If you like maps these are awesome

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2019/03/these-2d-turned-3d-maps-are-extraordinary-cartographic-art-pieces/

Spring ski tour near Killington

Biathlon National Championships

Lucy sharing some light moments with her buddy who is on the US Development Team ... Deedra Irwin. Lucy shot poorly but skied quite well.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... RMNP 2015

Mr. Organization ... where are my socks? Where is my toothbrush?  Where is my plane ticket?  Scrambling on the way back to the airport.

71 days on snow this season ...

Hoping for another 15 or 20 days of skiing before I put the boards away until next season.

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... West rib of Denali

In the late 1970s, after meeting Mark in Chamonix, and Pat Carr as well as Mike Brochu in The Valley, we decided to plan a trip to do the sixth or seventh ascent of the Cassin Ridge the following spring. 

So many things were different back then.  For starters, there was so little available information. A couple of AAC journals, an essay in Mountain #28 by Alex Bertulis, and Brad Washburn's great photos were all we had. Planning your trip today there are numerous blow-by-blow accounts online, YouTube videos of crux moves, multiple guidebooks, and of course, route topos.  Then came the the bureaucratic regulations which seem arcane today. So, when Pat Carr had to drop out that left us hunting for a mandated fourth, which subsequently had us adding an untested and quite unsatisfactory fourth, to get on the mountain legally. Then too, there was the day spent in Portland trying to beg, borrow, buy, or steal a mandated radio. The next day in Portland was spent drumming up the mandated and mostly fictitious, on-call rescue party.  (Of course we also had to shop for food, with one of our party excusing himself to break up with a girlfriend; which meant that I planned the trip menu, loaded with frosted pop-tarts.)  Finally, there was the dreaded and mandated Ranger inspection, which truthfully by then had morphed into a good natured, and quite beneficial chat. We got none of the adversarial greetings you got from the Baxter State Park Rangers in the 1970s, on your way into a week of ice climbing on Mount Katahdin.  All this to go climbing!

Then once on the mountain there were the inevitable, "what the f**k were we thinking" moments. Really, half the group on snowshoes and the other half on skis?  Did I really believe - until loading Doug Geeting's plane - that I would do the route with an expedition parka and a half bag?  No back up stove? Four slings, three tube screws, and two pegs?

Of course, some things were spot on ... Mark proved to be a climbing partner for the ages, except for a few aberrations (i.e. half bag) light is right, a life-long love affair with fruitcake, and a half gallon of scotch was the best piece of gear to barter with on the glacier.

Schmoozing with Bill Mckibben at final cross country World Cup ...

He had just skied the 90k Vasaloppet and wrote a delightful piece for the New Yorker. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/sweden-home-to-the-worlds-oldest-cross-country-ski-race-confronts-a-changing-climate/amp

The challenges of a mountain town ... shangri-la versus financial sustainability

The challenges in the northeast may not be quite as acute as out west, but they certainly still exist. A short and illuminating essay.

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2019/03/giving-up-on-the-ski-town-dream/

Quebec City Nordic World Cup

This second day of cross country World Cup finals in Quebec City played out like a fairy tale story in a Nordic gathering of the tribe.  Stina Nilsson eventually hauls down Johaug in the final 100 meters, while in the men's 15k Klaebo, Bolshunov, hometown favorite Harvey, and Tonseth battle until the glorious ending.

It’s spring but it’s snowing like hell

Combining running, scrambling, and fourth class climbing

A short ridge running video with Kilian Jornet.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MRzeLDkWT1c&ebc=ANyPxKqiq8iZIyFWIvM4JUutEfxnMWwpZnYhIsBa_EGT6pwbh-oFtZ6Oi-F20Yv0cR74El23T39Z4AGsteUJopZyM-H0FWZRMg&time_continue=40

Altitude illness ... a video lecture by the master ... Dr. Peter Hackett

https://www.uphillathlete.com/hackett-altitude-illness/

Heading home

After a whirlwind four days, in a couple of hours I will catch a plane from Beijing with these students and head back to NCS.

Last leg ... heading to Beijing

A wonderful evening reception in Shanghai, and a 4:30 am dealing with the "explosion" of stuff tumbling out of the misplaced bag, which finally caught up to me.

Given the number of times it was probably "inspected" on multiple trips across country before it got to China, I guess that was to be expected ... however no time to shave or brush teeth, and we will just make our plane.

Hong Kong and Shanghai

A nice gathering current parents and a the wonderful Guanfu Museum. Still missing a bag from the airlines.

Dragon’s Back ... nice Hong Kong hike

Hong Kong mountains ... Jet lagged but a spectacular view

On this hectic five day trip, tomorrow morning we do have three hours off, and so will do a hike up to, and along the ridge line. Hong Kong really is s spectacular city,

The Impossible Climb ... best moments on a brutal travel day

I started driving to the Albany Airport at 5:30 am; the plane was cancelled so I headed to JFK to fly to Dallas via Charlotte; that flight was delayed so at 12:40 am on this next day, we will begin boarding for Hong Kong. Meanwhile one of my bags is somewhere in route. However, reading a Kindle sample of this book was thoroughly engaging.

Ski tour with sunrising through Cascade Pass

Sunset on Street and Nye

Keeping my fingers crossed ... next year the Holmenkollen and Birkebeiner

The carton captures the mardi grad of Nordic skiing, while the famous painting captures the history and spirit of the Birkebeiner.

Getting ready for biathlon nationals ...

Now that the college season is over, Lucy will do the Lake Placid 50k next week, and then the national biathlon championships at the end of month in Vermont. Lucy has not done any shooting since early fall, so only in Lake Placid, can you get two former Olympic gold medalist to come out and coach you.

Early morning tour ...

On the Jackrabbit Trail, passed the North Face of Pitchoff (ice is still fat), up and over the pass for a little bit. The sun just peaked over the ridge about 8:40.

VIEW FROM THE BACK PORCH ...

The morning sunrise on Street and Nye.

The Holmenkollen Ski Festival

This Friday-Saturday- Sunday is the famous series of nordic events: nordic distance races, nordic combined, and ski jumping. Since 1888 this has been the focal point for the celebration of skiing in Norway.  Set on a hill above the city of Oslo, this is the Woodstock Festival of Nordic skiing. A three day party, with people camping out, drinking, and well over 100,000 people lining ever inch of the 50k race course. The short video clip below, gives you a flavor of this historic event ... it's on my list for next year ... and I will follow it up a week later skiing the 55k Birkie. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P2VRjBg2XOY

Browsing through my MOUNTAIN magazine collection

While waiting in my Fossil Cabin for the sauna to get good and hot, I was looking through some issues from 1973. The gear has certainly changed and so too have the ads.

How I loved - and hated - those Super Guides. Great to climb in, but hell to hike in. As for the crampons, a joy on steep ice, until they snapped ... as Jon Waterman found out on a lead, 25 feet out from my belay, on a step North Face in Chamonix one winter.

The New Yorker and its humorous piece on CBD

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/so-you-have-some-questions-about-cbd?utm_source=twitter&utm_brand=tny&utm_social-type=owned&utm_medium=social&mbid=social_twitter

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... Canadian Rockies, November 1973

I have the original Chouinard piolet and an alpine hammer tucked in my holster, with a couple of salewa, first generation tubular screws on a sling around my neck, original Chouinard rigid crampons on my feet, and I am ready to go!

Nice easy run on Old Mountain Road

Just as the sun is setting, with the summit cone of Mount Marcy just peaking over the ridge.

The skiing is still fantastic ...

All 50k groomed, no bare spots, no ice, and no sign of spring ... yahoo!

Nordic World Championships

Well after Olympic gold last year, and multiple top ten performances, expectations were sky high. Our team has had some good race results: four women moving into the sprint heats, Jessie finishing 8th, and Simi in 9th. Erik Bjornsen's scramble leg in the relay, Julia Kern in the points in two races, Rosie Brennan's top ten in the skiathlon, and Jessie's gut busting 4th in the 30k.

Johaug cracked the 30k wide open early on, nobody was going to catch her. However, for at least 15k there was a six person pack competing for the other medals, often with Jessie leading the way. Slowly people dropped off the back, and at 22k the chase pack was down to just three skiers with another chase pack - including Olympic gold medalist Kalla - gunning for them. At 23k Jessie was dropped, and the next 7k were all about digging deep, and holding off the chase pack. Her fourth place was a real testament to her grit.

The men's 50k just started so I need to check the live timing results.