Light and Fast - Boots

One of the most interesting, fun and innovative aspects of speed touring is the gear. By gear, I'm referring to skis, bindings and boots. As I pointed out in a previous post, many of the technological innovations developed for the highly specialized rando race market have now trickled down to the everymans' ski touring market. This allows even less serious skiers to cleave pounds off their set-up and take tens of minutes off their touring times. For those lapping powder runs at the their favorite shot in the back country, this means more vertical and less effort.

Click to read more ...

Analysis Paralysis

I'm starting to get a tick thinking about the data generated by my new toy, the Suunto T6 wrist computer. Be careful what you wish for, right? Don't get me wrong, seeing the performance data is crazy interesting to a geek like me but crunching the information and generating some direction afterwards is overwhelming. Fortunately, I have solicited advice from Mark Twight at Gym Jones and Matthew Weatherley-White from Restwise to help make some sense of it all.

Click to read more ...

National Championships Report

Two years ago I went into this race looking for a good performance having had some decent results during the season. Granted, the field was not deep then but I managed 9th and walked away very satisfied. As you know from reading here over the past 2 months, I have prepared very methodically and, well, hard for this event. Still, I did not harbor any delusions of this 49 year old whooping ass on the best field North America has to offer. I would have loved to have been surprised. But let's face it, I prepared in a time-tested fashion, using training techniques that have served me well for decades. There is no reason why anything extraordinary should have come of it. And, well, it didn't.

Click to read more ...

Light and Fast - You and Your Pack

In the second installment of this piece I want to cover my choices for clothing, packs, related softgoods and fueling. Skis, bindings, boots and technique will be saved for the final chapter.

Click to read more ...

Training Log - December 27-January 2

So, that's a wrap. This week concludes seven weeks of focused training in preparation for my first skimo race of the year. Looking back on other seasons this has been the most directed and purposeful preparation I have undergone in the sport. Certainly, the act of recording and publishing my training in a public forum has generated some of that focus.

Click to read more ...