Silvretta Range

We would start the traverse, with a day or two of lift skiing out of Ischgl ...

Lucy Turns 15

We had a nice celebration, with Lucy's favorite dinner - salmon, rice, peas, and cheesecake for dessert - her presents were a mix of teen clothing, Rick Riordan books, and Nordic racing stuff (skate poles, wax, and NYSEF soft shell).

The photo is of my birthday card to Lucy.

A fossil come-back story

El presidente has been pretty sedentary for the past 12-18 months. After a successful knee replacement, he is black and blue, and a bit low on muscle mass, but those who know him know that by next summer he will be kicking butt at Donner.

I am suggesting a summer rendezvous in the sierras.

Avalanche Awareness

The Hot Setup ... Dynafit gear review

Heading of for a ski mountaineering adventure? CLICK HERE to read what should be on your feet.

Adirondack aerial view

Guillaume took this picture on Friday when he was flying up from Rhode Island for the board meeting.

The name is Bond ... James Bond

With a new 007 movie about to hit theaters, on the 50th anniversary of the first movie, the media coverage has started to ramp up. Despite the many memorable skis scenes shot in the Alps, I believe there is no skiing in this story, although maybe some mountain scenery in Glencoe.

Skiing the Lyngen Alps

Andreas skiing some big lines in the Lyngen Alps of Norway ... Beautiful fjords as well.

FROZEN THUNDER ... USST Time trial

Earlier this week the Nordic team was training on a 1.8K snow loop (stockpiled from last year). Kris Freeman won the 9K race in 22:23 and Ida Sargent won the women's time trial in 26:09.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... Tungurhua

Hock guiding a seven week climbing trip to Ecuador. Peru was the original destination, however in 1986 El Sendero Luminoso changed all that. Here I am with an NCS graduate on the summit of 16,480' Tungurhua. Since 2006 this has been one of the most active volcanoes on the planet.

Campus Trail Run

Starting to squeeze in an extra run per week, so for the past month I have been averaging four runs weekly or about 15-17 miles a week. Of course, I add some hiking, rowing machine, and yoga into the weekly mix as well. Today was a nice 5k jog with just about 450'.

Easy track workout

Lucy and a couple of her classmates ran some 100 meter intervals, with 300 meter recoveries, as well as some warmup jogging and stretching. It was my fourth run of the week, and the only one without substantial hills.

ALPINIST Issue #40 ... go out and buy it right now

Part I of the historical account of the Eiger is terrific.

Training For Trail Runs

As I start to set my sights on a future mountain race or ultra-marathon for next summer, I am using this scale to focus my training. At the moment my longest runs are no more than 75-90 minutes, although almost all my running is on the #3 - #4 terrain and surfaces.

Ice Climbing Season

Fall is the time for big Alpine ice routes, and the word is that all the classics are in fine shape in Chamonix. For the Northeast December is the real start to the season, although we usually manage a pitch or three in November.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS ... A RENDEZVOUS AT THE FOSSIL CABIN FROM DECEMBER 14-17.

Another Steep Edge Freebie ... the Matterhorn north face

Still on my must do list, often denigrated as a crap route, however watching this five minute film confirms that in good conditions it can have superb climbing. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO.

Baxter Mountain Run

On Saturday morning I ran up the dirt road that curved around behind Mount Baxter ... nice vertical, and nice views of some crags on the backside .. I do not think there are any routes on 'em.

Dru Couloir In Perfect Condition

CLICK HERE TO READ A RECENT TRIP REPORT ABOUT THIS HARD CLASSIC.

STEEP EDGE FILMS ... freebie

A fantastic short movie (9+ minutes) about the UTMB race. Spectacular footage, visual poetry, amazing alpine views ... just plain darn beautiful. My only quarrel with this engaging and lyrical piece is that the enormous difficulty, technical challenge, mud, sweat, and tears ... the grittiness of the race does not come through. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE MOVIE.

Fall In The Adirondacks

I am in Manhattan now but it has been a good week. As usual this time of year you never know what to expect ... Snow one day, brilliant sunshine and warm temperatures, torrential rain ... We get it all this time of year. My buddy Reggie was up, and after his legs recovered from the slide on Wolfjaws he did Rocky Peak Ridge. I did some nice trail runs at Henry's Woods and on the NCS trails.

Ultimate Backcountry Skier's Tool?

Click here to read Lou Dawson's review at Wild Snow.

Pagan Sacrifice to the snow god Ullr

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A WILD SNOW VIDEO.

Silvretta Range

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... Crystal Crag

About a decade ago, Mark flew in from Findlay Ohio, and I flew in from Lake Placid, and we immediately jumped into a rental and drove to Mammoth and did a 5.6 route on Crystal Crag. The right-hand ridge on the foreground peak was our route, and I humped out a 25 pound piece of pure white quartz, with Mark taking out a 10-15 pound chunk.

First Adirondack Tracks

October 12, 2012 someone skied the upper part of the Toll Road.

Wintry Weather Continues

It was 17 degrees this morning, and all the peaks were looking positively wintry after yesterday's snow squalls. Reggie is heading up the new slide (post Irene) on Wolfjaws, and he had to stop at the Mountaineer before he hit the trail to get a pair of micro spikes.

Trail Running In Henry's Woods

This week while Lucy was doing roller skiing intervals with the NYSEF girls, I did this great 50 minute trail run with almost 600'.

Avalanche Airbag Videos

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A BUNCH OF VIDEOS COLLECTED ON WILD SNOW.

Alpine Ice ... Perfect conditions

Well I will not be heading over to the alps anytime soon. (Although I am getting excited about a Silvretta traverse during March break.) However, the word filtering back across the big pond is that it's time to sharpen your tools. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TRIP REPORT AND PHOTO ESSAY FROM A RECENT REPEAT OF A VERY STOUT ROUTE.

Reel Rock 7 ... Stunning do not miss it.

On Saturday evening I met Gary in the converted church in Keene for a showing of Reel Rock, sponsored by the Mountaineer.

The first of four films was called "La Dura, Dura." The story of Sharma and Ondra duking it out to nail the first 5.15c. It was amazing to watch them stick some hard to believe dynos, however after the tenth testosterone ladden scream, I found myself losing interest. On the other hand, the footage of stunningly beautiful gals red-pointing 5.14d was riveting.

The next film was about the 23 year dream that Conrad Anker had of climbing the Shark's Fin on Meru in the Indian Himalaya. Gripping. These guys were way out there on the edge. After an intermission, at which I won an 8-pack of biners, the show continued with a short film about two unlikely, but swaggering Brits, who come over just to do the biggest, baddest, off-widths in America ... Pretty funny, but clearly these guys had some screws loose.

The finale was "Honnold 3.0." To say that this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat is a severe understatement. When it was finished, I felt wasted, so much adrenaline had been discharged in my system that I could barely walk to the car. You could have heard a pin drop when he solos a 5.13d highball at the Buttermilk Boulders, 50+ feet off the deck. The theater seemed even quieter, if that's possible, when he was soloing The Phoenix (5.13a) in Yosemite. However, there are several times during the coverage of his solo of "The Triple" when you just have to close your eyes, even though you know the outcome is successful. There are just no yardsticks to compare what he is doing. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TRAILER, AND THEN GO TO THEIR WEBSITE TO SEE WHEN THE FILM IS IN YOUR AREA.

FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON ... yahoo.

5k Trail Race

On Sunday we headed out to Point Au Roche state park, along the shores of Lake Champlain. It was a small race - 38 runners - on a superb single track course, with some rolling hills, good views into Vermont, peak foliage, and hundreds of migrating geese on the water. Hyelom was third overall (23:48) and Lucy was 9th overall (26:11). Lucy dropped her 5k trail time by over a minute, and I dropped mine by almost two minutes (31:40).

Excellent review of super- light wind shells

I am wearing one of my favorite pieces of gear, the 3 ounce Camp Magic Anorak. Dane at Cold Thistle Alpinism has a great review of these critically important gear items. CLICK HERE

MORE DOUGAL HASTON ... Matterhorn North Face in Winter

A delightfully understated account of the fourth winter ascent of the Matterhorn North Face by Mick Burke published in the 1968 Alpine Journal. You'll get a touch of the flavor of the trip and the measure of the men with these few snippets:

- After practicing at failing on the Nollen route on the Monch ...
- The problems of winter bivouacs are ten times greater than summer ones and another thing it's a lot colder.
- Contrary to popular opinion it was easy to get good piton belays. I don't know what they would be like in summer when there isn't the ice to secure the blocks ...
- it was five o'clock so we knocked 40 pitons in and prepared for the night. We then threw away our bivouac sheet, just so that we wouldn't be too warm during the night. We had our two ounces of water and our cold bacon. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

What climbing competitions make sense for the Olympics?

Click here to read the ROCK AND ICE article.

Nordic Season Is Coming

So, I took the two best NCS nordic racers for an out time workout. We ran an easy one mile warmup, and then four 100 meter intervals with stretching and 300 meter jogs in between. After that Hyelom and my daughter Lucy did 20 minutes of double poling, while I continued to do laps on the track. (It was Hyelom's first day on roller skies and he looked pretty good.)

Ski mountaineering ... what's in your pack

CLICK HERE TO READ A SHORT AND INFORMATIVE ARTICLE ON THE SKI THEORY WEBSITE.

Leaf Peeping Will Be Over Soon

Cold nights, and chilly wet days have replaced the unusually warm fall we had been having. Lucy rollerskied with the NYSEF girls while I did a track workout. After watching an episode of Friday Night Lights, I had the NCS farm staff over to the cabin for a sauna and dessert. It feels like winter will be here soon.

Test Driving The Hokas In The Tetons

CLICK HERE TO READ HOW THESE THICK SOLE RUNNING SHOES DO IN THE MOUNTAINS.

The Honorable Clan Of The Long Distance Runner

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS GREAT ESSAY BY AMBY BURFOOT IN THE NY TIMES.

Running the Grand Teton

Gill ... 75 years young doing a workout

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A SHORT VIDEO