Alex Honnold Interview

Honnold nails a highball problem in the Buttermilks. CLICK HERE TO READ THE PLANET MOUNTAIN INTERVIEW.

First Ski Descent Of The New Cascade Slide?

1/19/2012 from ADKBCSKI on Vimeo.

Wish I were going to Cham for spring break!

Alpinist Jack Roberts Killed

MANY BLOGS AND MAGAZINES HAVE OBITUARIES, HOWEVER COLD THISTLE LETS THE MAN SPEAK FOR HIMSELF, WHICH I FOUND QUITE APPEALING. CLICK HERE TO READ SOME OF JACK'S WRITING.

Yoga ... The great debate continues

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES.

TAOS SKI VALLEY

A photo from a wonderful half day tour into the cirque above Williams Lake.

Bouldering in Yosemite

Park Life - Yosemite Bouldering from Louder Than 11 on Vimeo.

Antique Ski Poster

Great skiing in Taos

The trip back to Lake Placid was long but uneventful.

World Cup Nordic Sprints In Milan ... Kikkan gets two podiums

Sweden took top honors in both the individual and team event, but American Kikkan Randall had a great weekend with two silver medals. Jesse Diggins, who is only 20 years old and has kicked butt all season on the American circuit, showed that we have some depth on the women's Nordic team.

CLICK HERE TO GET ALL THE DETAILS FROM THE FASTER SKIER WEBSITE.

Great day at Taos Ski Valley

Sunny, warm, good cover, no lines even on a holiday weekend ... Everything you don't find in the East.

Almost, but not quite there

My travel odyssey started at 3 AM, unfortunately halfway down the Northway I realized I left my wallet on campus, and retrieving it meant missing my flight. So, that meant six hours to kill in Albany and then another three hours in the Las Vegas airport, before an almost midnight arrival in New Mexico ... Which of course means a 6 AM departure on Saturday morning for Taos and a day of skiing with alumni ... Needless to say I am shot!

Two highlights thus far: a spectacular sunset on the Grand Canyon, and then seeing this sign in the airport, and almost jumping in a taxi, to go demo a machine gun!

Great Ice Climbing Tips

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT NINE GREAT TIPS ON SLAWINSKI'S BLOG.

Skiing one of the new Adirondak slides

Skiing Taos

I am heading to an alumni ski reunion in Taos, one of the only places with good snow in this off year. CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT TAOS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES.

The Hierarchy of Human Propulsion

I certainly do not agree with his ranking, especially vis a vis classical skiing, however it is an entertaining concept. CLICK HERE TO READ THIS SHORT ESSAY ON THE GRIZZLY ADAMS SITE.

Adirondack Ice Climbing

Obviously not the best Winter, but as you can see, stuff is climbable at Chapel Pond ... ditto for Cascade Lakes and Pitchoff.

Twilight skiing ... Before heading to Manhattan

Multiple laps around our lake, with great views of Cascade, Pitchoff, Big Slide, Van Hoevenburg, and the High Peaks region. On the road by 5 AM tomorrow.

Snow Cover in the United States

IN A WORD ... GRIM

Still snowing in the Alps

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPORT FROM THE PLANET SKI WEBSITE.

Be sure to do your yoga ...

So. Mark and Danny, are you guys getting off the couch?

UELI STECK ... The Swiss machine does it again

Ueli Steck Speed Soloing the Ginat on the Droites from Jonathan Griffith on Vimeo.

Ski Mountaineering Traverses ... It's not a fashionable activity any more

As I toy with the idea of doing a ski traverse of the Catamount Trail which goes along the spine of the Green Mountains of Vermont, I started to think of some of the great ski journeys Rowell and Gilette did in the 1970s and 80s. The traverse of the Brooks Range and Ellsmere Island, the circumnavigation of Denali, as well as The Great Circle were all adventures that deeply touched me when I was younger. Of course, that also brings you back to the journeys of Shipton, Tilman, and the Bullock-Workmans on foot.

Skiing steep chutes is all the rage, hucking cliffs, or footage of deep powder are what ski movies are all about. However, even though it's not fashionable, turn your browser to Steep Edge Films and rent THE DINOSAUR'S TRACK: KARAKORUM SKI TRAVERSE 2005. The sense of adventure, the wildness of raw nature, the traditions of our sport ... It's all there.

Zermatt Avalanche ... Everyone is stuck in town!

No traffic in or out of this isolated mountain town ... But as the Guardian report indicated ... Many of those stranded are taking the attitude that "there are worse places to be stuck than this." ... Now ain't that the truth!

Pointe Lachenal

In 2008 Larry and I did the easy traverse of Pointe Lachenal in Chamonix. This is the crux pitch of the M6 Solar, on the backside of Pointe Lachenal ... So Larry when are we going back?

Is Yoga Good For Your Body?

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS IMPORTANT NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE.

Skiing in South America

Argentina: A Skier's Journey EP3 [Season 2] from Jordan Manley Photography on Vimeo.

Chilly skiing at -15 degrees

History of backcountry skiing

CLICK HERE TO PERUSE THIS INTERESTING TIMELINE.

Trapp Family Nordic Center

Inspite of the dearth of snow in the Northeast, the coverage in Stowe was quite decent. Brian and I, as well as my daughter and two friends spent a good day logging some kilometers. We think our total was about 20K and 1000'.

Skiing In Baffin Island

Baffin Island: A Skier's Journey EP2 [Season 2] from Jordan Manley Photography on Vimeo.

Beautiful videography, wonderful sound track, and a place I have always wanted to visit ever since reading the chapter about it in Doug Scott's book, Big Wall Climbing ... A long time ago.

Paintball Biathlon Race

I started the morning watching the second stage of the Tour de Ski ... Not to shabby, three skiers in the top 30, including Kikkan Randall who is in sixth. Tomorrow she is the favorite to take the sprint on the third stage. After a few hours in the office I had a great ski on our lake, and after a bit more time in the office, I took my daughter Lucy and her buddy to their first race of the season. Conditions were great as they set the course on the outrun of the 90M ski jump, on man-made snow. A good time was had by all, and I managed a few more kilometers cheering the girls on.

Skiing on the lake

Conditions are still scratchy, however with a deep freeze, I can ski the 1.3K circumference of our lake. So, I had a great workout, skiing on this old glacial kettle pond for 45 minutes and then dong some ski bounding laps up the lake hill. Quite nice!

Pitchoff Left

It was -5 degrees last night, and the ice has begun to form up again after the mid-week thaw. Larry cruised up this NEI III+ route with just two screws for pro. After he cleaned it we did many laps.

Does your local hill have a uphill ski policy?

Wishing that more ski area were as progressive as Brighton in Utah, CLICK HERE TO READ THEIR POLICY.

Skiing the Dolomites

Dolomiti from Felix Hentz on Vimeo.

Crested Butte Ski Mo

A great short video to get you excited about the ski mountaineering season - if only the weather would cooperate. Check out the transition and how quickly skis are stowed on the pack for the boot packing section.

Shackleton Leadership Lessons

CLICK HERE TO READ THE NY TIMES ARTICLE.

Double Pole Workout

Which avalanche airbag pack should you buy?

CLICK HERE TO READ THE WILD SNOW REVIEW.

The Eiger North Face ... one of the climbs glacial retreat has made harder

CLCK, HERE TO READ THE NY TIMES ARTICLE.

Antique Ski Gear

This morning I skied a classic workout - on modern gear - with Lucy. This afternoon I took out a pair of 30 year old skis, we call it Fossil Gear, and skied up the Whiteface Toll Road. Except for being heavy, slow, and vomit yellow, what's not to like!

Get ready for the Tour du Ski

Watch some of this replay from the World Cups sprints in Rogla two weeks ago. The first quarterfinal has America's best male sprinter Andy Newell in the heat, but he is having an off day, and does not advance. The next heat, has a young up an coming American - Simi Hamilton - who just misses out in a photo-finish but advances as a "Lucky Loser."

History of Ice Climbing

This new book looks at the topic from a European perspective. It will clealy take its place next to Chouinard, Lowe, and Twight's work. If your French is reasonable, order it now from Blue Ice. If you are an English only guy like me, you will have to wait a bit for the translation to be finished. CLICK HERE TO READ THE COLD THISTLE REVIEW.

Scratchy snow and bitter cold in the Tetons

Fossil mountaineer, Matt - I dropped my rope - Hoffman is reporting having a great time in Jackson, just wishing for more snow. He sends best wishes to Danny, Gary, Frank, and Edward. In fact, both Edward and Matt have expressed a continuing fondness for cuy, and look forward to sampling that Peruvian taste treat this summer.

Skiing On The Toll Road

How to train your upper body for climbing and skiing?

Here is Lucy on Christmas morning, trying out the roller board that Selden made as a present. Lucy is a J2 Nordic racer and she is starting to get pretty serious about training, having already skied in some big races like the Lake Placid Loppet and the Canadian Ski Marathon.

What's the best food for a long day in the mountains?

Gu? Cliff bars? Snickers? For many decades I have sworn by fruitcake - delicious and the most calories for the buck - now that my mom has passed away, every year my sister sends me a new stock of Claxton's famous fruitcake. Truth be told, there are some Fossils who have not been able to warm up to this taste treat, because of an incident over 30 years ago on Denali, when our fruitcake was spoiled by a leaking can of Blazo.