Holiday Gifts - Powder and the Backcountry Bomb

I'm not sure what's up with the holiday weather this year but Thanksgiving and Christmas in South Central Alaska has been damn sweet. At least in the Talkeetnas, anyway. Some of the other ranges are still waiting for good conditions but Hatcher Pass and been the place to be over the last month. It hasn't been all perfect. We've had our share of wind and freezing rain in between but seem to come up with powder and clear skies when it matters. Best gifts, EVAR!

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Skimo Tech Tip - Poles

In 2009, I started this blog to mainly record my training ideas and share sport science as it applies to mountain sports with anyone interested. I’ve included plenty of ideas on adapting light and fast skimo racing gear and techniques to general backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. Adopting these tactics allow skiers to cover more ground in less time and less effort than their peers more heavily burdened. Some of the ideas are obvious like using light boots and skis to climb and descend objectives. Other techniques are less obvious.

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Giving Thanks

Hatcher PassI’ve heard people familiar with Alaska say that “she’s” like a bipolar girlfriend. When she’s good, she’s awesome but when she’s depressed, well, she’s pretty damn intolerable. These past 10 days, or so, this beotch has been in a foul mood, one not conducive to psyching up the local skiers up here. Oh, she was awesome over the Thanksgiving weekend, that’s for sure. But we’ve had way too many days of freezing rain and drizzle even up in the mountains. I’m not ready to break up yet but I’m thinking about sleeping in the other bedroom.

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The Name Has Changed

Anyone paying attention when they come here will notice a new name on the banner and a few new images. Over the next few days, the domain name switch will be complete and this site will be officially be Skimo Life. You'll still be able to get here using the old name. That name has a certain amount of weight in the Google world and I don't want to lose what I have. But I'll be building an internet presence with the new one.

When I first started the site years ago, Get Stronger, Go Longer reflected the content and the direction. I'm still a physiology geek but since I'm competing less and exploring more the content of the blog has shifted. Hence, the name change. I always feel odd telling people the name of the site because it doesn't immediately reveal my overall direction of late. I hope the new name represents better what I'm writing about these days.

Content will continue to revolve around ski moutaineering including gear, trip reports and training. Off season pieces will likely center around mountain running which is the summer distraction for many alpinists and ski mountaineers. Internet users will still come to the site based on specific searches they're performing and hopefully the banner name won't distract or confuse visitors. Ultimately, I hope the transition will be a smooth one.

Thanks for reading. - Brian 

The Chamonix Dream

The first time I became aware of the European Alps I was 14 years old. I was backpacking through the North Cascades on a 3 week Outward Bound style course. My first mentor, Miles Becker, would often wax poetic about the range, comparing the Cascades to the Alps. He shared tales of alpine daring by the likes of Louis Lachenal, Lionel Terray and other famous climbers of the modern era. I was captivated by their antics in the mountains surrounding the world’s alpine climbing epicenter, Chamonix, France.

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