We now have a world record holder in our midst here in the shop: the Blizzard Champion model of the Innova Boss, which David Wiggins Jr. launched 255 meters (836 feet) on April 13th in Primm, Nevada.
David’s throw (with a 134g Innova Boss) beat the near-decade-long title held by Christian Sandstrom, who set an 820-foot record on April 26, 2002 with an Innova DX Valkyrie.
You can watch David (only 16 years old!) in action as he breaks this record below. The winning throw comes just after 2 minutes in.
There’s obviously a lot of technique involved, but we bet his new disc helped David out too. This year, Innova released a new Blizzard technology incorporating thousands of microbubbles into its durable Champion plastic. The company considers this a huge milestone, and this new record proves the capability of this technology. The microbubbles allow for high-speed, premium plastic drivers in weights down to 130 grams. Innova’s testing even shows that their models under 140 grams will float… nice for those of us who play near water.
Here’s what David Wiggins Jr. says about the Blizzard technology:
“I love the new Blizzard technology discs! I recently went to New Mexico and thoroughly tested them side by side with other discs at various elevations and wind speeds. The new Blizzard discs came out on top. . . .
From what I’ve observed, the Blizzard discs fly with almost the same stability as the equivalent model 20 grams heavier. They feel and throw like heavier discs than they actually are. This allows for much longer throws, especially in the right conditions. I’ve tested the new Blizzard discs in weights ranging from 130g to 155g and can honestly say that these are going to add distance to many disc golfers’ games. From the average player to the experienced pro, everyone can benefit from Blizzard Champion Discs.”
And a few more pros chimed in on the Innova Boss specifically, on the Innova website:
Dave Feldberg
“The Boss is my favorite disc for distance shots. It gives me the distance and control to perform my best in tournament play. It has elevated my distance game. It works great for skip shots, low shots, high shots and any kind of disc golf shot you throw. Try the Boss, it will get to the basket first!”
Gregg Hosfeld
“I’ve come within a few feet of my all-time personal best in distance throwing the Champion Boss…against the wind.”
Try out the Innova Boss and the other lineup of Blizzard Champion discs for yourself; we’ve got them in stock and ready to ship!
Wow. Utah is amazing! Zion National Park was the first stop on our roadtrip last month and the weather was prime for hiking and camping. Cool nights, not too hot days, I highly suggest a spring visit to this park. It took us about 11 hours to get to the park from our home on Tahoe’s West Shore, but we stopped for plenty of photos.
We arrived to the park at sunset and chose the Watchman Campground to set up our tent. It’s more set back from the main road than the South Campground, with newer amenities. Our site was on the outer rung of the campground, providing great views of the towering Watchman right from our tent. We couldn’t secure the site for two nights though, so night 2 we set up camp at the walk-in site the next night. You have to walk in your gear, but bear boxes keep your food safe for the night, and some communal campfire spots make the walk-in sites great for groups. An extra bonus was a short, steep trail up the knoll behind our tent to a historic Indian storage site with great valley views.
Day One we got right into hiking, choosing to tackle the famous Angels Landing first. A rocky cliff that juts up from the valley floor right smack in the middle of the park, it’s a one-of-a-kind hike that provides views of the canyon from every angle. You start at the Virgin River, near towering Fremont cottonwoods, on a very pedestrian friendly trail (mostly paved) trail. There are tons of switchbacks but the hike is very easy due to the mostly paved terrain.
At the top of the most-traveled trail is a fork: Left leads on the West Rim Trail, along a trail affording views of Moonlight Buttress (one of Chris’s climbing goals so we made an excursion out here after Angels). Right leads the rest of the way (1.5 miles) along a spiky ridge to the top of Angels Landing. This part is not for the height-sensitive. Or is it? I am pretty afraid of heights but was so happy that I did this hike, or scramble. Lots of chains are installed to help you up the tricky sections. The slickrock topped with sand is a bit fear-inducing if you’re not used to it but you’ve just got to trust your feet. It’s amazing the amount of people that do this hike despite its difficulty. As we were going up, an older couple from Florida was behind us and made it to the top. I kept watching all the flatlanders around me and told myself that if they could do it, I had no excuse to be afraid.
After descending we treating ourselves to lounging by the Virgin River in the sun, shoes off and bare feet in the frigid water.
Day Two we set off for a full lengthwise hiking tour of Zion. We took the park shuttle to the end of the canyon and hiked the 1 mile approach to The Narrows. The water was too high for The Narrows to be open but when it is you can continue up canyon to ultra-narrow walls as you walk up into the Virgin River.
Though not advertised, there is a small riverside trail that runs most of the way down the park. It’s a beautiful way to see the park outside of the shuttle; we were even treated to a deer herd running by us and crossing the river. Big Bend was one of our favorite stops as it’s just north of our previous day’s hike and has great vistas as the river takes a huge turn around Angels Landing. From there, we continued down the small river trail to Weeping Rock, where we hiked up to the Weeping Rock and to Hidden Canyon, for more chain-assisted hiking to a dark hidden canyon. As you can see in the below photos, the trail wraps along a cliffside for some pretty cool hiking terrain.
From Weeping Rock to the next shuttle stop down canyon (The Grotto, where you get off to hike Angels Landing), there is not a good riverside trail, so you’ll need to take the shuttle. We tried to do that hike but had to hike on the road for half of it, so take my advice and shuttle it!
At The Grotto, we crossed the river to the Kayenta Trail that follows the riverbank up to Emerald Pools. This trail was awesome, with great river views, mellow hiking and a cool section that goes through a split rock. This trail is definitely one of the best Zion hikes that the whole family can do.
After two full days of hiking (and a big backpacking trip ahead of us), we treated ourselves to afternoon ice cream and then dinner at the Whiptail Grill in Springdale, the town just outside the park. The chicken enchiladas with chile verde sauce are a must-order!
Day Three we headed on our next adventure, toward Escalante, which afforded us a great opportunity to see the rest of Zion National Park with a drive on the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. While you can’t drive up the main canyon, you can drive on this part, and the road takes you through a long tunnel and then out onto a dramatically different landscape that looks a lot more desert. Then it was off to Escalante for slot canyons and backpacking… which I’ll tell you all about in Part Two of this adventure.
The Tahoe Mountain Sports Adventure of the Week blog series takes a walk, hike, bike, or Zion National Park hike in someone else’s shoes, from pro athletes to local Tahoe adventurers. Let us know if you’ve got an adventure to share.
This Adventure of the Week comes from TMS owner, Dave, who ventured down to the Eastern Sierra to salvage this crazy, low-snow season for some high elevation, alpine fun!
Who: Dave, Andy from Sierra Descents, Zach, Sara and Molly the dog
What: Backcountry spring skiing
Where: Tioga Pass Road, the Eastern Gateway to Yosemite National Park
Caltrans doesn’t take a big liking to skiers I don’t think, but when fishing season is due to open, you can rest assured that means most of the roads on the Eastern Sierra are going to try and open. And luck just has it that every year, the fishing opener coincides with some of the best spring skiing the country has to offer. Yup, right in our own backyard, the Eastern Sierra is a spring skiing mecca, and when the roads open up to 9,000 ft+, you can’t really go wrong.
View of False White from the parking area on Hwy 120
Being a horrible snow year in this part of the Sierra, we were quickly turned around from a lower route on Mt. Koip due to miles of hiking that would have had to be done on dirt, and instead opted for the snow start and end. We parked at the intersection of Saddlebag Lake Rd and Hwy 120 both days. False White is a pretty easy and straightforward 2.5–3 hour climb from this parking area. Saturday was super warm with almost no wind, so we opted to explore a bit as the regular descent (southeast face) was a bit mushy already. Instead, we headed to this notch we spotted that would drop us on the north side into the Skeleton Lakes Basin.
The shoulder on False White by which we accessed the North Bowls
This proved to be a great choice as the skiing stayed wintery over there and gave us an extra long tour to get out. We were still off the snow by 2pm as the warming was getting extreme and the snow was turning quickly. Our views and ideas just as quickly turned to Sunday and the idea to bag one of the couloirs on Mt. Conness.
For Sunday, Andy from Sierra Descents and Sara (Zach’s wife) met up with us for what was sure to be an epic. I had never traveled in the winter back to Saddlebag Lake and Conness in particular so I was extremely excited to see this new terrain and ski some of the best stuff we could find. We started at 6:30am to ensure the midday heat would not be as much of a problem as it was on Saturday and headed out towards Saddlebag Lake. Once rounding Saddlebag, getting overtaken by some super fast and crazy backcountry Nordic skiers (see this photo album), we pushed on to the Conness Glacier and eventually the Y-couloirs on another route to the ridge.
The Conness Basin as seen once rounding Saddlebag Lake
It took about 4ish hours to reach the base of the Y-Couloirs and based on the look of them and the possible bergshrunds that we could see in the shorter, Summit Couloirs, we decided this was the way to go. Crampons and axes out, we headed up. Andy lead the first half and then I took over for the second on some pretty steep and exposed terrain; we sure were happy to have those crampons on. After about an hour in the chute, we pulled up and over and were on the ridge with a view out into the rest of the Sierra that can’t be beat.
The snow in the chute was perfect, edgeable and carveable with even a little pow thrown in for fun. And then, the way out was just perfect soft, corn snow and we were able to kick and glide our way back to the car without donning skins again. This video from Andy at Sierra Descents pretty much sums it up. Can’t wait to get out there again!
See the rest of the pictures from this Tioga Pass skiing trip on our Facebook Album.
The Tahoe Mountain Sports Adventure of the Week blog series takes a walk, hike, bike, or Eastern Sierra backcountry ski trip in someone else’s shoes, from pro athletes to local Tahoe adventurers. Let us know if you’ve got an adventure to share.
This Adventure of the Week comes from Max Neale, Review Editor for Outdoor Gear Lab, which was recently named Best Gear Website by Outside Magazine. Max regularly contributes reviews and tales from the road on our blog. He took us climbing in Turkey in February, and now we head down California’s Lost Coast…
If backpacking trips were like dinner dates, the Lost Coast Trail would be a seaside French bistro. It doesn’t get much better than this: the logistics are simple, the terrain is mild, and the views are spectacular. Whether you’re looking for a romantic weekend outing, or a peaceful solo hike, the Lost Coast Trail could be one of the best coastal walks in the world.
Looking south from the Punta Gorda Lighthouse
The Lost Coast is a mostly undeveloped section of the California coast. It lies far up north, just south of Eureka. The terrain is mountainous and wet; this is the land of Redwoods and pristine aqua-blue rivers. Lost Coast can be done anytime, but summer has best weather and winter has the lowest tides (so you may be able to pass through some sections that would otherwise be impassible at high tide). The trail that bears the area’s name stretches roughly eighty miles from where Route 1 cuts inland, south of Garberville, to Fortuna where it rejoins 101. Though this whole stretch is walkable, most people do a 26-mile section (from the Mattole River to Shelter Cove) along the water. This is a rare slice of beachside wilderness. Sea otters and sea lions chatter as you walk along deserted beaches scattered with polished rocks and driftwood. Camp wherever you like: anywhere is a five star site.
Lost Coast Logistics
Park at the Mattole River Trailhead, where you self-register for free permits. “Mandatory” bear canisters are available at the Petrolia General Store (707-629-3455) for $5 plus deposit. Hike south for two nights, being mindful of several sections that can’t be passed at hightide, and hitchhike back from Shelter Cove or leave a car there. This Lost Coast map shows start and end points, particularly good campsites, and tide-related information.
The Tahoe Mountain Sports Adventure of the Week blog series takes a walk, hike, ski, Lost Coast Trail backpack in someone else’s shoes, from pro athletes to local Tahoe adventurers. Let us know if you’ve got an adventure to share.
How can a guy top off a week of skiing, eating, libations and laughter with three of his best friends? He goes climbing! And in Bend, Oregon, Smith Rock is where you head in the winter. I met with my friends Ashley, Mollie, and Shauna who live in this amazing Central Oregon town. We spent 2 days at Mt. Bachelor, toured Shevlin park by way of trail running, sampled lots of great beer, woke up late for coffee meetings at local spots in funky brick-lined alleyways, dressed up for neon-bowling, wined, dined, danced, and laughed ourselves to death. Did I mention that it was a spectacular week?
Ashley had asked me to bring some gear with me. Since she’s starting to rock the local indoor bouldering scene at Bend Rock Gym, she wants to begin tackling outdoor routes. Sweet! One more bag of gear to shuffle into the pickup. So on Sunday morning, Shauna, Ashley, and I headed about 25 miles northeast of Bend over to Smith Rock State Park to scope the scene.
From the parking lot, it’s a short, scenic walk across the river to the two most popular sections of rock: The Dihedrals and Morning Glory Wall. We had belay school for a bit, and then hit a fun easy climb: Five Gallon Buckets (5.8), which consists of a tafoni-pitted rock face. We then moved to a 5.9+ route just left of the Peanut, a spot between Morning Glory and Dihedrals. The name escapes me, but it was a great climb forcing you to use some jamming, stemming and some teeny, crimpy little holds. What I noticed most about Smith is how well developed this wonderful climbing location is. Belay pads have been built with rock retaining walls, and in some spots there are beefy wooden stairs leading up and down the pathways, or directly up the rock to a belay. I was extremely impressed with the work they’ve put in there!
In Bend, you could literally ski Bachelor all morning, then head to the rock in the afternoon and have less than an hour commute between the two. Additionally, most of the climbing at Smith Rock faces south, which means you’re taking in the sun the whole time. The scene here on a warm day is pretty busy. Smith is definitely a popular location, but worth going because of the mellow vibe and beautiful view. And there’s so much climbing, that even with the weekend crowd, we were able to find climbs without waiting. There are plenty of routes on both ends of the difficulty spectrum. From 5.7 to 5.12 and above. How can you beat this in the middle of winter?
The Tahoe Mountain Sports Adventure of the Week blog series takes a walk, hike, ski, climb in someone else’s shoes, from pro athletes to local Tahoe adventurers. Let us know if you’ve got an adventure to share.
Avalanche safety is forefront on our minds in Tahoe with this season’s uncharacteristically weak and shallow snowpack and friends’ lives lost and endangered. I was lucky to be one of the Squaw Valley Avalanche Education Fund’s 2012 scholarship recipients and get a full ride to an AIARE Level 1 avalanche course at Expedition Kirkwood last weekend. Here are the top 12 things I learned during the course, or at least the ones I wrote down. I learned so much!
I highly recommend getting AIARE certified, and I can’t speak highly enough about Expedition Kirkwood and our instructor Geoff Clarke. While you’ll notice my list has a lot of “don’ts,” Geoff was very positive about the sport and the inherent dangers. We ski because it’s fun to push the limits. His course was all about knowledge. Know when and where it’s ok to push it, then go for it. There are just certain aspects on certain days that you must be aware of. AIARE Level 1 is a great place to start. Kirkwood is a great mountain to do it at since it’s a Class A avalanche resort, with loads of terrain that your AIARE guide can tour you through so you can see avalanche-prone terrain first hand.
Some stats to get you thinking: 90% of avalanche accidents are attributed to human factors traps. 95% of skiers who’ve gotten caught knew there was avi danger that day.
1) Here in California (Maritime climate, prone to more loose snow avalanches), many of us assume that trees are safe zones, but when you’re dealing with slab avalanche conditions (deeper snowpack instability more common in Inner Mountain and Continental climates), trees are not your friends. They instead can act as trigger points for a slab, and hazards if you get caught.
2) That said, know the primary avalanches concerns for every day you ski backcountry, and act/plan accordingly. Don’t plan to ski a peak a week earlier and not have an alternate. Always scout out your safe zones/escape routes before you drop in.
3) Watch for wind-loading. Wind can turn 1 foot of snowfall into 10 feet of wind deposit, creating hazardous conditions even when it hasn’t snowed recently. NOAA has remote mountaintop sensor data to show you peak conditions.
4) 30- to 40-degree slopes are the most prone to slide, with 38-degree slopes (equivalent to a resort’s double-black diamond in steepness) being the magic number. Above 40 degrees, slopes usually self regulate. Below 30 degrees you can still get in slow, wet slides or be poised in the run-out of a slide path or a concave terrain feature that can trap you.
5) Beware of false senses of security: seeing tracks down a slope, a well-set skin track. Even though many people may have gone before you, it doesn’t equal safety. They may not have hit the slab’s trigger, or wind loading that day could create a dangerous zone above the skin track.
6) Don’t ski like you’re in a resort: convex rolls and gullies are very unsafe in the backcountry.
7) Keep your phone off or on airplane mode. Cell phones interfere with transceivers.
8) See the avalanche path, not just the ski run. A wide-open run in the backcountry is often wide open for a reason. Look for flagging (the uphill side of trees with broken or missing branches) and snow deposits at tree bases, which indicate avalanche activity.
9) Ask questions; communicate with everyone in your group. You need a leader, but never give anyone “a halo” of authority; trust your instincts and own knowledge.
10) Learn to ski in all conditions—it all exists in the backcountry.
11) Know your transceiver, and practice, practice, practice with it. Recalibrate your transceiver every 5 years, or buy a new one. Take the batteries out after each season to prevent corrosion, and insert new ones at the start of each season.
12) Know when to say no. Turning around if needed and making other safe decisions that may not be as fun in your mind is just part of the backcountry experience. Mental discipline can save your life.
For more avalanche safety advice, stay tuned to the TMS blog. I plan to write a few more avalanche safety posts from my AIARE training, including what to do if you’re caught in an avalanche. I also want to plug a piece, “A Winter in Avalanche Country,” I wrote for Moonshine Ink’s April 2012 edition on backcountry and avalanche safety trends. We’re seeing more people in the backcountry, more gear sales, and more avalanche safety course enrollment in Tahoe. Interesting trends to follow…
Well, our thirst for snow was finally quenched in a big way this past weekend. Sugar Bowl reported a 114 inches for the storm, so there was much powder to be had. The brunt rolled in Friday night, making powder day #1 a busy one since it was Saturday. Here, a few TMS folks report on the goods:
WHO: Dave, Greyson, and Lis
WHAT: Alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing and sledding
WHEN: March 17–19, 2012
WHERE: Alpine Meadows, Paige Meadows, Kings Beach, Mt. Rose
Finally the snow came back and made Tahoe feel like winter again. After a few backcountry outings on Friday and Saturday, Sunday was time to spend some time at home with my daughter and not rush off to ski so much. But, back to the skiing first. Randomly met up with Craig Dostie, author of EarnYourTurns.com, and we had a great hike and ski in the Mt Rose area on Saturday. It was still snowing lightly but the skiing conditions were perfect. Here are a couple of shots of Craig on the way down and then a great one that Craig shot of me (orange jacket).
On Sunday, it was time to take my daughter out sledding in this great snow, and she was a total trooper. She even carried her own sled up the luge run that we built with our neighbors. I couldn’t get any of her huge smiles from her runs down because I was too busy making sure she didn’t crash into stuff at the end!
Then, took the dog for a walk down on Kings Beach and caught these other 2 great shots. In one, you can see the snow hanging over the west side of the lake and quickly approaching Kings Beach; the other is showing just how much fun everybody was having with this new blanket of white, as these 2 guys from Europe were so happy they were skiing on the Kings Beach pier!
GREYSON
The temptation of a true powder day was too much to pass up, even if I was coughing and sputtering my way out of a cold on Saturday. I wasn’t the only one who rallied for new snow at Alpine Meadows, so I decided to be content with lapping cut-up-but-still-soft powder on the lower mountain, leaving the longer lift lines for the bigger chairs to everyone else.
Sherwood, the backside of the mountain hadn’t yet opened, and there was no indication of when it would, but I got a feeling late morning that I should be ready in case it did. I got into a long line for Scott chair, which puts you into position to get to the back side, and ran into Justin, our Mountain Hardwear rep. He, I and a few others started traversing toward the back. And like magic, the word came that Sherwood was opening, and the handful of us in position went into a full-on stampede, landing us on the first few of chairs up above the still-untouched slope.
The next five laps were the best of my season — fresh tracks, long, arching turns that my new K2 powder skis had been aching for all season — until the rest of civilization rushed over to join us. So one more steep line that drops from back to front through blower powder spraying up to my chest, and I was content. Back to nursing the cold, and wiping the huge grin off my face.
LIS
As for me, I got out to Alpine Meadows Saturday and Monday and had two great days, Monday by far being the best. Funny to hear Greyson’s tale of Saturday because I must have been a turn or two in front of or behind him that day. We too were hoping for Sherwood. We were lapping Scott and timed it perfectly, getting to the top of Scott right at the patroller flipped the sign. Our first two runs were beautiful! A pretty much vacant slope all to the few lucky ones. Then, on my third run, it began. Little ants covered the slope… and another run later and the Sherwood line was 10 minutes long. We pretty much called it a day after that, and I took this parting shot of Promised Land from the parking lot.
Sunday, I took the day off and went cross-country skiing with some friends and dogs. It was a winter wonderland! Light winds and a good dosage of snow made for some spectacular scenery. My Mountain Hardwear Effusion Jacket (in orange below) was perfect for the half-snow/half-sun conditions. And check out the difference between the trees on Saturday (above) and then the trees on Sunday (below).
But Monday, oh Monday! I got to Alpine around 8:45am, and spent the whole day seeking out pow with some lady friends. Our first run was a quick Roundhouse lap because the Summit line was daunting from all the waiters, and there was so much fresh that it didn’t matter. Back down to Summit (no line this time) we shot straight over to High Yellow for amazingly light untracked powder. Here’s a peek from the High Yellow hike, looking toward F tree above Sherwood.
We then hiked over to the just-opened Beaver Bowl but it was a hot mess with the sun baking the goodness out of it already. Hey, Alpine, how about opening at 8am in March?!
We spent the rest of the day hanging around High Yellow and Arts Knob, and sneaking in some mellow low angle turns around Lakeview. It was a beautiful day… so sunny! Felt like a Tahoe spring day, with Colorado powder thrown in. I topped it off with $1.50 PBRs at Crest Cafe, then some hot-tubbing. Caught this snow bunny on camera by the hot tub.
Thanks Miracle March! Tahoe snow was back! At least for a day. Yesterday’s warm temps put the Tahoe ski conditions right back where they started more or less.
Brad Miller of Adventures for Action sets out this May to climb the West Buttress of Denali (Mt. McKinley). This “adventure” is to raise awareness about the “action” they’re striving to achieve, which is currently fundraising for the International Health Partners of the United States and Tanzania (IHP-TZ). Read more about both the Adventure and the Action of Adventures for Action on their website. This blog post is the first of a series Brad is writing for Tahoe Mountain Sports, who is helping to gear him up for Denali.
I have never been fond of training and I think it is a safe assumption that I am not alone in this feeling. I dislike activities that are physical prerequisites to the “real thing” and because of this feeling, most training that I have done has felt joyless and perfunctory. I have been very fortunate in that much of my life has been actually living the “real thing.” I have lived in Yosemite, trekked in Nepal and climbed in many countries abroad. In these places I did not need to train because I was always doing the activities one might train for. We did not train to climb; we climbed. And I was physically the better for it.
Since childhood I have always hated to practice and loved to play. My father would tell me that I had to take the good with the bad and that I was not allowed to participate if I did not put in the work. He left the choice up to me, never forcing activities upon me and so I was able to think on my young priorities and decide what was worth sticking with. Boy scouts was not; I loved camping, canoeing and learning to shoot, but the meetings and merit badges where too much to put up with. Wrestling was worth the bad, even though practice was brutal and I often found myself close to vomiting due to the effort.
This feeling about practice has remained unshakable into my adult life, and now training equals practice. It does not matter how or what I am training for—on a hang board for climbing, riding intervals or hills for an upcoming road or cyclocross race—it’s all the same. I am ashamed to say that I don’t even particularly enjoy skills training, although I recognize it as absolutely necessary and so strive to learn the necessities that help keep my partners and me safe. Compared to skills training however, physical training has always seemed to me to be like clockwatching.
And so it was, when faced with the challenge of making an attempt on Denali in May 2012, I was presented with another challenge. A challenge, I dare say, equal to that of the climb itself. . . the dreaded training. Training for a climb like Denali is a long affair and despite the ability to peak bag that Tahoe affords, inevitably the process turns repetitive and mundane. These feelings are accentuated for me by those days when I cannot afford the time to get into Desolation Wilderness. This inevitably leaves me running, which I loathe, or humping weight up a long forest service road still thinly covered by a weak winter’s ice and snow. These are the types of things that I would never, ever do for fun, and so I see them as the biggest of chores. That is, until recently.
On December 9th my brother Russ, who by trade is a climber on a tree trimming crew, was crushed by a 1,500-pound log. The trauma from the accident broke and dislocated his hip, fractured 4 vertebrae, ripped the meniscus from its mount in his knee and tore 40 percent through one of his bicep mounts. To say that Russ is lucky to be alive is, for him, as true as it is bitter. Although thankfully not paralyzed from the accident, Russ is an avid climber and runner and the great log squashing with four subsequent surgeries spread across five months has taken away the physical activities he loves for a long time to come. With lots of future hard work, many months of time and a fair amount of luck, my climbing partner, brother and best friend will make a good recovery. But for now, his inability to exercise is taking a physical and mental toll.
In late February Russ and I spoke for a long time about what exercise and outdoor activities mean to us. He talked about his love of running, how he loves to push past the inevitable “bad section” of a long run and move into the part where he feels like everything is right and he could go on forever. Pre accident Russ would do this often, running 10 or more miles in a session. He runs not only for the positive physical effects but also for the love of the movement and the way it makes him feel. Upon being asked how his run is, it is common for him to answer, “It was the best ever.”
Although Russ sometimes runs 5k races and half marathons (a stress fracture prevented him from participating in the Phoenix marathon), he does not run to train. He runs to run. For me, exercise as training for the main event is one thing but running to run is another beast entirely. This idea, if not totally foreign to me was once hard to understand. I would never run for the sake of it, and in training daily to get fit for another activity I find it hard to maintain motivation. Often when I am out hauling heavy loads in preparation for the physical toll on Denali I find myself wishing I was already done and counting the minutes or steps until I can quit. Having set out with a specific session goal, I oftentimes have to consciously fight the pull to quit early and I sometimes lose. After the conversation with my brother in February, however, that all changed.
I have often said that you don’t need to lose something to really appreciate it, you simply need to occasionally meditate on the things you have. Similarly, when you see someone else go without or lose something dear to them it makes it even easier to appreciate what you maintain. I experienced this while traveling through India and seeing the poverty and strife that is rampant there. My brother’s accident and our subsequent conversation also poignantly illustrated this idea.
In our conversation he expressed a worry that because I tend to not want to be training that I miss out on so much while I am doing it—that I am so focused on the end goal that I lose sight of the journey. This struck a chord which rang true. Russ made me realize that I should be more in the moment, that I should appreciate every day that I am out there enjoying nature, pushing myself and getting stronger. That I should not take even one day for granted. I should remember, he told me, that he can’t get out there and won’t be able to for a long time, and getting after it is all he wants to do.
When I go out to train now I make sure to do whatever it takes to enjoy myself. Sometimes that means slowing down and appreciating my surroundings; sometimes it means picking up the pace and really pushing. Mostly, when I start to get down on myself and thoughts of wanting to quit creep in, or thoughts of not wanting to even go out at all arise, all I have to do is think of my brother. I think about how much he wants to be out there, not training but just moving. All I have to do is think of him and I am reminded of how lucky I am to even have the opportunity to train and all that negativity goes away. In a way I am not only training for Denali, I am also training for him.
For over 8 years I have wanted to stand on the summit of Denali, and long ago I asked Russ if he wanted to someday try with me. Despite his love of rock climbing he is not a mountaineer and knowing the high and inherent dangers he simply replied, half serious, half in jest, “Sorry bro, but I have no desire to walk into a white death with you.” Accident or not, Russ would have never come to Denali with me in body, which is probably for the best as any long stormbound stint in a small tent would have lead to an inevitable murder. Mine I suspect, as he is far stronger in both body and mind than I. He will however come with me in philosophy. When I find myself up there suffering—cold, tired, hurting and wanting to quit—all I will have to do is think of him and how he just wants to move and all that appreciation for where I am and what I am doing will come flooding back. At least, I hope it does. . .
We appreciate Brad’s honesty. Training is hard. Do you struggle with training for mountaineering or other sports? Share your story in the comments.
We caught up with skier and Deuter ambassador Jeremy Benson, who reports from his Tahoe City couch on the winter of 2011-12 so far, and his knee injury.
If I had dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say, “Well, you’re not missing much,” or “You couldn’t have picked a better winter,” over the past couple months, I’d be a rich man. I didn’t pick this winter to blow out my knee, it picked me. I realize that my friends are trying to make me feel better, to let me know that this isn’t the worst winter to miss, but I’ve got to say that there is no such thing as a good time to blow one’s knee. Sure it could have been worse, I could have missed last winter’s epic snows like a friend of mine, or maybe it was my destiny, a fortuitous accident that is preventing something worse from happening. No matter how you spin it, blowing out your knee sucks, period.
We all know this winter has been different than the past couple. When we got off to an early start with powder in early October and November I was ready for another epic winter. When summer returned in October, November, and December, I did my best to keep my spirits high and make the most of what Mother Nature had to offer. Winter mountain biking season was going off, and the couple groomed runs we had to ski were keeping me interested, sort of. I took advantage of the terrible early season ski conditions by getting myself back into the park. I hadn’t been hitting jumps for a few years, but there wasn’t much else going on to get me excited, so hit jumps I did. All it took was one awkward backseat landing. After 25 years of virtually injury-free skiing I had no idea that my ACL could go that easily.
I know plenty of people who have blown their knees—we all do. If you ski a lot, chances are that you or someone you know has or will blow a knee eventually. For some reason I never really thought I was going to join the club and get the “Tahoe tattoo,” but alas, it finally happened. Interestingly, it happened doing something sort of mundane, I wasn’t “huckin’ cliffs” or “shredding the gnar”; it was a 360 over a 10-foot table top that put me out for the season.
As much as it sucks to blow your knee, it’s not all doom and gloom. Luckily for people in the Tahoe area, we have some of the finest orthopedic surgeons in the country practicing where we live. Our outdoor lifestyle leaves us generally predisposed for bodily injury, a fact that has made our local surgeons some of the best in the business. Practice makes perfect, right? The same goes for our area’s physical therapists. Not only do we athletes tend to get injured, but when we do we want to get better so we can get back out and get our adrenaline fix. It’s comforting to know you’re in good hands when going under the knife or getting put through your paces at the gym. Seeing autographed posters of Shane McConkey and Daron Rahlves in my surgeon and therapist’s office certainly put my mind at ease.
As someone who spends most of my time in the winter out skiing I found the void created by not skiing filled with recovering from my injury. Of course I’d rather be skiing, but returning my knee to its pre-injury condition has become my focus, and physical therapy is my path to that goal. I meet with my therapist twice a week for sessions that last 3 to 4 hours. For the first time in 10 years I bought a gym membership and I find myself spending a couple hours a day, when I don’t have therapy, working out on my own. Recovering from an injury like this requires some significant self-motivation and a lot of hands on time. I have found the body’s ability to recover to be nothing short of amazing. From the first pedal of the bike to getting off crutches and walking again, each week presents its own challenges and rewards. As cliché as it may sound, it’s my goal to come away from this injury stronger than before.
While I appreciate the sentiment, I don’t need my friends to tell me that I’m not missing out on anything. It’s pretty obvious from my couch that this hasn’t been the best winter in recent years. Regardless of our notable lack of snow, I know there is still plenty of fun to be had out there and I hope that people are enjoying what we’ve got. The saying “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade” couldn’t be more appropriate than for this season in Tahoe. Hopefully, it isn’t over yet…
Can you relate? Do you have a Tahoe tattoo? A knee injury tale? Tell us about it in the comments.
Valentine’s morning with our wives/girlfriends or light, fluffy backcountry powder? Well, for a bunch of snow starved Tahoe ski bums, the choice was easy (though we might regret it later). Tahoe Mountain Sports web editor, Greyson happened to be riding the lifts with Jesse from Folsom Custom Skis earlier in the week and they made an instant connection so Jesse decided to come and visit the shop and see if anybody was going out skiing this week. Luckily we had a pre-planned dawn patrol trip scheduled for Tuesday morning so it all worked out.
Getting ready for the ski down
With about 12-14 inches up on the Sierra Crest and 6-8 inches down lower, we chose the west shore of Tahoe for our early morning jaunt and it was well worth it. The West Shore seems to have squeezed the most snow out of the most recent storm, so we headed straight there and started skinning up in the dark only to get engulfed in a misty, rimey cloud about half way up.
Skinning Up on Valentine's morning
The powder was incredibly light and fluffy on top of the hard crust that has formed in between the January storm and this one. At the top, we could barely feel the crust, but down lower, the 6-8 inches were not enough to keep you from hitting bottom. We were able to ski right from and then back to the car with hardly any bushwacking so the coverage turned out to be much better than expected.
The other purpose of this mornings trip was to check out these skis Jesse had brought with him. Luckily he had a Dynafit setup on a pair of BlueNote’s so I got to ride those. They were 100 under foot with a rocker tip, poplar/bamboo core, ABS sidewalls and one of their stock top sheet graphics. While you might not have heard of these guys yet, you are likely to start hearing about them soon. They are in business to make ONLY custom skis. They have a questionnaire on their website that is about 25 questions long and depending on your answers, the type of ski you want and how much you are willing to throw down, you can create your very own ski with your very own graphics. Currently they are making about 250 pairs a year of these things, but look out cause once everybody finds out about them, they are going to be cranking.
Folsom BlueNote Skis on the way up
So, the ski, did I like it or not? I most certainly did. It skied incredibly solid, was very logitudinally and torsionally consistent and midly stiff. The tip profile made it very fun and somewhat floaty in the light powder and equally fun at the bottom when quick turns and a solid platform were needed to make our way out. This ski was certainly a 1 ski quiver. With semi-custom skis starting at $850 to fully customized skis going up to $1200, these are not for everyone, but if you know what you want, want it to be the highest quality, Made in the USA and ski like a dream, these could be the skis for you. The Aspen Highlands ski patrollers have adopted them as their ski of choice for their durability and unique shapes. Jesse had a chance to stop by the shop after we skied so we could see some more options from them and you can see those below.
Some of the selection from Folsom Custom Skis
Demo fleet from Folsom Custom Skis
You can check out some more of the pics and some closeups of the skis on our Facebook page here.
