The science behind stinky socks ...

Every runner, climber, and ski mountaineer has a spouse or girlfriend that has justifiable complained.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/well/family/why-stinky-socks-may-bother-women-more-than-men.html

Proud Dad

A large poster the college put up in the hallway at the athletic center.

The first of the UTMB races has started.

Yesterday, 116 teams started the PTL, a 6.5 day, 300k trek around Chamonix that includes almost 27,000 meters of elevation gain.  Four other races will run throughout this week, which clearly shows why Chamonix is considered the mountain running capital of the universe. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oJpggFwx9Ic

New Denali Speed Record

http://fasterskier.com/fsarticle/top-back-bono-sets-denali-speed-record/

Tapering to my Jay Peak race next weekend ...

I feel pretty good after yesterday's half marathon trail run. Today was my first day breaking in the Hoka speedgoat 2 shoes.

A nice 20k run as part of a four-person relay team ...

Getting ready for next weekend at Jay Peak.

Beautiful watercolor paintings by Riccarda de Eccher

https://vimeo.com/227258708

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... Han-Shan and his Cold Mountain poems

1300 years ago this Chinese Taoist poet wrote:

His shack's got no pots or oven,
He goes for a walk with his shirt and pants askew.
But he always carries the sword of wisdom:
He means to cut down senseless craving.

The Grand in a day ... two or even three times!

The continuing overlap between ultra-running and mountaineering. A good article, and hopefully they will have success at UTMB.

New York Times Review Of ICARUS

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/03/movies/icarus-netflix-russia-olympic-doping.html?action=click&contentCollection=Movies&module=RelatedCoverage&region=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article

Icarus... a must watch video

OMG ... the story of state-sponsored doping by Russia; if even half is true it will blow your socks off!  Gripping! Mind-boggling! And if so, why are Russians allowed in the 2018 Winter Olympics? 

My only critique is that the two main characters seem so likable and heroic when actually they are massive cheats and frauds.  Watch the link to the Netflix trailer.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qXoRdSTrR-4

The White War ... 1914-1918

In the mid 1970s, on my first trip to the Alps, I got an inkling of all this while hiking and climbing in the Dolomites. This short, but interesting article gives you greater insight into the war where more men were killed by avalanches than by shells. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/10562017/Melting-glaciers-in-northern-Italy-reveal-corpses-of-WW1-soldiers.html

The Flying Frenchies are back ...

Arcane, zany, talented, insane, hysterical, crazy, and oh yes, ballsy ... welcome to the circus with these climbers, skiers, and base jumpers ... they never fail to catch your attention.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-UCETLKB6jY&time_continue=1&ebc=ANyPxKrjaanh4z_CXudYT_J8XAIT-CFYoUBAo9DKmu76OCGS0PI0HlSl-2-zyDR40mhatCuZxaM2-BbdlnvuDPsuFf7yd9YeNg

Of course, please do not show this to any male that has an excess of testosterone. 

A question I have started to think about ...

When is your last lead?  How and when do you decide when to hang up the rack and the spikes? 

https://www.climbing.com/.amp/people/the-last-lead-aging-out-of-climbing/

Have you had enough of summer and can not wait to ski again?

Get yourself psyched, and bring a smile to your face with old.schoolers.

https://www.instagram.com/old.schoolers/?hl=en

No gathering of the fossil clan is complete ...

Without bringing out the "rusty piton" bottle and having a bit of story telling fueled by a little whiskey.

The original Jensen Pack ... fossil gear

Given that Danny, Mark, and I are all AARP members, so it seemed appropriate to pull out my 1973 Rivendell Mountain Works pack designed by Don Jensen. It is incredibly light and performed quite well on the Tahoe Rim Trail, despite being 44 years old.

For all my climbing partners who have joked about my fruitcake ...

No doubt, if you have gone on an expedition with me, or any climbing trip of more than a week's duration with me, you have shared - often grudgingly - in my love of fruitcake.  Originally, as a child I sampled fruitcake from relatives, and then my mom continued that tradition, and now my sisters send it along at Christmas time. 

The fruitcake story continues as in late 1970s my girlfriend and I made 30 pounds of fruitcake for my first trip to Denali. (Of course any gathering of the fossil clan is not complete without the re-telling of my eating all of the fruitcake after it was spoiled by spilled white gas.) Then of course, there was the moment as Mike Brochu, Michael Franklin, and I topped out on the Black Dike and Franklin just ate a hunk of fruitcake, wrapper and all.

So, read this ode to fruitcake, from one of the most famous expedition adventures ever!

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/13/world/europe/fruitcake-antarctica-scott.html?module=WatchingPortal&region=c-column-middle-span-region&pgType=Homepage&action=click&mediaId=wide&state=standard&contentPlacement=1&version=internal&contentCollection=www.nytimes.com&contentId=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2017%2F08%2F13%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Ffruitcake-antarctica-scott.html&eventName=Watching-article-click

Light moments on the trail ...

1. For the first time in memory Hock refuses a second helping at dinner, of the special mac and cheese mix with hot buffalo wing and sweet and sour tuna.
2. Hock's bad hair days.
3. Mark's inability to sleep on a therma-rest; he calls it "off the grid."
4. Mark's huge stuff sack with every blister aid know to man.

Great memories in Desolation Wilderness ...

1. The bottle of whiskey breaking while we boarded the boat at Echo Lake.
2. Watching the helicopters scoop water from Lake Aloha to put out a fire.
3. The amazing view from our Susie Lake campsite.
4. The view from Dick's Pass.
5. Getting lost on the way to Velma Lakes.

Fossils in the backcountry

Traverse of the Desolation Wilderness

A great three days: 50k of hiking, 5000', two great campsites, beautiful weather, and amazing views. Of course, the most important point was quality time with a great buddy.

Great hike into Desolation Wilderness ...

3.5 hours, 17.5k, and 1600'

A short section heading south from Barker Pass ...

After four days of rest and a new pair of boots El Presidente (and Lundy) are ready to go. Of course, Mark had some mid-hike blister care to do. The picture of mountain that I took at the start of our hike, is a spur of Mount Ellis, nicknamed the Fourth of July gullies ... steep ski mountaineering chutes.

Cathedral Lake in the Desolation Wilderness

Along within this wonderful small lake the trail also passed by Floating Island Lake ... spectacular short hike.

Semi-rest day on the side of Mount Tallac

A 3+ hour hike, some yoga, snapping pictures, and reading.

Genevieve Lake and Shadow Lake

At the foot of Rubicon Peak ...

More pictures from yesterday's mountain run ... 3+ hours, 21k, and 1675'

Very runnable trail into the Desolation Wilderness

I visited four spectacular lakes: Genevieve Lake, Crag Lake, Shadow Lake, and Stoney Ridge Lake.

An easy two hour run to Brockway Summit

Dirtbagging ...

At 65 it seems almost a lifetime ago that I was a dirtbag. I am not sure that in 1976 when I did a three-month bivy in the alps, that the term had even been invented.  An interesting article - based on runners - that has relevance for skiers and climbers. (It is my first exposure to this blog, and it looks like a good one.) ENJOY. 

https://journal.tracksmith.com/dirtbagging

The descent from Relay Peak