Buying and Selling Nature ... the outdoor gear industry

READ THIS SHORT ESSAY ABOUT THE OUTDOOR RETAILERS SHOW.

Competitive ski mountaineering

CLICK HERE TO READ A SUMMARY OF ALL THE RECENT ACTION ... THE VIDEOS ARE NOT TO BE MISSED.

THE PURSUIT ... ice climbing trailer

The Pursuit - Official Trailer from Aaron Mulkey on Vimeo.

Black Diamond Avalanche Airbag ... available next season?

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A PRODUCT DEMONSTRATION.

Top Ski Mountaineering Racer Relocates To USA

CLICK HERE TO READ AN INTERVIEW WITH NINA SILITCH

Getting Psyched For The Olympics

I will post the biathlon schedule in a few days, and I will also post the ice climbing demonstration event, as soon as I can find it. (I will also convert times to EST.)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... get ready for the Olympics

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”  — The Olympic Creed, Pierre de Coubertin

Will climate change threaten the future of the winter Olympic Games?

A recent study suggests that later in this century only six of the previous 19 Winter Olympic host sites would be viable.

CLICK HERE TO READ A SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS.

Seiser Alm ... nordic ski camp

CLICK HERE TO WATCH ANDY NEWELL'S VIDEO.

NORDIC SKI COACHING ... one of the ways I use that great iTunes app

Packing for the Cassin on Denali ... Under 30 pounds

What's in the pack? from Mark Smiley on Vimeo.

Lucy Finished Third in Prep Nordic Sprints

I was on the road yesterday to see some alumni, and was able to do a drive by St Paul's and watch the ski race. This freestyle event was on a nice rolling 1.1k course. Lucy skied pretty consistently all through the elimination roads, and had a very strong final (pictured above). Unfortunately St. Paul's lost to Holderness by one point.

We may not have a ton of snow but we have some pretty cold temperatures!

Honnold does it again ... free soloing El Sendero Luminoso

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT IT ON THE NORTH FACE WEBSITE

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... Woodrow Wilson Sayre

" My next expedition will be the very first traverse of Central Park with oxygen. "


READ THIS FANTASTIC BOOK, AND CLICK HERE TO READ SAYRE'S OBITUARY.

THIS LOOKS PROMISING

Just enough new snow to do a little hill work

Still skiing on the lake

We picked up a bit more snow, and three inches predicted for Saturday evening. I was out using the "sprint timer" app to record intervals. This student from China is only in her second season on snow, and looking pretty good.

Seven more weeks ... the release of TRAINING FOR THE NEW ALPINISM

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE BOOK TRAILER

The Research On Ultramarathons And Old Farts

CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE.

NORDIC COACHES ... fantastic app

A great coaching tool that you can use right out on the course. Show a group of athletes some footage before and after working on a skill. Stop the video to point out a single concept you want them to work on while they are out free skiing ... Angle and position of pole during plant, or depth of compression on double pole, or angle of the elbows when planting on a double pole-kick. Another way you can use it, is to take some quick video of your athletes and toggle back and forth between viewing them and viewing the Swiss team demos.

WELL WORTH $5.

Did you know ... Japanese manga comics about climbing?

CLICK HERE AND TAKE A LOOK.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... Allan bard

CLICK HERE TO READ A CLASSIC ESSAY ... THE BACKSIDE OF BEYOND.

Shadowing an extreme skier

CLICK HERE TO READ THE BACKCOUNTRY ARTICLE ON ANDREAS FRANSSON.

Alpine Climbing ... light, fast, committing

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO KENNEDY AND HOUSE TALK ABOUT ALPINE GEAR.

Uphill Travel Pass ... ski-mo at Killington and Pico

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE NEW POLICY.

Supercouloir on Mount Blanc du Tacul ... Crux pitch

Supercouloir from Jan Zahula on Vimeo.

Harry Eldridge Memorial 7.5k Classical Race

It was a pretty yucky day, but the skiing was not that bad, as long as you hit the klister right and had a nice raincoat.

Racing in the pouring rain ... but perhaps Lucy's best race ever

Turning Turds Into Truimphs

CLCK HERE TO READ THIS WONDERFUL ESSAY BY CHRISSIE WELLINGTON.

Nordic Skiers Blasting Up The Downhill Slopes

Stage 7 Ladies from CrossCountrySki.us on Vimeo.


The Norwegians finished 1-2-3 in the Tour du Ski, but not before an all out sprint at the top of the Alpe de Cermis with a gal from Finland. It was another great day for the Americans getting two finishers (Liz and Jessie) in the top 15.  The only other nations to accomplish this feat were Norway and Finland, and after all, we were without our best racer (Kikkan) who was doing a training block for Sochi. After watching this video you will understand why folks often say that nordic racers are the fittest athletes on the planet. 

The Gnarliest Bivouacs

No ... our mid-1970s bivouac at 12,500' on the West Rib of Denali does not qualify, nor does Mark's bivy after Starlight Buttress, or our bivy on the descent from Lone Peak.

CLICK HERE AND READ THE LEGENDARY STORIES OF THE GNARLIEST BIVOUACS.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... still on my list for some march vacation ... Winter climbing on Ben Nevis

Fond memories from the Alps

Looking at the Wildsnow website this picture reminded me ... that last year in March, every ski village we went to had a special down the mountain sledding run, many of them lighted for evening use. I can not imagine why it has not caught on in America.

NEW ADIRONDACK ICE ROUTE

Timeline Of Ski History

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SKI MOUNTAINEERING HISTORY AT WILDSNOW.

The history of ski wax

FROM PINE TAR TO CERA F ... CLICK HERE TO READ A SHORT ESSAY ON THE HISTORY OF SKI WAX.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... re-reading FOUR AGAINST EVEREST

I read this in college over 40 years ago and it was one of the books that got me to give mountaineering a shot. Well written, gripping, frank, and these guys were either naive as hell or had amazing chutzpah and massive cojones. The sport -and the world- has changed and this story will not get repeated anytime soon.

Pick up a used copy for a buck and be prepared to be captivated.

Tuckerman's Ravine

Working For The Weekend 1 - Tuckerman Ravine from Ski The East on Vimeo.

AVALANCHE LESSONS ... December 2013 in grizzly gulch (Alta)

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT HOW DANGEROUS EVEN SMALL TERRAIN TRAPS CAN BE.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... Finnish ski troops in World War II

CLICK HERE TO READ A SHORT HISTORICAL ESSAY.

Cold and windy ice climbing in Cascade Pass

Gary, John, James, and I did some laps on Pitchoff Right this morning. The temperature never dipped to -25 degrees as predicted, but it was cold. The ice was that incomprehensible mix of hard-brittle ice that formed "dinner plates" mixed with soggy wet spots running with water. Who can explain it at 3 degrees!

As you can see on the main cliff, some of the hard mixed routes are in shape.