Catching Up

The past 10 days or so have been spent catching up with family, catching up on chores, and catching up on fun activities that have been put off for too long.

After fumbling through the Christmas rush, it was great to get out for a run with my brother, Robert (a.k.a. Bubba, Flood, ....). The Bubster and I have both missed out on a lot of December mileage, so it was good to get out. Robert completed the Marine Corp marathon this year, but had not pulled on his running shoes since the race. We did an easy 5, and spent the rest of the day with our family.

On Friday, Dawn and I ran the Pinnacle Loop plus an added loop to get the mileage to about 6.5. Whew, 2 days in a row...I doubled my mileage for the month! It was a nice run and great to get up the hill again!

On Saturday, we hit the climbing gym and then the Goat and I headed up north to the Adirondack Mountains for some ice climbing. The DAKS are one of my favorite spots year-round, and has some of the best waterfall ice in the country. While the weather was not perfect for climbing, we had some fun. We climbed a waterfall route called Tendonitis on Sunday. It was fun, but the weather was way too warm and the ice was melting quickly. By the afternoon, climbing the fall was like taking a shower. The ice quality was OK, but was quickly deteriorating. We called it an early day and hung out our gear to dry.

On Monday, we climbed a couple short routes in Chapel Pond Canyon, and then headed home. One of our climbing partners was sick, and wanted to get home. There were very few climbable routes anyway based on the thaw, so we were fine with it. It was just fun to get back on the ice after missing ice climbing all of last year. This is a shot of Kevin rappelling off the right side of "Lions on the Beach".This is a shot of Ged (right) and me (left) leading Tendonitis, a Grade 3+ waterfall on the north face of Pitchoff Mountain.Here's a shot (left to right) of me, JDW, Ged, and Goat at the beaver pond below the north face of Pitchoff Mtn.

On Tuesday, the Goat and I scouted out some new running trails and got ourselves lost. We ended up at a quarry. While we knew the it existed, I had never understood the magnitude of the site. It's the 3rd quarry along the Metacomet Trail and it's really sad to see the land butchered. I think people would think twice about all the waste of our natural resources if they could see the quarry. I brought along my new camera, so you can check out the pics below. The wind was so strong that it was hard to make forward progress at times. I have never seen wind that bad. In fact, a large tree fell down behind my house while we were out for the run. Luckily, it missed the house.

Today, I took my daughter, Tara, and her boyfriend, Devon, skiing at Ski Sundown. It started snowing shortly before we arrived there at 8:30, and we had a covering of 1-2" of fresh powder when we got to the top of the mountain. It snowed the entire time we were there, so the conditions just kept getting better. By the time we left, there were at least 6" of powder, and I was loving it. Ski Sundown is a small hill, but it's the best in CT. The conditions we excellent considering the weather we get here in southern New England. This is Tara (right) and me (left) carving some turns.
This is Tara and her boyfriend, Devon, shredding it in the pow!
What a great week and what a great year! When I think back on all the great activities that I have experienced this past year, I am so happy. It's been an amazing year, and I'm looking forward to a great 2009 as well.

I hope you all look back on 2008 with some great memories, and wish you all the best in 2009! I also hope to get out and have some fun with many of you readers over the course of 2009. Running, climbing, skiing, or just sharing some stories and laughs. It's all good!

All the best for 2009!

Steve

Joan's Weekend in Vermont

The CT Climbers & Mountaineers started an annual trip to Vermont about 5-6 years ago. Joan, the widow of a past member, Dennis, invited us to her vacation/rental house near Killington, and it has become an annual tradition. I've been on almost all of the trips, and hope we have the opportunity for many more. It's such a great time!

The old farmhouse sleeps about 20 people comfortably, and we usually get about 15 or so in attendance. The weekend goes something like this....Drive up Friday night and arrive in time for drinks and nachos. It's a chance to get reacquainted with folks I haven't seen in awhile. Saturday - After a quick breakfast, we head out for various outdoor activities. I usually ski with my old climbing partner/mentor, Paul (a.k.a. EuroMan) and others. We don't ride the lifts...we use backcountry ski gear (Randonee or Telemark) to "skin" up the mountain and then ski down. Talk about a great cardio workout without the pounding...more on that later. Saturday night is filled with tales of great adventure and an ethnic theme dinner (this year was Ethiopian) followed by a Euroman slide show of past adventures and more drinking. Sunday calls for a more leasurely breakfast followed by clean up/pack up and heading out. Some folks go for more skiing or adventure while others head home.

I talked Dawn into joining the crew this year, so we drove up together Friday night. We arrived around 9:30 to find that the power was out due to the ice storm and we were on generator power. While the beer tasted great, we could not escape talk of the economy, etc. It wasn't a great start, but it was good to be away. Dawn planned to try cross-country skiing with Goat and Dagmar while I headed out to poach some runs at Killington or Pico with EuroMan and others. Generally, the ski resorts don't mind us skinning up the slopes as long as we stay out of the way. It's tough to find non-resort skiing this early in the season as there is usually not enough snow in the woods, etc.

Six of us started up the slopes at a section of Killington that was not open to lift service yet. The snow making equipment was running, but no lifts. Basically, we had the place to ourselves. Four of us stayed together for the 2,000 vertical feet to the summit while Jody and Rick poked along behind us. The conditions were a bit icy, but the skiing down the top half of the mountain was reasonably good. It felt great to be back on the slopes! Unfortunately, our fun was about to come to a screeching halt. One of the resort employees on a snowmobile decided to give me a hard time and asked us to leave. This side of the mountain was not open and we were not paying customers, so we understood the rationale. We complied with his request even though some of the other employees told us it's not usually an issue. I guess this guy was in a bad mood that day. Anyway, we waited in the parking lot for Rick and Jody for awhile to make sure they were safe. Since we had nothing better to do, we started happy hour early.

After Rick and Jody arrived, they decided to head back to the house, and Matt, Jerimy, Paul, and I decided to try to get in a little more vertical at Pico. The resort was not open for paying customers, so we figured we could get a nice run in. On the way up, we saw a skier coming down, so we figured there was no issue with us being there. The skinning was relatively easy because the slope was not very steep for the first 80% of the way up the mountain. Matt decided to take it easy, so it was EuroMan, Jerimy, and me heading to the summit. Jerimy was moving well until we got to the steeper terrain. He did not have ski crampons for biting into the ice, and he was losing the battle with friction. He started sliding down and we couldn't do much to help him. He decided to take off his skis and try boot-packing it to the top. EuroMan and I were within 200 vertical feet of the summit when one of his crampons came loose. Yikes! He worked on re-attaching while I continued to cautiously work my way up the ice covered, steep slope. There were moments of concern to say the least. One false move on this stuff, and you were going for a long ride! Paul had enough at one point and suggested we turn around and ski down. The section I was on was so steep that there was no way I could convert from skinning to skiing. This involves removing the skis, tearing off the skins, re-setting the binding, buckling the boots, and stepping back into the bindings. "No Way!", I yelled. We have to get to the summit! At least it would be level at the summit, we could changeover, and decide on our next course of action. Paul agreed and we pressed on to the top. I managed fine with the ski crampons while Paul and Jerimy cautiously booted it to the summit.

After summiting, we elected to ski down a more gentle slope, but the conditions were not much better. It was "survival skiing" at it's best. We just wanted to get down the mountain before dark. Here's a shot of EuroMan and Jerimy after we managed to get through the steep, nasty stuff. Yes, that is EuroMan's trusty companion, Grover, riding shotgun on the back of his pack. Grover accompanies EuroMan on most adventures. He has earned his wings sky diving recently and has managed to solo rappel. He's quite the ladies man as well.

Anyway, back to our story! After fumbling our way back to the cars, we headed back to the house for the real happy hour, a hot shower, and an incredible Ethiopian feast prepared by Al, Marlene, Dawn, Dagmar, and yours truly. The meal was amazing and Matt provided an amazing selection of dessert goodies. I found out that Dawn, Dagmar, and Kevin tried snowshoeing because conditions were too icy for cross-country skiing. Their day was a bit shorter, but it sounded like they enjoyed themselves. The EuroMan slideshow included his recent adventures to Nicaragua and other far off places, and I truly enjoyed it. What a day!

We awoke to a wonderful breakfast on Sunday morning prepared by Rick and Jody, and then the adventure started to wrap up. We cleaned and packed the cars, and said our "goodbyes". Another Joan's weekend was complete.

I had to wonder if this was the last weekend of it's kind. EuroMan is moving west in a week, and he usually coordinates this trip. I hope we continue this event. I love this retreat weekend. It marks the transition from climbing to winter sports season, and is a great opportunity to hang out with friends I don't see very often. I also wonder if I will see EuroMan again. He is a one-man band and goes with the wind these days. I truly miss our days as climbing partners. He taught me a lot and it was a pleasure to watch him climb. We still hold the record for most pitches in a day at the Gunks (at least until someone proves us wrong). We had many great trips together and I hope we get the chance to share more adventures in the future. All the best EuroMan. May you find great adventure and the other things you are seeking!

Thanksgiving in Mexico

Howdy and Buenos Dias! It's good to be back on U.S. soil. This is just a quick post to summarize the trip. A more detailed report will follow. Hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day and restful weekend.

Our plan was to climb the 3rd highest peak in North America, Pico de Orizaba, at 18,400 feet in elevation. It is not considered a very technical climb although there is some fairly steep snow/ice (50 degrees?) leading up to the glacier and then some areas of near 40 degree glacier near the summit. About half the climb is on the glacier, so it calls for crampons and ice axe.

We did Ixta (7th highest peak in N. America at 17,200 feet) as a warm up, and frankly it seemed harder due to the constant up and down nature of that climb. We probably had more vertical gain on Ixta than Orizaba.

There's so much to cover that I can't possibly do it all now. Let's just say that it was a successful trip, everyone summited and a good time was had by all. I'm still recovering from a nasty cold, so I gotta keep this short.

Here's a few pics to whet your appetite!
Popocatepetl (17,887 feet) is closed to climbing. It looked like she was going to blow at any moment!
Paulina and Victor climbing up to the Knee on Ixta.
You can faintly make out the trail traversing below the first peak and the traversing the ridgeline beyond.

Alex sets out across the glacier towards the summit ridge on Ixta.
One of 3 summits on Ixta (17, 187 feet).

Solos and brotherhood

I've only had 2 runs in the past week. Things are crazy at work, and I've been getting ready for the Mexico trip. The good news is they were both great runs...not great in terms of distance or effort, but just great runs. You know, the type of run where you have an adventure or catch up with friends....

Last Saturday, I decided to run some single track on the Metacomet trail. I ran out to a local crag to check on some of the recent climbing activity there. It had just rained, so there were no climbers out. I was inspecting some new routes that were developed. It was cool. The running was very slippery with all the wet leaves. I tried out a new pair of shoes, and explored some new trails. It was cool to explore... and not be training for a specific event. I wasn't concerned about pace or time or effort. Just out to enjoy the scenery. I love running single track!

Today, I met Tim and Bill at the club. There was a time when I was a regular at the club, but then my work location changed. I miss running with the guys. We did an easy 5 and talked the whole way. The group fluctuates in size from day to day and year to year. Members come and go, but the core group remains the same for the most part. We are getting older though. There's still a group of older/retired guys that run at the club, and we can take solace in knowing that they are still the "old guys". God help us when we become the "old guys". It was good to see some of the old crew. Paulie gave me some meds for my trip to Mexico. His wife is expecting any day now, so I'm guessing he won't be climbing mountains for awhile. It was great to see some of the guys and it's always so much fun to run with others. The miles go by so much faster, and it feels good to laugh with my buds. I hope I can find an excuse to join up with them again soon.

So, two runs...one solo and one with friends....two great results...no races, no pressure...just running because it is such a cool thing to do...'nuff said!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Have some turkey and stuffing for me...I'll be climbing Pico de Orizaba on Thanksgiving Day if all goes according to plan. I'll be at 19,000 feet and will likely be higher (in terms of elevation) than anyone else in North America on that day. How cool is that? I was the first to see the sun rise in the U.S. on New Years Day (St. Croix) and now this. What a year it has been! I picked up a new camera, so will be posting lots of great pics when I return! Eat some pumpkin pie for me too :-)

Cheers,

Steve

Stone Cat Ale 50 miler

First, I must congratulate my good buddy, Kevin (the Goat), for running his first ultramarathon in great style. Kevin finished 39th in 9:39 having previously never run a race of more than 5 miles or so. Congrats dude!

Stone Cat is a very good race. The weather was perfect for an ultra. The temp was comfortable enough at the start to wear shorts and T-shirts, yet it never go much warmer. It was cloudy all day, but no rain until after we finished. The course was rolling with a lot of single track. I wish I would have trained on single track because my body sure paid the price.

A couple weeks before the race, I started having some right knee issues which I chose to ignore. Since this was Goat's race, I really wanted to be there to support him. Even 2 days before the race, my knee was feeling really bad - pain below the knee cap, ITB tightness, etc. I reminded myself that I usually have some ache or pain before a race, and it is never an issue in the race.

The race started around 6:20AM and it was already light enough to run without headlamps. The course is 4 laps of 12.5 miles. On the first lap, I felt like I was going a bit too fast, but settled in to run with the eventual women's winner, Christine Daly. We finished the first lap in 1:50, and I thought it would be awesome to hold that pace for 4 laps. Unfortunately, I could feel my knee causing problems already. The ITB was starting to ache. From what I could tell, we were in the Top 10 and likely in the Top 5 or so at that point.

On the beginning of the second lap, I saw Mark, Scott, and Keith less than 10 minutes behind me, and then Kevin right behind them. Wow, we're all going too fast, I thought...or maybe I'm just out of shape (yikes!). I ran a good portion of the second lap with Christine, but started to pull ahead after awhile (I should have held back). At the end of the second lap, I was at around 3:50, but I was really feeling beat. My ITB was really hurting and my quads were sore. I felt like dropping, but knew I had to finish. My pace was slowing. I went back out for the 3rd lap, and saw Mark still less than 10 minutes behind me. Damn! He's running strong.

I really struggled on the 3rd lap and started taking ibuprofen for my knee. Mark caught up to me about 7 miles into it. At this point, I was doing a lot of walking especially on the single track. My knee was really getting bad. As long as it didn't lock up, I knew I could deal with it and finish. Mark tried to run with me a bit, but I told him to go ahead. My energy level was not great either. I had taken a minimalist approach to this race to see if it would help my stomach ailments. I used Heed and hammergel on the first lap, and only hammergel on the second lap. I wasn't getting the fuel I needed. Time to start eating some fruit.

I had been wearing a lighter pair of Asics (2100s) for this race because it worked well for me at Pineland Farms. Unfortunately, I think these shoes added to the knee issues. At the beginning of the 4th lap, I changed into the Kayano's and it seemed to help some.

The 4th lap was all about finishing. My energy level was improving since I decided to experiment with different foods to see what tasted good. I ate bananas, cantaloupe, and PB&J. It was all good. I also took some salt pills. Keith caught up to me about halfway through the last lap. We ran together a bit, but I told him to go ahead. He looked strong and I didn't want to slow him down. There were times that I just had to walk due to the knee pain.

He went ahead for awhile, and then I caught up to him with less than a mile to go. I tried to push him to finish ahead of me, but he was having a rough patch. I ended up finishing a couple minutes ahead of Keith in 8:43 (19th and 20th overall). I was just happy to finish.

Mark was waiting at the finish. He placed 10th in 8:07. Amazing run! Scott finished at around 9:15 with a PR. Goat, of course, was 9:39. Everyone seemed happy.

I learned a lot from this race:

1. I didn't respect the distance or the course and paid the price. I need to train more seriously if I'm going to try to run up front.
2. I wore the wrong shoes.
3. I need to train more on single track. I've gotten lazy about running the same old course at the reservoir.
4. I need to pace myself better and hold back during the first half of the race.
5. I do better with some solid food especially fruit.
6. I still need to figure out the right mix of salt for me.
7. Need more strength training for this course.

Lots of good data points from this one. I'm excited about finishing my 3rd ultra of the year. It's another first. It was great to see so many runners out there, and great to see Jamie (The Maine Runner) after each lap as he was volunteering on this day.

I'm heading down to Mexico in a couple weeks to climb 2 of the big volcanoes (Ixta and Orizaba). We'll see how my body handles serious altitude (19,000 feet). It should be fun!

Cheers!

Changing Seasons

They say peak foliage has past. The leaves are falling and it's more cold than not these days. The end of October and the changing of the clocks generally signifies the end of climbing season and the beginning of running with long pants. To be specific, I call it at 45 degrees. Below 45 degrees and I run with long pants....Below 45 degrees and I can't feel my fingers on the cold rock....and so another year starts to wind down.

Like the animals prepping for the long winter, climbers scurry to get in every last pitch of outdoor climbing to help get them through the winter. Sure, there's ice climbing, hiking, mountaineering, skiing, and even ski mountaineering. They are great activities, and I love them all, but it still doesn't change the fact that dancing up the rock is nearly over for the year. Similarly, the racing season is coming to an end. The NYC marathon was run this weekend, and it's usually one of the last of the year. Like it or not, winter is upon us.

This weekend was a weekend to savor. Savor every bit of good weather, and enjoy every bit of sunlight. With the Goat and I tapering for the Stone Cat Ale 50 miler next weekend, I was only planning to run for around 90 minutes, so there was time and energy for other stuff this weekend.

I headed to the Gunks on Saturday to meet up with old friend, Scotty, and get in some much needed climbing...possibly the last day at the Gunks this year. The day started out cool, but promised to be a great one. In my excitement to get in some climbing and to team up with Scotty again, I elected to jump on a tough, but moderately rated crack climb. I had climbed it once before and it felt challenging but fairly straight forward. This time, however, I could barely feel my fingers on the cold rock, and I got a couple moves out of sequence. I tried to down climb, but could not feel my fingers, and popped off the rock. I only fell a couple feet, but it was a discouraging and embarassing start to the day. Scotty was my partner when I took my worst climbing fall about 4 years ago, and I was starting to think it was a mental thing for me.

I decided to forget about it and savor the day. Scotty decided to lead a climb called Gorilla My Dreams for which I know an interesting variation. We did my variation, and Scotty enjoyed it thoroughly. We ran into some guys from Montreal who were also trying to savor the last bits if the climbing season. We talked briefly, but knew we all wanted to get back to climbing.

We proceeded to the Mac Wall - one of my favorite parts of the cliff. As usual, it was crowded there with so many great climbs in a 100 foot stretch. There is a very thin face climb called Higher Stannard that I particularly enjoyed when I led it a few years ago. It's very intimidating because the holds are very small and there is very little protection for the first 20 feet or so of climbing. The climb is consistently hard, but I remember really enjoying it. While I didn't feel particularly "on my game" on this day, I love the look and feel of this climb. It's a fairly risky start, but I know I can do it. I'm known as a fairly bold leader compared to others, but I don't feel overly confident. Scotty patiently waits for me to decide, and I say "Let's do it". The entire time we are roping up, I'm thinking about doing an easier climb, but I'm committed at this point. I'm thinking of the fall I took this morning, less than 20 feet from the ground.

No room for error....don't listen to the horde of people around you. Focus on every single tiny crystal of rock that you need to boulder up this face. Do it quickly, but don't you dare make a mistake. Pull, smear, crimp, crimp, get your feet up, move... I get to the first horizontal and get a small nut in for protection. I try to get a tiny cam in and get it stuck with only half the lobes engaged. I can't get it out, and my stance is too precarious to yank on it. I clip it and go...Now, I have to go another 10 feet with questionable protection. I keep my head and press on. I finally get 2 good pieces of protection placed and let out a sigh of relief, but there's a long way to go. Damn, this is one thin climb. I move up and place a very questionable nut, but it's better than nothing. This is the crux, and I'll take any protection I can get. I crimp hard and work my feet up until I can grab something solid. Throw in more pro and now I'm feeling better. I move up further, but now nothing looks familiar. Scotty checks the book, but it doesn't help. I know I'm off route, but don't want to down climb. I decide to hand travers across manky lichen covered rock, but soon I'm back on route. Up and through a couple overhangs and I'm finally at the anchors. Yee haa! Life is good. Time to celebrate.

Scotty cleans the gear from the route, and we move on to easier climbing. We enjoy the weather, talk about life's challenges, inspect the damage from a recent rock fall, and savor every bit of time we have there. Another classic Gunks day!

Sunday brings cooler temps as Dawn and I head out for a morning run. The long pants are on for the first time this year. We're wearing hats and long sleeves. It takes a couple miles to warm up, but the sun is great. The views are wonderful, and you can see what the leaves have hidden all summer. I savor the sun and the run. These temps will soon feel warm when we look back in January.

Goat and I are heading up to run Stone Cat on Saturday. This is his first ultramarathon, and he's never run a race longer than 5 miles. Of course, he paced me for 30+ miles in Vermont, so we know he can do some serious distance. I'm psyched for him and excited to do another race. This will be my 3rd ultra this year (50, 100, 50) which is completely new territory for me. I don't feel like I'm in peak condition, but the 1:25 in the 1/2 marathon shows I have pretty good fitness. It will bring an end to an incredible running year, and give some time to re-group for next year. My plan, of course, will be to savor every mile of it!

All the best!

Steve

The Goat, Cheri, and saving the squirrels

Some runs are just runs and some runs are real life experiences. On Saturday, the Goat and I set out to do a 7 hour training run in preparation for the Stone Cat Ale 50 miler. I always enjoy these runs because you learn a lot about yourself and anyone who is willing to endure your company for that long. Saturday's run was no exception.

We started out at 8AM sharp with the daunting task to run until at least 3PM. Basically, we started out saying "Good Morning" and finished by saying "Have a nice evening". We also got to have Hammergel for breakfast and lunch! Yummy!

The first 10 miles were uneventful and we actually had a faster than planned pace going. We both felt good after taking some rest days during the week. We stopped at the cars to re-fuel and headed out toward Heublein Tower to get in some vertical. After a couple miles, we started to hit the vertical and Goat pulled up lame. At the same time, a female runner in a pink running skirt came up from behind us and asked where the trail went. Since Goat was having issues, we couldn't do much to help except point her in the direction of the Tower and say, "It's got some great views". Then, off she went.

We worked on stretching out Goat's left foot/ankle, but he was not a happy camper. I gave him 2 Ibuprofen, and we started walking up the trail to see if things would improve. At this point, we were only a bit over 2 hours into the run. A short ways up the trail, we ran into the pink-skirted Athena looking for directions again. So, we offered for her to join us. While trekking to the tower, we learned that Cheri is from NYC, ran her first 50 miler at Vermont this year, and is now a full fledged ultra-head. The more we talked, the more we enjoyed Cheri's company. The miles were clicking by, and all 3 of us ran the complete trail back up to the summit. The weather was absolutely perfect and the views were outstanding. We talked about the ultra that Goat and I are thinking about establishing in CT, and Cheri was psyched to hear about our plans. Goat's foot appeared to be fine now...I'm not sure if it was the Vitamin I or Cheri's company that did the trick, ;-).

We motored back toward the cars where Cheri would meet her ride, and wished she could join us for more. We were only halfway through our 7 hour run. We exchanged blogs and within a flash, she was gone. Just like that! It was a brief encounter, but we truly enjoyed meeting another ultrarunner on the trail.

After another couple hours, we were within sight of our goal. We just needed to do one more trek to the Tower, down the other side, and back. The same route we ran with Cheri a couple hours earlier. This time, however, we were running on fumes. At the tower, we elected to keep running down the other side rather than take in the view. We were on a mission! To keep ourselves in the game, we decided to run to the top again. This would be a tall task, but we decided the world depended on us. You see, we playfully rationalized that the people on the trail would be let down if they saw us walking. Everytime we run up the trail, hikers are amazed. If we walk, they lose hope...we figured. If they lose hope, the economy will completely fail. If the economy fails, all hell will break loose. Goat said, "People will be eating the squirrels just to stay alive." We like the squirrels...poor little, defenseless creatures... We decided that we needed to run the trail all the way to the top to "save the squirrels". Damn the torpedoes...full speed ahead!

Onward we ran, picking our way through the day hikers, and made it through the first climb. After hitting a flat section, I saw someone from work. He tried to flag me down, but I had to save the squirrels...We were on a mission! We ran all the way to the tower without walking. The squirrels will live to see another day thanks to the Goat and me!

We were 35 miles in and still able to crank out the vertical. Now, we just needed to coast on back to the cars. We timed it perfectly. After the pleasant trek back, we had bagged 38 miles in 7:05...not bad for a day's work.

I felt better than I did a week earlier. The Goat is running strong, and is ready for Stone Cat. He completed his longest training run ever today. We had a great time running with Cheri and hope to see her on the trail again sometime. The weather and views were great. ...And most importantly, we saved the squirrels... Now, if they would just stop burying nuts in my yard :-)

Have a wonderful running week!