Fossil Alpinism

Hock

We had hoped to tour up to Col du Tour however only made it to the Argentiere hut. Through a break in the clouds I got a momentary look at the North Face of Les Droites.

A good day never the less ... Low visibility, breaking trail in a foot of fresh snow, lots of vertical, some big holes ... But my right knee - the one scoped after Peru - was hurting really badly. I did well skinning up and skiing down on the glacier however I could barely make it down the final piste.

Know a good knee doc?

Hock

The weather continues to be unsettled, and we left the hut early to get the first tram down. The visibility increased to about 500 m, and the wind slackened to about 25-30 mph. We are heading to a dorm in Argentiere, but not before a steak-frites-fries sandwich at our favorite joint.

Tomorrow we are doing the classic tour to the col du Tour Noire.

Hock

By the time we had skis on the Mer de Glacé it was beautiful. The guys were snapping pictures of Mount Blanc, jorasses, the Geant, as well the south face of the Midi. Just what the doctor ordered for the Union College crew ... An awesome mouton run with great snow.

Carter enjoyed a nice run down to the rognon, and then we skinned up a thousand feet to the Cosmique hut. We climbed a couple of pitches and then had an awesome meal at the Refugio.

Hock

Hock

Sitting out bad weather in the Cosmique Hut ... sleep, tea, read, swap stories, sleep, eat, wine, sleep ... not so bad.

Hock

Heading up to the Aiguille Du Midi.

Hock

Overcast, blustery, and chilly in town and full on conditions up on the hill. The Grand Montets lift was closed committing us to skinning up from Lognon. Carter and I left early only to turn back after a guided party called it a day. We skied back down to Lognon to eat lunch only to se Dick, Murph, Dave, Harry, and Stegs go by with their guide. Well after spotting them a 30 minute lead we gave chase, the guide turned them around a 4:00 pm and we headed down as well. Here we are eating dinner at La Doha.

Hock

Heading out to catch the first tram to Grand Montets. Looks to be cloudy and cold today, unlike the picture I cut and pasted.

Hock

I was waiting for a bus back to Chamonix and so short changed the commentary on the previous posting.

The second picture is the upper third of the North Face of the Drus. This is one of the six classic north faces of the Alps. The last picture has Carter taking a break from a challenging tele descent. The peak in the background is the Aiguille du Chardonnet. I climbed it in 1976 (North Spur) with my South African friend Richard.

We actually worked harder than we wanted to on this first day in the Alps.

Hock

A longer day than we planned, a late start, and s long wait for the Grand Montets tram. Dick, Dave, Murph, Stegs, and Harry went to the top and then skied piste. Carter and I put on the rope and crampons and got to within 75 meters of the summit of the Petite Aguille Verte. Normally it is mostly skinning but not today. We turned around at 3 pm as we had a 5000' descent, with the top being challenging with packs. Good day.

Hock

All present and accounted for ... Tomorrow we will tour up to Col Belvedere.

Hock

In Geneva Airport, with Carter watching the gear. One of my packs did not arrive (in London) and Leftie's ski bag is in Paris.

Hock

Flying out tonight to Geneva, after a day in Manhattan.

Hock

Sunrise on the Adirondacks.

In a couple of hours I will be heading south on the Northway. Tomorrow I take a red-eye to Geneva. By Friday at 1:30 we will be checking into the Club Vagabond in Chamonix, and blowing off some carbon dioxide by skinning up to the base of the Aiguille Index for a view of the Mont Blanc Massif. Saturday we will probably ski the Vallee Blanche. It should take six days to ski the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt and we leave on Sunday. Once in Zermatt we will get a rest day, repack, and head to the Hornli Hutte to climb the Matterhorn. We fly out of Geneva on March 24th.

WE ARE PSYCHED!

Hock

We had an end of season 5k time trial, I am up late packing for the Alps, and students start their vacation tomorrow.

I still have a long "to do" list: check prussik lengths, test transceivers, purchase ski crampons, office work, and sharpening tools.

Hock

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE MAKING OF THIS PHOTOGRAPH.

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Hock

IT'S REAL, IT'S RAW, IT'S SOBERNG ... CLICK HERE TO READ A RECENT TRIP REPORT.

Hock

Nick got first tracks shortly before 7:00 AM, and I skinned a few laps a half hour later ... amazing snow!

Hock

CLICK HERE TO READ AN INTERVIEW ABOUT THIS ART AS PRACTICED IN THE MOUNT BLANC REGION.

Hock

The training is done and the adventure almost ready to start. Remember, I will meet you in the center of town on Friday evening at 6 pm, although with cellphones maybe we will hook up earlier. Again, my suggestion is that you ski the Aiguille Rouges on Friday as they have the best views of Mount Blanc and the surrounding peaks. The weather looks good, the temperatures modest, and the patisseries have planned to redouble their sweet treats because they heard I was coming.

Hock

An epic battle, that had a lead pack of over a dozen right until the final two kilometers. Northug sprinted for the win in the last 500 meters. Given that the temperatures were over 40 degrees, soft and dirty snow as well as a grueling course (6320' of climbing), makes the time of 2:08:09 seem incredible. American Noah Hoffman at 22, was probably the youngest guy in the race and skied to a gritty 2:12 in spite of a broken pole going up one of the tougher climbs.

Hock

Yesterday I put in two solid hours on my skate skis, this morning some laps on Pitchoff Right (NEI III), and later this afternoon - once the snow accumulates - I will tour for 45 minutes on my mountain gear ... Starting to pack tonight.

Hock

Yesterday were the last races of our season - plenty of snow - as the students go on vacation Wednesday. The picture shows Lucy zeroing her rifle; after the biathlon race they went through a radar speed trap to see who could take the hill the fastest, and we ended with a whacky relay race (skiing, snowshoeing, running, and sledding) ... A good time was had by all in spite of some rain

Hock

Ski The Himalayas Introduction Episode 000 from Ben Clark on Vimeo.

The two aspects of skiing that I still aim to do before I hang up the sticks over the mantle ... ski a traverse or a descent of a remote mountain, and then ski one of the big classic marathons in Scandinavian.

Hock

Johaug put the pedal to the medal at the halfway point and just skied away from the world's best on a brutally tough course! Additionally, the American women had their best day in decades, placing four in the top 25.

Hock

One race left before the end of the season, a paintball biathlon at Dewy Mountain. So, we did a speed workout on our skate skis. Pitchoff and Balanced Rock are in the background.

Hock

A short video from the 2011 Ski Mountaineering Championships at Claut. (Notice all those helmets Dick.) See you in Chamonix.

Hock

Hock

If you have NOT gotten up early, and tuned in, you are really missing something. Yesterday it was the Norwegian women and especially Marit walking away with the 4 X 5 relay. Today it was the Norwegian men, but especially Northug, who shut down four other teams in the last 500 meters to win the 4 X 10 relay. Saturday is the women's 30K and Sunday the men's 50K.

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO ACCESS THE LIVE EUROSPORT TV FEED.

Hock

FOR THE FOSSIL WITH DISPOSABLE INCOME CLICK HERE AND READ THE GEAR REVIEW.

Hock

In fact it was five degrees colder on campus this morning, however it is going up into the teens this afternoon.

Hock

A milestone for the Canadian men's Nordic team ... Kudos. If you can watch a replay of the sprint relay - do it now - what a fantastic event.

Hock

Hock

Neither race turned out as expected for the home team. The Swedish women won with a brilliant anchor leg by Kalla, and as the picture indicates Canada bested the powerhouse Norwegian men ... Incredibly exciting and well worth getting up early to watch the semi-finals on a Eurosport feed before work!

Hock

It has been over a month since I have been on my skate skis, but it was a beautiful day, and I was not too rusty. After a short workout I took some NCS racers to a 5k night race. Tomorrow the sprint relay takes place at the World Championships in Oslo.

Hock

It was a spectacular day yesterday, however as you can see we have ample snow for skiing and lots of ice for climbing. This is the view of Algonguin from the Cascade Lakes.