Biathlon practice ...

Early morning shooting drills at the range, as four women (including Lucy getting ready to shoot) prepare for the IBU Cup races in Europe.

Nice easy hike on RASTA trails in Vermont

Nobody out on the trails, good views, and quite windy on sugar tree knob. Oh, and unfortunately, Sandy's Bakery and Bookstore was closed. (This winter it is only open Wednesday to Sunday.)

The Mick Jagger of the Mountains

A brief, but accurate, overview of the life of Dougal Haston.  Not sure if the Mick Jagger part, but he was - as the Adventure Journal pens him - a historical badass, and an instrumental force in the move toward alpine style climbing. Well worth a look.

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2020/12/historical-badass-climber-dougal-haston/

Back in business ...

Enough snow to ski the toll road in the morning, and finish on the tracks on the 3k man-made loop.

The foehn wind ...

Yesterday, before the torrential rains started, we had a great ski on the toll road. The incredibly strong, warm winds were decimating the snow pack, as we were doing laps on the bottom 2k. The picture is of Lucy lapping me for the second time!

A great movie review of SOLVING FOR Z: the calculus of risk

Of course, you should also watch the video. 

https://www.wildsnow.com/28791/solving-for-z-review-and-the-future-of-ski-films/

A beautiful morning ski ...

But rain and unseasonably warm temperatures (in the 50s)
are on the way. I am heading to the toll road ASAP before the crap hits around noon.

Covid’s Impact On Mountain/Ski Towns

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2020/12/ski-towns-and-the-ski-bums-who-staff-them-wonder-if-they-can-survive/

A Lucy biathlon update

NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine (Dec. 21, 2020) -- The U.S. Biathlon International Competition Committee has named 10 athletes and two alternates to the roster for the January IBU Cups and IBU Open European Championships. An additional athlete from each gender will be added to the roster from the IBU World Cup Team prior to the first IBU Cup competition and one more athlete from the World Cup team will join the roster before the start of the IBU Open European Championships.

"In a year where many athletes will experience limited racing opportunities, we are excited to name our biggest IBU Cup Team to date," said U.S. Biathlon Director of Athlete Development Tim Burke. "This team is a good mix of veterans and up-and-comers, and we look forward to watching them build on the success of last year's historic IBU Cup results."

Named to the women's roster were Chloe Levins (Rutland, Vt.), Hallie Grossman (Craftsbury, Vt.), Kelsey Dickinson (Winthrop, Wash.), Lucy Hochschartner (Lake Placid, N.Y.) and Jackie Garso (Lake Clear, N.Y.), with Helen Wilson (Eagle River, Alaska) serving as alternate.

The men's IBU Cup squad consists of Vasek Cervenka (Grand Rapids, Minn.), Raleigh Goessling (Duluth, Minn.), Lars Hammernes Leopold (Truckee, Calif.), Garrett Beckrich (Grand Rapids, Minn.) and Vincent Bonacci (Salt Lake City, Utah). Luke Brown (Saint Paul, Minn.) will serve as alternate.

The first two IBU Cup competitions will be held in Arber, Germany, Jan. 14-17 and Jan. 20-23. The team will then travel to Duszniki Zdroj, Poland, for the IBU Open European Championships taking place Jan. 27-31.

In the picture below, Lucy (#12) gets ready for a regional time trial this past fall in West Yellowstone. Normally, in August and October (on roller skis) as well as November and early December there would have been a series of national trial races to pick World Cup and IBU Cup teams. Because of the pandemic these races were turned into Multiple regional affairs, and a discretionary committee reviewed results as well as athlete national rankings to determine the teams. (Five women were named to the World Cup roster, and six were named to the IBU cup circuit which is akin to the AAA baseball league.)

Fantastic conditions on the 2.5k man-made loop ...

But, really need a big snow dump so we can get into the backcountry!

Another good week ...

Just under 14 hours of exercise with skiing, running, and the ergometer hitting 90k and just over 4500' vertical. The photo is of Stash getting first tracks on the toll road this week.

The tree is up, the lights are on, and tonight we hang ornaments

A good early morning ski ...

Nobody out on the 2.5k man-made loop except the biathletes and a NYSEF time trial. It was quite chilly - 3 degrees - when I started but nearing twenty when I quit.

Skintrack Wisdom

Thanks to Rob Coppolillo and Wildsnow ...

https://www.wildsnow.com/28761/the-five-pillars-of-skin-track-wisdom/#more-28761

Avalanche risk for ice climbers

(http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201215629).

First blast of sub-zero winter cold

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... first trip to Denali

After our 1978 unsuccessful attempts on the Cassin, and then the West Rib; Mark and I grabbed quick showers in Talkeetna, before drinking a great deal of whiskey in the Fairview Inn. Then we headed to the Bay Area to paint a house, and earn enough money for me to take a Greyhound back East. 

Just as it was beginning to look like winter ...

Yuck, warm air moves in and melts all the snow below the 2800 foot level. Moreover, temperatures dropped and will stay low, but we are not going to get much out of the storm that is going to blanket the northeast.

I did manage another good week with 90k (skiing, ergometer, running) and 7000' vertical.

Biking 1000+ miles to ski three gnarly lines

https://www.redbull.com/us-en/the-mountain-why-michelle-parker?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-codytownsend&utm_content=later-12591617&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram

A good day of skiing

In the morning I skied up the toll road with Gary, and in the afternoon I classic skied for an hour over at Mount Van Hoevenberg.

I have just over 20 days on snow, a milestone when I consider myself well acclimated to skiing. However, no real downhill turns yet - uphilling at ski area not allowed until January 3rd - so I am not quite ready for the Grand Traverse yet!

Book Review ... Natural Progression: a lifetime of skiing the world’s greatest ranges

https://www.wildsnow.com/28697/book-review-natural-progression/

Ski mountaineering ... hoping to do the Grand Traverse race

Get psyched by watching the 2020/21 season trailer ...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8bPhqzheLKM

Its been a pretty lame winter thus far ...

But the Whiteface toll road has helped keep Adirondack backcountry skiers sane.

https://www.relive.cc/view/veqzGy8nQ7v

Another good ski up the Whiteface Toll Road



A message for all fossils



You don't stop climbing because you are too old ...

You get old because you stop climbing!

A message for all fossils

You don't stop climbing because you are too old ...

You get old because you stop climbing!

Doug Scott passes away at 79

IT SEEMS LIKE JUST YESTERDAY I WAS INTRODUCING HIM FOR A MOUNTAINFEST SLIDESHOW AT THE KEENE VALLEY SCHOOL  ...

Doug Scott, Leading Alpinist and Survivor of Highest Open Bivy on Everest, Dies at 79 [Read the full obit by Ed Douglas at link in bio]
.
Even in his final illness, Doug Scott was his irrepressible self, hauling himself up the short flight of stairs at his home in Cumbria to raise money for Community Action Nepal (CAN), the non-profit he started in 1989 to help the people of Nepal who had helped him. The stair climbing was part of CAN's Everest Challenge 2020, a way to raise money during lockdown as the regular supply of funds, most often Doug giving public lectures, was no longer possible.
.
Doug had dressed for the occasion in the old wind-suit he wore on the summit of Everest in 1975 during the first ascent of the southwest face. Dougal Haston's picture shows him standing gloveless in the dusk next to the old Chinese tripod, ready for anything. He needed to be. That morning he had left the tent without wearing his down suit because it constricted his movement too much. Under the wind-suit was silk underwear, cashmere and nylon pile. It would soon be dark and their headlamps failed as they abseiled down the Hillary Step. A bivouac was inevitable.
.
Back at the south summit the pair hunkered in a snow cave, the highest anyone had ever spent the night, ill equipped, their oxygen exhausted. As night wore on they began hallucinating. Doug found himself talking to his feet, "which had become two separate, conscious entities sharing our cave." His left foot was complaining that it felt ignored, so he took his boot off and discovered it wooden with cold. He pummeled it back to life and Haston unzipped his down suit to put it against his belly. When dawn allowed them to start down, not only were they still alive, neither man had frostbite. Doug didn't feel lucky: he felt empowered. His horizons had been broadened. "I knew from then on," he wrote in his memoir Up and About, "I would never again burden myself with oxygen bottles."
.
Scott died on the morning of December 7, at 79 years old, following a battle with brain cancer.
.
Read the full obit at the link below.

https://rockandice.com/climbing-news/doug-scott-leading-alpinist-and-survivor-of-highest-open-bivy-on-everest-dies-at-79/?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-rockandicemag&utm_content=later-12545763&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram

A great re-read ... In The Shadow Of Denali

As I had just finished listening to a podcast interview with Jon Waterman, and because I also just finished a book about his mentor, Guy Waterman; I decided it was time to give this volume of stories a re-read.

Well worth putting it on your list for Santa.

Another good week ... focus on skiing.

Skadi, goddess of skiing and the hunt, is appropriate for this week.

Yes there were short jogs, and sessions on the ergometer. But it was the 60k of skiing and almost 7000' vertical that made the week special. From skate skis to my mohair racing classic skis, on to cable bindings and then alpine touring gear ... it was great!

Another toll road tour ...

Skied with Gary for 80 minutes and 1100' vertical. We were on alpine touring gear, the same boots we ice climb in.

The toll road ... old school style

A nice ski up up the toll road on a mild day, with leather boots, cable bindings, and kicker skins. There was however, a pea soup thick fog the entire time, so no views!

BBC interview about Cairngorm mountains, as well as reflections on Hamish MacInnes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08zy61f

FIRN LINE ... another great podcast I found

Lots of good stuff here but I started with an episode entitled: Full Circle with Jon Waterman, which was broadcast in October 2018.

I started here, because once upon a time, for a couple of years, Jon was one of my climbing partners. With him I climbed among other things: Dracula, Cilley-Barber route on Katahdin, Rigid Designator, Tower Ridge, Anoch Eagach, and the North Face of Tour Ronde.

It's a wonderful podcast, as he articulately talks about his books and adventures.

MVH is closed but the skiing is still good

I skied for an hour on a short hilly loop, giving my AT gear a good shakeout. It was snowing pretty hard but it's not going to amount to much.

Legendary climber - Hamish MacInnes - dies at age 90

https://gripped.com/profiles/legendary-climber-dr-hamish-macinnes-dies/

Good week, but not the light recovery week I expected

Last week's volume was 14.5 hours, and 4550' of vertical. Most of this time was running (30k+), skiing (34k), as well as 21k with the ergometer. Finally, two short yoga, and three short strength sessions rounded out the week.

Today, was my tenth day on snow, and I managed a good 95 minute classical ski (1075') before the heavy rain started. The next few days will be yucky, and this week will also be hampered by colonoscopy prep ... but hopefully Friday-Sunday morning might yield some good skiing.

As you can see beyond the biathlon range, some great views are to be had skiing these new MVH tracks.

Another good classic ski

It was a frozen, hard, and fast track early this morning. Too say the least, not the best conditions for my Atomic racing skis with skins. So, I stuck to the gentle terrain until it softened up a bit.

Good early skiing on the 2k man-made loop

Unlike other years, this has challenging terrain for training. 

David Hochschartner (Hock)

Blast From The Past ...

This Instagram photo reminded me of all the great times I have had over the years soaking in the Travertine or Mammoth hot springs after climbing.  Can't wait to get back on the east side of the Sierras. 

First day in tracks on the new MVH trails

It was a blast. They made snow on the roller ski loop, which had some nice downhill corners and good vertical for early season. New World Cup terrain is not open yet.

Mount Van Hoevenberg opens Friday ...

Yahoo! It was great to ski yesterday but it's gone today, so I am excited about the consistency of the man-made loop opening up. Back to running today.

Back on snow again ...

The toll road was actually quite nice, except for a few exposed turns (like this) where the wind blew the snow off. Unfortunately rising temperatures will probably kill it tomorrow.

Drone footage of Cerro Torre set to music



Spectacular, and hard to imagine, it ever gets climbed ... be sure to watch the final scene!

https://vimeo.com/408175270 

Pulling gear out of storage ...

Even though I have five days on snow, I am still not fully prepped and ready to go.

Another good week of training

I logged 15 hours and just over 6100' vertical this week, with a portion of two sessions at a fast (for me) clip. The specifics include: 53k running and skiing, almost 21k rowing, as well as a couple of strength and yoga sessions.

It might be sensible to throw in a recovery week soon.

Pinnacle Gully

It looks like, despite the warm temperatures, the ice in Huntington will survive. The stuff in Cascade lakes has been cascading down, however I believe there will be something climbable in this coming week.

Great podcasts ... the cutting edge

These great interviews and stories are brought to you by the American Alpine Journal. I have only listened to two thus far Pitri and Jeff Wright's year-long climbing sabbatical and Colin Haley's 2018 speed ascent of the Cassin Ridge on Denali ... superb.

https://americanalpineclub.org/cutting-edge-podcast

Rim to rim to rim: a joint venture

Well worth watching, and something I would like to do one day, but I think I would need to overnight on the floor of the canyon. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9hMyVv7ag_E

Another reminder for the upcoming ice climbing season

An important essay passed along by my buddy Gary ...

http://willgadd.com/note-to-self-how-not-to-fall-off-ice-climbing/

Speaking of which, yesterday afternoon we shot the breeze for an hour at my cabin, with a bottle of hooch. 

Wild Snow ... troubleshooting your tech bindings

https://www.wildsnow.com/28549/diy-tech-binding-inspection-part-ii/