Yesterday Mount Van Hoevenberg was closed

They spent the day clearing trails and getting the place ready for the upcoming holidays and races. However, I suspected their ordered priorities would be: stadium, competition trails, 1980 Olympic cross country trails, and lastly, the 1980 biathlon trails.

I assumed (correctly) that the biathlon trails would not be worked on, so that if I went for a ski tour I would not impede their work efforts. So, Stash and I did a loop in our back pasture and a good out and back 5k.

I imagine, it will be safe for me to ski there, today as well.

Thousands of dinosaur footprints discovered in the Dolomites

https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/environment/thousands-dinosaur-footprints-discovered-italy-stelvio-national-park.html

Sunrise on Street and Nye



Ugh … rain and very high winds

Thankfully, by early this afternoon temperatures will start to drop, and the precipitation will turn to snow. No doubt we will still be able to ski, however tree limbs will be down, and extensive re-grooming will be needed.

This afternoon, I may hike out our pasture and ski on the 1980 biathlon trails to examine the conditions.

The lights are on



Selden modeling the latest fashions!

The art of the skin track

https://www.patagonia.com/stories/sports/snow/art-of-the-skintrack/story-157595.html?utm_source=em&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=121325_backcountry_touring_men&utm_klaviyo_id=01GQMSY133HGKT7KSCB0CMAK2H&_kx=VOA8zu5fg4rURwSosHy2WlWapQ1Ue6IQgCg0iNyBd8g.YgU9me

Backyard vertical ultras are becoming the rage

Maybe next year for me …

https://northeastexplorer.com/ascutney-vertical-backyard/

VONN at 41 back on the podium again



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgoWtkeyWOc

A good week and excellent skiing

The good early winter continues in the east. This week I logged over 15 hours, on 151k (107k bike, 24k ski, 14k row, 6k run), with almost 3000'. I also did two mornings of alpine skiing, and one good strength workout.

Two American men in the sprint finals at Davos

A rare moment indeed!  Jack young and Ben Ogden finished fourth and fifth.

Excellent NYT expose about the 1960s CIA caper in the Himalayas

I remember reading the 1978 Outside magazine, and saying "HOLY SHIT."  Over the years, I read all of the books cited, as well as all that was written over the years, in the climbing community.  I always assumed a block-buster novel or a big budget Hollywood film would build on this story line. 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/13/world/asia/cia-nuclear-device-himalayas-nanda-devi.html

Brrrr … riding lifts yesterday morning at Whiteface

Sweat Science Holiday Gifts

https://www.outsideonline.com/health/wellness/2025-sweat-science-holiday-book-list/

The PDG … one of skimo’s premier long course events

This started as a military patrol race in the 1930s between alpine troops.  It was revived after World War II, and eventually became one of the premier skimo long course events for teams of recreational skiers. It is held every other year at the end of April, and alternates with the Mezzalama.  

This has been on my "bucket list" but seems out of reach, until my next reincarnation.  However, I do think I could manage the abbreviated version - Zermatt to Arolla - with the right partners. 

https://journal.alpsandmeters.com/journal/2025/4/22/guardians-of-the-glacier-the-legacy-of-the-patrouille-des-glaciers

Hard Climbing in Cordillera Huayhuash

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rzlLT-je9jg

Post knee gel injections … felt good!

I logged 15.5 hours, on 134k (93k bike, 30k ski, 7k run, and 4k row), with just under 3000' vertical gain. I also managed 3 stretching sessions, two afternoons alpine skiing, and one good strength workout. Pretty good stats, given that I had to take two days off after the injections.

The skiing is terrific for the first week in December.

On Friday I did a nanospike morning warmup with Stash

We had snow flurries all day, which filled in the classic tracks in the morning, but yielded a couple of inches of powder, by the time I was riding lifts in the afternoon. However, the temperature was dropping quickly, and by the time the lift closed it was single digits. As a previous post showed, it dropped well below freezing.

Fantastic sunset ski

The tracks were a bit scruffy in places, but quite nice for early December, and the views were spectacular.

It looks and feels like winter!

Yesterday morning was a brilliant ski outing!

Doesn't get much better than this: some good tracks, bluebird sky, 21 degrees, and they continue to make tons of snow.

Day #20 on snow, was also my first day riding lifts for 90 minutes

Well, my doctor says that 48 hours after my knee injections - tomorrow morning - I can resume full training load … yahoo!  I was skiing at the Bear Den - beginner area - at Whiteface, the picture below is of the rocky knob known as Bear's Den.

Der Berg Ruft (1938) - The Mountain Calls …full length video

It's in German, but the story of the attempt to climb the Matterhorn is so well known you get the gist.  The story covers the race to the top to claim the mountain as Italian or Swiss - of course it's on the border - but it's more frequently thought of as a Swiss mountain, since the first ascent was from that side.  This is a classic in the German Bergfilm tradition which started after WWI. 

https://www.facebook.com/austriangermangourmettruck/videos/der-berg-ruft-1938-the-mountain-calls/531386134232112/

Heading back to Zermatt in March

Yahoo … looking forward to another great adventure with Lenny.

The mid-week rainstorm was a bit of a bummer, however cold, snowy weather will dominate this week.

Last week I logged over 14 hours, on 154k (113k bike, 22k ski, 14k row, and 5k run), with almost 2600'. I also managed one stretching session, BUT no strength workouts.