Fossil Alpinism

While I was doing a bit of research on the life and times of Dougal Haston I came upon this great website. Well worth checking out. CLICK HE...

These guys are serious studs! This famous Italian classical marathon ski race, has the winners double poling the entire course, even the fi...

The NCS crew a few minutes before the gun went off for the 25K race. The course is a tough one, climbing over 1800' in the 15.5 miles. ...

Lowell Skoogs has put another chapter of this important work in progress on-line. CLICK ON THE LINK TO ACCESS THIS ARTICLE.

Another beautiful day in the Alps. You can see skiers heading down the ridge from the Aiguille du Midi to ski the Vallee Blanche. The weat...

In honor of the upcoming Lake Placid loppet and the Canadian Ski Marathon I posted another short video of one of the most famous long-distan...

Here is another of "Bonington's Boys" featured prominently in the wonderful book THE BOYS OF EVEREST. I first came in contact ...

I am getting my NCS kids psyched up for the Lake Placid Loppet, and so I am going to show them this footage of the much larger (15,000 skier...

It has been almost 35 years since Dougal was killed in an avalanche in Leysin. (Ironically, he was killed in the exact manner that one of h...

http://andyhouseman.blogspot.com/ http://chamconditions.blogspot.com/2011/01/sorry-to-say-we-were-late.html http://alexandrebuisse.org/blog ...

AAI Avalanche Safety Weekend at Alta, Utah from Edmond Stevens on Vimeo .

"Play for more than you can afford to lose and you will learn the game." Winston Churchill Clearly this was not meant for Alex Hon...

This picture from Gornergrat, was taken today from a Zermatt webcam. The essay about a March 2006 attempt on the Hornli Ridge was published...

Another outrageous Chamonix ski descent! Andreas Fransson skiing Col de L´Aiguille Verte from Bjarne Sahlen on Vimeo .

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THIS SHORT ARTICLE.

The things they ski these days in Chamonix is pretty amazing. I am not sure I would climb it with two tools and a full rack of screws, let a...

This morning Carter and I did multiple laps on some 5.2-5.4 routes that were thoroughly snowed and iced up, on the NCS crag. Climbing with ...

Read top flight alpinist, Kelly Cordes' essay published on Patagonia's blog. A more than gentle nod to the importance of having a b...

This ten minute video chronicles a successful trip to the Alpine Mecca. Chamonix Alpine Granite from Joshua Lavigne on Vimeo .

I had a big day of training for the Haute Route ... It started with a two hour classical ski with over a thousand feet of climbing and then ...

A funny but all too common scenario ... The second man on the rope team is an eager beaver with way too much slack, and the third man is slo...

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ESSAY.

After several laps skinning up and down the NCS ski hill, I ripped the hide, grabbed the rope tow, and made 60 minutes worth of turns.

I have mentioned it before on the Fossil Blog, however GLACIER MOUNTAINEERING by Tyson and Clelland is awesome. Clear and concise, with ofte...

Larry's class covers the theoretical and scientific principles involved in the mountain snowpack, however he also teaches students the r...

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE COLD THISTLE ESSAY.

As the Haute Route gets closer I am having a bit of gear anxiety. Tele-gear, use my old Ramers on alpine skis, buy new AT gear, or maybe buy...

This article was originally published in the San Francisco Examiner, and then publishes in Climbing Magazine. CLICK ON THIS LINK TO ACCESS T...

About 35 years ago Hock, Danny, and Mark met in the municipal pool in Chamonix. The Aiguille de Geant was our first route, and several days...

The video trailer for an amazing Reel Rock video. You see Ueli soloing in the Alps and speed climbing with Alex Honnold in Yosemite. Clearl...

More like a leatherman, however it is just made for taking care of ice tools and ski mountaineering gear. The video makes it look pretty sl...

This video follows the progress and the whippers taken by some guys trying to put up a new route in the Cairngorms on Coire An Lochain.

This was the coldest night of the winter. The bottom dropped out of the thermometer, and on campus the readings were -38 or -40 degrees depe...

The new issue is out, and the large essay on the Grand is superb! I just picked it up at the Mountaineer ... It looks awesome.

Approaching Denali from Hossedia on Vimeo . If your mouth just doesn't start watering while you are viewing this video, well maybe you...

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER..

Unfortunately, this classic snow climb (ski descent) does not look in shape yet.

Most of you probably remember the old A5 magazine ads from back in the 1980-1990s. The book dealer Michael Chessler has gotten his hands on...

Norio Matsumoto is a Japanese photographer who lives in an igloo or tent for months on end as he photographs the northern lights against spe...

After a successful board meeting I am heading home and expect to arrive at NCS in the early afternoon for a good ski tour.

Still climbing regularly at 60, Jim talks about his famous route on Robson's Emperor Face in the CLIMBING magazine interview. CLICK HERE...

Another valuable post from the Cold Thistle website. This one covers the potential for rope damage in a fall when the rope runs over an ice...

A flawless race, fantastic tempo, and well waxed skis, yield her second ever world cup victory. (Unfortunately the commentary is in Polish....

The NCS middle-school curriculum is unusual in many respect, and certainly our 8th grade Earth science class unit on snow physics is one of ...

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

Endangered Species from Matt McCormick on Vimeo . On Friday January, 14. Bayard Russell, Matt Horner and I climbed a line on the “Big Wall...

Pamela Pack doing a 5.13a in Vedauwoo Wyoming. She wound up working into this position in an off width crack to place some pro. CLICK ON THE...