History of Skiing in the Northwest

Lowell Skoog has added a new chapter to his on-line history ... Superb.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THIS HISTORY OF SKIING.

Guide to Zermatt

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE ABOUT ZERMATT.

Amazing Climbers

Check out these ibex soloing on the 5.9 wall of the dam!

The Best Backcountry Skiing In The Northeast

Watch this short video, which gives some visual highlights of a new guidebook published by the AMC.

THE MOUNTAINEER: mountainfest and the ski festival

Whiteface

Another tour up the Toll Road. It was 11 degrees this morning so the ice routes should be getting fat soon.

Touring Up The Toll Road

For the first 2k the cover was icy and spotty, and then it improved considerably. I skinned up over 1500'. It was very windy with gusts up to 50 mph. On my way down I passed the NCS group heading up. (My daughter Lucy is in the middle wearing the neck warmer.)

Greg Lands in Antarctica

Beautiful weather, only -8 C.

Video: self arrest

When was the last time you practiced or performed a self-arrest? Having just come back from the Andes having asked myself that question; and as I am getting ready to go back to the Alps, I thought it might be a good idea to put a thorough review of my basic skills on the agenda for this winter.

Guides Wall in the Tetons

Another blast from the past ... El Presidente and The Historian teaming up the summer after their first Denali trip.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE PHOTOGRAPH.

ANOTHER CARTOON ... the start of the world cup season

Tomorrow the 5 month long world cup series kicks off in Gallivare Sweden. This weekend the athletes race a 15K and a 4 X 10K relay.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE CARTOON.

Ski Construction: camber and rocker

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE PHOTOGRAPH.

Receding Glaciers in the Himalayas

FYI ... Not just climate change, pollution also accelerates ice melt and the shrinking of tropical glaciers.

CLICK TO ACCESS THE FULL STORY IN THE ECONOMIST

IMPORTANT ALPINE WEBSITE

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS WILD SNOW

Video: FIS Muonio Sprints

Kikkan Randall kicks butt, winning her first race of the season against a deep and talented field which included several Olympic medal winners.

Climbing Blog Breaks 5,000 Barrier

This morning the Fossil blog registered it's 5000th reader!

Video: Bachar-Yerian

This amazing route was done in the 1980s, and although it is "only 5.11" it rarely gets done, as it is super run-out, highly technical, and has a history of gigantic whippers. This great video is the record of a recent onsight attempt.

The Bachar Yerian 5.11c R/X from cole gibson on Vimeo.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

In honor of Mark - El Presidente - this week's quote is from Gaston Rebuffat. "Some mountaineers are proud of having done all their climbs without bivouacs. How much they have missed.".

Nordic Combined Gold Medalist In The Backcountry

Bill Demong, a native of Saranac Lake is out for a tour and some turns on Cardiff Pass in Utah before he heads to Norway for the World Cup circuit. Obviously this guy is an all-round mountain man, as one might expect of an Adirondacker. I remember him skiing in the Bill Kockh League when he was five years old.

Crevasse Rescue

Needless to say I am not watching this reality show, however the news is that Sarah Palin goes mountain climbing in Denali Park but first she needs to learn how to do crevasses rescue. Anyone know what peak she is climbing?

First Skate Session Of The Season

Good To Be Back

Yesterday as I snapped pictures of the Adirondacks from high up on Whiteface, I remembered this photo I took in Manhattan. As I mentioned before, it was a productive trip, however it was hard to believe seeing all the stores, even at this early date, readying themselves for holiday shopping.

A Skier's Math Homework

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE THE IMAGE IT IS VERY HUMOROUS.

50 Classic Ski Descemts of North America

50 Classic Ski Descents of North America from art burrows on Vimeo.

THE BOOK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED AND HERE IS A PORTION OF THE LIST:

The East

Polar Star Couloir, Mt. Beluga, Baffin Island
Tuckerman Ravine, Mt. Washington, NH
Huntington Ravine, Mt. Washington, NH

Colorado

Landry Line, Pyramid Peak
North Maroon Peak, North Face
Cross Couloir, Mt. of the Holy Cross
Wilson Peak, Northeast Face
Silver Couloir, Buffalo Mountain

Utah

Mt. Superior, South Face
Hypodermic Needle, Thunder Ridge
Cold Fusion, Mt. Timpanogos
Mt. Tukuhnikivatz, La Sals
Wyoming
Ford-Stettner Couloir, Grand Teton
The Skillet, Mt. Moran
East Face Glacier Route, Middle Teton

Custom Hand-made Skis At An Inexpensive Price

FIS MUONIO ... TWO IN A ROW

Kris Freeman won the 10K classic event in Finland, with 150 entries, and a deep field that included several Olympic medalists ... a pretty good start to the season. Kikkan finished 14th in the women's 5K classical race ... given that she is a sprint specialist this is one of her best distance results ever at the international level. Go USST.

Training for the Loppet and Haute Route

On this beautiful, sunny, and mild day I hoofed it up 750' on Whiteface and then skinned up another 750' ... Good workout and nice snow conditions.

FIS RACE IN MUONIO

Kikkan wins the skate sprint handily, which is impressive given the size (120 racers) and depth of the field. Ida Sargent finished 11th and Andy Newell finished 16th. Tomorrow is a distance race ... A great start to the season in Finland.

Catskill Mountains

Yesterday I had a gorgeous sunset view of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains as I rode the train into Manhattan.

A New Novel ... Birkebeiner

Amazing technology, one click and I have this new historical novel on my iPad for the train ride home tomorrow. The first world cup Nordic races start this weekend, I already have six days on snow, and so I am excited about immersing myself in the story of Prince Hakkon. (Also, I plan to take Lucy to Norway when she graduates North Country School to ski the Norwegian Birkie.)

10th Mountain Division History

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ ABOUT THE TRAINING AT CAMP HALE DURING WW II.

Roping Up On A Glacier

CLICK ON THIS LINK TO AN INFORMATIVE ARTICLE FROM THE AMERICAN ALPINE INSTITUTE.

Rock Skis

I toured for 40 minutes again this morning, and as you can see, Lucy and I are starting to pull the rock skis out of storage. Unfortunately a warm front is moving in, and all the snow will be gone by tomorrow.

Video: Yosemite Glaciers

A very nice, informative 8 minute video about the small alpine glaciers still found in Yosemite's high sierra.

THE VIDEO GOT ME STOKED ... Heading Out With Rock Skis

Whiteface Auto Road - 10/16/10 from Matt Charles on Vimeo.

WATCH THIS RECENT VIDEO OF FOLKS SKIING UP THE TOLL ROAD ON WHITEFACE AND KNOW THAT THE SKI SEASON IS NOT FAR OFF.

FOSSIL ICEFEST

As you can see, its only the first week in November and things around the Fossil Cabin, sauna, gear room, and crapper are looking positively wintery. I believe there will be plenty of ice for our tools and our single malt!

North Face of Gothics

A trustee and I took a charter flight to Maine to have lunch with a major donor. On our approach back into Lake Placid I snapped this photograph ... It looks climbable.

FIS NORDIC RACES

The first races of the year - classical sprints - were held today in Munio. Ida Sargent a Dartmouth co-ed made it into the final heat, pretty amazing considering the other three women were 2010 Olympians.

NCS Net Zero Energy Use Residence

DOUBLE CLICK TO WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO WHERE HOCK TALKS ABOUT GREENING THE CAMPUS AND THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE!

Harry is onboard for the Haute Route

SUNRISE ON DAY FOUR!

THE BLACK DIKE ON CANNON IS LOOKING GOOD

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE TEXT.

Dealing with Hypothermia in the Field

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Winter Is Coming

A picture of a snow covered Cascade that I took at sunset on Tuesday, as well as a picture from a webcam of Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines ... Looking like they have good early season ice climbing.

Almost single digits!

The cold snap continues, and it was 13 degrees this morning. Yesterday I snapped a picture in Cascade Pass ... the ice is definitely forming, and we may have a good shot a doing some routes before Thanksgiving.

Video: part history and part modern day adventure

A fantastic 5-minute video by Adirondacker Ron Konowitz - Ski To Die Club member - retracing Irving Langmuir's route in 1907. He claims that Slide Mountain in the Catskills was the first peak to be ascended and descended on skis in North America.

The Wet, Cold, Weekend Just Passed

This weekend we had various mixtures of snow, sleet, and rain. I had a lot of school work to be done, however no traveling! I managed several loops around the ski hill. Even though all my hiking was on school property - all of which is posted - I wore red just in case there were any hunters out and about.

Gary was up to work on his lean-to over in Wilmington, and on his way home he stopped for a 90 minute chat and hot chocolate. Aside from solving all the problems of the world, we made plans for December ice climbing and maybe a trip back to Peru in 2011.

EARLY SEASON ADIRONDACK ICE

A couple of weeks ago I got in some nice ski workouts before I headed over to New Hampshire to clean out my dad's apartment, however it looks like some folks bagged a nice early ascent of this alpine route.

Looking Wintery

More Haute Route Propaganda!

The temperatures are dropping, snow is predicted, the leaves have all fallen off, and I am ready for winter. Get permission; get your gear; get in shape ... WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A GREAT TIME!

Getting Colder

Clearly winter is on the way. Temperatures on campus are usually 3-4 degrees colder than in town, so every night this week should be below freezing. As you can also see we are due for more snow. Pull out your tele gear, and sharpen those ice axes.