Glen Plake talks about the Manaslu avalanche

EpicTV Weekly 22: Manaslu Avalanche: Glen Plake's Story from EpicTVAdventure on Vimeo.

Anton Krupicka ... mountain runner, mountaineer, or alpinist.

CLICK HERE FOR A GREAT TRIP REPORT ON FAST ASCENTS OF THE GRAND AND GANNETT PEAK THAT BLUR THE LINE BETWEEN RUNNING AND CLIMBING.

Biathlon team working out in Lake Placid

Running shoes ... a contrarian view

CLICK HERE TO READ A REVOEW OF THE HOKA ONE.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Less than a decade ago I was playing midfield and defense for an old farts team.

Awesome Drone Video of Trango Tower

Mammut 150 Years: Peak Project: Trango Tower, Pakistan (6286m / 20,623ft) - RC Helicopter Sample Footage from Corey Rich on Vimeo.

Seven weeks in South America, 30+ ski days, and more than 200 empanadas ...

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT IT AT WILD SNOW.

The Schroon Lake Bear Is Going Home To Brooklyn

Mad a dog ran a 1:07 to win the Schroon Lake half-marathon, and got to take home the wooden, hand carved bear. Today Edward and Mad Dog hiked Dial and Nippletop. We had a nice sauna at the Fossil Cabin after which they headed south.

We talked about next summer doing a week of climbing in RMNP and then ending with the race up Pike's Peak. Or a week rock climbing in Tuolumne, ending with the early August race up Squaw. Anyone else interested?

Glen Plake survives avalanche on Manaslu, but 11 others perish

CLICK HERE TO READ AT PLANET SKI UPDATE.

Warming up at the little Wolcott Boulder

How many hemp rope classics have you done?

I HAVE DONE JUST TWO OF THESE, CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ THE ARTICLE ON THE SEMI-RAD WEBSITE.

Yoga, bouldering, and trail running in Colorado

Last night I camped right next to the Wolcott boulders and the Eagle River, about 20 miles west of Vail. It was 35 degrees and so the half-bag did not quite do it! However, once I had my caffeine fix at the Starbucks in Edwards, the sun popped over the hill tops and I had a great 75 minute yoga and bouldering session in the sun. (As an aside, the rubber patch I put on the hole in my rock shoes is holding up quite well ... Barge cement is miraculous.)

This afternoon I headed toward Aspen (a Sunday brunch to say thank you to one of our donors), and stopped outside Leadville to do a 90 minute trail run on the north shore of Turquoise Lake. Given that it was 10k, rolling terrain, and at an elevation of almost 10,000' I felt pretty good. As you can see from the pictures, the aspens have turned color, and the leaves have even started to drop in places.

Alpine Stud

Better known for his ultra running and ski mountaineering prowess, Kilian Jornet throws it down with this solo. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE AT TRAIL RUNNER.

The romance and reality of the Alps

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS SHORT ESSAY.

7k Trail Run In Boulder

After a 12 hour travel day, and changing two time zones, I hopped off the plane and got my rental. After a 40 minute drive, I put on running shoes and did an 80 minute, 1200' run/hike. Sucking wind a bit, but I guess given the altitude, and the long day that is to be expected. Heading out for dinner and a few beers with alumni.

Great Trail Running Shoes

After five weeks of use, I can say that these are awesome. Sportiva crosslites ... Highly recommended.

Packed and ready to go!

Leaving at 4 am on a four day combined business and pleasure trip. Off to see some alumni (dress pants, polo shirts, toiletries and razor, as well as an iPad to show the school and camp slideshows). However, I'll spend two nights out in the backcountry so I also have: rock shoes, sleeping bag, bivy bag, foam pad, hats, gloves and assorted warm clothes, as well as the single heaviest item in the pack ... the voluminous Bob Horan's BOULDERING COLORADO..

Climb to the castle

The big dogs coming up to the two mile mark. Putting the hammer down, three guys finished in under 40 minutes. However, Freeman, Hamilton, and Burke were all MIA.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... From Born To Run

"Beyond the very extremes of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

William James

(I just listened to this book again, on my trip to the junior boarding school heads meeting.)

New Ski Documenary

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REVIEW ON THE WILD SNOW WEBSITE.

Mountaineering fiction

I recently reviewed a page turning murder mystery by Rick Craig, entitled THE LAST MOUNTAINS. CLICK HERE TO READ ONE OF HIS EXCELLENT SHORT STORIES.

Acute Mountain Sickness

A recently published study confirms - what I have been doing for 20 years - which is to take prophylactic doses of "Vitamin i" before heading up to high altitude. CLICK HERE FOR A SUMMARY OF THE STUDY.

Quote of the week

After watching the US Nordic Team pound up the 8k - 3,000' Whiteface Toll Road in under 40 minutes, I got excited about the upcoming winter. So, I re-watched Solitaire on the Steep Edge website.

From Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS, which are the only spoken words in this visually stunning film came the following nugget:

"But time is the fire in which we burn. We are just a fleeting moment, a footprint on the edge of a rising tide." CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TRAILER.

Gary and the climb to the castle

Good to see a fossil with a number on! This was taken at the 3k mark, on the traditional Fall US team training camp time trial. With some of our best Nordic racers, biathletes, and college skiers, Gary is back in the pack. I ran up to the 5k mark before the start of the race. It was almost sunny at the bottom, but got pretty raw after you climbed a few hundred vertical ... 20 mph gusts, light rain, and 40 degrees.

Andean ski mountaineering ... SWEETGRASS video

The Incan Odyssey

An interesting concept, a three pronged trip: one part trekking, one part bouldering, and one part new alpine routes. CLICK HERE FOR A SUMMARY.

Father-daughter 4k trail run on campus

Another Blast From The Past

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Mark Ewing and Mike Brochu yucking it up and gearing up for the South Face of Denali in the late 1970s ... Seems like just yesterday, however the current grey hair, love handles, and lack of fitness says otherwise!

Gnarly Ski Video ... tempting fear

Footage from Chamonix and the South Face of Denali get the heart racing. It is hard to believe what alpinists are skiing these days! The Swede is off to ski South American extremes this Fall.

Nice Trail Run On Campus

This 5k loop has 400' and snakes around our ski hill, into the sugarbush, a quick jog to the Jackrabbit Trail, up the Lake Hill, and down into the Dexter pasture ... includes some nice vistas.

US Nordic Team is in Town

The big boys and girls were doing intervals on Whiteface Wednesday, ran up Algonguin on Thursday, and Saturday they are racing up the Toll Road. Here you see Ida Sargent and Jesse Diggins are putting the hammer down.

CLIMBERISM: the northeast climbing magazine

Cirque of The Towers Traverse ... new speed record

Micah Rush managed to do this big mountain classic in 10:15 car-to-car. The route involved 19 miles of trail running, 11 peaks, 12 rappels, and 10,000 vertical. CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS.

Mountaineering fiction ... a Tom Hadley mystery

An excellent fast-paced, first murder mystery. The climbing action set in the Tetons is authentic, and the well detailed backgrounds are familiar to any climber ... Jenny Lake boulders, AAC Climber's Ranch, Lower Saddle, Petzoldt caves, and Dornan's. The hero is a National Park climbing ranger, and he seems spot on as well. However, too little time and energy was spent on supporting characters, especially those on "the dark side." The Dick Cheney character was a little too thinly veiled for my tastes. For $2.99 it is well worth getting on your kindle or iPad.

Father-daughter workout on Owl's Head

The day before school started, on a gorgeous morning, we made the short pilgrimage to the summit where I did many laps, third-classing an easy route while Lucy did her nordic mobility workout for her NYSEF program.

Fastest Known Times ... A very cool website

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THIS VERY COOL SITE, AND FIND OUT THE FASTEST KNOWN TIMES FOR ASCENDING YOUR LOCAL MOUNTAIN PEAKS.

Alpine Enchainment in RMNP

Running Talus ... a classic mountain running essay

Given my reawakened interest in mountain running, fell running, and trail running, I couldn't help but re-read Doug Robinson's piece from a 1970s Chouinard catalogue. It stands up pretty well today, although running through that talus field with approach shoes (with sticky rubber) would be a lot more fun than EBs! CLICK HERE TO READ THE ESSAY WHICH IS POSTED MID-WAY DOWN THE PAGE.

Thinking about mountain runs ... Alps, Andes, Sierras, and the Rockies

South American Skiing

On The Road Episode X - Hotel Portillo from Sweetgrass Productions on Vimeo.

The SWEETGRASS backcountry dirtbags, have had enough, so they decide to live the good life for a few days!

Great Book On Fell Running

This is a fantastic read, although it is intensely British and so hard for an American to decipher at times. Of course since this sport is poorly understood in its homeland, it is obvious that names like Joss Taylor, the Bob Graham round, the Dragon's Back, or Helene Diamantides would be a struggle for an American. Nevertheless, this book, one part history, one part biographical sketches, one part ode to the hills, and one part race commentary is gripping. Depending on your view these people are either sick or true mountain hardmen ... Of course the latter would be my preference.

There are many memorable stories and quotes, but for Fossils mountaineers throne to remember is: "Anyone can be fit. It's being hard that's hard."

Rock climbing in Zion

This route,as well as the West Face of Leaning Tower, has been on my hit-list for a long time.

A shower for the Fossil Cabin?

AFTER READING THIS WILD SNOW REVIEW, IT SEEMS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE I GET ONE FOR THE CABIN.

Ueli is at it again!

Ueli Steck did three big alpine routes in under 12 hours ... CLICK HERE.

South American Ski Mountaineering

Having a blast reading Lou Dawson's WILD SNOW updates. CLICK HERE.

Another track workout

I plodded through 4+ miles and a good bit of yoga, however Lucy did an extended warm up and then burned through some 400 meter repeats. After a cool down, she roller skied for 20 minutes ... Seems like she will be pretty fit come ski season.

James Balog, former climbing buddy, with an important new documentary

Back in the 1970s Waterman introduced me to this fellow Outward Bound instructor and we did an ice climbing trip to Scotland. This documentary on glacial retreat looks like a very important picture to fuel the policy conversations around climate change. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN THE HUFFINGTON POST, AND TO WATCH THE TRAILER.

UTMB ... the grand daddy of them all in wintry conditions

2012 ULTRATRAILTV - CCC® GRAND COL FERRET by UltraTrailMontBlanc

Kilian Jornet ... training for mountain running

Silvretta Ski Montaineering

boarding (a-)cross from Snow Motion Pictures on Vimeo.

Lucy and I headed north for a hilly 5k race, on the superb VIC trails. This was Lucy's first week of running since June, so her 27:25 was pretty decent. I finished at the back of the pack in 33:25. Given that I have only been running slow 5k workouts, that was not too bad. The BBQ was great, I had a nice time catching up with Brian Delaney, and best of all I won the raffle for a new pair of $120 Salomon trail running shoes.

Kilian Jornet ... Summits Of My Life

Summits of My Life - Trailer from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

This guy is a stud, the real deal, and obviously not just a runner, but a mountain man. The text may have lost something in translation, however the images are stunning.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... yogi berra on alpinism

Not really, but this famous quote about baseball could just as easily be applied to mountaineering. "It's ninety percent mental. The other half is physical."

Kukuczka ... steep edge video

As an aging alpinist that followed every move in the "race to get all the 8000 meter" peaks, I enjoyed this movie thoroughly, but eventually came away disappointed. To listen to Messner, Diemberger, and Carsolio talk about the Himalayas in the 1980s was riveting. On the other hand, what I longed for - but did not get - were the technical details of Jerzy's climbs, the things that really set him apart in this historically important time. He was a brilliant alpinist, who pushed the limits beyond the very high bar that Messner had set, and I wanted to hear more about that. I also wanted to hear more about his last climb on Lhotse ... Perhaps in a sequel video! As an aside, author Bernadette McDonald, who recently wrote FREEDOM CLIMBERS, was exceptional and I am rushing out to get a copy of her book. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TRAILER.