Jamtal Hutte

Not only does this alpine hut have great food, showers, an outdoor ice wall, and a fantastic indoor climbing wall.

Another great day in the silvretta range

Touring to Jamtal Hutte

We tagged Breite Krone and Grenzeck Kopf on the way ... two three thousand meter peaks.

On our way to the Heidelberger Hutte

Ready to launch ... Silvretta traverse here we come

Last warmups ... We blast off tomorrow

Riding lifts in Galtur.

Touring in See

On day 2 we logged 2000' of climbing and then some good afternoon turns.

Crosses, statues, and shrines

All the European alpine countries are very religiously Christian. As you hike, climb, ski, run, or bike through these peaks and passes you bump into religious artifacts wherever you go ... Even on the summits. Here we are at a shrine to Saint Hubertus - patron saint of hunters - which we came across during the first hour of our tour.

OMG ... The perfect NCS homenight

Day 2 and we skinned up 2000' only to find a lighted public toboggan course that goes all the way back to town ... Our kids would love it. Skiing the lifts thus afternoon.

The food is great ... after all this is Europe!

First tour in Austria

After hopping off the plane, we drove for three hours to Landeck, and then got into our gear and skinned 2500' up to Zammer Alm for a beer.

Zurich ... Waiting for Guillaume

Heading to JFK

Adirondack Alpenglow

Heading to JFK, and in less than 24 hours I will be skinning up something in the Alps.

Silvretta Avalanche Bulletin ... danger level 2

Spectators take skiing seriously in Europe!

Will Gadd ... if you get hit with falling ice it's your own damn fault

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

50k Nordic World Championship

A hot, slushy, red and silver klister day, yields amazing heroics from Olsson. He breaks away at 12.5k, and pounds this grueling course with well over 6000' vertical climbing in 2:10.41 ...CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS AMAZING PERFORMANCE.

Gary and John gearing up for the Cascade Falls

NCS nordic 5k time trial

With time running out to break school ski records and join the NCS Hall Of Fame, Lucy and Hyelom did a pre-barn chores time trial this morning. Conditions were a bit soft, however Lucy set a new NCS girls record, and Hyelom did a personal best ... and even more impressive (given my track record) they were not late for barn chores.

Quote of the Week

"In nature the energy budget is primal law, the absolute bottom line. Energy supply, energy availability, governs every single living thing. Humans are no different, once you take away our civilized veneer of overprotection. Put us in a truly elemental situation -- as on mountaineering, or exploratory expeditions, or even in ultra-distance running -- and the energy budget becomes the driving force in our lives, too. It immediately replaces sex, money, power, religion, politics, or any of those other motivations we've developed to keep our metaphorical motors running. The calculations that govern success or failure for that level of effort have precisely to do with calories in and calories out. It's the metabolic equivalent of cash flow -- and when you're out there on the edge, bankruptcy doesn't mean embarrassment and inconvenience, it means death."

Laps on Pitchoff Right

Bolted from the office for 90 minutes of ice with Larry. Even though it was in the low 20s, the ice was soft and pliable ... One swing and a perfect stick ... No wind and a great treat.

Peaks and Passes We Can Do From Jamtal Hutte

Trap Dike Avalanche

One week to go!

Skinning laps on the NCS ski hill in very wet snow. Pretty frustrating as the skins iced up terribly. Nevertheless, Larry's modifications to my Dynafit boots worked like a charm.

Assuming snow conditions in the alps must be stabilizing nicely

I love my dynafit bindings!

The only thing I dislike is having to remove skis when going from touring to downhill mode ... Yahoo today on the ski hill I figured out how to do it without removing the skis!

NCS ski-mo course

Getting ready for the alps so I was back out on our 4k training route, up and around our ski hill.

Nordic Gold Medal

Slopes just outside Galtur are looking good

Andy Newell getting some big air on his nordic race skis

On Saturday the NYSEF racers hosted a training session with the Mount Greylock high school team from Massachusetts. A good time was had by all, and one of the things they worked on was team sprints (in preparation for the junior nationals). Anyway, after all was said and done, Lucy and the rest of the NYSEF girls got copies of the DVD - A Day In The Life - produced by Andy Newell. The main focus was interviews with top US racers, and footage from races in Dusseldorf, Canmore, and Rybinsk.

This evening I watched it while doing yoga ... pretty good stuff ... however after the credits are done, just as you are about to turn it off, then comes this two minute segment of Andy doing some wild stuff in Park City.CLICK HERE TO WATCH HIM WORK THE HALF-PIPE ON NORDIC GEAR.

TOP DOG ... a page turner

Whether you are an athlete, a manager, a coach or a teacher ... This is an engaging, lay persons narrative summary of the genetic, cultural, psychological, and material factors that determine who wins and who loses. Who performs at their best and why. Highly recommended.

Paintball biathlon

After the biathlon Nor-Am race ended, a bunch of my novice NCS types jumped into a paintball biathlon race. I ended up doing a good skating workout while they were racing to supplement an hour of laps on the ski hill this morning with my AT gear.