What corner of the bedroom do you keep your workout gear in?

Staying safe in Avalanche terrain

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/science/avalanches-skiing-snowmobiles.html?hpw&rref=science&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0

Terrific ski-mo tour

Guillaume and I skied up Haystack and then skinned 7k over to Mount Snow, skied down and then rode the lift for 90 minutes over at the Hermitage Club. Fantastic day.

Ice climbing and finishing with a sauna

First day on ice this winter ...

Gary as usual jumped on the sharp end.

A post-Christmas ski expedition on Round Lake

Lucy leading Jon and Amanda on a tour as a cool down, after her interval workout on the Olympic trails.

The house is going up ...

Pretty exciting.

Fossil Christmas Gifts

My library continues to expand.

In addition to having a complete set of Alpinist magazines, I have a very large selection of climbing and skiing fiction, as well as highly esoteric volumes like The Physics Of Skiing.

Of course, no Christmas would be complete without fruitcake ... Gu, Cliff bars, and old time pemmican or Logan Bread can hardly keep up with a good mouthful of Claxton fruitcake from Georgia.

Merry Christmas

The evolution of classic skiing

Dawn Patrol ...

Started snowing just as I headed down.

How many skis do Nordic athletes travel with on the World Cup?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?ebc=ANyPxKppvpsFh9fchkGcBkJMhFMhTUsVIRa7VvZHBFTbaLhR6hCv_9_2z3ADMRUYpoJkkHJqxmhLgViFyjO-ATwQuIpP0yjOyA&v=z1cCbuwwnOY

Fossil climbers ... here is how to ward off dementia!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/12/16/visit-sauna-regularly-stave-dementia-20-year-study-suggests/

Easy skate at MVH

Wonderful sunset; looking into the Shady Corner Curve on the Olympic Bobsled track.

Handmade wood skis from Chamonix

https://vimeo.com/195441424

Lucy's nordic season is on a roll ...

A couple of very strong back-to-back races to add to last week's NYSEF win. This weekend the Eastern Cup opener at Craftsbury included a 5k classic and this 10k skate. In a field of 130 Lucy hauled in at least a dozen higher ranked skiers that she had never beaten before.

A little different than when I was skiing the Mer de Glace

Wow ...

https://vimeo.com/195433452

State of the Art on Denali

A good read from Colin Haley ...

http://www.colinhaley.com/infinite-spur-laps/

The first brutally cold weather of the season

Even as I was out skiing at 7am, the temperature was steadily dropping down to about -18 degrees.  The windchills of -30 were pretty brutal.

The New England Ice Climbing Revolution in the 1960-1970s

Well worth watching ...

https://vimeo.com/36113029?ref=em-share

Fossil Saunas ...

Looking forward to celebrating the end of the term with a sauna on Saturday or Sunday. The culture of a fossil sauna is a little less genteel, than the one portrayed in the enclosed article. However, it makes sense to freshen up your understanding of sauna etiquette before you visit the alps.

http://www.thelocal.at/20161126/how-to-behave-in-an-austrian-sauna

Ueli Steck mixed climbing on the Drus

First nordic race of the season ...

During the NYSEF Opener yesterday, Lucy traded the lead for 9.9k with a gal who was UNH captain last year and she pulled it out in the last 100 meters! Great start to her freshman year.

More scavenging ...

After we watched the fox through binoculars Selden came out with Lucy's good camera and snapped this photograph.

Scavenging ...

Not much of a picture as my iPhone doesn't have a telephoto lens, however it was quite a sight, watching a fox and some ravens scavenging the carcass of a deer that fell through the ice.

Cordillera Blanca

Wow ... just updated my iPhone operating system and the device automatically arranges groups of photos into a slideshow. Thinking of going back for my 65th birthday.

http://vimeo.com/198104838

NCS lunch stop on the way up the Toll Road

Mountain Art ...

Not everyone's cup of tea, but read this short essay on artist Rachel Pohl.

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2016/12/happy-trippy-bozeman-artist-know/

It seems like just yesterday ...

We got together to celebrate El Presidente's 50th and now he is getting ready to celebrate his 67th or 68th? Heck, they say 70 is the new 40 ... so raise a glass.

You can bet I'll be wearing my Commemorative T-shirt on December 8th.

NCS nordic team and the attraction of small hills ...

The Olympic facility is open for business, with most of the flatter trails rolled and in good shape. Waxing was a nightmare - everything iced up - so the students mostly were interested in climbing up the mound of man-made snow, and doing "tricks" ... face-plants!

Bumper sticker wisdom ...

A short essay in the Adventure Journal will bring a smile ...

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2016/11/20-awesome-adventure-bumper-sticker-slogans/

Back skiing on the Olympic trails

Weightlifting for old farts

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/can-you-regain-muscle-mass-after-age-60/?hpw&rref=health&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

Snow making on the Olympic trails

The most essential piece of gear for the over-the-hill mountaineer?

An ode to the indispensable trekking pole!

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2016/11/belated-praise-trekking-poles/