An ode to Warren Miller, the history of skiing, and to an industry that is in many ways indefensible

https://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/warren-millers-joyful-vision-and-skiings-one-per-cent/amp?__twitter_impression=true

Kikkan's moment of truth

 Everyone has heard about how Jessie slingshot by Falla on the last downhill, and how she powered by Stina Nilsson in the final 100 meters.  But, a couple of minutes before that (1:53:15 on the video) Kikkan heads out on her third lap knowing that they were going to get a medal, the big question was: What color medal?  The only way it can be gold, is if she can hop skate up the big climb with Marit and Charlotte. 

https://cloud.mail.ru/public/KQks/KvCqu7wA9

Gold medal lunge!

I replayed the race tonight; it doesn't get any better than this. 

Climate Change Impact On The Economy

This article summarizes a new research study.  But the report does not include all the impacts of climate change (weather disasters and rising sea levels), the report simply tries to quantify the impact of climate change on the winter sports industry.

https://www.rei.com/blog/snowsports/climate-change-threatens-11-3-billion-snowsports-industry-protect-our-winters-report-says

Glorious Sunset ...

But where is the snow!

These guys are studs ... the Olympic 50k

Thirty-one miles and over 6000 feet of climbing in 2:08!  The Finn, Niskanen, broke away at 17k and kept on going. It was an exciting race to watch as the gold/silver medals were not decided until the 49k mark, and a pack of four skiers two minutes later, fought it out for bronze. American Scott Patterson, has had a great Olympics,  but his showing yesterday was something of a breakout performance.

http://fasterskier.com/fsarticle/raising-bar-harvey-closes-olympics-fourth-50-k-classic-patterson-11th/

NCAA Nordic Regional Championships

Once again Lucy is on the bubble looking in at those going to the big dance. A few more seconds would have put her in seventh place today, punching her ticket to Steamboat. Here she is a half kilometer out from the finish in the 15K skate, powering by Lina Sutro the #6 ranked Eastern collegian.  Lucy finished ninth today, and is looking forward to the Super Tour finals at Craftsbury ... Jessie Diggins better watch out :)

Sasha DiGiulian ... making the leap from gym, to rock, to ice

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9-cmfbEch68&ebc=ANyPxKr4Nhse4CGDmygVy9OfWLhPfn8xJsALCbOqqQiECDajrYmE0thneQHjx8xjIbcn3G3CPCpEcp9-rztQ8ciS6FIc3i9ItQ

Gold medalist Jessie Diggins ... and Lucy

Four years ago, in Lucy's first rollerski race (she was a 10th grader) up the Whiteface Toll Road, while Jessie is upfront wearing bib #2.

A couple of years later, at the end of a great season - New England Prep School Champ and All America at Junior Nationals - Lucy toed the line again with Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins in the national championship distance race. Jessie Diggins is in bib #201.

For American nordic skiers it has been a long wait ...

It doesn't get much better than this though, Kikkan the aging star teamed with Diggins, the rising prodigy. A nice wrap up from the Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/21/sports/olympics/cross-country-usa-jessie-diggins-kikkan-randall.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fsports&action=click&contentCollection=sports&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=sectionfront

The ladies finally got their medal ... GOLD

Where were you when Odvaar Bra broke his pole?

If you were a Norwegian you would know the answer to this, just like if you are an American you know where you were when JFK was shot, or where you were when the twin towers came down on 9/11.  Great New York Times article ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/sports/olympics/oddvar-bra.html?action=click&contentCollection=Olympics&module=RelatedCoverage&region=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article

Unseasonably warm but the ice is nice!

We have had a couple of warm days, probably going up to the low 50s today. However, Gary and John were up climbing in Cascade Pass, as were our students.  So thankfully, winter is not over. 

A good skiing weekend

Six college buddies spent the weekend reconnecting at our house. Much wine, beer, and single malt was consumed but also much CO2 was blown off. Early morning skinning up Whiteface was followed by a hearty breakfast at a diner, and then a few hours and many kilometers skied on the Olympic nordic trails.

Jim Bridwell obituary

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/16/obituaries/jim-bridwell-mountaineering-maverick-is-dead-at-73.html?hpw&rref=obituaries&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

Ueli Steck: brilliant and a terrific guy, but always remember, even experts get the chop

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/ueli-steck-and-a-fateful-return-to-everest

Jessie Diggins ... so close!

Two days ago Jessie raced into the sprint finals, and in the two distance races totaling 25k of racing, she missed a couple of bronze medals by a total of 7.9 seconds.

Still, assuming everyone stays healthy and has a good race I think we have a shot at a medal in both relays.

My guess is in the 4x5k we go with Sadie, then Sophie, Kikkan, and Jessie ... my prediction is that they will be placing 3rd-4th-or fifth.

In the sprint relay we should have two teams:
Sadie and Diggins, as well as Sophie and Kikkan ... I think one of those teams will place 2nd-3rd-or 4th.

The endurance athlete nemesis

An important short essay to read for high school athletes as well as fossil mountaineers trying to stay in the game. 

https://www.uphillathlete.com/death-by-threshold/

Are there limits to human performance?

A great multimedia presentation from the Sunday New York Times. 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/10/opinion/this-is-peak-olympics.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fsunday

Revolutionary, superlight binding coming from Dynafit

Next year in Europe? The year after in North America?  Nobody knows, but at 49 grams and more user friendly it could be a game changer. No doubt it will be expensive so start saving your pennies. (Thanks to Skintrack our favorite skimo blog.)

Walking the dog ...

I use my AT gear as the track setter for the 1k loop in the back pasture. Seems like the recent fracture line on the Fossil Cabin suggests that steep Adirondack slides may not be settled yet.

Olympic 15k skiathlon

Brilliant skiing by Kalla for the gold. Mario obviously has not lost it at 37.  Jessie Diggins had a gutsy performance in fifth. Just as an aside, there was no group of Norwegian gals dominating this field. In the picture below, the first seven finishers included two Swedes, one Norwegian, a Finn, an Austrian, one from Switzerland, and one from America.  (Despite the fact that I could have watched the replay, I got up at 2:00 am because I was so excited for this first race.)

The Winter Olympics Are Starting ...

It is easy to imagine that the US nordic women will come home with several medals. Keep your fingers crossed. 

Senor Boom-Boom ... the first snow ranger

A nice article about Montgomery Atwater the founding father of avalanche safety and forecasting as we know it in North America.

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2018/02/meet-first-guy-chuck-bomb-avalanche-hazard/

Ski conditions are good ...

but we could use some more snow ... and I believe 7-10 inches are coming tomorrow.

Quote of the week from John Muir

Excellent book, and excellent website ... Peak Performance

https://www.peakperformancebook.net/single-post/2018/01/31/Resilience-Is-NOT-About-Bouncing-Back-The-Importance-of-Leaving-Things-Out

The book, by the way, is not just about athletic peak performance, it is also about peak performance in all aspects of life. 

Growth, public v private land, community, and local ski areas

http://mountainjournal.org/the-future-of-the-small-town-ski-hill

UVM 15k mass start skate race

A good effort, unfortunately she started to fast, hanging with some of the leaders for the first 5k ... still 18th is not too shabby.

EISA College Carnival Season reconvenes tomorrow ...

Last week was a bye week for college nordic teams. However Lucy got a top twenty in a stacked supertour race at Craftsbury that included two racers heading to the Olympics, the top six eastern college racers, and a couple of excellent Canadians.

Tomorrow's race is a 15k skate and on Saturday they have a classic 5k.

The passing of an icon ... Elizabeth Hawley dies at 94

She was the historian and archivist of the Himalayas. The link to a short video, introduces her, and her work nicely. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TMT07gzF98w&ebc=ANyPxKr1T_BpbRAXmUmDMvvRbsEHXoXn6WNpqHhte7FdLVWdPmih_AsnWOlWJ-s9btqHsYpQE6YVXrLrpGyMS9lG3sTK2NbObw&time_continue=84

This link to an Adventure Journal article fills in some of the gaps for interested readers.

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2018/01/elizabeth-hawley-tireless-chronicler-himalayan-climbing-died/

However, for the true fanatic I suggest the definitive biography, which by the way, is well written and quite a good read.