First ice climbing laps of the season …

David Hochschartner (Hock)

Outside Magazine article: Disaster In The Alps



https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/snow-sports/chamonix-zermatt-alps-haute-route-disaster/?utm_source=outside&utm_medium=instagram&utm_campaign=instagram&utm_content=later-23334601

Christmas Week Workouts

Given the upcoming holidays, exercise shared prime time with last minute shopping, wrapping, hanging lights and ornaments, holiday movies, and cleaning the house. So, volume, vertical, and kilometers were not overly impressive, BUT still keeps me on track to do the 90k Canadian Ski Marathon.  I logged 15+ hours, 4150' vertical, and 135k (67k exercise bike, 60k ski, 8k run).

POWDER DAYS … an engaging book

One part ski history, one part autobiography, one part sociology, one part environmental, and always well written. Read the Wall Street Journal book review.

 https://www.wsj.com/articles/powder-days-book-review-ski-bum-memoir-a-view-from-the-top-11637347919

Skimo World Cup Coverage

Wild Snow has a season long column from 19 year-old American ultra runner and skimo racer, Grace Staberg. Last week, she started her season off with a bang: got to the semifinals in the sprint, won the vertical, and finished second in the longer individual event. All of the World Cup races will be televised, you can find commentary all winter long on Wild Snow, and Grace has an enjoyable podcast (Alpine Start) which usually comes out every Thursday. 

https://www.wildsnow.com/30375/ismf-adamello-world-cup-ponte-di-legno-italy/#more-30375

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Well, as usual for our family there were many, many books under the tree. Also of course, there were all sorts of athletic clothing, and for me several fruitcakes!  The only sad part, is the winter storm advisory has been mostly drizzle thus far. 

Sisters Of Skimo … great short video

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NVoOzFsdYC0

Climate change and the impact on Rebuffat’s 100 Finest Route

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15230430.2019.1612216?scroll=top&needAccess=true

Transition from skins to skiing?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=124&v=FsCNct6Vqe4&feature=emb_title

A winter solstice sunset

The view of Street and Nye out our back pasture. 

A short skimo video

https://youtu.be/AxRR122ZcR8

Climate change and its impact on skiing

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/14/travel/global-warming-ski-resort.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Travel

Spectacular ski video … a traverse from the Bugaboos to Roger’s Pass

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FvApou1Ln8Q&feature=youtu.be

Climbing skin maintenance … from Wild Snow

https://www.wildsnow.com/30335/resources-for-climbing-skin-wellness/

Oh, the things you can do when you are retired …

Not quite as big a deal has driving to Bozeman to watch NCAA nordic championships, but yesterday I jumped in the car for a seven hour round-trip to watch a 45 minute biathlon race. Lucy out-skied the winner, but she was only so-so on the range, and thus she finished fifth. Two more races to go in the series, however at the moment, she is on the bubble for an invitation to the European Championships. 

 

10th Mountain Division … a conversation with historian Maurice Isserman

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Zchm8UDo8&feature=emb_rel_end

After the thaw, bare ground everywhere

Thankfully, night-time temperatures have slipped into the 20s, and Mount Van Hoevenberg has a great 4K loop.  Yesterday, I was out on skimo race gear, doing hilly 1.5k laps, and dialing in transitions. 

Uphill Athlete … yoga for recovery

Now that I am logging ski hours - with early season drive time to snow - I have stopped yoga, as well as tai chi.  I need to get back to those activities for overall body maintenance.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=94&v=izM9V0PFnvo&feature=emb_title

Halfway through TRAVERSE OF THE GODS … quite engaging

Take a look at the Kirkus review, and if you are interested, borrow it online from the internet archive.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/bob-langley/traverse-of-the-gods/

On the road again …

Camping out in the Hockmobile and getting ready to watch Lucy race at Craftsbury.

Andy Tuthill … another old fossil still throwing it down at the crag

He was just a casual acquaintance the year I was the caretaker in Huntington Ravine, who my buddy Mike Brochu introduced me to. He was climbing well out of my range, but we were well matched for some mega- ski tours.

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2021/12/the-old-timers-of-new-hampshires-rumney-rocks-climbing-scene/

Snowpack on our cow pasture didn’t survive rain and thaw …

But the man-made loop, and 1980 trails are still well covered, and skiable. We have had flurries - off and on - for the past 36 hours, so things look a lot more seasonable now.

Wax bench …

I have made a promise to myself that this season I will glide wax ski more frequently.

I can’t even remember the last time I slept in a snow shelter

I have put it on my bucket list for this year!

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2021/12/heres-how-to-build-the-coziest-of-snow-shelters/

Movie review … 14 PEAKS: nothing is impossible

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/01/movies/14-peaks-nothing-is-impossible-review.html

Holiday book list for sweat science

https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/sweat-science-holiday-book-list-2021/

Another good week of training

I logged 16 hours, 4000' vertical, and 154k (91k exercise bike, 56k skiing, and 7k running).  The snowpack survived Friday's rain, and hopefully it will make it through the rain tomorrow. 

Is Grace Staberg our best hope for a 2026 Olympic skimo medal?

Too soon to tell, but this 19 year old gal is making the ultra running and skimo world take notice. 

https://www.wildsnow.com/30287/before-the-races-begin-the-calm-before-the-skimo-storm/

Whiteface toll road … ice, sastrugi, and even some powder

Beautiful day skiing up the toll road, however in places the wind was brutal, and the windchill was well below zero. 

Incredible footage of skiing in the Alps

Four fantastic minutes … the pandemic has shut down all the lifts in Chamonix, so it's old school, if you want to ski it you have to get yourself up there. Wow … the places Sam Favret gets to!

https://vimeo.com/samfavret/flow-samfavret 

A CLASSIC: The Last Of The Ski Bums

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N9uuMzVS3EE&feature=emb_title

Piolet d’Or award discussion

As you know, increasingly climbing and mountaineering have become topics covered by mainstream press, like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.  Personally, I believe there has always been a cutting edge of alpinists interested in pushing the envelope. However, I can well imagine, that with more alpinists being sponsored professionals, it may be that the pressure to push the envelope is more intense than in past decades. 

Well worth reading. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/29/sports/piolet-dor-climbing.html

First (only?) ski descent of Denali’s South Face

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

A good week of skiing …

Both on the toll road and MVH trails. Almost the 50k has been rolled, and much of it is skiable.

Tenth day on snow …

A short ski at MVH, and a sunset cruise on the Whiteface toll road.  Most of my skiing thus far has been on AT gear, and not very technical, although I have logged a bunch of vertical. 

Dick Durrance was a badass skier …

And his older brother was an early, and key figure in the history of American climbing. 

  

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2021/11/historical-badass-skier-dick-durrance/

David Hochschartner (Hock)

How fast can you do a vertical kilometer?

VK races and time trials, usually cover a 1000 meters vertical gain in under 5 kilometers of distance. A short four minute video with spectacular footage as Kilian chases a PR and a "world record." (However, as each route is different you can't really come up with anything more than a course record.)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_T0UXjuEpV0&feature=youtu.be

The Nordic World Cup Season Is About To Start

For more information about how to view the following events, use the link enclosed below:

https://fasterskier.com/2021/11/how-to-watch-the-2021-22-fis-cross-country-and-ibu-biathlon-world-cups/

The nordic season is almost here!

The Pisten Bully is moving a ton of man-made snow around, and it looks like Miunt Van Hoevenberg will open any day now. The three day mini-tour in Ruka kicks off the cross country World Cup on Friday; World Cup and biathlon IBU Cup begin on Friday as well. 

The ski season has started …

I have had six good days on snow thus far.  It was also a good week of training and transition to a new season, with 16.5 hours and just over 8200' vertical (almost all of it on snow). 

On a different note, I found this awesome website - Fit To Play - compliments of Norwegian Sport Science and Oslo Sports Trauma Center. A great (three tiered) resource for injury prevention exercises. I plan to do use these sport specific exercises  at least once a week; today I used the introductory level shoulder and knee exercises. 

https://fittoplay.org/

Only in Europe can you get a graphic novel about skimo racing published!

A wonderful book for that middle-schooler looking to get involved in skimo racing.  The setting is the famous Patrouille des Glaciers (PDG) in Switzerland. 

The Haute Route In A Day!

My theme this week, has been all things skimo. Watch this trailer, and come join us at the NCS theater (WallyPAC) on the evening of December 4th, for the annual Mountaineer ski season kick-off.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UR_ZR22SHRo 

Day 4 of my ski season

Yesterday I had another two hour workout on the Whiteface toll road, and conditions were quite good. Unfortunately today we have rain and temps into the low 50s.

Tonight temperatures drop, and will be more seasonable through Thanksgiving. So, I anticipate a return to snow - MVH and or toll road - quite soon.

Info graphic outlining skimo race gear parameters

A skimo day in lyngen, norway …

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YEwWB2RlGG8

Physiology of ski mountaineering

https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/ski-mountaineering-physiology-research/

Another good week of training

The volume was good, with 17 hours and just under 6000' vertical.  No real strength or intensity training, just easy aerobic base building … and of course skiing!

First day on snow

This may be the latest I have gotten on snow in my 35+ years living in Lake Placid.  That said - despite the 2k hike to get to the snow - it was a great outing on the Whiteface toll road.  Nice weather, some used superlight skimo gear, and not too much wind, means there was a big smile on my face. 

Hoping for some more snow tonight, so we can ski bottom to top. 

Reconnaissance for snow

A sunset hike up the toll road for 2.5k, with full skimo kit. Obviously, not ready for prime time, however I am heading out the door this morning to see how much additional snow they got. 

THE ALPINIST … rent this movie

Amazon, and a couple of other streaming providers, have this amazing video for rent.  While it was released in big city and college town theaters on September 10th, it never came to Lake Placid. However, I rented it on Thursday and it was gripping … soloing onsight huge alpine routes!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gvxiSP2Q-Zo