RUN, as well as a son and daughter who wanted to exercise this Spring ... I finally got back into running. After running around the local track barefoot for a month - making sure I could run 5k without keeling over and dying - I headed out on the Adirondack trails.

Back in the day I was a pretty fair distance runner, and managed to run between 70-90 miles a week. In the mid-1970s I spent five weeks rock climbing in the Lake District and Wales where I spectated several fell races, and did a few mountain training runs with locals before I headed over to the Alps. (I kept up pretty easily on the ascents but they left me in the dust going down the scree runs.) Always the name of Joss Naylor was on the tip of every tongue. He was my hero. Sure I was caught up in the Frank Shorter - Bill Rodgers road running boom, but it was running big sections of the AT, the Escarpment Run, exploring the canyonlands on the run that I lived for.

Fast forward to this summer, as I religiously watched every distance race in the Olympics and found myself starting to peruse various trail running websites while sipping my morning tea. Clearly the sport had changed. Fell running, ultra marathoning, sky running, mud runs, hill climbs, mountain games, or as Joss described it "rough terrain running " is having something of a renaissance. Sponsored runners and races abound. Six weeks ago it was the Western States 100 grabbing media attention, last weekend you had the Leadville 100, the Pikes Peak Marathon, the Trans-Rockies Stage Race, and god knows what-else, all in the same three day span.

But if you want to see the real deal, Watch NAYLOR'S RUN and JOSS NAYLOR'S: IRONMAN, and it will blow your mind. In the first video you have Joss at 60 years of age (I just turned 60), setting out to run the 60 highest peaks in the Lake district, 110 miles, and 40,000' in under 36 hours. The next video shows him at 73 years of age, covering 20 summits, 35 miles and 18,000' in 12 hours. Amazing. One can only wonder what feats he pulled off twenty, thirty, or forty years ago in his prime! Of course, the other big kudo for these films is the stunning mountain footage of the Lake District ... how I wish I could find the time to spend another five weeks there before I hang up my rock gear and running shoes. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TRAILER.

My 4k Trail Loop

Or facility manager - John Culpepper - has developed a great variety of running, hiking, skiing, and bridle trails. This loop which has 350' vertical is a common one for me to do skiing-hiking-running laps on. A running lap is a touch over 30 minutes, while a ski lap on Nordic race gear is about 25 minutes, and and AT gear lap is 40+.

So, are today's extreme climbs wimpy compared to those of the past?

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ESSAY BY ANDREAS FRANSSON.

Lower Ausable Lake

From Route 73, it's four miles on a hard pack dirt road, to the fantastic views of the Lower Ausable Lake, Sawteeth, and Indian Head. The route gains a bit over a thousand vertical, and with the exception of dodging errant golf shots at the start, it's a real treat. If you have a bit of extra time do the short hike up Indian Head.

100th anniversary of amazing rock climbing feat

A century ago in the Brenta group of the Dolomites, Paul Preuss soloed this 5 9- route, and down climbed it as well. The route went 17 years before it saw a second ascent. Pretty hard to imagine climbing at that level before World War I. Of course, Paul Preuss led a short life, and he died at the age of 27 soloing a route on the Mandlkogel.

The Wood Fired Sauna

Now that the evenings and mornings are cool - in the 40s - I am firing up the sauna at the Fossil Cabin pretty frequently after sunset or before sunrise. A great way to start or end the day!

Summer is almost over ... get psyched for skiing

Marcy Dam Trail Run

Another great morning. It has probably been 20 years since I ran the fire road to Marcy Dam. The Dam was - of course - wiped out by Irene, but they have patched the trail up nicely. Kudos to the Mountaineer ... Sportive crosslites are awesome.

Keeping my fingers crossed that it will be a good winter and I can ski those two slides on Wright Peak.

Leadville 100

Mike Aish is a talented Kiwi runner. A two time Olympian (5,000 and 10,000 meter), as well as a 2:13 marathoner. Follow him as he preps for his first ultra.

Third Class Laps At Owl's Head

A spectacular morning, from which I was chased outside early, because the roof repair was so noisy, I could not do any reading. I headed down to Owl's Head, hiked up in my Sportiva approach shoes and did many laps on the 40' corner.

A nice trail run

I took my new La Sportiva Crosslites - mountain running shoes - out for a 45 minute out-and-back spin the other day. The initial mile was on a dirt road, and then another mile+ on the Jackrabbit Trail. Good view of the upper section of the Barkeater Cliff.

Lots of Yoga This Summer

The Grand Teton as a fell-run

BLAST FROM THE PAST: the 1968 Olympics

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS NEW YORK TIMES ESSAY ABOUT THE 1968 OLYMPICS.

Video: climbing Piz Buin on the Silvretta Traverse

Another Belated Birthday Card

Grey Hares Rock!

US Nordic Women Are Ripped

Kikkan, Liz, and Holly pose for the camera after a strength workout with the Swedish team ... OMG

Olympic Acres

Yesterday I went for a trail run up the cat-track on Whiteface. I passed underneath the Olympic Acres crag (picture), after I got home I looked it up in the guidebook. Seems like there are some pretty good rock, as well as ice routes there ... worth a return trip.

Stunning Olympic Marathon

This is the photo of the lead pack at 11k. The warm temperatures and a challenging course made it improbable that records would fall, however it was a gripping race, with a relative new-comer from Uganda putting the hammer down at mile 24. The world champions from Kenya could not respond, and Uganda got its second ever gold medal. Meanwhile the 37 year old American, Meb Keflezighi, steadily moved up from 25th, to 15th, to 8th, and he put the hammer down in the last miles to finish 4th ... Another couple of miles and he would have caught the Kenyan world champ ... Brilliant race.

Rappelling by Will Gadd

CLICK HERE FOR THIS IMPORTANT ESSAY.

The state of the world and what it means for endurance running

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ENGAGING AND PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAY FROM A RECENT ISSUE OF RUNNING TIMES.

Skiing: then and now

North Country School was founded in 1938, and ever since then learning to ski and climb have been considered formal graduation requirements. Thus the headmasters of this small, boarding middle school have been more outdoorsy than most. Walter Clark was the founder, and the enclosed picture from the late 1940s shows him nattily dressed, heading out to our ski hill and rope tow. The 2011 picture of me is from the 25k Loppet ... the lycra suit which just barely fits is from the 1980s when I skied on a Karhu race team.

Laps on Owl's Head

Despite the rainy deluge last evening, I was able to third class many laps on the easy corner (5.2) at the Owl's Head crag. This 40' cliff dries off quicker than any spot in the Adirondacks.

Good day of training

Yesterday morning I rowed for 30 minutes while watching the Olympic decathlon. Before lunch I did a 30 minute hike around our ski hill and crag. After work I did a 30 minute trail run on the biathlon trails (picture), and then in the evening I did some yoga while watching Bolt, Rudisha, Eaton, and the American women's soccer team take the gold.

On the road

No exercise yesterday. I travelled to Vermont to meet a new trustee for brunch and then headed to Saratoga to see a former NCSer, whose star horse - My Miss Aurelia pictured below - despite a shaky start won easily. (I did however win a few bucks at the track.)

Cragging and Trail Running

Another beautiful day in the 'dacks. I put a few hours in the office, and then I skipped out before lunch to climb with our small day camp - SUMMER ROX - climbing on the Trouble Slabs. These 5.2-5.10 climbs on superb anorthosite have recently been equipped with bolt anchors. After a few more hours in the office, I went for a 50 minute trail run on the Jackrabbit Trail. This section of trail is where the North Face of Pitchoff ice climbs are situated.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... midi-plan traverse

I copied this photo from Rebuffat's Between Heaven and Earth. On my first climbing trip to the Alps, in the mid-1970s, I picked up a great partner in Chamonix. Richard Wilmot was a South African who I climbed the North Face of the Chardonnet, Cosmique Arête, Midi-Plan Traverse, and the Sentinelle Rouge with. (Later that year we climbed in Yosemite Valley for two months.)

USST doing speed work in the tunnel

Olympic Marathon

An amazing race ... the picture is from mile five.  Thirty runners under 2:30; congratulations to all. So, did you see Galen Rupp smoke that last lap for the silver, to win the first American medal in the 10K since 1964!

Inspired by the Olympics ... good workouts

Treating myself after the board meetings and parent visiting days, I managed to work out twice a day, before an after work. I logged a bit over 11 hours and almost 3000'. Sipping single malt on the porch as the sun sets. (America just got its first medal in the 10k since 1964.)

Climate Change and the Alps

CLICK ON THE PHOTOGRAPH TO ENLARGE IT FOR EASY VIEWING AND READING.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... Hock on top of Unicorn Peak

In the mid-1990s Frank Kenney and I attempted the traverse of the Cathedral Range in Tuolumne, and we got about half-way before bailing ...not enough water, not enough sunscreen, and not fast enough. (A few days later we did do Matthes Crest.)

Start of the Silvretta Ski Traverse

Sandy Allan and the Mazeno Ridge

Sandy Allan's Harrowing 2012 Mazeno Ridge Expedition Debrief - Full Interview from EpicTVAdventure on Vimeo.

Dougal Haston and the Eiger Direct

CLICK HERE TO READ GILLMAN'S ORIGINAL ARTICLE IN THE ALPINE JOURNAL.

Laps On Owl's Head

It does not get any nicer! A short hike, followed by 25 minutes running easy laps on the 45 foot cliff, is a great way to relieve stress before you head into the office.

Extreme Endurance Athletes ... models to be emulated or avoided?

CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEW YORK TIMES ESSAY.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK .... Amelia Earhart

From a card I got on my 60th birthday ... ADVENTURE IS WORTHWHILE IN ITSELF.

A Good Month Of Training

I hope all my fossil buddies are getting off the couch!

A Confession ... yes, I have watched a few beach volleyball matches

Fast paced, super athletic, strong, fast, powerful, and of course the bikini clad bodies are not too shabby to look at!

MARCH 2013 ... Silvretta ski traverse