Some memories of the Alps

Getting started in Chamonix with a day on the town; enjoying the Refugio Elisabetta at the end of a long day; the tired guide catching a little shut-eye in Courmayeur.

More great mountain runs

ALPINIST 51

A fantastic re-read. Ian Parnell's article about climbing on the Dru between 1955-2015 is riveting.  The essay was enhanced by contributions from many historic figures from that time period.

Fairhope Farm is looking good

Thanks to Selden for her marvelous work and Gary for his great help this past summer.

A warming planet and the Alps

Massive heat induced rockfall over the past two decades has obliterated classic routes on the Dru; work continues on wiring and cementing so cable cars to the Aiguille du Midi may remain operational; and now huts are closed because of imminent glacial collapse. 

https://apple.news/ALa02c4bCRFW5fLxTnW6fcA

Bouldering at High Peaks Cyclery Gym

Last week for a very modest fee, Brian gave me a year's membership. My goal is to boulder or climb once a week. I would like to continue moderate alpine climbing well into my retirement, and hopefully this will keep me fit for that.

The High Peaks Cyclery Gym is small and modest, however, I can certainly hone my strength, skill, and climbing endurance here. They even have a few routes to lead.

Knee Surgery Now Or Later?

For the past decade - after one knee was "scoped" - my tactic has been to delay as long as possible, the inevitable knee replacement my doctor envisioned.  I have dealt with the pain, through grimaces, ibuprofen, CBD, and some cross training. I spent the last two months guiding treks in Peru and Chamonix, and am now training for a 50 mile race. 

However, I am still wrestling with the question: When is the right time?  I pulled up this important opinion which I had remembered from The Uphill Athlete website.

Exactly two months until the JFK 50 miler

It was another good week of training, without too much stress on the joints. I probably should be logging a bit more mileage, and maybe a longer run than I am currently doing. That said, I feel fit, and the overall stats are still pretty good.

- Just under 12 hours of exercise for the week

- 55 kilometers and 3725'

- 5 days of running

- 3 easy ergometer sessions

- 2 strength workouts

- 2 yoga sessions

- Bouldering at the climbing gym

Reel Rock Trailer

It looks pretty awesome ...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=214&v=nBPGrQbQGv4

The John Muir Trail, the FKT, and the new FFFKT

I fell in love with Jenn Shelton the hard living, hard driving ultra-runner, at the same time everyone else did, on my first reading of BORN TO RUN.  I have read much of her arcane, rambling, irreverent, and sometimes zen like prose, ever since then. 

Her notion in this essay of making the women's FKT more relevant is an interesting one. I believe her moniker FFFKT - fish fourteener fastest known time - could be expanded in multiple and important ways.  For instance, thinking about my over the hill, Medicare, baby boomer buddies shouldn't there be a Fossil Fourteener Fastest Known Time?  This FFFKT would be a somewhat speedy time for geriatrics who climb a fourteener in each of Roper's five guidebook sections. 

I am sure you will think of others, as Jenn stumbles through the John Muir Trail in this essay, first printed in a 2019 Patagonia catalogue.  Who knows, maybe when I am doing my different FFFKT from north to south, we will share a campsite together on her next attempt at her record. 

https://www.patagonia.com/blog/2019/09/fffkt/

More good mountain runs

A trail on the north side of Pitchoff and dirt roads at the base of Jay Mountain.

Quote Of The Week ... Pierre Allain

"What matters is to realize yourself fully, to exhaust all your possibilities, to make something concrete. Whether in sport, in literature, in the bold enlightenment of a scientific or philosophical theory, or in simple harmonious play of your muscles, what's important is that this work represents the peak of your creative potential."

I first got to known the name Pierre Allain in the early-1970s when I got my first pair of rock shoes. The PA rock boot - named after its inventor - were not state of the art by then, but they were far better than using my mountaineering boots at the gunks. 

Pierre Allain (1904-200) was a noted "Bleausards," a group of Parisians who bouldered in Fontainebleau as training for the Alps. He made many first ascents, but certainly his 1935 route on the North Face of the Dru is one of the most historically important. He was also noted for his gear innovations: rock shoes, rappel devices, cagoule, pied d'elephant, and alloy carabiners. 

The quote is from his book, ALPINISME et COMPETITION, and was mentioned in #50 of the ALPINIST. 

Sarcopenia ... very fit but unfortunately neglecting a key element

Well after two months in Peru and Chamonix, I definitely feel fitter than any time in the last decade or two. I have dropped at least a dozen pounds, while exercise volume, vertical, and intensity are all up ... HOWEVER I still do not do any regular strength training. 

Corrine Malcolm - former biathlete and now big time ultra runner - spells it all out clearly in the article linked below.  My daughter admonished me about sarcopenia several years ago, while she was taking an exercise physiology class at St. Paul's. I guess, loss of muscle mass while you age is real. So, I better get a program together. 

https://www.irunfar.com/2019/09/pumping-iron-strength-training-for-endurance-runners.html

A good mountain run ...

In and out of Klondike Notch, with 13k+ and about 1250' in just over two hours. Most of the uphill was runnable, but leaves, mud, roots, and rocks (and sore knees) made for slower going downhill.

Only one party on the trail, and Stash had a great time.

Heating up the sauna ...

I am waiting on the porch of the Fossil Cabin for the first of my weekly saunas ... an item on my retirement bucket list.

Hosting the SLU girls nordic skiers

This weekend Lucy brought her teammates down to our farm for a training weekend.

Yesterday most of the team hiked Wright and Algonquin. However, Lucy and a SLU freshman decided to do the 3k prolog, and the 1.5k sprint rollerskis race. There was a high speed, big downhill which Lucy snowplowed on, and lost a great deal of time on, so placed poorly. Today all the girls did the Climb2Castle up the Whiteface Toll Road ... 8k and 2300.'

I ran up and down the Toll Road to get a good workout for November's JFK 50 Miler. Lucy had a good race, making up time, which put her on the podium for the three race mini-series.

The six girls had a great time, giggled a great deal, and blew off a lot of carbon dioxide.

Getting ready for a running overnight with Stash next week

I don't know where or when it will be, but I did decide to pack to see how heavy my pack would be. Seems like 12-14 pounds will do it: a sleeping bag and air mattress; a modest amount of clothing; a stove and pot; a liter of water; a bunch of gu and snacks; a livestream straw; as well as dogfood and Hock food.

Two of the six Great North Faces of the Alps

Yesterday, I was going through some pictures from this summer, and despite the poor light, I dwelled on this one ... my long-time ambition was to climb the six famous north faces. As I was reminded one morning on a trail run, two of those big routes are in Chamonix. On the left you have the North Face of the Dru, and on the right you have the central rib which is the Walker Spur on the Grand Jorasses.

The others in the big six are: 1938 Route on the North Face of the Eiger, the Schmid Route on the North Face of the Matterhorn, as well as the North Face of the Cima Grande and the Piz Badile.

It reminds me that I have to re-read Rebuffat's STARLIGHT AND STORM this fall. As for me, these faces will have to wait until my next reincarnation.

Running the Cordillera Blanca

A short video of Lucy running trails in Peru between 12-16,000.'  Needless to say I could not keep up!

https://vimeo.com/359383140

Alpinist 67

It looks like another great issue with the feature article profiling Mt. Kennedy. However, I quickly flipped to this short piece from Semi-Rad.com ... how true it is!

My retirement bucket list ...

As you close in on retirement, the inevitable question is: What will you do and how will you spend your time? During the past months my answer has been general - sleep, exercise, and read more. In the past three weeks (after my Summer guiding gig) I have begun to put more flesh on that skeletal outline.

So, I have read 4 novels in the past three weeks, as opposed to an average of one every 6-7 weeks while I was headmaster. I have the JFK 50 miler, and the Lake Placid 50k Loppet in my sights. Last week I ran 51k on hilly trails, soon to be 60, then 70, then 80k. (You have to leave some time for yoga, bouldering, and the ergometer!)

I have taken a nap every day - one of my key retirement goals - and I have also signed up for my first free Harvard online course. There are 140,000 people enrolled, however when you are chatting or email your "study group," it feels more intimate. The videos and readings are top notch, and the content fully engaging. Hopefully, my brain will not rot or atrophy.

Intriguing Belay Device Spotted At Gaillands

Admittedly, the past 18 months have been consumed by fundraising, travel, getting my institution ready for my retirement, and so new climbing products have not been on my radar screen. That said, a Chamonix guide showed us this device - Revo made by Wild Country - while he was guiding some young children. It seems like a wonderful tool for a handful of unique situations. I have enclosed two reviews below.

As someone who has used a SOLOIST occasionally over the years, I wondered if this might be one of the applications a REVO would excel at?

https://www.climbing.com/gear/review-wild-country-revo-belay-device/

https://gripped.com/gear/review-wild-country-revo-belay-device/

Missing the Alps

Well, it's been only a week since I was packing to leave Chamonix, but I am clearly missing the Alps. Randi's pictures got me excited about the Dolomites in 2020.  Posting my 50 pictures to google docs got me reliving a glorious sunset from Auberge du Truc.

So, I pulled Rebuffat's ON SNOW, ICE, AND ROCK off my shelf, and flipped through all the great pictures of this famous Chamonix guide taken by Pierre Tairraz. Next, I pulled off the shelf the famous novel - FIRST ON THE ROPE - by Roger Frison-Roche about guiding in Chamonix in 1925.  After re-reading the first several chapters, I remembered that it is quite a delightful book; it's still in print (link below), and I will zip through it in the next couple of days.

Frison-Roche captures the feel of these special mountains, and describes dozens of settings that will ring a bell for anyone having spent time hiking, climbing, or skiing in Chamonix.  For instance, I was reminded early on in the novel, about the seracs which collapse, and the avalanches that pour down the gullies around the Red Sentinel on the Italian face of Mont Blanc. What was I thinking in the 1970s when I soloed that route!

Hoping to be back next summer

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1911342452/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=

The Spirit Of UTMB

This essay - from several years ago - catches perfectly all the things that are so special about Chamonix and UTMB week. I suspect Mark and I will not every forget that experience. 

https://www.irunfar.com/2013/08/the-spirit-of-utmb.html

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... from the Greatest Climber In The World

This short story by Bernard Amy, and tells the tale of the exploits of a mysterious climber Tronc Feuillu at an international ENSA meeting in Chamonix. The second part of the story recounts the legend of Chi-Ch'ang and the zen of climbing.

Back Home

Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains of Vermont in the background. As well as Stash and I running out our back pasture on to the 1980 Olympic nordic trails for the first time in two months.

The last leg ...

Two months on the road in Peru, France, Italy, and Switzerland: guiding, hiking, trail running, and climbing. Getting ready to take the Amtrak train from Penn Station to Westport, where Selden will pick me up.

Another semi-rad dilemma

A fun little article ... google it!

UTMB week is in the books!

An amazing week.

The American men bombed, and the American women were incredible ... with Courtney winning the UTMB and two others in the top ten. A great running film festival, and many wonderful workshops.

HOWEVER, I am not sure we had a single American team sign up for the 300k PTL. I want to do the OCC but part of me dreams of putting together at PTL team.