Thursday, July 31, 2014

Mountain Man ... an interview with anton krupicka



Biathlon training camp

Lucy has spent the past week working out with a group of junior
biathletes from Minnesota and Sweden. Here she is on the range with
her good friend Nina, and US team coach Algis. (Algis is a former Soviet Olympic gold medalist in biathlon.)

Another good mountain run!

I did the Tim Burke Uphill Run at Whiteface today. The biathlon team
uses this 3k (1200') course to gauge offseason fitness. Lucy and her
training group ski hiked it for a warmup, and then did hill bounding
intervals on the dirt road. Of course I only did one trip up, they did
laps!

THE SUFFERFEST ... Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright

Climb all the 14ers in California by a technical route, free solo,
bike from peak to peak in a handful of days. A MUST SEE!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO ON EPIC TV

Six essays in memory of Charlie Porter


Sunday, July 27, 2014

The Boys Of Everest

On my trip back from Long Island I started to listen to this excellent
book again. The chapters I heard were recounting the epic first British
accent of the Bonatti Pillar in the 1950s by Bonington, Whillans,
McInnes, and Ross.

A beautiful morning on Peconic Bay

Waiting for AAA, as I have a very flat tire, with a very large nail in
the tire. We had a wonderful camp and school event last night (thanks
Elizabeth), and I hope to get out in the kayak again before I leave
the swansong cottage.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Major track and field milestone




Yesterday 17 year old Mary Cain became the first American to win a
medal in the World Junior Track Championships in a distance over 800 meters.

She took gold in the 3000 meters, in 8:58.2 ... Bravo

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Next summer Chamonix?

Chamonix is the Mecca of alpine climbing. Of course, we could hit a patch of bad weather in the Alps, but there are some pretty awesome "bad weather alternatives."

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE BACKUP CLIMBING POSSIBILITIES IF THE WEATHER TURNS UGLY IN CHAM.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Adirondack Trail Running at Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Trails

Hot, humid, slow, but still quite a nice place to get some vertical.

ADK 80k ... Labor Day Weekend

A bit more than a month to go. Saturday are the trail running races (4x20k, or 2x40k, or the full
solo 80k). And Sunday of the Labor Day weekend are the mountain bike races, with party and prizes both days.


CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO.

For the love of mountains

For the Love of Mountains from Al Boardman on Vimeo.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Two hour adirondack trail run

Countless hours of prep last week, two days of board meetings,
followed by two days of parent visiting days for Treetops ... after it
was all done I treated myself to a nice mountain run.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

An amazing climbing resource

Ever since the American Alpine Club Library has moved West from
Manhattan, I have used it less frequently, however I can still vouch
that it is one if the best benefits the club offers.

CLICK HERE TO READ AN INTERVIEW WITH THE CLUB LIBRARIAN.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Running up Pikes Peak

It seems that the dates of my Colorado trip will preclude me entering
the Grand Traverse (Crested Butte to Aspen). Scouting around, it looks
like I could do the Telluride Mountain Hill Climb, or the Beaver Creek
Trail Half Marathon, or the Leadville 10k, all of which are on August
10th. Or, I could just lace up my shoes, park the rental car, run the
Barr Trail up Pikes Peak, and hitch-hike back down.

READ THIS SHORT ARTICLE ABOUT RUNNING PIKES PEAK.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Everyone is converging on Tuolumne Meadows!

El Presidente and Liz at the base of Conness ... Danny, Brian, Holly,
Greg, Tory, Hannah, and hopefully Callie will all be there. My travel
plans are not firm, but I expect to be there for 3-4 days, sometime
between August 4-10.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Rory Bosio ... a great interview

So will she be hanging out at the Sawmill River Campground with the
Ewing clan, getting ready for the UTMB and running with Callie?

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ENGAGING INTERVIEW.

The 3 Laws of Stuff ... Ain't it the truth!

http://www.adventure-journal.com/2014/06/the-3-laws-of-stuff-dynamics/



Are we headed for an El NiƱo?

The weather in Peru was unusual to say the least, if it is a strong El
NiƱo, what will be the results?

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Fatality in Peru ... Cory Hall

On my last weekend in Peru, a couple of Canadians arrived at Zarela's
to meet up with their buddy. He was overdue, there was word of an
accident, however information was sketchy so they had hoped, against
hope, that maybe the accident involved somebody else.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Trail running in the Adirondacks

Dragging a bit on my first day back at work - accumulated fatigue from
the hard travel and tough mountain days - but it was great to be back
home, and wonderful to see all the happy campers. I went for a run on
the perimeter loop, shortly before sunset, and it was spectacular.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Back in the 'dacks!

After 36 hours of hard travel, I was treated to a fantastic sunset,
with gorgeous light playing on the storm clouds moving out over the
mountains. It was fantastic to see Selden and Lucy, and tomorrow I
look forward to seeing Amanda and Jon.

I have a full day of office stuff, but I can't wait to get out on the
trails for a little Adirondack vertical and stretch my legs.

Denali Speed Records

An interview with Kilian Jornet about the record he set last month in Alaska. Next up, he races the Hardrock 100 in the San Jan mountains of Colorado.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO INTERVIEW.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Last Day In The Cordillera


Last Day In The Cordillera

Saturday, July 5, 2014

History of climbing in Yosemite

Watch this great trailer called VALLEY UPRISING ... way cool.



Rest day in the Cordillera

We slept late, we sent our dirty laundry off, we watched World Cup
soccer, we ate as often as possible, and finally got outside for a two
hour hike/run up one of those local hills behind Huaraz.

Zarela ... Huaraz ... Cordillera Blanca

There are some places to stay that are cheaper, there are some places
to stay that are probably fancier, but there really is no better place
to stay in this mountain town than la Casa de Zarela.

As for the mountains, the Cordillera Blanca have it all – good
weather, great accessibility, routes in all grades, as well as the
height and seriousness of the big mountains.

Friday, July 4, 2014

Heading to Huaraz

It was a disappointing second week. John gets sick, I got sick, the
mule drivers mixed up our directions, near death experiences, and no
summits.

We hiked out Friday morning with very robust packs (35-45 pounds) a
consequence of the mule drivers coming up a few days early, and Gary
and I sending out a smallish portion of our gear.

As you can see from sunrise on Huandoy, and the picture of Huascaran
Norte ... this is a beautiful place.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Bailed on Pisco

Up at 2:30, and off by 3:10 am.

A bit lost in the incredibly steep moraine, and I took a wicked slide
which left me with some road rash on my left arm and butt cheek.

I was sick - ten bathrooms stops from 2 am to noon - and called a
halt to our day at the glacier. (Started cipro on my return.) On the
way back Gary got in a pickle, third classing a 60' high rotten
moraine ... he was on the edge.

A relatively long day - nine hours total, 2500', and we carried
relatively robust packs. Heading back to Zarela's tomorrow and hoping
that John has been to the doctor.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... Mallory's last letter

"The candle is burning out and I must stop ... It is 50 to 1 against
us but we'll have a whack yet, and do ourselves proud. Great love to
you, ever your loving George."

A rest day at the Pisco Refugio will allow me to finish listening to
INTO THE SILENCE.

Hiking up to the Pisco Refugio

A steep and steady climb - two ( plus) hours and 2600' - fantastic
views. The hut is at 4650 meters, the staff is awesome, and there are
fewer people than in the Ishinca valley.