Ice Is Forming

As you can see from my iPhone screen capture, temperatures are dropping and I anticipate that this weekend will see the start of the ice climbing season. Reserve a spot at the cabin ... December 18-22.

NPR: interview with Kikkan Randall

Click on this text to access a short interview with Kikkan. She continues to have an outstanding start to the 2009-2010 Nordic World Cup season. As a sprinter, her 18th place in the recent 10K in Kuusamo Finland was quite a fine showing. She is a genuine medal threat in the Olympic sprints!

Olympic Nordic Trails Have Been Rolled

I suggest caution on the downhills as you will probably be dodging rocks, and so I stuck to the flats. Excellent skating conditions, but still rock skis only. I had a great 10K workout.

Summer Trip ... Tetons as an option?

I imagine that with 10 days we might be able to do the following: warmups on Baxter Pinnacle and Symmetry Spire, the East Ridge of the Grand Teton, and the Cathedral Traverse. As per the pros and cons ... one of the best pros is a committed partner, and Larry is one of the best, add to that good weather, AAC Climber's Ranch, and easy air travel access. On the cons side are long walks in and out, and a lack of snow and mixed routes. Still, a pretty appealing alpine vacation!

One of the enclosed pictures shows a climber on the summit of Teewinot looking over at Owens and the Grand Teton. The other picture shows the East Ridge (and easier Koven route) on Owens, and the ridge over to Gunsight Notch, the Grandstand (fabulous bivvy spot), and the North Ridge of the Grand ... The Cathedral Traverse.

Yahoo ... the rock skis are out

I just got in from a 50 minute ski on our sugarbush trails. I also checked and they rolled a 1K loop through the biathlon stadium which ought to be good skating as soon as the temperature drops a few more degrees and it sets up. It seems like the season has started ... finally.

An animated exchange in a nordic wax room

Click on this text to access a link to this very funny animation. Created by Duncan - former Olympic biathlete - at 40 years old is giving it one more try, and hoping to make the team for the 2010 games. This animation truly captures the gamesmanship that goes on in a nordic wax room ... if his medical practice doesn't pay the bills, maybe he can make it as a standup comic. Of course, if Duncan has a couple of good days on the range during the trials do not count him out, even at 40 this guy is quite the stud. Other items of note, he is a Treetops graduate, and a sometimes training partner back in the day

Video of the 2008 Chamonix Climbing Trip

As we start to sort out climbing plans for the summer, I would like to review the various options day-by-day. Starting with the French Alps ... the pros include easy access, fantastic routes on ice or rock or mixed ground, huts, culture, while the cons include cost, weather, and crowding on some routes.

This four minutes movie slideshow covers the amazing 14 day trip that Larry and I had two summers ago. With fantastic weather, moments after arriving in Chamonix we were on a tram to a hut at 12,000'. We did 11 routes, with Larry freeing rock up to 5.10a; Hock kept up but just barely, as Larry was seriously fit! Larry also teamed up with a Vermonter that we met and bagged the first ascent of the season on the Jager Couloir ... Euros don't enjoy surprises like that in their own mountains.

Tomorrow we'll consider the pros and cons of a summer climbing trip to the Tetons.

78 Days Until The Olympics

I received an email yesterday from Yosuf and his brother Robel. Both of them, as well as another brother Benyam, are graduates of NCS. I taught Robel to ski when he was in 6th grade, and he raced for three years on our cross country team. He then spent four years racing for the Colorado Rocky Mountain School, and then on to the University of New Hampshire Ski Team. Click on this text to access a short video interview with race footage from the 2006 Games in Torino. Robel is currently training for the Vancouver Olympics, and he remains the only Ethiopian ever to compete in the winter games.

NCS: Happy Thanksgiving

We had a sit-down dinner for 270, with families traveling from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Bermuda, Switzerland, and 10 different states. The traditional feast capped off 36 hours of events: two parent dinners, a development office breakfast, classroom visits, a theatrical performance, two dance performances, a book fair, a jug-band jam session, an international food fair, a tour of the student residence construction site, and of course, a 30 minutes speech by the Hockmeister!

FYI ... our students helped raise 11 free-range birds, baked 77 pies, harvested 110 pounds of potatoes, 55 pounds of squash, and hand picked all the salad greens that we ate today.

Nordic World Cup Video

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Now that all the families have left NCS it is time to catch up with my blog. Video from last week's races in Norway are starting to make their way on to You Tube. Click on the text to access some video of the US women racing in the sprints, the 10K, and the 5K. Kikkan had an excellent start to her season. Saturday the world cup moves to Kuusamo Finland ... go team, go!

Of course, here in Lake Placid we still have no snow. Despite the deer hunters in the woods I am going for a long hike with poles, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for the snow that is supposed to come on Saturday.

Still No Snow

As you can see from this picture of Mirror Lake and the High Peaks in the background of town, a front is moving in and snow is predicted for Friday and Saturday ... heavy at times! We are getting ready for the traditional NCS sit-down dinner for 275 on Thanksgiving. Enjoy the celebration with your family and friends.

Frank checks in

Former NCS student, and charter pilot, Frank K. has blocked out the time for the Fossil Icefest in December. The enclosed pictures are from his recent charter flight where he flew clients to Guaymas - a small town on the Ses of Cortez - for a sailing trip. Look for him next month to put down the rod and reel, and pick up the piolet. Are you sharpening your tools and crampons?

High School Reunion

Yesterday I drove down to Long Island to honor our high school lacrosse coach - Al Butler - and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of our Long Island Championship team. In the first picture you can see John Gettler a star from the 1968 North Shore Championship team shaking the coach's hand. In my two years on the varsity we were 30-5, and I was named an All-League defenseman in my senior year ... can you pick me out of the lineup? (Click on the images to enlarge the photographs.)

World Cup Kick-off

Yesterday was the start of the World Cup season, with a large field on hand in Norway. The conditions were hard and fast, and the best American results were Kikkan's 21st place in the 10K women's race, and Freeman's 22nd in the men's 15K. The skating course was lightning fast, and the men's race was won by a relatively obscure Norwegian biathlete. (Norway posted a double winning the women's race as well.) Click on the text to access sprinter Andy Newell's blog, and watch two minutes of coverage from the races. It is supposed to snow later this week in Lake Placid ... Yahoo!

Another Blast from the Past!

Sometime around 1976 or 1977, Jonathan Waterman, and I went into Mount Katahdin with hopes of climbing a new route in the North Basin. Despite the rumors the drips of ice on that big wall came nowhere near the ground. As a consolation prize, in bitter cold conditions (air temp below -25 degrees F, not to mention the wind), we did an early repeat of the Cilley-Barber route. (Click on the picture to enlarge the image.)

Bouldering with Dave

Taking an hour off from the office I did some easy problems on the Yurt boulder. Meanwhile Dave and one of our 9th graders were working on some of my old test pieces. Nick knows that the standing offer from Hock is a trip to Ben and Jerry's for any student that can get all 12 problems. Here he is working on the last one! This two minute video is called "At The Feet Of ... The Master." Dave and Larry are the go to - rock guns - on campus; the NCS masters! Enjoy.

Global Warming

Click on this text to access a short video produced by the Asia Society, entitled "On Thinner Ice: melting glaciers on the roof of the world." David Breashears is interviewed and responsible for the photography. Also interviewed are scientist Lonnie Thompson and historian Orville Schell. The video graphically portrays these himalayan glaciers as the "canaries in the coal mine" of the emerging problem of diminished sources of fresh water in Asia.

Alpine Starts

Click on this text to read a very short essay on alpine starts from the AAC newsletter. It captures the debate about "how early to start" just perfectly ... how many times have you had this conversation with your alpine partner?

Nordic Training

After being on the road for quite awhile, I treated myself to running the nordic ski team practice today from 3-4:30. We did a ski hike over varied terrain with stops for a variety of plyometrics. The pictures shows Lucy (white hat) and the younger girls on the team gearing up with Liz who is one of our other coaches. (Click on the image to enlarge the photograph.)

Brian Turns 55!

Call him on his cell phone and wish him well. I believe the weather has been good down-state, and that he is celebrating this event in the Gunks. (As an aside, Greg did you hook up with him, or did you decide to just hang out in the Big Apple?) The enclosed picture is from the Palisades - scene of my 50th birthday celebration - with climbs of Starlight Buttress and the famous bivouac El Presidente made in the moraine. Also as Brian, Danny, and Mark remember this was also the scene of Lewy's run-in with the horse packers over the card table!

Summer Plans?

No doubt you are hatching schemes and dreams about a big trip for next summer. My current thoughts are the Cordiller Blanca (Huaraz) or the French Alps (Chamonix). Of course I am open to other suggestions. The enclosed picture shows from back to front the following: upper portions of the Peuterey Ridge, summit of Mount Blanc, Aiguille du Diable, Gervasutti and Jager Couloirs, and a host of pinnacles on the Chamonix Aiguilles. (Oh, remember to click on the image to enlarge this fanatastic photograph.)

Canadian Rockies Ice Climbs

Click on this text to access a video of Twight and Rackliff soloing some hard routes in the 1990s (including Polar Circus). The gear is a bit "old-fashioned" but the standard of alpinism is obviously cutting-edge. This video is sure to get you excited about the upcoming ice climbing season. Enclosed is also a summary from Twight's website ... While working at Wild Things I learned my way around the video camera and editing gear. First I shot and cut a paragliding video. The sport was quite fresh at the time and we recorded some fairly entertaining and harmless accidents. When Randy Rackcliff and I went on a road trip to the Canadian Rockies John Bouchard loaned us a VHS camera, which, at the time, was very high tech. Randy and I recorded each other soloing a few different ice routes. I don't know where the raw footage is otherwise I might "re-master" it but as it is the clip is a truthful record of a particular era. This trip is documented by a single paragraph in the chapter titled "I Hurt Therefore I Am" in my book "Kiss or Kill" but a full article is posted on the site under the title "Naked and Savage."

Jager Couloir on Tacul

Click on this link to access a six minute video of two guys climbing this classic ice gully on Mount Blanc du Tacul, and then skiing down the normal route. Larry got the first ascent of the season of this Chamonix jewel in 2008.

First Nordic FIS Race of the Year

Despite the amazingly warm weather in the Adirondacks - I am going bouldering today - the cross country racing season has started. The first important races (pre-world cup) were held this morning in Norway, and the US team which is still getting over its jet-lag had a good start to the season. In the sprint Newell and Koos finished 14th and 15th respectively in the men's event. While Kikkan Randall finished 9th in the women's event. Racing cotinued on Saturday with Kris Freeman taking 5th in the men's 15K, and Stephen and Arritola finishing 16th and 24th in the women's 10k. On the final day of racing in Norway Randall finished 4th in the women's 5K, Freeman finished 5th, and Newell finished 21st in the men's 10K ... a superb start of the season for USA. Click on this text to access a link for the full story. On a related aside, college teams and those not in Europe are assembling in West Yellowstone, the traditional early season training ground.

Climbing in South Africa

I am in Charlotte North Carolina making a presentation to educational consultants, and I just received pictures from Greg and Tori. They are hoping to write an article for a climbing magazine about rock climbing in South Africa (a place called Boven) ... needless to say you don't see an leopards sleeping in trees in the Adirondacks. On a different note, I see that my blog just had its first reader from Saudi Arabia. Finally, Brian turns 55 this weekend and is celebrating in the Gunks.

The Fun Scale

Click on the text to access this link to Kelly Cordes new blog. He has a great entry describing the difference between Type I Fun, Type II Fun, and Type III Fun. I think this ought to be the subject of the next fossil gathering around a campfire.

Mt. Kilimanjaro Ice Cap Continues Rapid Retreat

Click on this text to access a New York Times article about the continued - and rapid - shrinkage of the summit icecap.

Canadian Ski Marathon

Winter is coming. Prep your nordic bases. Watch this 13 minute video ... wouldn't this be a fantastic Fossil weekend? Fly into Montreal and I will pick you up. Click on this text to access the video.

Bill Moyers Tribute to Charles Houston

Bill Moyers does a 16 minute video tribute to his friend Charles Houston who passed away a month ago at the age of 96. Click on this text to access this superb video with wonderful historic footage from Nanda Devi, Alaska, and K2. (The story of the K2 trip, and the attempt to save Art Gilkey is a mountaineering legend ... how wonderful to hear the story from Houston's own lips.)

Classic Ice Climbing Video

This 1976 video produced by Yvon Chouinard, follows a day of soloing on Ben Nevis by John Cunningham. The gear is vintage fossil-ware ... ice hammer, bamboo 70cm piolet,and first generation chouinard rigid crampons (the ones that broke all the time). This is a long forgotten, rarely seen video, however those that own a well-thumbed copy of Chouinard's "Climbing Ice" will recognize some stills taken from the video. Click on this text to watch the 8 minute video.

Lucy Turns Twelve!

Lucy holding up her diamond studs that she got from my sister; she also got a microscope; a gift certificate to amazon.com and some clothes for the ski season. Today we are in the process of looking at fly wings, salt crystals, pond water ... you name it ... the young scientist is super curious. (As always, click on the image to enlarge the photograph.)

A New Movie Out

Click on the text to read the New York Times Review of "The Wildest Dream." This is a documentary about Mallory and his ill-fated 1924 attempt on Everest. The movie has already had its limited release, and will begin to play nation-wide in April. The Times said: “The Wildest Dream” is devised as a kind of “Julie & Julia” for the rugged. It follows Conrad Anker, an Everest veteran, and Leo Houlding, his protégé, through an attempt in 2007 to mimic, if not quite duplicate, the ill-fated climb in which both Mallory and his companion, Andrew Irvine, died near the summit

Yoga at the Yurt Boulder

I went out to do a bit of bouldering late in the day, however the rock was pretty wet, and so I did a 30 minute yoga session. Of course, just as I was finishing up it started to rain, however I had my special 3 ounce Magic Anorak ... so all was well on the walk home. The soundtrack is by Buffalo Springfield from the late sixties.

Union College Lacrosse

In between climbing on plastic at the Albany Rock Gym, and climbing at the Gunks, I made a quick trip over to my alma mater. It was great to see my old Coach and be able to applaud the good works of an old buddy who led the nation in assists, and was being inducted into the college Hall of Fame. Notice the two game balls in a display of memorabilia ... we beat Syracuse three years in a row (I had a hat trick in the first quarter of one of those games), and we beat Siena, one of five current D-1 teams that we used to play ... back in the old days.

Training for Alpinism

Click on the text to access a great Jackson Hole link to a site called MOUNTAIN ATHLETE. It has a host of good exercises and routines, with pictures, descriptions, and videos to illustrate how to do the poses and exercises.

Video: an interview with BD

Brian gives an articulate, and concise summary of Mark's visit touching on the high points: missed plane flight, sluggish starts, broken coffee machine, clipping the bolt, and cruising "Middle Earth." Of course the final portion of El Presidente's visit was at North Country School where among other things he did some laps on the classic 5.7 "Unexpected." To all the missing fossils ... we wish you were in the Gunks with us.

Gathering of the Fossil Clan

Several fossils got together on Saturday and Sunday. As it was pouring rain on Saturday, Gary-Mark-Hock met at the Albany Rock Gym for a few hours of pulling on plastic. Hock seemed most sensible (whimpy if you talk to the other guys), and he stayed off all the overhanging problems and severe crimps. Sunday cleared into a spectacular Fall day and Hock-Brian-Mark-John spent the day climbing at the Gunks. The enclosed pictures are of Mark a bit strung out on the "Thin Slabs" lead, and cruising the mega-classic "Middle Earth" first pitch.

Mental Training

Click on the text to access this short article by Will Gadd. It was posted on his blog and was written about the subject of mental training for competition climbing, however I think it applies equally as well to cutting edge alpinism. I will go further and venture to say that this is the most overlooked element of an alpinist's training.

Another Blast from the Past!

The enclosed slide is 30 years old. Mike Brochu, Michael Franklin, and I are headed up to do an early repeat of the Black Dike on Cannon. This is still a classic hard route, although in those days its reputation was fearsome. This morning it was 15 degrees, and the ice climbing season is probably only a couple of weeks away. Sharpen your tools, and reserve the third week in December for the Fossil Icefest.

Oh, and Mark is coming east this weekend, so the next postings will be from the Gunks!

Third-classing on Owl's Head

This short video profiles a late afternoon workout on Owl's Head. After a full day of meetings and computer work, the desk jockey turns into a crag rat ... there is nothing like a 20 minute hike followed by 7-8 laps up the easy route (5.2) and then a nice walk down as the sun sets.

First Turns of the Season

Greg - our traveling alpinist - is back in Africa with Tori, however on the way back from his geology gig, he stopped for some climbing and skiing in the Canadian Rockies. The pictures are of Greg and his buddy Trevor skiing Highwood Pass. As an unrelated aside, it is 15 degrees this morning, please set aside the December long-weekend for ice climbing; I think the routes will be nice and fat.