Fred Beckey ... a true fossil ... must watch trailer

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QQTv1RTpz6E

Next year turning 65 ... calling all Fossils to Chamonix ... Who is in?

Nine days ... Two for travel ... Two for rest, recovery, or rain ... Five routes.

1. Aiguille de Index ... 4 pitches, 5.6
2. Cosmique Arête ... mixed, steep snow and 3 pitches 5.5 with crampons on
3. Pointe Lachenal traverse ... Snow ridge and long 5.4 pitch with crampons on
4. Geant-Rochefort traverse ... Snow ridge and 5 pitches 5.6 (This is the first route Mark and I ever did together.)
5. Chere couloir ... 6 pitches, NEI 3+/4

Ski lifts make each approach and descent under an hour. This trip has a high fun factor, and minimum wear and tear on knees, shoulders, and lungs! (The pictures above are from the Chere Couloir, just 45 minutes from tram.)

Of course there are all kinds of stout routes we could do, if we feel fit and want to stretch ourselves a bit!

The good weather is about to turn ...

I got out early before the rain, to do a short hike and some easy 5.2 laps.

An environmental dystopia ... RUIN and ROSE

http://youtu.be/I5eteKwALBA

A surreal future leaves the world without water and consumed by sand: the Big Empty. A group of children survives alone on the edge of the endless desert in the ruin of the now. When a young boy unearths an ancient relic hinting at the lost wonders of winter, he sets off in search of the ghosts that once called the mountains their home. This bold cinematic experience balances stunning skiing with a wild and hopeful journey into the forgotten lands of myth and magic beyond the Empty.

Beautiful morning on Round Lake

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... guiding in 1988

One of my former students found an itinerary for the seven week mountaineering program I ran back in my youth.

Figuring out your training load ... very humorous

What's the oldest guidebook in your collection?

http://adventure-journal.com/2016/07/a-love-letter-to-my-first-climbing-guide-book/

Sobering analysis of the economic impact of climate change

What if all the western states did this type of analysis, what would the cumulative total look like? Very sobering; take the time to read this short essay ...

http://adventure-journal.com/2016/07/montana-measures-cost-of-climate-change-and-it-aint-pretty/

Books about Ed Abbey

There was a time when I devoured all he wrote from Desert Solitaire to Fire On The Mountain, to the Monkey Wrench Gang and Hayduke Lives ... does it still have any relevance?


http://adventure-journal.com/2016/07/is-there-anything-left-to-be-learned-from-ed-abbey/

Recovery seems on track

I did a 12.5k trail run and only felt a bit sluggish in the final couple of kilometers.

Easy recovery run ...

Feel pretty good after that long day on the Range Trail, and got soaked in a thunderstorm.

The bluejay enjoying the day

Long day ... 32k and 4400'

My former student Grady gets #42-45, only one shy of being a 46er!

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... Jon Waterman

Looks like my old climbing buddy celebrated his 60th on the summit of Denali.

From about 1976-1982 we saw a lot of each other. The winter I was caretaker at the Harvard Cabin we climbed a massive amount of ice, from Dracula to the Cilley-Barber route. He got me an interview at the Colorado Outward Bound School, and after some winter courses one year we did the Rigid Designator. We climbed some winter routes in Scotland and Chamonix. Back then he was a very modest rock climber and skier, but he was a beast humping loads, breaking trail, running it out on vertical ice, and holding his liquor in the Clachaig Inn. On a long Thanksgiving run in Crested Butte he even dangled a spot on his winter trip to the Cassin Ridge; however after he told me about a Denali summit maximum-minimum thermometer bottoming out, I told him I was going to race the ski marathon circuit.

A nice article on the Wild Snow website:

https://www.wildsnow.com/20654/jonathan-waterman-returns-to-denali/

The new issue of Ascent

Having overcome my addiction to climbing magazines, an affliction with which I have struggled for several decades. My daughter bought me this magazine for my birthday. I have to say it was a real gem, and well worth buying. For fossils the article by Bridwell about trundling in the valley, the article by David Roberts reflecting on his ascent long ago of Mount Deborah, and Jeff Long's article about Fritz Stammberger will all resonate.

But I promise, I have control of my addiction and am currently only purchasing issues of the Alpinist and Vertical.

Another beautiful day begins

Blast From The Past ... Central Buttress of Scafell

I wanted to climb this route so badly on my first climbing trip to the Lake District in 1977. Unfortunately, I could not find a partner to do this historic route that was first climbed in 1914 ... amazingly stout and bold ... Herford in the first ascent party was killed in The Great War.

http://youtu.be/nrNmcSYtwaA

Get fired up for a run!

The Gift from TRUE MVMNT on Vimeo.

Another classic route for the bucket list

East Ridge of Edith Cavell ... III 5.3

Check out some other moderate ridge routes in the Canadian Rockies ...

http://gripped.com/news/five-must-climb-canadian-alpine-ridges/

They take Nordic skiing seriously!

Extra Blue Road ... in Norway of course.

Long, bold, serious ... The time may have passed for those type of alpine routes but ...

There can still be great pleasure and satisfaction in seeking out those stunning easy alpine routes all over the world. This one has been on my bucket list for a long time.



Sketches from the Bugaboos from Luke Humphrey on Vimeo.

First kayak session of the season

A great birthday ...

With this gift I am starting to plan my climbing trip to Chamonix for my 65th birthday next year. Just like my first trip 40 years ago, next year I will be looking at the classics. I think the days of dreaming about long, hard, committing, and solo routes will have to wait until the next life. So, I am not looking at the supercouloir, route choice will be more like the Rochefort Ridge which I first did with El Presidente.

Lucy got me a selection of climbing magazines to fuel the fire, and wrote a very thoughtful card about our recent trip to the Sierras. Jon and Amanda gave me a classic book by Doug Scott, I got a pair of running shorts, as well as Patagucci stand-up shorts from our pets. Finally, the surprise of the evening, were two West Wing (I am such a fanatic) photographs inscribed by Martin Sheen ... "What's Next."

Light and fast on Foraker

Colin Haley breaks down the details of his recent solo of the Infinite spur (yellow). He puts in the perspective of a 2016 elite alpinist and judges it, not to be such a big deal ... wow, not sure I agree with that! A good read about the top end of our sport.

http://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/alpinism/colin-haley-solo-fast-and-light-on-the-infinite-spur-in-alaska.html

Whiteface Sufferfest ... 4K, 3300', soggy turf and mud, with 100% humidity

I grabbed the pictures off the race site, as obviously I was miles behind Kasie Enman (2011 World Mountain Running Champion) when she passed the top of the Facelift chair (halfway)! Too bad nobody got pictures on the steepest bits pulling up on tufts of grass and rocks to make forward progress.

A first for me, as I was the oldest participant by a decade.

A memorial to the life and legacy of Doug Tompkins

Douglas Tompkins: Wild Legacy from Tompkins Conservation on Vimeo.

Whiteface Vertical K ... in less than 24 hours!

2015 Whiteface Vertical K from Mountain Peak Fitness on Vimeo.

Run/Boulder combo

A nice 3K run from the Rockefeller House to the NCS crag, change shoes and do five laps on an easy 5.2 route, and then another 1.5k run to my office ... Change into work clothes and I am good to go ... Finished the day with another 3k run home.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

One of several iconic posters that helped fuel the running boom in the 1970s. Now the real question is, was the Nike Waffle Trainer the best shoe I ever owned, or the shoe that launched my chronic knee pain?

Owls Head Again

A good early morning workout with 5 third class laps and some easy bouldering on the summit.

Laps on the NCS crag

Of course, both Gary and I were dealing with injuries ... his wrist and my shoulder.

Loving the coverage of the Olympic Trials

Coming back from a run on the biathlon trails

Selden's farm is looking pretty nice. I spent an hour reading at the cabin ... A pretty nice way to end the work day!

Aerials on your nordic skis

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zas3wJKLrOY

Track and Field Olympic Trials Start Tomorrow

Owl's Head

For a short hike it doesn't get much better: views, solid rock to climb, and blueberries in season.

Henry's Woods

A nice 50 minute trail run, in this great community space.

Himalayan Viagra

If truth be told some fossils support Big Pharma with their purchases of viagra, but who has tried the Himalayan Viagra?

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/06/27/world/asia/himalayan-viagra-climate-change.html?smid=tw-nytimesworld&smtyp=cur&referer=

Two weeks until the Whiteface Vertical K

A course that is 2.4 miles long and gains 3,300' ... it will be a quad-killing, gut-buster!

Baffin Island Adventure Gone Sour

Haywire from Mountain Hardwear on Vimeo.

Beautiful Adirondack summer day

After schmoozing with Treetops parents I went for an easy hike on our campus perimeter and did some easy laps on our crag.

Skiing the East Face of the Matterhorn

Hans Kraus famous Gunks climber

Interesting article from SKIING HERITAGE. (You can view archived articles on Google Books.)