Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Glorious day ...

The heat and humidity have left, the geese have arrived, and I seem to have recovered nicely from the 50k.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Question of the Day ...

What the heck is Hock doing up near the front of the starting line? Needless to say he quickly gravitated toward the back of the pack ... where he belonged. A great race, nice course, fine organization by High Peaks Cyclery, and a beautiful day.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Time for a nap except ...

everything is cramping up and they just tapped the keg!  My goal was to finish in eight hours, and I was just a few minutes off finishing in  8:12 ... Pretty happy.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Brian Delaney and his new camper ...

For touring our national parks when he retires ... I want one. (I snapped this photo after I picked up my bib.)

Weather report looks good ...

for the ADK80k.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Last easy jog ...

Inspecting the race course.

Chamonix 2017 ... Hock turns 65

Before or after we climb I would like to do this run or the actual 55k OCC race during the last week of August. Take a look at this short video preview of the course ...

www.dailymotion.co m/video/x4p2v06

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Tapering for Saturday's 50k

2.5 laps of this course, which is an equal measure of wide, grassy, Olympic nordic trails and gnarly single track mountain bike trails.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Teton Grand Traverse

The shorter Cathedral Traverse is still on my bucket list. From the Gripped website ...

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Friday, August 19, 2016

Looks like a terrific new climbing book

Not available in the states yet, but a review well worth reading ...

http://footlesscrow.blogspot.com/2016/08/simon-mccartneys-bondreviewed.html

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Words of Wisdom

Well worth reading ...

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

ALPINIST 54 ... great issue

The article by Rick Accomazzo is worth the price of the issue. His reflections on his early ice climbing career with Tobin Sorenson, on Valley desperates like Widows Tears is priceless. The quote of the week should be his paraphrasing of Donald Rumsfield's notorious response:

"There are things you know, the things you know you don't know, and then the things you don't know that you don't now." While it might not have been an appropriate answer for starting a war, it is something climbers should be mindful of, as it's the last item which occasionally gets us killed.

Of course, the issue has other great articles: climbing in the footsteps of Reinhold Messner, the history of imaginary mountains, and the article about Darwin's Disappointment.

The Six Great North Faces Solo In Winter

Monday, August 15, 2016

Different lifestyle and sports ...

Cabelas the REI for the hunting and fishing crowd.

Half-bag or pied d'elephant

Glad I saved my 1970s Mountain Equipment half-bag ... seems like it is coming back into fashion.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

WEEK IN REVIEW: Hock's Tahoe Altitude Training Camp

Almost 18 hours, a touch under 10,000 vertical, 70k running/hiking, 8k on the ergometer, and tons of yoga ... a great week.

Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis


A Fine Line from Nevis Landscape Partnership on Vimeo.


In the late 1970s I did this classic route with Jon Waterman in the winter, needless to say I never imagined that someone would run it.  A spectacular short video.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Last day in the Sierras ...

Hiked up to High Camp (6k and 2000') with Callie and then a free tram ride down. Spent a little time watching Mark on the job site renovating his house, a quick shower, and off to Reno where my flight was delayed.

If you get a chance ...

Donner Summit to Squaw Valley is a must do hike or run!

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Not sure how I feel about this ...


SKATING & CLASSIC from Neveplast on Vimeo.

With Americans unable to get serious about tackling climate change maybe this is where the sport is going!


Donner Summit to Squaw Valley ...

A spectacular 25k run/hike with great views the entire way on an 8000+ foot ridge, and a total gain of 3500'.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

An easy and lazy day ...

A gym workout, olympics, and a day at the beach. Another big 20k run tomorrow from Donner Summit to Squaw.

El Presidente getting after it

Monday, August 8, 2016

The Greyfox leads me up Twin Peaks

Awesome day; great views and 18k with 2500'. Thanks Danny.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

A beautiful course ...

I used this as a tempo workout running at my 50k projected pace between 8:30-9:00 minutes per kilometer.

The bionic arm is off ...

and El Presidente can now drink a shot of whiskey with his injured arm!

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Trail running ... getting ready for a 50k on August 27

Getting ready to start the 30K trail run, and 10 minutes later the 17K trail that I did. With my warm-up and warm down I did 25k this morning, not bad since it was just yesterday that I flew from the east. The race was on double or single track between 6700 and 7700 feet in elevation.

Blast from the Past ... Snowshoe Thompson

Friday, August 5, 2016

Easy jog to tune up for tomorrow's trail race

The summer Olympics start today ...

However, it also means the International Olympic Committee - the organizing body - gets to meet, and guess what: Ski Mountaineering seems like a sure bet in the near future.

http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1040145/international-ski-mountaineering-federation-proposed-for-full-ioc-recognition-but-sambo-overlooked

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Heading out to Lake Tahoe

Looking forward to seeing El Presidente and the Greyfox! The weather looks great for bouldering, hiking, and trail running.

Lucy's last year ...

Of eligibility for the junior nationals, and on her stomping grounds no less! I am hoping she manages another All-American performance at the junior nationals. (Of course, unlikely though it is as a frosh skier, I will keep my fingers crossed that she qualifies, and races in New Hampshire at the NCAA Championships.)