Board meeting in Manhattan

Kilian Jornet prepping for Everest

A great little article ...

http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/kilian-jornet-sky-runner

Nordic Ski Team Practice

No matter how hard you train you need to lighten it up a bit, and with kids nothing does that quite as much as a good game of blog tag or 15 minutes in the terrain park. 

Nordic Ski Team Practice

Good Luck Lucy

Today's prep race is home at St. Paul's, wish they had a live feed! Way to ride a flat ski Lulu.

On my summer peak bagging list

A great short article about mountain trail running on the east side of the Sierras ...

http://dolomitesport.com/2010/04/trail-running-in-californias-sierra-nevada/

Spectacular Adirondack Sunset

Selden snapped this after barn chores ... The beautiful view of Street and Nye from our property.

Harry Eldridge Memorial Race

Lucy had a cough and bad cold, so it was far from her best performance, but probably good enough to get on the mid-Atlantic junior national team.

Harry Eldridge Memorial Race

Great day of skiing ...

Touring up the toll road in the morning and then a hilly 16k on the Olympic trails, while watching Lucy's race.

STRAVA ... to early to think about running

But, great video images of running in the mountains.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1KuYV_cZY4&sns=em

Not my thing but ...

A pretty amazing picture, and look at that guy slack lining!

What was left out of the Valley Uprising

A wonderful essay profiling who they had to leave out from thus great film ... Bev Johnson, Peter Croft, Yabo, etc.

http://neverstopexploring.com/2015/01/22/valley-uprising-cutting-room-floor/

10 Mountain Division ... jump starting our climbing and skiing cultures after the war

A good short essay to read ...

http://www.adventure-journal.com/2015/01/the-aj-list-famous-10th-mountain-division-veterans/

A good afternoon at Whiteface

The entire school spent the afternoon skiing, which was terrific fun, however the nickname "iceface" was well earned.

World loppet circuit

Ex-US ski teamer, Holly Brooks won the Dolomitemlauf this past weekend. It reminded me, that my retirement present to myself someday will be a month or two in Europe to ski the major marathons. 

Take a quick look at the race highlights:

http://www.worldloppet.com/V/211780/dolomitenlauf-42km-ft-2015.htm

Mount Blanc du Tacul ... Just another day in Chamonix

Makes you want to grab the tools and get after it. Of course, the weather is beautiful, he is wearing a light anorak, the heavy gloves are clipped to his harness, and every swing yielded a perfect stick ... it does happen like that every so often.

http://www.tvmountain.com/video/alpinisme/10724-goulotte-lafaille-aiguilles-du-diable-mont-blanc-du-tacul-chamonix-mont-blanc-alpinisme.html

Thinking of spring break!

Dreaming about the east side of the Sierras – clipping and bolts, skinning slopes, hot springs, and hot donuts fresh out of the oven at Schat's.

Lucy advances!

First time ever making it into the quarterfinals.

Lucy has a sprint race today ...

This is definitely not her favorite event, but maybe she will be energized by this video of the World Cup action entitled THE PERFECT FINISH. Good luck in Rumford, Maine.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rMybTeZVASc

The annual Mountainfest

With a board meeting coming up, a summit meeting of veteran Treetops staff, not to mention, our ten year accreditation on the horizon, this will be a big working weekend. (Might even find the time to take down the Christmas tree.)

That said, I will get out for a bit of exercise on skis, but will not get to climb with Gary and John, nor do any of the nifty workshops and demos that the Mountaineer sets up. I will however - as always - attend some of the evening activities.

Last night was a treat, but a sobering one. The film METANOIA - about Jeff Lowe - is riveting. And while Jeff's life is different than mine or yours ... he being one of the most brilliant alpine climbers of the last 50 years, he being in the hospice stage of ALS, he having shared a portaledge and sleeping bag with Catherine Destivelle, and he having climbed within a few hundred feet of the summit of Latok's North Ridge, something no expedition has managed in the past 35 years ... still aren't we all journeying from the top of the world to the end of the line.

This movie is going to be released in the spring. I am not sure how Keene Valley got a sneak preview ... but it was gripping! When it comes to your favorite mountain town, it is a must see.

Of course I am also looking forward to Kitty Calhoun's slideshow on Sunday, featuring climbs that might disappear because of climate change.

http://jeffloweclimber.com/jeff-lowes-metanoia-trailer.html

It doesn't get much better than this!

Although it was -22° in the early morning, the sun came up, and the temperatures warmed rapidly. It was 27° by mid afternoon when I snapped this photograph of our students skating on Cascade Lake. Ten minutes later I was doing a glorious easy ski on the ladies, Olympic 5K course.

Great footage of the Dolomites

Not exactly my cup of tea. I have slack lined a bit in Camp Four and the Climber's Ranch ... but professional slack liners ... who knew!

http://c197913.r13.cf1.rackcdn.com/r7e2a3/mp4.mp4?t=142097883854b26a96cfa71

Fantastic Nordic Ski Conditions

Skiing the Dolomites ... a WW I battleground.

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/hD1hrF4-CZU

Austrian uphill policy

I believe this hut is outside Landeck, and Harry, Guillaume, and I stopped in during our warmup days before Ted, Dick, and Pete arrived. We were heading down the mountain by headlamp, unbeknownst to us the hut was open, and we had several beers while they were beginning to serve dinner. Of course, this makes no mention of the terrific night sledding courses back to town, that stay open from the on-mountain restaurants and huts!

From the historian ... First Winter Ascent Of Rainier

Very rare archival video footage ... February 1923 ... these guys were hard.

http://www.adventure-journal.com/2015/01/the-daily-pow-first-winter-ascent-of-mt-rainier-1922/

Ski Mountaineering Race

The Fitzroy Traverse

What a line! What an adventure! What a climb! Watch this video ...

 http://www.patagonia.com/us/fitztraverse?sssdmh=dm23.185309&dmmid=125573178&utm_source=em&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=010915_fitz_traverse&src=010915_btna

Proctor Academy 5K

Lucy finished second in 18:13. It was also great to see four other NCS alumni competing. A lot of abrasive snow, with a mix of natural and man-made. Gooey green klister as a binder covered with blue hard wax. She is pointed toward the junior nationals which are in Lake Tahoe during March.

Another good race for Lucy

Yesterday I took Lucy back to St. Paul's for the start of winter term and got there early enough to have her jp into a prep race. There were just shy of 70 racers in the field, and Lucy finished second, 17 seconds out. 

Proctor Academy 5K

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Getting ready to scatter Michael Franklin's ashes from Mount Conness.

First cold snap of the winter

First NCS nordic team practice of the new year

MOUNTAINFEST ... weekend after next

Too early to think about running but ...

However, if you run in the mountains this is worth 60 seconds.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2drqfc_happy-new-year-2015_sport#from=embediframe

Back to school

Our students are arriving from the far corners of the globe, so vacation is officially over. Truth be told, with the exception of 3-4 days I worked several hours each day in the office. That said I got in lots of skiing and lots of vertical.

The picture was from my Friday tour, part-way up the Toll Road.

Wild Snow predictions for 2015

https://www.wildsnow.com/15329/backcountry-skiing-future-predictions-2015/

Tom Hornbein ... still getting after it at 84

If you have not read EVEREST: the west ridge, then you need to. Until then check out an op-Ed in the New York Yimes to whet your appetite.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/02/opinion/mortality-and-its-discontents.html?referrer=

The Calling ... Barry Blanchard

Given that I am also reading two other books, and listening to a third audio-book, I am still working through this delightful gem. And while I may not be able to relate too well to the chapters about heinous Canadian nordwands, or alpine style Himalayan adventures, reading about his early exploits on ice and his first trip to Chamonix sure do bring back memories ... melting ice screw cores out in your shirt, flying Freddie Laker to London, the Biolay, and carrying around the coffee table book THE 100 FINEST ROUTES IN MONT BLANC wherever I went.

Kilian Jornet ... Dejamie Vivir

Watch this video I found on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/89966934

It has footage from his record breaking runs up Mount Blanc, Elbrus, and the Matterhorn.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK : Better to live one day as ...

Just started reading John Porter's book about Alex MacIntyre and the rise of light and fast alpinism. The quote on the memorial below the south face of Annapurna where MacIntyre was killed reads: "Better to live one day as a tiger than to live a thousand years as a sheep." Of course, I am not sure either animal would agree with that.