Ice is forming in the ravines

I wouldn't be surprised if somebody scratches up one of the gullies this weekend.

Finally starting to feel like Winter is coming

Fantastic Ski Video ... NORTH COUNTRY ... the oldest ski shop in America

https://mountaingazette.com/blogs/mountain-notes/watch-north-country?utm_campaign=Soul%20of%20Skiing%20%28UTKLYV%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Be%20The%20First%20To%20Learn&_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJkYXZlaG9jazUyQGdtYWlsLmNvbSIsICJrbF9jb21wYW55X2lkIjogIldRZ0E5QyJ9

The WURL ... get psyched for ski mountaineering

This classic ultra-run/scramble gets its first winter ascent.

http://tv.salomon.com/story/the-wurl

Make your plan to vote

Join the record numbers who have voted early. And as the tag sewn into my new Patagonia stand-up shorts says ... vote the assholes out!

Wish I were in Bozeman ...

My daughter, and the Crosscut Team are logging on-snow kilometers.

Post mortem on big effort

On a day with really challenging conditions above 2700' Charlie got all the Saranac Sixers. I bagged the two longest and hardest peaks with him, then brutal knee pain - despite big gulps of Tylenol and ibuprofen - caused me to pull the plug. I started up the next two peaks but in each case, after a couple of kilometers, I threw in the towel.

Despite the disappointment, it was my biggest day, since the ultra last November. It certainly was a worthwhile training day, as I look forward to the Canadian ski marathon and the Grand Traverse, later in the winter. (Given trail conditions, and the fact that I might not have been completely recovered from the recent virtual half marathon; it was probably overly ambitious.) It does confirm what I had surmised eleven months ago though ... that 50k under ideal conditions was the absolute maximum I could expect to accomplish in a trail run.

The totals for Friday's big effort include: 20+ miles, 4500' gain, and just under 9 hours on the trail.

OFELAS ... Pathfinder a movie from 1987

Get ready for ski season, with some authentic skiing from Lapland, and a recreation of various nomadic legends, in this movie which was nominated for an academy award for Best Foreign Film.

The film was written and directed by Nils Gaup, who based the story on a Sami legend with variants in a number of Scandinavian folklores.  Gaup said he heard the story from his grandfather, who was in turn told the story by a traditional storyteller.^[3] Gaup wove the story around the core of the legend, and introduced details such as shamanic initiation rite and a romantic element with the character Sahve. The film was set in the pre-Christian era in the region depicting the worldview of the Sami people.

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

Not a great prediction for skiing or ice climbing

Just like the mugs says ... ALPINE STARTS

Heading to the Ampersand trailhead at 3:30am.

Greenlight for the Saranac Sixers

Tomorrow morning at 3 am, I'll be sipping my earl grey tea, and getting ready for a long day ... 33 miles and 8500'

World War I on the Italian-Austrian border

http://www.skintrack.com/general-news-articles/gran-zebru-forgotten-military-hut/?fbclid=IwAR0eaMZOImWAlUNMu7RZceFPjps2_imapqMa_32pXbk_VmUg9vqD_jk5nCU

Skiing the Presidential Range

Starting to make my plans for skiing next spring in the White Mountains of New Hampshire ... keeping fingers crossed that we will not have to see another Covid closure.  Hoping also, to take advantage of the new guidebook and ski some less popular, out of the way gems. 

https://www.wildsnow.com/28462/beyond-tuckerman-presidential-skiing-qa/#more-28462

Mummery’s book: My Climbs In The Alps And Caucasus



So far I have finished the first two chapters of this classic ... available for free on Google Books.

First day on snow in Bozeman

Lucy and the Crosscut Team were out on their rock skis today.

Rusty Piton ... finally found a bottle

The corn whiskey is pretty raw, but it's a great bottle to keep my bourbon and single malt in.

Beautiful day for a run ...

But, I expected some snow, and had rock skis ready to go for the Toll Road. Weather patterns shifted, and Vermont got the snow.

The pandemic and the mountain town

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/17/opinion/covid-19-winter.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Contributors

Thoughtful, philosophical, and well written, take a minute to read this op-ed.

With ski season approaching ... ain’t this the truth!

Three excellent time trials

Last week was a big volume week, with the elite teams from Sun Valley Ski Foundation, Bridger Ski Foundation, and Crosscut Mountain all doing training camps at Soldier Hollow, the site of the 2002 Olympics. They were often joined in their workouts by skiers from the D-1 University of Utah program. 

Lucy was the only athlete to ski in three of four time trials, as she did a straight cross country race, as well as two biathlon time trials. All three races were excellent, with her finishing second in both biathlon races, behind 2018 Olympian Joanna Reid. She was also the only biathlete - male or female - to clean all of her targets in one of the races. 

Her training seems on track, even though she is juggling a demanding job with the Montana Democratic Party, during this critically important election cycle. 

Kitty Calhoun and Thalay Sagar

https://www.patagonia.com/stories/paths-through-the-uncertainty/story-92056.html?utm_campaign=f20_content&utm_content=through_uncertainty&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram

So, when will my first day on snow be this Fall 2020?

This is my post from last year ...

Scouting for mountain bike terrain

Some great gravel roads around Ripton and Breadloaf. I also hiked up Middlebury Snow Bowl.

Climbing in the Canyonlands and a video poem

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9LtmSaG5K8I

Hard new route on Mount Robson

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web20f/newswire-running-in-shadows-fa-mt-robson

Extract from the soon to be released ... The Ski Guide Manual


https://www.wildsnow.com/28355/developing-a-terrain-use-mindset-say-what/#more-28355

Running my first virtual race

Actually I just did this 21k race for the T-shirt, as a momento of the "Covid pandemic and the year without races." Nevertheless, it was a good workout. I ran it at my 50k race pace, and threw in 4x1k intervals much faster on the long uphills. 

A Bit Of History ...

This pass on the backside of Pitchoff saw slaves fleeing north on the Underground Railroad, rum-runners heading south during prohibition, and in the winter these days, backcountry skiers or ice climbers, plying their trade.

Adirondack Sunset

Upcoming virtual outdoor adventure film festivals

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web20f/newswire-virtual-online-film-fests-october-2020

An extract from Bernadette McDonald’s Winter 8000

http://footlesscrow.blogspot.com/2020/07/bernadette-mcdonalds-winter-8000extract.html

Another foliage jog

On the new and old Olympic nordic trails ...

https://www.relive.cc/view/vXOdB1kJD4q

Logging some good vertical

Strava says since January 1st, that I have logged 171,300'.