QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... Alfred Mummery

Another quote from HOW THE ENGLISH MADE THE ALPS. After the golden age of mountaineering, when all the major peaks were climbed Mummery set the tone for the next evolution of the sport.

He suggested our real task as alpinists was to, "leave paths that common sense, custom, or the average mountain sheep would point out ... and go in some other direction where the chances appear to be in favor of breaking your neck."

So, after climbing the Hornli Ridge he tackled the Zmutt Ridge on the Matterhorn. He of course is famous for another quote, which I will amend slightly. Mummery said that mountain routes could be broken into three categories, to which I will add a fourth. A peak is either: inaccessible, the most difficult ascent in the Alps, an easy day for a lady, or fit for an aging fossil getting ready to hang up his crampons.

An exciting morning ...

Any time a 19 year old gets individual coaching from a two-time Olympic, and eight-time World Championship, gold medalist you give her your full attention. Andrea Henkel is married to a top American biathlete (Tim Burke) and retired several years ago; she was one of the best female biathletes ever.

Another big rockfall in Yosemite

An ode to the mountains of the Northeast ...

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2017/09/east-coast-isnt-just-place-mountainfolk-leave/

In the lead pack ...

Lucy was sick all week, and while I urged her to scratch, she went out with the big dogs. Although she got dropped, she set a PR and finished second in the U23 category.

Climate change ... the Himalayas ... water for sub-continent of India

More than seven hundred million people get their water from 3 Himalayan rivers (Ganges, the Indus, and Brahmaputra) which are fed by snow and glacial melt.  These are some of the lest studied glaciers in the world, yet in terms of their human impact, some of the most import. 

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/04/04/investigating-chhota-shigri-glacier

My one day a year running on roads

The Climb to the Castle ... 8k and 2500' ... Lucy was sick all week but we could not convince her to skip it. Similar time and place to last year, so pretty good considering.

BALANCE ... a climber's worst nightmare

This ten minute video drama packs a surprising punch!  Well worth a view. 

https://vimeo.com/234677070

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... by Arnold Lunn

"Men lifted their eyes up to the hills to rediscover the the spiritual values which were clouded by the smoke and grime of the industrial revolution. "

I am reading a used book from Chessler, HOW THE ENGLISH MADE THE ALPS. The book is overly academic; and parts of the story has been told in many other books, yet it is always refreshing to renew your love affair with the Alps.

PRETTY FUNNY ... types of people you meet on the trail

https://www.outsideonline.com/2199646/ten-types-people-you-meet-trail?utm_content=buffer861a2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=tweet

A very cool story ... SKIDA

I am not much of a mountain biker - occasionally I ride the one mile to work - but I am a huge fan of SKIDA hats and headbands locally sourced in Vermont. (My daughter has a huge collection of their headwear from years of Christmas stocking stuffers.)

This a great story of how they opened a line of cashmere products and how they have built strong relationships with their production team in Nepal.

A Game Changer ... the SNOW FACTORY and Mount Van Hoevenberg

This weekend 75-85 nordic fanatics - Olympic hopefuls, collegians, club and master skiers - will gather for a five mile roller ski race up the Whiteface Toll Road.  Aside from catching their breath after this lung-buster, and catching up with old friends, it's likely that one big question will be on everyone's lips: SO, HOW EARLY WILL "VAN HO" OPEN UP THIS YEAR?

http://fasterskier.com/fsarticle/mt-van-hoevenbergs-snow-factory-game-changer/

Hard rock 100 and the gathering of the tribe

I will have to wait for my next reincarnation to run this event.  However, I would like to crew or volunteer, and so someday soon I am going to be out there.  Brian ... keep a bed ready for those first two weeks in July.

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

Great video ... History of the National Parks

Wow ... history of the parks, history of America, and the history of conservation and preservation, all rolled into four minutes.

https://vimeo.com/175908154

Working out with the U.S. Biathlon Development Team

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... from Kiss or Kill

On Friday I had twelve hours in the car driving to, and from, a visit with major donors. I listened to some great podcasts from Alpinist and Nordic Nation, but I also listened to Mark Twight's KISS OR KILL again. One memorable line - he is a master of quotable one liners - came when he and Jeff Lowe were trying a new route on the south pillar of Nuptse. Asked about his Walkman requiring him to carry so many batteries ...

"When the going gets tough the tough crank up the volume."

Indian Summer but maybe an early Fall

The leaves are turning colors and dropping; hard to believe given that we have not reached the autumnal equinox yet!

A beautiful day ... equinox next week

Alpinist podcasts

No doubt most of you fossil alpinists have smartphones in your pockets, and my daughter Lucy has turned me on to a variety of political podcast. 

However, just by chance I searched to see if there are a variety of mountaineering, Nordic skiing, and trail running podcasts that I might lesson to while doing yoga or driving. Actually, there are quite a few: Dirtbag Diaries, Nordic Nation, Noah Hoffman, Trail Running Nation, and Alpinist. For instance, listen to this engaging podcast with climber and author David Roberts.

http://www.alpinist.com/p/podcast

On a related note, I have enclosed a link to another interview that was written up in Alpinist 55

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web17w/wfeature-david-roberts-interview

Unpacking the mountain library ...

With half of my climbing library in boxes for the past two years it was great to start unpacking them in our new home.

Raising awareness for the Access Fund and AAC ...

Now this is a truly novel idea, use a porta-ledge to open a cliff side shop, which raises awareness of critical issues ... Bravo! 

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2017/09/coolest-pop-store-ever/

Uphill Athlete Website ... one of my favorites

Always looking for new pearls of training wisdom; I visit this site regularly.  Having just done mountain races the past two weekends I was intrigued by this entry. Thankfully, not having  blazing track speed I am a lot less susceptible than Morgan Arritola to going out fast in the early portions of these races ... however I do remember getting carried away in the Whiteface Vertical K and the Squaw Mountain Run several years ago.

https://www.uphillathlete.com/pacing-mistakes/

Lucy: working out with the big dogs ...

Gold medalist in last year's World Championships (Lowell Bailey) and three gals on the US biathlon team.

AN IMPORTANT STUDYABOUT OSTEOARTHRITIS ... confirming what we probably already suspected ... we fossil mountaineers come back too quickly from injuries and we pay a big price

When I was 16 I won a wrestling match, a week after my cast came off from torn ligaments. A recent study concludes that no doubt this early return to competition, accounts for my early onset osteoarthritis. Additionally, massive stress and training loads - say carrying expedition weight packs for weeks at a time - also contributed to this early onset.  Finally of course, the ten extra pounds (call those love handles) that I have been carrying around for over a decade, exacerbates it all. The link below is to a New York Times article that summarizes the current research.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/well/when-sports-injuries-lead-to-arthritis-in-joints.html?sl_rec=editorial&contentCollection=smarter-living&mData=articles%255B%255D%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fcooking.nytimes.com%252Frecipes%252F6648-dutch-baby%253Fsl_l%253D1%2526sl_rec%253Deditorial%26articles%255B%255D%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2017%252F08%252F14%252Fwell%252Fwhen-sports-injuries-lead-to-arthritis-in-joints.html%253Fsl_rec%253Deditorial&hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=smarterLiving-promo-region&region=smarterLiving-promo-region&WT.nav=smarterLiving-promo-region&_r=0

Before you know it ... we will be skinning up Whiteface

So, sometime soon it will be time to take out your ski mountaineering gear and do some work to get everything ready for the season.  This link will lead you to the Wild Snow website where the master Lou Dawson will share his tips and tricks.

https://www.wildsnow.com/1105/boot-maintenance-of-the-dynafit-kind/

The Future Of Alpinism by Steve House

Excerpts from remarks delivered at the annual Guide's Festival in Courmayeur, Italy ...

https://www.uphillathlete.com/the-future-of-alpinism/

Hilliest "run" I have ever done!

On a sunnier day, I might have changed shoes, put on dry socks, taken a few ibuprofen, guzzled and chomped some calories and kept going. With better weather I would have stopped at the summit and snapped some pictures. It's a demanding but beautiful course and a very well run race ... but my knees hurt, big time.

Solar eclipse picture for rock climbers ...

It doesn't get much better than this ... Smith Rocks in Oregon.

Jay Peak 11 miler ...

Given predictions for awful weather - 38° pouring rain and windy on the summit - I opted for the shorter distance. Good thing! A very technical run, almost 4000 vertical, and my knees were shot by the time I was done.

September 2nd, 29° and I fired up the sauna ...

I started heating up the sauna at 6:20 am, and came out gasping for air, just as the sun was coming up over the mountains. Sublime!

Women getting after it ... PRETTY STRONG

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nevernotcollective/pretty-strong-all-your-favorite-climbing-chicks-in

Working with the U.S. Biathlon Development Coach

Well there are four biathletes (two freshman who could not come today) on the St. Lawrence ski team. The US coach has agreed to work with them; so many Fridays, until the snow flies they will make the two hour drive south.

Short video of a front moving through the Adirondack Mountains ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rSX3mZ-NT0

Sunset from our deck ...