Interesting new ski mountaineering gear

Ski touring in the Alps

Now that I have unpacked my mountain books I perused an old favorite THE SUMMITS OF SAMIVEL this evening. I am getting excited about going back to to the alps in March.

A great 2.5 hour workout

Jumped in the kayak for a couple of laps around Round Lake. Drove a short way to Owls Head for a warmup hike, then parked near the Barkeater and ran uphill past Rock And River onto the Jackrabbit Trail and back.

Starting to paddle again

It's been a long time since I paddled competitively ... but there is nothing more soothing.

First paddle from Round Lake Cottage

Lucy's long weekend in September

http://youtu.be/WRNGqYqF66M

Skiing in Siberia

An interesting essay, good photos, and an engaging video.

http://features.powder.com/dawn-in-siberia/start

2015 Climb to the Castle

Most of the U.S. ski team skipped this race as they held a sprint time trial at their Lake Placid camp. However, the entire U.S. Biathlon team was there, as well as a couple of college teams, and a few folks from Sun Valley Nordic ... so it was still a very competitive event with the 8k course with 2000' was covered in 37 minutes.

Lucy was on the podium, finishing second in the U23 category, and even beating a gal on the biathlon development team. (The picture is of the award winners in the various categories.)

I drove to the summit to spot a car, then ran down 5k to take pictures, and then ran back up 5k.

St. Paul's cross country

Lucy had a pre-season meet yesterday, today is the 2015 Climb to the Castle, and tomorrow is the last college visit to St. Lawrence.

First student gatherings at the new house

Lowest snow level in 500 years

The first picture shows the change in the Mount Shasta snowpack, over a period of one month, during this hottest of all summers. And while the coming El Niño may bring large snowfalls this year, it is not enough to alleviate the effects of climate change on California.

First week of school

Sunday and parts of Monday were soggy, gray, and rainy, however the rest of the week had glorious weather, and the year is off to a great start.

Check out “Climb to The Castle” by Everett Sapp on Vimeo

The video is available for your viewing pleasure at https://vimeo.com/137899759

Tour de Ski

Blast from the past

Working on Harry's farm the summer of 1972 ... and climbing at the Gunks if we were not too tired.

New research on Paleo Diet

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/science/for-evolving-brains-a-paleo-diet-full-of-carbs.html?referrer=&_r=0

A superb trail run

http://youtu.be/tawy5Vvs1fM

Some things will just have to wait until the next lifetime ...

Dreams of climbing an 8000 meter peak alpine style, or climbing the Cassin Ridge or the North Face of the Matterhorn are just not likely to happen this time around! Neither will I ski the Haute Route on three pins ... although I do still aspire to make the trip on my AT gear.

https://www.skiinghistory.org/news/pinheads-haute-route

Still moving but almost done ...

College visits, faculty orientation, moving, and getting ready for the start of school have all cut my outdoor time significantly ... and so the trail runs have been very short and flat :(

1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid

There are only a small handful of places that have twice hosted the Olympics, take the time to read this excellent essay on the wonderful skiing history website ...

https://www.skiinghistory.org/news/lake-placid-1932

An ode to Chamonix and its mountain culture

http://running.competitor.com/2015/02/features/chamonix-france-culture-hard-core-trail-running_122558

Tour Ronde ... Geology happens

This massive rockfall adjacent to the normal route must have been pretty cool to watch from the lifts. After climbing Tower Ridge in Scotland, Jon Waterman and I climbed the north face route of Tour Ronde in the winter of 1978. I lead most of the pitches as he broke both an ice tool and his crampons. We bivied in the lifts and had a few -30 degree nights.

http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=43000#

Happy memories at the Climber's Ranch

I first stayed there in the summer of 1976, shortly after the American Alpine Club purchased the old dude ranch and set it up for climbers in the Tetons.

Fond memories of great routes; wonderful memories of reading in the library on the odd rainy day; memories of chewing the fat while cooking dinner; frustrating memories of trying to duplicate Gill's boulder problems; memories of all you can eat at Dornan's, beers at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and watching the first Star Wars; memories of meeting famous climbers like Roskelley, Chouinard, Donnini, and Barber; and of course, best of all were the great times with buddies.

Take the time to read this nice article from the Gear Junkie website ...

http://gearjunkie.com/teton-climbers-ranch-review

Sunrise

South Face of the Midi

Ueli strutting his stuff on thin holds in Chamonix

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

Still moving in

Lots of gut busting moving days left but the spectacular setting does not disappoint.

Moonrise over the mountains

A spectacular view last evening from the front porch, that was just not able to be captured by my iPhone!

Photos from a summer in the alps

Looking forward to next summer ...

http://patitucciphoto.com/2015/08/31/2015-alps-summer-photo-summary/