Yesterday were the first intervals of the new training year

I did 3 x 7 minutes on the new competition trails. Full recovery on descents, and my heart rate was Level 3/4 on the hill repeats.

Union College Lacrosse loses to RIT 12-10

A close game, only decided in the last five minutes; however a great reunion with some buddies from the class of 1974.

WOW … the ultimate run

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fbqHK8i-HdA&feature=emb_title

Tim Burke Biathlon Hill Climb

This morning I did a casual trip up this route with Stash.

Once or twice a summer I do a time trial on this 2.5k run with 1200' vertical. About a decade ago the biathlon team started using this course as part of their annual battery of physical tests.

In another couple of weeks I'll take a stab at setting a new PB … shooting for 25 minutes. The men's biathlon record is 11+ minutes and the women at 13+ minutes.

Spring and summer are nice, but …

Soon we will be dreaming of winter again!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=klZz1DyNc8s

Another fine Adirondack day

The bugs are not bad yet, and Stash and I spent a morning hour doing hill repeats, bookended by 90 minutes on the exercise bike, for warmup and cool down. A strength and stretch session for late afternoon.

Another Harfang Crampon Review

https://www.wildsnow.com/31690/revisiting-the-blue-ice-harfang-crampon/ 



The bottom line is they seem to be the real deal. Another bottom line, is that availability is still a big problem.  Given limited American distribution, and given a a skimo boot without a welt, I went with the Petzel hybrid. It weighs a tiny bit more, it's a bit clunkier, but it has a work-around for any boot, and does it's job well. However, I imagine we will see more companies entering this niche market. 

A wonderful rest day …

Lots of reading, and chores. I put away skis and winter clothing. I put away all the clothing that was washed from my recent trip. And after finishing the tenth season of Call The Midwives, we were treated to a great sunset.

Yesterday and today, I felt back in the grove

Saturday was a full training day: yoga to start with, followed by the exercise bike, and then out for a jog with Stash. I finished the day with a bouldering session at High Peaks Cyclery.  Today I began to ease into my strength and core sessions with a warmup and cool down on the exercise bike. This afternoon, another easy bunch of 1980 biathlon loops. 

It’s been years since I hiked up Mt Jo

A beautiful day for it, and as I remembered, a spectacular view.

Back from the Sierras

It was a great trip. I didn't scare myself as much as Kilian or Honnold, and I certainly didn't make myself suffer as much as Diggins; but I did get out there on the East side of the Sierras and push it a bit!

Partway home …


On the first flight, just as the sun set, we got a view of the Three Sisters in Oregon. My next flight is from Portland to Chicago, then on to Albany, and finally a 2+ hour drive to our farm.

Day 15 in the Sierras … heading home on a red-eye flight

This was a great trip; reconnecting with Mark and Danny, as well as the entire Ewing clan. The fun meter was high and lots of new memories, but the dry statistics are as follows:

6 days on skis
6 trail runs
3 bouldering sessions
8 yoga sessions
5 hikes
10,000' vertical gain

Who is the most famous cross country skier in America?

MOST FAMOUS … probably Jessie Diggins, maybe Kikkan Randall, or possibly Bill Koch. However this statue reminded me, that my vote would be Snowshoe Thompson. He carried mail on skis to Sierra mining towns from 1856 to 1876.

Back in Tahoe

Day 13 was a very full day. Three cups of chai, launched a quick trip to Tahoe City to say hello to Danny, and get some gear I left at his house. Then a superb breakfast burrito at the Dam Cafe.

Back at Mark's House I geared up for some Skimo laps at Alpine Meadows (which was closed), then we perused the arts festival at the Squaw Valley Stables. Late in the afternoon at Mark's I did some yoga and had my first shower since May 3rd!

We are ordering pizza and having a mellow evening.

Wonderful ski tour on day 12 in the Sierras

Spent 90 minutes doing a skimo tour - wish I had my skate skis - in Yosemite, starting at Tioga Pass. On the drive back to Tahoe we loaded up on Walker Burgers and milkshakes.

June Lake, Silver Lake, Fern Lake, and Wild Willy’s Hotsprings

Day 11 in the Sierras … a great terrific 2.5 hour hike up to Fern Lake with 1600' vertical. Mark fished, we checked out Mammoth for me to do a bit of skinning tomorrow. And of course soaking weary bodies in a hot spring is a great end of day experience.

Casual morning in the Sierras

It has been unusually cold and windy thus far. Tahoe has gotten 15 inches of snow during this period, and just yesterday there was snow on the east side down to the 9000' level. The weather has finally taken a turn. Today while we were leisurely caffeinating ourselves I was able to air out, and rinse out my feet for the first time … wow did that feel good.

Hillary Gerardi and What It Takes

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=266&v=ROW0XD9N45Q&feature=emb_title

Day 9 in the Sierras

Yesterday started off well, with a leisurely breakfast of yogurt, bananas, dates, as well as a great deal of caffeine. Then an easy, but terrific, 70 minute trail run (picture) followed by yoga.

And then the day got away from us. We spent four hours looking for Mark's wallet - checking all the places we visited the day before - only to find his wallet in the far corner of his tent. Of course, while asking the Mexican restaurant for Mark's wallet, they returned mine, (I didn't even know it was missing) as I left it on the table when I paid the bill.

Not enough time to boulder so I went for another trail run, followed by pizza, and much talk about Mark's current vision quest, while sipping wine at the campground.

Despite the shit show, it was a good day.

Rock climbing paradise

The Bishop area has an amazing amount and variety of climbable rock. The bouldering guide has over 3000 routes in it. Just north the Mammoth guide has another 1000 boulder routes. The Owens River Gorge has hundreds of bolted sport routes. And of course, the high mountain, alpine rock routes are legendary. The weather is good, the hot springs make for fine rest day diversions, and the camping scene is mellow.

The sunrise showed some great crags, I had never noticed before. Later today we are going to Boulder at Druid Rocks an area I have never visited.

Day 7 in the Sierras

Yesterday was a potpourri of activities.

A sunrise yoga and tai chi session. Lots of tea, coffee, and bullshit in the warm sun. A nice 90 minute trail run with great views. Then some sniffing of new gear at Eastside Sports as well as Sage to summit. We finished up with some very easy bouldering at Happy Boulders in the Owens River Valley.

Sunrise on Day 6 in the Sierras

In the back stands 13,992' Mount Humphreys. We are camping in Bishop for the next few days. Yesterday I did a nice 3+ hour ski tour with Hudson in the Hoover Wilderness Area near Saddlebag Lake.

Skimo laps above Virginia Lake

A great day … 3.5 hours and 1750' and slushy turns.

Twin Peaks

Fueling for your next big ski tour

https://www.wildsnow.com/31448/fueling-for-ski-touring/#more-31448

Back in the Sierras

I am pretty worn out today from yesterday's 18 hour travel day. However Skimo laps at Alpine Meadows (they are closed) helped shake out the cobwebs. Tomorrow we head to the East Side of the Sierras, south of Bridgeport.

Easy bouldering laps on Owls Head

Heading to the Sierras tomorrow.

Sierra Trail Runs

In advance of the guidebook - coming this summer - here is a website to give you a taste, and glimpse of what is to come.

https://sierratrailruns.com/

Nordic skiers start the new training year on May 1st

My 2021-22 training season went well. My volume increased to almost 800 hours, with a total of 238,000' vertical, and with a total of 126 days on snow since last November. I remained healthy and injury free throughout the year. For many reasons - lack of snow, Selden's surgery, as well as scheduling difficulties - no racing this winter, although I did run a successful ultra in the Fall of 2021. Two major things to work on this year: stretching and strength training.

A brief glance at some of my upcoming goals …

Morning shakeout …

An hour of bouldering (laps on the traverse wall) and yoga at the Mount Van Hoevenberg gym.

Charlie Porter a climbing machine

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2022/04/historical-badass-climber-charlie-porter/

David Hochschartner (Hock)

Skimo fastest know times!

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2022/04/28/jack-kuenzle-mount-hood-fastest-known-time-speed-record/65352461007/

A great day with a great friend …

Lenny and I were the "Best Man" at each other's wedding, a long time ago. He is a longtime Yankee fan and season ticket-holder and we spent the day at the ball park. (The roving camera caught us on the big stadium monitor.)  Beautiful day, Yankees won, and we discussed going back to the Alps in September.

Risk, risk tolerance, and the climbing feedback loop

It reminds me of my experience on the south ridge of Hunter, although we bailed much earlier. 

https://www.patagonia.com/stories/a-partial-ascent-of-mantok-0/story-118601.html

How to climb the Eiger North Face

Once upon a time - maybe 40 years ago - I would have salivated over this beta. Those days are long gone, but it's still fascinating to read, the "blow by blow by descriptions," and look at these "up close and personal" pictures. 

https://uphillathlete.com/climb-eiger-north-face/

Hamstring exercises to help your classic technique

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KdxTSshAMIA&feature=emb_imp_woy

April 24, 2022 … The last day of the Whiteface ski season

A pretty good morning riding lifts with my Skimo race gear. And another transition week … lower volume with a touch under 14 hours, but still almost 5500' vertical. I nordic skied, exercise biked, hiked, bouldered, rode lifts, and rowed my ergometer this week.

If I do either Gothic Mountain Tour or the Grand Traverse …

Then I need to get a copy of this booklet, to explore a bunch of other ski tours while I am in Colorado. It seems like the Wasatch, Sierras, Tetons, and Cascades are ripe for a similar sort of guidebook. After all, it's not just about chutes, steep and deep, or the 50 most awesome descents! 

https://www.frontrangeskimo.com/blog-1/2022/1/2/book-review-light-tours-of-colorado

Still on my bucket list … March SellaRonda in the Dolomites

https://www.sportiva.com/blog/anton-krupicka-sellaronda-pt-two

An important solo of the Eiger North Face

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web22s/newswire-laura-tiefenthaler-solos-the-eiger-north-face?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Read%20more%20»&utm_campaign=UA-2270135-1

Whiteface and Mount Van Hoevenberg to re-open

Well, with over a foot of new snow, we will have groomed skiing for 3-4 days longer … yahoo!

BLAST FROM THE PAST … demise of the wood ski

I am perusing Setting First Tracks, a hundred year history of Madshus from 1906-2006, and the rise-fall-rebirth of the Norwegian ski industry.  The photo is from the 1974 World Championships in Falun, and it is Norwegian Magne Myrmo winning the race on wooden skis … the last time that ever happened. Much of the decline in the Norwegian ski industry revolved around the Central European alpine ski companies - like Fischer - having longer experience making fiberglass skis. 

I am reminded, that it was in 1974 when my lacrosse coach suggested I do more training on nordic skis - to save my knees - that I got my first pair of skis. These Bonna 1700 skis served me well, until I broke them on Mt. Washington in 1978, the year I was the Harvard Cabin caretaker in Huntington Ravine.  As I was signed up for the Canadian Ski Marathon the next week, I hiked down, hitched to North Conway, and bought a pair of fiberglass Fischer skis. Of course, that was just the first of many changes the nordic world was going to endure in the next decade! 

Back in the days of snowy winters …

In 1938 skiing off the roof of the Timberline Lodge, at the base of Mount Hood.

Yesterday was a classic spring day but today …

We are getting hammered with over a foot of heavy wet snow. Thankfully, I know enough not to put all my skis away in April.

The snowflake guy

Interesting short video …

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=55&v=ao2Jfm35XeE&feature=emb_title

First bouldering of the spring

The Mount Van Hoevenberg Climbing Gym is open for business.

Still skiing

New thriller, a novel about a murder on a Himalayan climb

Getting ready to read the Kindle sample online, and it has gotten good reviews.  Written by an author who has actually climbed the 8000m peak, Manaslu.

https://www.amazon.com/Breathless-Amy-McCulloch/dp/0593315499

For long days in the mountains train your body to burn fat …

A series of three articles from the Uphill Athlete website about fat adaptation. The quote below is from the first article, as is the link enclosed.

https://uphillathlete.com/nutrition-fat-adaptation/

"As highlighted above, because carbohydrate ingestion before and during endurance exercise of low to moderate intensity (Zones 1 and 2) reduces the body's ability to utilize fat as a fuel source (5), the goal of every endurance athlete should be to train the body to use a greater contribution of fat as a source of energy (for example, by training in a fasted state). This also has the added benefit of reducing the body's reliance on eating carbohydrates during endurance exercise, thus sparing muscle glycogen levels. This enables you to tap into your carbohydrate store when you need it the most, during those higher-intensity moments—on steep climbs, when you pick up the pace to get down before dark, and through strenuous moves or cruxes on a long alpine route. This is known as fat adaptation."