John Frieh

Who's John "Freih"? :laf: Seriously though thanks dudes! To answer your question Gene the Copp-Dash Inspire award is very much like the Mugs Stump award... though they call it an award, and it is an honor to be selected, in my opinion it is more like a climbing grant in that it is funds for a trip that is going to happen. Speaking of, many thanks to Black Diamond Equipment, La Sportiva, Mountain Hardwear, Patagonia and the Jonny Copp Foundation for sponsoring this award! Regardless of what they call it we're very excited for our trip later this year and will make sure to have a trip report here! Maybe someone might even ask one of us to do a slideshow

Thanks dude. I'd love to but I need a partner first! The NE face in spring has been on my to do list long enough

Thanks for the info Marko. Where did you have to park? Any tracks headed towards Stuart?

Many great TRs... Colin and Dave's route on Chiwawa for me http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=442340

Thanks for the updates everyone! @Kevin: something on the NE face of Stuie is high on my to do list but I'm game for just about anything in there

Thanks. Has anyone ventured up toward colchuck since the slide? I'm wondering if anything came down higher up

What's the latest? How many extra miles of walking to reach 8 mile currently?

Good question. Being PDX based the last few years I've been able to figure out locally (Hood, Rainier, Adams) that I can go up to 12k after sleeping at sea level with little affect. Above 12k I start noticing some altitude effects but nothing I can't deal with. I also know for my body if I get a night at ~5k before going higher I do (or at least feel) better and can go higher before I notice the same affects. So to answer your question when planning for this trip I knew a night in Talkeetna and a night in the Tok would be plenty for me.

I would suggest your post race food should avoid fat at least for the first hour as glycogen synthesis is reduced when fat is included in the initial stages of the process. That said, intramuscular triglyceride (IMTG) restoration is slowed when fat intake is reduced. Because the window during which one may efficiently replenish muscle glycogen is short I concentrate on doing that first, then deal with the IMTG issue, which takes longer any way. I add considerable fat to later meals because the energy yield per volume is much greater than the other macronutrients so I am more likely to reach calorie targets before I stop eating. Chocolate milk should be considered a last ditch substitute for a true recovery drink given it's sugar content. Anything that roughly matches a 75 to 25 carb to protein ration (Endurox has actually patented this ratio) is a viable recovery drink. Generally the cleaner the better and as most chocolate milk brands out there have HFCS I'd argue you can do much better for a little more $. All that said eating a balanced diet will more than adequetly cover your protein needs (1.2g per kg of body weight per day) with the expetion of bigger days which most of dont do as much as we should do any ways.

No training session exists in a vacuum. It is influenced by what came before, by the objective of the training, by the seasonal or annual plan, and, of course, by the needs of the individual(s) for whom the training is prescribed. Absolutely for the novice climber "just climbing" is the single best way to see gains. However depending on one's goals "just climbing" at some point may or may not be the best way to reach them.

Would you be able post some more info on some of the mental fitness training or methods? I've read a book (Mental Toughness Training for Sports) and of course Twight's thoughts in Extreme Alpinism. Any recent articles or studies that you can link to? I'll try to post something this week. I've been reading a lot of material since 2009 so refining it down to a single post could be... impossible?

Respectfully submitted for the discussion. Restating the obvious...?

After spending a small fortune on gear, this was my conclusion too. I've put a small fortune into my mental and physical fitness but considering the returns I've seen to date my only regret at this point is that I didnt make the investment earlier.

Seperate the two. Ignoring what is and isnt light (I'll leave that for the armchair mtneers and bloggers to debate) going as fast as safely possible is common sense. Sure most routes wont punish you for going slow(er) but as the commitment required for a route increases often speed factors more and more in the outcome. The question should be what is the best way to go fast? Is it going light? I would agree with the sentiments from above... light is important to going fast but if you dont know what you are doing then going light is actually making things worse as you wont be prepared for when it does go down. As Bouchard said "gear wont make up for a lack of skill... skill often makes up for a lack of the latest, fanciest gear". So what is the best way to go fast? Some climbers and bloggers would like you to think it is the latest, lightest gear. And they would be right to an extent... carrying less often means moving quicker. That said putting some effort into your mental and/or physical fitness will likely make you much faster than a complete gear overhaul.

Lead is a precious metal

Yes but getting financing is nearly impossible. As far as I can tell either your debt to income needs to be tiny (not likely if you're already in the real estate game) or you have enough cash to make it happen without financing. Lots of great deals in PDX right now Bill... wanna lend me some $$$

I'll email you about the alpinists

Pic?

Excellent trip report all around Mikey

Do you know what your basal metabolic rate is? How many days total? Sleeping warm or cold?

Nice work dude Rock and roll

fair enough. If and when you decide to refine it a little dont hesitate to solict me for some input... I love to talk programming

Train smarter. Not harder.

Thanks all. @Gene: I've heard the same thing and yes it was part of the reason why I timed this trip like I did. I've been watching the weather closely since Colin and Jed did it in 2007 and unfortunately windows like this dont occur every year from what I can tell. That said the person you should ask would be Mark Westman (and buy him a when you do!) He could give you the best comparison on late winter vs early spring

I did but I suspected it was the lack of overlap between the nose and the wire so I put both of them in a vice and gave them a slight squeeze to bend the material and they havent dont it since. No need to replace the biners in my opinion.