HARVEST MOON AND FOLIAGE



Total time on snow during the 2024 - 2025 season

The first graph is my total time Nordic skiing last year, with a Strava paragraph comparing it to the previous season.

This next graph is the total amount of time spent alpine skiing last year, again Strava provided a brief comparative review with the previous year.

David Hochschartner (Hock)

Shackleton’s ship was bound to fail

An interesting article, which outlines some of the inadequacies of Shackleton's ship.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/science/shackleton-endurance-antarctica.html

Spectacular racing at the UCI World Cup

The U23 chase pack, following the top three riders, pedaling up to the high point of the course on some very steep climbs, and then heading back down to the stadium on some very technical and high speed terrain. The top rider finished the six lap course in just over 74 minutes.

On a related note, I had a good week of training which was dominated by my time pedaling. This week I logged just under 16.5 hours of training, on 210k (195k bike and 15k run), with just under 3500' of vertical gain. I also managed to do two sessions of PT stretching and strength workouts.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS for the backcountry ski season



The Hock Alpine Library

My guess is that between books, magazines, maps, framed prints, posters, and my digital collection I have over 2000 items in the Hock Alpine Library.  For the past year, I have been in the process of adding my personal stamp to every item in the collection. 

The collection includes: a few out of print "relatively" rare climbing novels; a "rare" first watercolor (in exchange for climbing lessons) from a very well known Alaskan artist; the first ground breaking Chouinard mail order catalog in mint condition; the "rare" Mountain Magazine devoted to European alpine ice routes and their history; a "rare" English edition of the history of the Dynafit alpine touring binding; as well as complete collection of the Alpinist magazine from issue 0 to the current #91. Among the Fossils, El Presidente has justly earned his nickname, and so too have I, as the Historian! 

My alpine collection has been a great joy, however my current challenge is to figure out what to do with it in the future.  Eight years ago when we moved to the farm, my collection encompassed 75 boxes. I imagine now, if I had to guess it would occupy probably 90-100 boxes. Our house and the Fossil Cabin have ample space.  However, most people and organizations don't have the desire or space to house such a collection.  (If I were to keel over and die tomorrow my kids and Selden would be pulling their hair out saying "what the fuck, do we just rent a dumpster?") Thankfully, it looks like I am not going to keel over anytime soon, so I have plenty of time to work on this problem. 

I have begun to think about donating portions of the collection to certain organizations. Likely places that might be a home for a portion of my books and mountain memorabilia include: the American Alpine Club, Appalachian Mountain Club, Adirondack Mountain Club, Union College, St. Lawrence College, the Harvard Mountaineering Club, Dartmouth Outing Club, as well as the local libraries of Keene Valley, Saranac Lake, and Lake Placid. 

HOWEVER BEFORE I MAKE THOSE DONATIONS, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME IS THAT MY KIDS, MY CLIMBING PARTNERS, AND THEIR FAMILIES GET FIRST DIBS! 

David Hochschartner (Hock)

UCI Lake Placid World Cup

Today Mount Van Hoevenberg hosted the short track event (20-30 minutes long), while Sunday will be the Olympic format event (70-90 minutes). I watched the U23 events in the morning … pretty exciting.

Our tariff policy and cross country skiing

https://fasterskier.com/2025/10/tariffs-currency-and-cross-country-skiing-how-global-economics-could-shape-the-2025-26-ski-season/

Another frosty morning

Earlier today it was 28 degrees; it shouldn't be too long before the first snow, when I fire up the sauna by the Fossil Cabin.

The Skimo Company sent an email blast this morning about new products which may, or may not, make it to America … depending on tariff policies. The USSMA sent out an email yesterday talking about the recent team training camp in Italy, as athletes prep for the first Olympic Skimo events in Cortina. And, I am going to pull out a pair of waxless nordic skis and my PDG Skimo skis from Fossil Cabin storage. Time to get ready.

UCI World Cup mountain biking coming to Lake Placid

Today is an official training day, and racing starts tomorrow.

I am slower than a decade ago, but what a difference retirement makes!

Imagine if I could have logged this training volume ten years ago! Strava has given me a month to preview its subscription app - excellent for an exercise geek - but I am not upgrading.

Nice sunset over Street and Nye

We need some more rain, but it sure has been wonderful weather to train in … sunny and cool.  This morning it was 30 degrees and tomorrow morning it will be 28 degrees. When will my first day on snow be? Last year, I skied up the Whiteface toll road on October 14th.

Things you may not know about your COROS watch

A short but worthwhile YouTube video. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i-cW4DbPlAE

Recovery Week

A week removed from the Sierras and I feel pretty good. Sleep, energy, resting pulse, all seem back to normal, although the left knee is quite painful on downhill terrain.

On this travel and recovery week I logged: a little over 13 hours, on 175k (170k bike and 5k on foot), with 1000' vertical. I also managed 5 stretching sessions, and two easy strength workouts. Ready to get after it again!

Well I landed on the podium

However, I was 19 minutes slower than when I ran it three years ago. I chalk that up to being slightly longer, the awful weather, and a stop to get out my beefy rain jacket near the end of the race when I was seriously hypothermic.

It was a small age group pool - probably ten folks - but I did manage to beat 20+ people in the 40-50-60 year old age groups.

Until the snow flies I am back in the saddle

BACK IN THE ‘DACKS … almost at Peak Foliage

Still trying to recover from my two weeks in the Sierras, and the 5 weeks of hard training before that!  So, doing lots of stretching, and two-a-day exercise bike workouts, with some short warmup hikes, and strength work thrown in.  I imagine I will get after it again, next week.

Starting to recover

Yesterday was pretty blurry, as I was wasted from the trip and travel; today I am a bit more coherent! It was a great trip - who knows how many more father/daughter adventures are in my legs - however the sierras never fail to excite.

Coupling trail running adventures with a race was pretty spicey, but continuing the long mountain relationship with Mark was the highlight. Whether it's an easy hike, short bike ride, or sitting around the campfire drinking whiskey and telling stories, we look forward to celebrating an outdoor partnership that goes back to 1978.

TRAINING ZONES

As an exercise nerd, I geek out on all this physiological stuff.

https://fasterskier.com/2025/09/training-zones/

But the raw reality, at my age the task is much simpler. What is a heart rate where sustainable cardiovascular gains can be made, without injury or compromising successful adaptations?  (For me - 73 year old male with a long history of training - probably a heart rate of 85 to 115 for almost all of my exercise. And by all of my exercise, I mean every 4 of five training sessions.)

The next question in my geriatric simplification would be: What is the heart rate that will sustainably yield speed for some racing, power for some climbing, or maintenance of max VO2?  (For me, that probably means a pulse of 125-140 for a small portion - say 10% - of my exercise, or about a portion of one or two training sessions every week.) 

So, I won't be measuring lactates, I probably don't need that super-slick Coros Apex 2 Pro watch, because at my age, training isn't rocket science. Maybe it's heretical to say, but at any age or level of athletic performance … it ain't rocket science!

Day #12 in the Sierras

Lucy's last race - the 25k - went pretty well. She finished within her target goal and was just off The Triple Crown podium in fourth place. It was a beautiful day, with a large field, and I managed to hike and run on different parts of the course to cheer Lucy on. We ended the day with a big confab with the extende Ewing clan.

Day will be a long sorting, repacking, and travel day. We drive to the Bay Area; I take a red eye from SFO to Chicago, and then fly to Albany, finishing with the two hour drive to Lake Placid.

Day #11 in the sierras

Yesterday, Lucy raced the Mammoth 50k, with 800 other runners. The course was just under 32 miles, with well over 7000' vertical gain. Lucy was in the top 30 women, but the really good news is that she is sitting in either 4th or fifth in the Triple Crown standings with one race to go … the 25k.

The pictures below were from the 22 mile aid station and the finish line.

Day #10 in the Sierras

The Mammoth Trail Fest starts today with the and the Dragonback ascent to the 11,000' summit. This is a 5k run with just under 2500' vertical. The day was raw, the rain and wind made the footing, even more technical than usual.

Lucy finished as the 8th female (third in her age group), while I also finished third in my age group. My time was slower than in 2022. However, I made a 2 minute stop to put on my rain jacket in the final kilometer which was above tree line. Also, they moved the finish - about 250m - right next to the Gondola. So, it was a pretty good effort, although I was very hypothermic at the finish.

After warming up in the car, changing to dry clothes, we are now fueling, and kicking back at Schatt's in Mammoth.

Day #9 in the Sierras

A casual day. We moved to the lower Lee Vining campsite this morning and are hanging out in Mammoth Lakes. At 2pm we will get our bibs. The race start has been moved up an hour because of the threat of lightning around noon.

Day #8 in the Sierras

The taper to Mammoth Trail Fest is in full bloom. Yesterday we ran on the Sunrise Trail in Tuolumne. Lucy did an easy 7 miler, and I did a three mile shakeout. Today, we will cut that back even more. We ended the afternoon with the view from Olmsted Point and an ice cream cone at the Tuolumne store.

Robert Redford and his love for skiing

https://www.powder.com/news/rip-robert-redford-skiing-sundance?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=powder&utm_content=&hashed_email=d3e1750ccc9b1e465c1b40f08f02801e3dea865ffbb0f204242c79da5feb2147

Day #7 in the Sierras

Starting to taper. Of course, Lucy's idea of a taper was to run up 13,000' Mount Dana. (Her 2:15 time was actually just 30 minutes off the Fastest Known Time for women … she thinks she could Lowe the FKT on another trip.)

I did an easy hike for an hour, and today I will run up to Gardisky Lake. Still sleeping at 9500'; planning to spend Thursday-Sunday at 7000' in Lee Vining for a shorter drive to the races, and access to showers. Of course, we will escape the below freezing nighttime temperatures. (Speaking of which, here is a morning picture, with my iPhone obviously frosted over.)

Day #6 in the Sierras

I had a good first week out west, and the guesstimate on the volume is about 12.5 hours, with two hour long bike rides, three stretching sessions, and 35k+ runs, on probably 3500' vertical.

We are camping at 9500' at Junction just outside Tioga Pass entrance to the National Park. Today, my daughter - the digital nomad - needed to work and so we are spending the morning at Tierra Antigua Cafe.

The nights continue to be chilly in the high 20s.

Day #6 in the Sierras

I had a good first week out west, and the guesstimate on the volume is about 12.5 hours, with two hour long bike rides, three stretching sessions, and 35k+ runs, on probably 3500' vertical.

We are camping at 9500' at Junction just outside Tioga Pass entrance to the National Park. Today, my daughter - the digital nomad - needed to work and so we are spending the morning at Tierra Antigua Cafe.

The nights continue to be chilly in the high 20s.

Day #5 in the Sierras

Lucy ran up Lundy Canyon to Saddlebag Lake, and I did an hour long out and back, after I dropped her off.

Day #4 in the Sierras

We both did good runs from the Green Lakes trail head. Lucy was a 16 mile loop and mine was a 6.5 mile out and back.

Day #3: heading to Tioga Pass

Driving around north shore, over to Nevada and the Carson Valley. A massive, and fatal, traffic accident has had us stuck just short of Bridgeport for quite awhile. Who knows when we will get to Tioga Pass.

GIRL CLIMBER: Maybe the best climbing film ever!

https://youtu.be/YvIfzXPBRxs

Mark and I were able to get tickets to this show, even though it was sold out. Emily Harrington, her husband Adrian Bollinger, and her three year old, were at the show and she did a wonderful Q&A afterwards.

A must see … well it's Day #3 in the Sierras, and we will be driving down to Tioga Pass and camp at Junction or Saddlebag Lake.

Day #2 in Sierras

Lucy spent the morning working and doing a strength workout; while I did some stretching and a nice 80 minute trail run. This afternoon I am biking with Mark while Lucy meets an old NYSEF buddy for a long trail run.

Day #1 in the Sierras

Mostly spent the day catching up with Mark, Liz, and Danny, while Lucy spent most of the day working remotely.

Lucy and I were exhausted from a long travel day, with only about 4-5 hours of sleep. A bit of rain yesterday, but I managed some stretching, an hour bike ride with Mark, as well as a 40 minute run on the old western states trail, while Lucy got in a good run after her last zoom meeting.

So good to be back in the Tahoe area.