Survival Skills

Lucy and a friend take advantage of the major snowstorm to fashion an igloo out of the dense snowpack. Lucy has been studying the Inuit and so is putting her learning to good use.

Oldest Ski Mountaineering Race in the World

The Trofeo Mezzalama is held each year between mid-April and early May in the Monte Rosa area. Click on this link to access a short video about the 2009 race. I mention this because, after we complete the Haute Route in March 2011, maybe we should take our heightened fitness levels and enter one of the many popular ski mountaineering team races! This race has a total elevation gain during the event is 9,389’, with descent totaling 10,318’, across 27 miles of horizontal distance reaching a maximum altitude of 13,864’.

Kudos to Brian

On Saturday, April 17 High Peaks Cyclery will sponsor an area premier of "North Face" at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. This movie has played to good reviews in several large cities. The movie is set in pre-World War II Germany, and while it is fictional, it closely follows much of the early climbing history on the north face of the Eiger. Click on the text to read a recent review.

Skimeister video

This is a short video from last week's traditional NCS skimeister event. Enjoy.

More About Steve House Solo

Click on this text to read Alpinist's coverage of his recent solo ascent of the two classic New Hampshire test pieces ... Repentence and Remission.

Thirty Years Ago in Lake Placid

In one of the most memorable nordic races ever Juha Mieto, the Finnish giant is beaten by Sweden's Thomas Wassberg by one-hundredth of a second in the 1980 15K race. Click on the text to watch archival footage of this amazing race. This race had the closest margin of victory ever in Olympic in cross-country skiing and it led the International Ski Federation (FIS) to round all of their times to the nearest 1/10th second in future competitions.

Empire State Biathlon Championships

Lucy and I skied out on the course to watch the race as it unfolded, it was great to see four of the up-and-coming biathletes from the US Team skiing and shooting. As well as Duncan Douglas - a two time Olympian - who I used to train with in the 1980s.

Lightweight and essential

Matt and Larry turned me on to this tiny, but important piece of gear. This mini ascender should just be clipped to the back of your harness for when you inadvertently get swallowed by a crevasse or when you need to set up a pulley system to rescue a buddy. Click on this text to access information about how to use this superb piece of equipment.

NCS Skimeister

In a nod to the historical nature of skiing competitions, every year since I came to NCS we have had a friendly four-event competition. The goal is participation, and to have students become aware that there was a time when athletes did all the skiing events on one set of gear ... slalom, downhill, jumping, and cross country ... and the real deal was the person that excelled in all of them. So, yesterday all our students were out competing in nordic, biathlon, slalom, and freestyle jumps. The picture is shows me in the capacity of Chief of Course for the biathlon event.

Lamb Chops

Calling all Fossils, please put the third week of next December on your calendar ... ice climbing in the Adirondacks, single malt at the cabin, and fresh lamb on the table!

NCS: alpine skiing on our hill

On most any winter day from 3-4:30 our students are out skiing on the hill ... alpine skis, snowboards, tele-gear, and occasionally nordic racing skis are the order of the day. This two minute video, set to some jazz from the "Big Band Era" captures the ambience of an average day ... riding the 1950s rope tow, building jumps, launching off jumps, and perfecting your telemark turn. I filmed this in between laps up - and down - the hill on my ski mountaineering gear.

Enjoy.

Quote of the Week

As the Olympics capture our attention - justifiably with the amazing skill and technical levels - it is important to remember Hemingway's quote:

THERE ARE ONLY THREE REAL SPORTS: BULL-FIGHTING, CAR RACING, AND MOUNTAIN CLIMBING. ALL THE OTHERS ARE MERE GAMES.

I am up at 3:45 AM tomorrow, for an alpine day trip to Boston, New hampshire, and back to the Adirondacks. As I drift off to sleep my mind is wandering to the West face of Leaning Tower.

Team Ethiopia!

Robel - the nordic skier - carrying the flag, his two younger brothers (Yoseph and Benyam), as well as an uncle parade into the stadium at the opening of the 21st Winter olympics. Selden and I were houseparents to Robel and Benyam, and Yoseph was on my faculty a couple of years ago. Good luck in the 15K skate race on Monday.

My Nordic Hero

Most of the new generation of hot nordic skiers have forgotten or never heard of Bill Koch. If they have heard of him, it is just because when they were little - 5 to 13 years old - they probably skied in the Bill Koch League program. Nevertheless, he is still the only American every to win a nordic medal in the Olympics (1976). (We hope that part changes in the next several weeks.) He also was the only American to win the year-long World Cup title in 1982. He was a role model, inspiration, and of course, fellow racer that left me (and most others) in the dust. My most vivid memory of him was in the 1982 National 50K Championship race that was held on an intensely hilly 10K loop in central Vermont. The US Ski Team had flown him back from Europe to use this as a training day. The coaches were stationed 1K apart all around the loop, and they would tell him to go fast for a couple of kilometers, then back off and cruise for a few more kilometers, he was in totally casual mode ... the nearest US Ski teamer was 15-20 minutes back! During the race he passed me on a tight, technical, very steep, and incredibly icy downhill. Everyone that I saw was snowplowing the hill - including yours truly - Koch on the other hand passed me in a deep tuck. He was truly that good! Click on this text to access a link to an article that reviews the recently passed Olympics.

Carrying The Flag

As you tune in tonight, Robel Teklamariam for the second Olympics in a row will be carrying in the Ethiopian flag. He is an NCS graduate, from the class of 1989. Selden and I were his dorm parents in Woods House when he was a sixth grader and his mother - who was working for the United Nations - was assigned to North Korea. Click on this text to access a link to a New York Times interview filmed for the 2006 Olympics in Torino. (The video shows Robel skiing in Colorado, a short interview with Hock, and some pictures of him when he as a 12 year-old at North Country School.)

News Flash

Yesterday Steve House soloed the two New Hampshire testpieces - Repentence and Remission - on Cathedral Ledge. These fierce NEI V routes from the 1970s are still considered very serious even with today's improved gear. It is thought that Remission has never been soloed.

Whiteface Day

Today was our traditional day of the week to spend the afternoon skiing at Whiteface. It was a spectacular day, with cobalt blue skies and moderate temperatures. We had the mountain to ourselves. Often I am too busy to get out of the office, but today I could not resist. This short video captures our students gearing up, assembling for lessons, and then checking in at 3:45 to get the much needed homemade cookies. It was a fantastic day, and the first telemarking of the season for me.

Documentary about Messner

Click on this test to access a documentary produced by Outside magazine about Messner and his Himalayan exploits. There is fantastic footage from Everest. Clearly this is a guy who walks the walk and talks the talk ... Keeping his "courage in your rucksack," or trying the "murder of the impossible," in the mountains were never his style, it was always "by fair means."

Finally from Mountain #15, I'll quote the final sentences of his famous article, "The Murder of the Impossible" ...

Put on your boots and get going. If you've got a companion, take a rope with you and a couple of pitons for your belays, but nothing else. I'm already on my way, ready for anything - even for retreat, if I meet the impossible. I'm not going to be killing any dragons, but if anyone wants to come with me, we'll go to the top together on the routes we can do without branding ourselves murderers.

Quote of the Week

Now that my students have successfully completed the loppet, I will probably turn my attention - and theirs - to some touring. The Adirondacks in general, and our campus in particular, have some great backcountry tours. Then too, I hope to do some tours in the Sierras come mid-March. With that in mind I was re-reading, Lou Dawson's 'Wild Snow."

The enclosed quote is by Sir Arnold Lunn, the father of British skiing, and the originator of modern ski racing:

GUIDEBOOKS MERELY DESCRIBE THE SKELETON, LEAVING THE MEMORY TO CLOTHE IT WITH ROMANCE.

A Great Event

The 2010 Lake Placid loppet was held on a beautiful day, and a course that was well groomed and quite fast. It was a relatively casual day for me, as my job was to hit the wax (easy to do when its green and blue conditions), and to pace Alex our lead skier for the first 20K, before I put the pedal to the medal. All our kids - including daughter Lucy who was our youngest loppet racer ever - hit their target time goals, and they all took home some hardware, as did some of my staff. As always this is a big accomplishment for middle-schoolers ... 25K with over 1800' of climbing! I skied a 2:19, while our four skiers logged in between 2:25 and 2:59.

Loppets, Loppets, Everywhere

I showed this short video to the NCS students to get them psyched for staffing the feeding stations this weekend at the Lake Placid Loppet. I wanted the students to see that in snowy climates all over the world, people are doing these long distance nordic races, and that often they have great historical significance as the picture of Prince Hakon and the birkebeiners alludes to. The video includes some great shots of not only the Lake Placid loppet which is held on the 1980 Olympic course, but also shots of the Engadine Skimarathon and the Vasaloppet in Sweden.

Not Your Everyday After School Program

Larry took his class up to the crag to work out on the thin and very steep drips, with a bit of dry-tooling thrown in for good measure. This is incredibly hard stuff for 9th graders to be hanging on to, probably weighing in at M6. I would love to get some fossils up to the Adirondacks for one last winter outing. The ice is nice and the skiing is quite good. As always click on the photos to enlarge the images.

Nordwand ... the movie

Last night the "North face: a true story," opened in Manhattan and other select cities around the country. This 2008 German film, with English sub-titles, is getting its American release, to good reviews. The consensus is that all the climbing (true parts) of the story are superb- riveting even - but that the fictional love story and Nazis drama portions of the movie are much less successful. This is the story of one of the ill-fated early attempts on the North face of the Eiger. Click on this text to access the New York Times review.

I think my time has passed, however if there is one alpine route I dream of, this is it!

Loppet Training

I took my students out for a two hour ski on very hilly terrain. This teaching video, cuts in images from the current U-23 World Championships, along with footage from our skiing on the Ladies Five and the East Mountain Loop. The major take-aways are keep your hips forward, aggressive foot drive, and concentrate on weight transfer directly under your hips. Their technique was spotty at the end of the session when we were videotaping, but my kids seem ready!

Last Training Weekend

This is the last chance for my students to get some mileage under their belts for next weekend's 25K loppet. The temperature is currently -21 degrees, and everyone is doing a waxing clinic until it warms up and then we will ski a 15K workout. I am a little concerned as this is the youngest group I have ever taken to this race. (Including my daughter Lucy who at 12 is theyoungest in the group of four student skiers.)

I have enclosed an image of the famous oil painting depicting the two burly birkebeiner dudes as they ski Prince Hakon to safety over the mountain in 1206 A.D. All "loppets" and long distance ski marathons take their inspiration from the grand-daddy of them all, the 55K Norwegian Birkebeiner held in March. To this day, each of the 15,000 participants must ski with 12 pound pack which symbolizes the infant prince.

Interview: Messner the alpine god!

Click on this text to read a recent interview with Messner ... he soloed the North face of Droites, he climbed the North fce of the Eiger in 10 hours, he did an alpine style ascent of Hidden Peak, he soloed Everest without oxygen, and he was the first man to climb all fourteen 8000 meter peaks.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... I want to solve a climbing problem in the mountains, not in the sporting goods store.

Reinhold Messner

Video: Herringbone Technique

This short video includes footage from the 1930s, a 10K race in 2008 held at Rumford Maine, and a short session on the NCS trails with my young racers.

Alaskan Routes

So many routes and so little time. The picture is of "Ham and Eggs" on Moose's Tooth, an ultra-classic that I would love to do. Then too, there is the West Ridge of Hunter, the Messner Couloir or the Cassin Ridge of Denali, and a whole host of moderate peaks near the Kahlitna "landing strip." Click on this text to access the link to an overview of SuperTopo routes, a great overview of what Fossils might still do with 10-14 days in Alaska.

Video: how to make your own skis

Click on the text to access a video on how to make your own backcountry skis. I found this video while reading an article on "Off Piste" about boutique skis

The Stonemasters

Click on the picture to enlarge of the photo of Bachar and Kauk soloing Reed's Pinnacle Direct. Know that Mark and I were sitting on the top belay, having just done this two pitch test piece, when both of these guys came soloing up. (We got the impression that this was a common warm-up for them; totally casual as you might say in 1970s parlance.) Click on this text to access a short slideshow, evocative of the 1970s Yosemite scene, played to a medley of Hendrix. I am intrigued enough that I might shell out $60 for a copy of the book. Few memories are as good as Fall in the Valley during the late 1970s.

Patagonia Solo

Click on this link to access a fantastic video - shot from a helmet cam - of Colin Haley's solo of Guillaumet. He snagged this summit, by squeezing in this route in between horrendous bouts of bad weather.

Fossil Ice Climbing

Gary and his buddy John are up from the Berkshires. They stayed in the Fossil Cabin last evening and went to see Steve House's slideshow in Keene Valley. This is an important work weekend for me, board prep, chatting with visiting parents, and doing a bit of work with the Treetops planning summit. However, I was able to join the Fossils for their warmup laps in Cascade Pass, after which they were headed to "Sisters."

Video: more double poling

Yesterday morning Lucy and I went over to the Olympic trails to watch St. Lawrence University host the Eastern College ski circuit. We watched the women's 5K classic race, which was held in very challenging waxing conditions (alternating rain, sleet, and snow). The Dartmouth women cleaned up, taking places #1-#5. Later in the day, my youngest NCS nordic racers were out on our trails - with their waxless skis - working on their double poling. Thanks to all the collegiate racers who made this training video possible. (The background music is from the Nutcracker.)

Video: NCS avalanche forecasting

One of the eagerly awaited units for our students, is the 8th grade snow physics science unit. Larry spends a great deal of time out with the students talking about snow crystal classification, distinctive layers in the snowpack, ET and destructive metamorphism, as well as the "how to" of backcountry travel and avalanche safety. This short video covers the topic of how to do a shovel test to identify weak layers that might fail in the snowpack.

Quote of the Week

When you really examine the types of things that Fossils have done in the name of "vacation," and "fun" over the years, it seems almost absurd ... bivouacs in Palisade boulder fields, 16 days storm-bound in a tent on Denali, subsisting on gasoline soaked fruitcake, or even something mundane, like freezing your butt off on an ice climb or losing the ends of the rope. You do begin to doubt our sanity, as well as the sanity of all mountaineers.

And so, it makes perfect sense that H. W. Tilman, looking for a crew to man his boat, which was going to sail off on a climbing trip to climb uncharted peaks, would place the following ad in the London Times newspaper:

NO PAY, NO PROSPECTS, AND NOT MUCH PLEASURE.

Video: NCS nordic ski team

After a quick 24 hour trip to Manhattan, I made it back to campus just in time to take part in the cross country ski team practice. I took a small sub-set of the team to ski the east Mountain loop, and this 40 second video (which includes Lucy) focuses on the famous herringbone hill. During the 1980 Olympics it was nicknamed "Russia Hill," many year ago it was renamed "Harry's Hill in honor of our former NCS headmaster (and winter mountaineer extraordinaire) Harry Eldridge. Enjoy.

Blast From The Past

Twenty years ago - as my nordic racing career was winding down - I was still coaching and guiding for the US Disabled Ski Team. Having missed out on the demonstration event at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, Joe Raineri was still hoping to medal in the 1991 World Championships. As one of our training races I guided Joe on the 25K Lake Placid Loppet course, an Olympic profile course with over 1800' of climbing. The quality of this two minute video is moderate as I recorded it off an old VHS tape of the TV coverage ... nevertheless you get a clear idea of what a great guy I am!

NCS Nordic Team Practice

Conditions were fantastic and the temperatures were moderate for a change. There were only two skiers today as the older racers were working on secondary school applications, so I had my daughter Lucy, her friend Hannah, and Liz one of our other coaches out on the Olympic trails. We started off practice with some technique work - double pole kick - something these young ("I just want to skate") types rarely use. Enjoy this 90 second video, set to some 1940s jazz.

Fantastic Skiing

The campus nordic trails, as well as the 1980 Olympic trails across the street are in spectacular condition. I have been getting out regularly, including an 80 minute ski yesterday, which included two laps of the Porter Mountain loops. Also, as you can see, our alpine area - rope tow powered by a 1959 Ford engine - still has deep pockets of powder in some of the glades.

Fantastic Ice

This morning I toured to the back side of Pitchoff to check out the climbing conditions, and in a word they are FANTASTIC. By 11:00 AM I counted five parties up on various routes. Enclosed you can see parties on Screw and Climaxe, and Weeping Winds, there were also parties on Eye of the Needle. Oddly, Central Pillar of Pitchoff, which looked very fat, had nobody on it. Are any fossils coming up for the Martin Luther King weekend?

Essay: Chamonix and the Urban Bivy

A fantastic little piece, that will resonate with any American or Brit who has ever climbed in Chamonix. Fred Wilkinson hits the nail on the head with his story of mixed climbing, the inevitable SNAFU, with bivouac to follow; know that I have also slept in that bathroom, high atop the Aiguille du Midi. Click on this text to read this evocative article which will bring you back to the days ...

Oh, and always click on the image to enlarge the photograph.

Quote of the Week

The quote featured below was by Albert Einstein. It was was featured prominently inside the front cover - with a picture of the East face of Moose's Tooth - in the 1972 Chouinard Catalog, a collector's item which I have in my mountaineering library. The catalog is most famous for the essay "The Whole Natural Art of Protection," by Doug Robinson. To put things in perspective, the chouinard piolet (70 cm) was listed for $50, custom prescription mountain glasses for $45, salewa wart hogs for $9.00, and knifeblades for $1.85.

A PERFECTION OF MEANS AND A CONFUSION OF AIMS SEEMS TO BE OUR MAIN PROBLEM.

Perfect Time for a Visit

Click on this text to read Selden's blog entry entitled, "The Freezer Is Full." If you are in a rush, the bottom line is simple, georgie provided 300+ pounds of beef ... so not only is the snow and ice fantastic, not only is the Mountaineer's Icefest coming up, but the freezer is full of free-range, pasture fed beef.

Black Diamond Lab Tests

Click on this text to access a quick lab test, on the question of when to retire old ropes. Obviously no definitive answers, however some good strategies are shared, as well as some eye-popping statistics on the 9.4mm sport rope that the tester had been leading on ... it broke at 40% of the strength of the new rope!

Interview with Charlie Porter

SuperTopo has reprinted the 1993 Rock and Ice interview with this legendary figure. Quiet, relatively unknown, this guy has done big walls all over the world, and soloed big routes all over the world ... from multiple El Cap routes to the Cassin on Denali, and then from Patagonia to Pakistan ... he's done it all. It would be great to have someone do an updated interview. Click on this text to access the article.

Tour de Ski ... Stage 3

Click on this text to see a video of the 1.6K men's semi-final sprint heat. Despite difficult waxing and new soft snow, these guys are flying! Andy Newell - one of America's best hopes for a medal in the Olympics - advanced out of the prologue and the quarterfinals, only to finish fourth in this semi-final race ... just missed advancing as a lucky loser ... he finished 8th overall and continues to build up solid World Cup points. He is #16, in a red suit with a black hat. The race takes place in Oberhof, Germany and this heat has two hot Norwegians, the eventual winner Roenning, as well as Northug who has been dominating this event for the past several years.

Video: Eperon Cosmique

Click on this text to access a french video - beautiful climbing shots, especially of the 5.10c overhang - Larry led this route in July 2008. When we did the route there was a women stuck on the overhang and he had to give a stiff push on the derriere to get her over the hard bit. As you can see from the picture it is spectacular rock, in a beautiful setting, with easy access from the tram. A true classic first done by Gaston Rebuffat.

White Mountains

Enclosed are some pictures of Robert, and his brother, taken from the summit of the East peak of Osceola in New Hampshire.