Where and when is our Spring?

Four or maybe five of the last ten mornings have looked like this!

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... five days one summer



a full length motion picture, available from Amazon, YouTube, and iTunes for a small fee. It is a complex romance set in the Swiss Alps, with authentic 1930s climbing action, and spectacular photography.  The 1982 critics panned the movie despite strong direction from Fred Zinneman who had also done From Here To Eternity, The Day Of The Jackal, Julia, and High Noon.

The movie was inspired by Kay Boyle's short story, "Maiden, Maiden."  As you can tell from the Amazon reviews, the movie is a gem. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7AcdEFMz2ys

Training for alpine climbing

I will ski as long as I can, but mentally I am transitioning from a skier into an alpine climber.

In the next 3-4 months before I head to the Sierras I plan to use the following as my tune-up regime:

- lots of running and hiking vertical; supplemented by some biking and ergometer;
- two hard strength workouts a week
- two, maybe three bouldering or climbing sessions;
- a weekly uphill time trial, where each month the distance-vertical-pack weight increases. (Today it was 3k-600' with a 15 pound pack.)

I have not started route discussions with Mark but Shasta, Dana Couloir, and North Ridge Conness are all on my mind.

MOVIE OFTHE DAY: choices with steph davis

I'll never really understand the base-jumping and wingsuit crowd, but this gal is the real deal, and hardcore climber/alpinist as well. Great footage, and a very engaging story.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mtLegY2QVDk

A good spring ski

We hiked for 2.5k to the snow, and then Lucy skated on race skis for 45 minutes while I skied up on my waxless AT gear.

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... ski history of tuckermans ravine

While the virus has put it off limits for this year, enjoy the archival footage and dream about spring 2021.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RfIh9vvvMCw

Scratching anorthosite

First day top roping on Pitchoff practice slab.  You could hear the ice routes tumbling down at the other end of the crag. Maybe spring is coming to Lake Placid!

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... best nordic race finishes ever

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6gi1BEi0ceY

Maybe the ice climbing season isn’t over?

I have been hauling out rock gear in anticipation of spring climbing in the Adirondacks.  Of course, a week of very cold weather has made my decision - to put away crampons, ice tools, and screws - as perhaps a bit premature.

Snowing again ...

Almost every night, or early morning this week it has snowed. Just under an inch each day, and melting off by mid-afternoon. No accumulation, so not enough to ski, just enough to make cycling or trail run less fun.

But after all as I remind myself, this is the Adirondacks, and we are no strangers to April snow.

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... marcel remy ... 94 and leading 5.10a (5c)

Stunning scenery, inspiring story, and just plain mind-boggling to think he is doing these pitches at his age. I guess at 67 I better stop whining!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sqnDztcwKLc&feature=emb_title&time_continue=742

Checking out Whiteface slides

A good hike this morning; I was fully packed to climb the slides, and maybe see if they are skiable. The bottom picture is where skiers exit on a good snow year. I made the mistake of using it as a climbing entry ... too low, too much water ... next time I will keep on trucking up the lift line.  

Also, I will remember to bring my skis when I walk in from the flume parking lot, as Wilderness and Mountain run look awesome. 

Another Adirondack dirt road ...

A wonderful 80 minute run, with nobody in sight and great views of Dix on the way back.

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... days like these

Three women getting after it running on alpine trails. A reminder, that some day soon maybe we will all be back out, getting after it. An uplifting 90 seconds.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nH3dyIzilrU&feature=emb_title&time_continue=77

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... grand traverse skimo race

Well the race was cancelled this year, and in 2014 because of avalanche conditions it had to be re-routed, but I am banking on great conditions for 2021. It's time to organize your training plan. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z5OYIiBnHpU

Survivor’s guilt and alpinists

An interesting essay from the New Yorker magazine. (Staff writer Nick Paumgarten has written many excellent articles profiling skiers and climbers including Mikaela Shiffrin, Yvon Chouinard, and Ueli Steck.)

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/02/survivors-guilt-in-the-mountains

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... 2018 Olympic Team Sprint

You know the ending, but it's still guaranteed to bring a small to your face. 

https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/video/detail/women-s-team-sprint-final-cross-country-skiing-pyeongchang-2018-replays/

Social distancing, staying healthy, and a good week of training

Running more Adirondack dirt roads.  Lucy gave me a 4K lead, and she still beat me to the top of the long uphill. Oh well, not fast but the totals still are pretty good ... 

- 50k skiing/running and almost 4000'

- easy bouldering session

- two strength sessions

- two short yoga sessions

- five (30 minute) workouts on the ergometer

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... sharing the line



From Black Diamond, a very hard alpine climb in the Tre Cime area of the Dolomites.

https://youtu.be/LceKIFARnbY

Taking advantage of an Easter snow

Skied up the Toll Road today and yesterday. Happy Easter and Passover; stay safe.

Training For The Uphill Athlete



As I regularly dip into this book every couple of weeks, and visit the website weekly, I thought I would just plug it ... a fantastic reference.  The true endurance nerd, or top flight athlete will find this book invaluable.  While there is too much detail and complexity for an endurance newbie, the writing and photo layout are engaging, and so even those new to these uphill endurance sports will get a great deal out of the book.

The link below is the preface to the book ... enjoy.

https://www.patagonia.com/stories/nose-to-the-wind/story-72310.html

MOVIE OF THE DAY: fuel your crack climbing addiction

I missed this April Fool's video, but still worth watching a couple of weeks late.  After all, since we are sheltered in place, not many of us are sinking hands into splitters!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=272&feature=emb_title&v=vuo5GdeSAv0

Three ski tours since Sunday

It has been snowing off and on since late last night, although the promised 3-6 inches has not materialized.  I am hoping for another inch and a skiable Whiteface Toll Road. However, I have skied almost 30k on those three tours.  (Of course, spring ski tours always include a bit of hoofing it.)

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... a fine line



A beautiful and very short video of a "run" up Tower Ridge, one of the classic rock climbs of Scotland.  You could wait decades before you have weather and trail conditions as good as this!  Fantastic aerial views.  Makes me want to go back and do the Tower Ridge in the summer.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv2gLejArQ0

Tuckermans, Huntington, and Cutler River Drainage Closed



https://www.powder.com/stories/news/tuckerman-ravine-closes-to-skiers-after-crowds-ignore-cdc-guidelines/?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-powdermagazine&utm_content=later-6309565&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... kilian jornet’s impossible traverse



Kilian Jornet attempts to ski all seven summits of Romsdalen in Norway, in a day. This engaging video is a bit under 15 minutes.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i2ZllErtdLE

Scoping out running trails yesterday



Long ice stretches, mud, and collapsible - ankle twisting - frost heaves, mean the Olympic biathlon trails are not quite ready for running. HOWEVER, the mountain bike trails are very runnable. 

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... the longs peak triathlon



Not an actual race, but a test piece that has drawn Colorado studs to the challenge of the fastest known time (FKT).  The premise is simple: bike from Boulder to the trailhead of Longs Peak, run to the base of the climb, climb the 5.10a Casual Route, and then boogie home!

More Reflections On Quarantine from a tiny New Hampshire cabin



This couple draws inspiration from the epic adventures of Nansen, searching for the North Pole. (As an aside, in 1911 Nansen visited America on a lecture tour and did the first ski ascent of Whiteface.)

 https://www.adventure-journal.com/2020/04/we-can-learn-much-about-the-art-of-hunkering-down-from-polar-explorers/

David Hochschartner (Hock)

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... a ski film by philipp klein

Only one minute long, and sheltering in place, this desperate backcountry skier does the entire extreme adventure in his bedroom ... quite creative and funny.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dj8-hgp8b6k

An American Guide Quarantined in Chamonix



An engaging perspective from the "Death Sport Capital Of The World," where you currently need a signed pass from the local gendarme for an hour of exercise - on the sidewalk or street - no trails or you'll get fined. Obviously, no skiing, no climbing, no guiding, no para-gliding, but of course it's France, so always good wine. 

https://www.wildsnow.com/27901/clooney-coronavirus-chamonix-and-uncertainty/#more-27901

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... eclipse

This Banff Film Festival award winning video is really two projects in one: skiing bold lines on the mountains of Svalbard and getting the chance of a lifetime with an artistic Photo Shoot. Additionally, there is a moving side story, as their climbing guide is coming back to the mountains two years after buddies were killed in an avalanche during a movie project. This is thirty minutes, well spent. 

Classic northeastern spring tour ...

Impossible to wax for, so have your waxless skis on. Rocks and stream crossings, patches of dirt you can cross with skis on, and larger sections you carry skis on, ice and slush, as well as ruts and downed trees to circumvent. But it's warm, and it's April, so it's great to be skiing a two hour tour.

MOVIE OF THE DAY: the only blasphemy

This is not going to win any academy awards, but it it a special treat.  One of my favorite stories from decades ago, is John Long's, "The Only Blasphemy."  In this ten minute video, John Long narrates his story for a digital slideshow, about his day soloing with John Bachar at Joshua Tree. The sadness for us now, is that Bachar died soloing at age 51; the only blasphemy. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MF3bxIJ_PH0

I didn’t get first tracks but ..

I did get second tracks up and down the Whiteface Toll Road yesterday, on my way back from grocery shopping.

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... mountain of storms

In 1968, Chouinard and his buddies drove from California to the tip of South America - The Funhogs - were doing a surfing, skiing, and climbing trip. Patagonia just released this archival film on YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YxM2cOvq6s8

A nice run on an Adirondack dirt road ...

and nobody in sight on the out and back 12k.

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... a long day out

Kilian Jornet running, and climbing, the five ridges in Romsdal, Norway. Truly, this guy is a stud.  An entertaining and inspiring 12 minutes. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=0s&v=8NxXh3UqpAE&index=9&list=FL9X3_Ad02uWPXUtyme4rlFQ

MOVIE OF THE DAY: punch through it

Wow; skiing Mount Moran in the Tetons!  I have climbed on Moran, but never wanted to get on the Skillet Glacier route because of the fierce bushwhack, amazing to think a 12 year-old did this. An awesome 11+ minute video. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pqswSvGlu-w

A testosterone thing going on in Norway

Given that all nordic races were cancelled in the beginning of March, but the official training/racing season doesn't end until the end of the month ... some nordic brutes are taking the end-of-season ultra workout to a new level! A 100k day, surpassed by a 200k day, then a 300k ski, and now a 500k ski in a bit over a day. As Devon Kershaw pointed out in his podcast ... seems to be a guy thing. 

MOVIE OF THE DAY ... another prime freebie ... VALLEY UPRISING

I have seen this before, but heck it's free, and it will get me through another yoga/core session.

https://www.amazon.com/Valley-Uprising-Peter-Sarsgaard/dp/B01M3UPOWI/ref=nodl_