OK, yet another post starting with the remark that I haven't posted in a while.
What's different this time is the fact that there was simply nothing to write about. No adventures at all in quite a while. I realized that a few weeks ago, when I was asked at a party what my last adventure was, and I really had to think hard.
Life has been pretty busy in the last few months. Between a new job and a new housing situation there was simply not too much time to play. Even now, as things settle down I am rather happy to unwind on the weekends instead of hitting the road/mountains. A good example is last weekend. I went down to Whitney Portal, to scope out the approach to the Mountaineers Route and/or Whitney's East Face, East Buttress. I spent a rather unpleasant night, sleeping for about two hours, and when I woke up I realized that I didn't really want to be there. That was really a first! As the outdoors usually have been where I was happiest. I'm wondering what's going on, and try not to freak out about it...
On the other hand, I have been increasing my running mileage. For now the plan is to run the Jungle Run 10k in Los Gatos tomorrow, and the Santa Rosa 1/2 marathon in the end of August.
These two races will be followed by the Coastal 50k from Stinson Beach to Rodeo Beach in late September.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Alpine Meadows skiing
The streak of changed plans continued last weekend. The plan was to fly to Boise, ID for the holiday weekend and spent a few days skiing in Sun Valley with Juliana's cousin. We got to the airport well before the departure time, since we both had skis to check in. Just after we swiped the credit card and got charged for the checked baggage we were told that the flight was canceled due to a mechanical problem. Furthermore, we were told that we could not expect to be on a flight in the next two days. There went the holiday weekend plan...
We decided rather quickly that we go to Tahoe instead. While I tried to sort things out with the airline, Jules got on the phone and secured a room in Truckee for Saturday night.
We left the Bay Area shortly before 5am on Saturday morning. Getting to Alpine Meadows at 9:30. The last miles from I-80 to the resort were definitely the slowest of the entire trip.
The weather and the conditions were fantastic. The skiing couldn't have been any better anywhere else. The previous week had seen four feet of powder, and there were plenty of untouched stashes.
After a few easy runs to warm up I went to Scotts Gully, a double diamond. What a incredible run! I am not sure why, but the run just felt awesome... Either it was the new skis, or I am finally getting a hang on steep, deep runs. After a few runs here, I could not get the grin off my face.
After checking in to the hotel we had dinner at the Bridgetender in Tahoe City. If I remember correctly I was asleep by 8:30.
Sunday saw more skiing in the morning, but the temperatures dropped significantly in the afternoon, so that we left around 2. Although the second day was rather short I am absolutely happy about the skiing I got in.
We decided rather quickly that we go to Tahoe instead. While I tried to sort things out with the airline, Jules got on the phone and secured a room in Truckee for Saturday night.
We left the Bay Area shortly before 5am on Saturday morning. Getting to Alpine Meadows at 9:30. The last miles from I-80 to the resort were definitely the slowest of the entire trip.
The weather and the conditions were fantastic. The skiing couldn't have been any better anywhere else. The previous week had seen four feet of powder, and there were plenty of untouched stashes.
After a few easy runs to warm up I went to Scotts Gully, a double diamond. What a incredible run! I am not sure why, but the run just felt awesome... Either it was the new skis, or I am finally getting a hang on steep, deep runs. After a few runs here, I could not get the grin off my face.
After checking in to the hotel we had dinner at the Bridgetender in Tahoe City. If I remember correctly I was asleep by 8:30.
Sunday saw more skiing in the morning, but the temperatures dropped significantly in the afternoon, so that we left around 2. Although the second day was rather short I am absolutely happy about the skiing I got in.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Mount Shasta
This winter started out with some epic early storms in late November and early December. January on the other had saw almost no snow fall in the Sierras. Obviously this is bad news for skiing. The new Mantras with AT-bindings just got a three day work-out in Chamonix in December, but had to stay in the closet back here in Cali.
On the other hand the stable high off the Northern California coast allowed for good conditions for a winter ascent of Mount Shasta. The Casaval Ridge seemed to be in pretty good shape during the first weekend of February. Just the right thing for a quick weekend dash, similar to my previous ascent of Shasta. Or so I thought.
The plan was to leave the Bay Area Saturday morning, get to the trailhead around 3pm, hike to Horse Camp, set up camp in daylight, get an early night, set the alarm for 2am, get going by 3am, summit, descent via Avalanche Gulch, break up camp, head back to the car, make the drive back. Simple enough, right?
The first part worked just fine. We arrived at Bunny Flats around 2:30 on Saturday afternoon, got the permits, re-packed some gear and got ready to go. Just as we were about to leave two parties got back to the parking lot, who had started out that morning. Both of them tried to climb Sergeant's Ridge, but turned around due to high winds. They reached a high point of around 9400ft. One of the climbers had soloed Casaval Ridge the previous weekend, and confirmed that the conditions had been great. With these mixed news we were in our way at 3:30pm. The hike to Horse Camp was rather mellow, and eventless. By 6 we had set up camp, eaten dinner and tugged away in our sleeping bags... This is were things deviated from the plan: High winds made sleep practically impossible. It didn't help that I had a congested nose either. Given the sleepless night, high winds, a missing pair of gloves and a malfunctioning headlamp the summit attempt stopped right there.
Objective not achieved... But I still had a good time. A wonderful sunset, a night spent outside... What more can one ask for?
On the other hand the stable high off the Northern California coast allowed for good conditions for a winter ascent of Mount Shasta. The Casaval Ridge seemed to be in pretty good shape during the first weekend of February. Just the right thing for a quick weekend dash, similar to my previous ascent of Shasta. Or so I thought.
The plan was to leave the Bay Area Saturday morning, get to the trailhead around 3pm, hike to Horse Camp, set up camp in daylight, get an early night, set the alarm for 2am, get going by 3am, summit, descent via Avalanche Gulch, break up camp, head back to the car, make the drive back. Simple enough, right?
The first part worked just fine. We arrived at Bunny Flats around 2:30 on Saturday afternoon, got the permits, re-packed some gear and got ready to go. Just as we were about to leave two parties got back to the parking lot, who had started out that morning. Both of them tried to climb Sergeant's Ridge, but turned around due to high winds. They reached a high point of around 9400ft. One of the climbers had soloed Casaval Ridge the previous weekend, and confirmed that the conditions had been great. With these mixed news we were in our way at 3:30pm. The hike to Horse Camp was rather mellow, and eventless. By 6 we had set up camp, eaten dinner and tugged away in our sleeping bags... This is were things deviated from the plan: High winds made sleep practically impossible. It didn't help that I had a congested nose either. Given the sleepless night, high winds, a missing pair of gloves and a malfunctioning headlamp the summit attempt stopped right there.
Objective not achieved... But I still had a good time. A wonderful sunset, a night spent outside... What more can one ask for?
Sunday, January 9, 2011
2011 races
I spent the past weekend browsing websites and race calendars. Here's what I came up with for the coming year:
Mar 19 Pirates Cove 20k
Mar 26 Woodside 17k
May 1 Big Bear 5k
May 21 Horseshoe Lake 21k
Jun 5 Sierra Foothills 50k
Jul 10 Jungle Run 10k
Aug 14 Squaw to Donner 25k
Oct 2 SJ RnR 1/2 marathon
Oct 23 Silicon Valley marathon
Dec 3 North Face Endurace Challenge 50 miles
Let's see how it pans out!
Mar 19 Pirates Cove 20k
Mar 26 Woodside 17k
May 1 Big Bear 5k
May 21 Horseshoe Lake 21k
Jun 5 Sierra Foothills 50k
Jul 10 Jungle Run 10k
Aug 14 Squaw to Donner 25k
Oct 2 SJ RnR 1/2 marathon
Oct 23 Silicon Valley marathon
Dec 3 North Face Endurace Challenge 50 miles
Let's see how it pans out!
Monday, January 3, 2011
2010
I haven't posted much in the past year, that doesn't mean that nothing was going on. Quite to the contrary actually. So here's a quick recap:
Early in the year, I spent quite a bit of time skiing in the Tahoe area. Until then I had mostly skied in Kirkwood, but last year I explored further, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows and Northstar (which totally deserves the nickname Flatstar!).
When not skiing I was running preparing for my first ultra-marathon, the Skyline-to-the-Sea 50k.
It took me a while to recover from the race. So I decided that the next race had to be shorter, a lot shorter! It was the Angle Island 8k in June. At this time I felt quite speedy, and was looking forward to the Santa Rosa 1/2-marathon and a fast marathon in St. George. Unfortunately I sprained my left ankle on a trail run in early August, so Santa Rosa was completely out of question, and I 'down-graded' St. George to a long trainings run.
In July there were a few trips to Tuolumne. Once for some climbing (some routes on Pywiack Dome, Crying Time Again, and cragging), once for some trail running, and once for an one day solo trip to Mt. Lyell and Mt. MacLure. Rather a death march. 23 miles, 5000ft of elevation gain - 14hrs round trip.
Due to the injury in early August, my activity level that month was pretty minimal, but September started with an exciting trip to Mt. Langley. The rest of the month I prepared for St. George, which was on Oct. 2. Since I was in the Southwest already I tagged on a trip to Zion NP. Here I hiked the Narrows, and got rained out before exploring the Subway. Fortunately there was no rain in Las Vegas, where I spent the remainder of the trip climbing in Red Rock Canyon.
The next goal was CIM, so the running mileage was ramped up again, and I have to say running never felt better. Too bad that I ended up not doing the race. Despite the injury in summer and no running at all in December I ran 1050 miles, which is a lot more than I did ever before. Running is really addictive!
The year ended with a trip to Chamonix for skiing in combination with the anual trip to visit family in Germany. Cham is absolutely fantastic! Three days there were way to little, and I need to go back! No questions there!
The 'urban adventure' front was pretty active too! I saw some good classic metal shows, Iron Maiden, Exodus & Heathen, and Suicidal Tendencies. Furthermore I discovered Yoshi's in San Francisco and Oakland, where I saw Stanley Clarke (May) and George Clinton (November), and Chick Korea respectively.
A pretty packed year!
Here's to 2011 to be at least as busy!
Early in the year, I spent quite a bit of time skiing in the Tahoe area. Until then I had mostly skied in Kirkwood, but last year I explored further, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows and Northstar (which totally deserves the nickname Flatstar!).
When not skiing I was running preparing for my first ultra-marathon, the Skyline-to-the-Sea 50k.
It took me a while to recover from the race. So I decided that the next race had to be shorter, a lot shorter! It was the Angle Island 8k in June. At this time I felt quite speedy, and was looking forward to the Santa Rosa 1/2-marathon and a fast marathon in St. George. Unfortunately I sprained my left ankle on a trail run in early August, so Santa Rosa was completely out of question, and I 'down-graded' St. George to a long trainings run.
In July there were a few trips to Tuolumne. Once for some climbing (some routes on Pywiack Dome, Crying Time Again, and cragging), once for some trail running, and once for an one day solo trip to Mt. Lyell and Mt. MacLure. Rather a death march. 23 miles, 5000ft of elevation gain - 14hrs round trip.
Due to the injury in early August, my activity level that month was pretty minimal, but September started with an exciting trip to Mt. Langley. The rest of the month I prepared for St. George, which was on Oct. 2. Since I was in the Southwest already I tagged on a trip to Zion NP. Here I hiked the Narrows, and got rained out before exploring the Subway. Fortunately there was no rain in Las Vegas, where I spent the remainder of the trip climbing in Red Rock Canyon.
The next goal was CIM, so the running mileage was ramped up again, and I have to say running never felt better. Too bad that I ended up not doing the race. Despite the injury in summer and no running at all in December I ran 1050 miles, which is a lot more than I did ever before. Running is really addictive!
The year ended with a trip to Chamonix for skiing in combination with the anual trip to visit family in Germany. Cham is absolutely fantastic! Three days there were way to little, and I need to go back! No questions there!
The 'urban adventure' front was pretty active too! I saw some good classic metal shows, Iron Maiden, Exodus & Heathen, and Suicidal Tendencies. Furthermore I discovered Yoshi's in San Francisco and Oakland, where I saw Stanley Clarke (May) and George Clinton (November), and Chick Korea respectively.
A pretty packed year!
Here's to 2011 to be at least as busy!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Still alive!
Ok, since there are some people out there who actually check on this neglected corner of the interweb, I'll leave a new blurb. I promise: I'll try to be better!
Last Sunday I was supposed to run the last race of the year. The California International Marathon in Sacramento. This race was originally not on my schedule, since I had planned to run St. George in early October. Unfortunately I sprained my ankle rather badly in early August. The training for St. G. went completely down the drain... A total mileage of 89 miles in August and September are just not enough for a good effort.
So I decided to shift the focus to CIM, and use St. G. as a long, fun, supported trainings run (flights and hotel were booked after all). Once in the Southwest, I tagged on a visit to Zion NP, where I hiked the Narrows, and some climbing at Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas.
Once I was back I jumped into preparations for CIM. 140 miles in October, 120 in November. Good speed workouts, good hill work. Then... a week before the race I get a cold... Nothing too bad. I was still planning on going. Drove up to Sac on Saturday, picked up the bib, got dinner, was in bed at 8. Fell asleep...at 11. ugh! Woke up at 2! (Alarm was set for 4). At this point I decided not to run. A rather tough decision...
Even tougher is the decision to take some time off. Not to jump into planning events for next year. There are some events I'd really like to do, but I think I need some distance to be able to come up with a reasonable plan for 2011.
Last Sunday I was supposed to run the last race of the year. The California International Marathon in Sacramento. This race was originally not on my schedule, since I had planned to run St. George in early October. Unfortunately I sprained my ankle rather badly in early August. The training for St. G. went completely down the drain... A total mileage of 89 miles in August and September are just not enough for a good effort.
So I decided to shift the focus to CIM, and use St. G. as a long, fun, supported trainings run (flights and hotel were booked after all). Once in the Southwest, I tagged on a visit to Zion NP, where I hiked the Narrows, and some climbing at Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas.
Once I was back I jumped into preparations for CIM. 140 miles in October, 120 in November. Good speed workouts, good hill work. Then... a week before the race I get a cold... Nothing too bad. I was still planning on going. Drove up to Sac on Saturday, picked up the bib, got dinner, was in bed at 8. Fell asleep...at 11. ugh! Woke up at 2! (Alarm was set for 4). At this point I decided not to run. A rather tough decision...
Even tougher is the decision to take some time off. Not to jump into planning events for next year. There are some events I'd really like to do, but I think I need some distance to be able to come up with a reasonable plan for 2011.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Angel Island 8k
After running Skyline to the Sea in April I ramped down my running a bit. Winning a spot for the St. George Marathon and signing up for the Santa Rosa 1/2 marathon in late August brought me back to a regular running regimen though.
A few weeks of relatively short runs made me itch for a race again. The PCTR Angel Island 8k seemed perfect. The previous weeks had seen a few speedy sub-10 mile runs, and I figured it would be good to try a short and fast race opposed to a long and slow one as S-2-S.
I caught the ferry from Tiburon to Angel Island at 8AM, and had some time for a little warm-up run and some stretching. The course essentially went straight to the top of the island, and back down. After a quarter mile it hit some stairs, which slowed the field down a bit. Despite walking up the stairs, I managed to pass some people, who had passed me off the starting line. The climb following the stairs wasn't too bad, but I was still glad to reach the top, and switch into cruising mode for the downhill section. The very top had a out and back section, and I counted that I was in 10 position at the summit. The 3 miles back to the finish area were quite pleasant. Nice single tracks, slightly downhill, with amazing views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge. An amazing day to be out on the island! Having run the last 1/2 mile of the course during the warm up paid off, since I caught up to some guys, who had problems finding the right trail, while I knew the way to go. I crossed the finish line after 42:44, good for 5th place overall and 3rd in my age group.
There was some time left, before the ferry left back to Tiburon, which was spent chatting with some friends and munching on the snacks provided by PCTR.
A great event on a great day!
A few weeks of relatively short runs made me itch for a race again. The PCTR Angel Island 8k seemed perfect. The previous weeks had seen a few speedy sub-10 mile runs, and I figured it would be good to try a short and fast race opposed to a long and slow one as S-2-S.
I caught the ferry from Tiburon to Angel Island at 8AM, and had some time for a little warm-up run and some stretching. The course essentially went straight to the top of the island, and back down. After a quarter mile it hit some stairs, which slowed the field down a bit. Despite walking up the stairs, I managed to pass some people, who had passed me off the starting line. The climb following the stairs wasn't too bad, but I was still glad to reach the top, and switch into cruising mode for the downhill section. The very top had a out and back section, and I counted that I was in 10 position at the summit. The 3 miles back to the finish area were quite pleasant. Nice single tracks, slightly downhill, with amazing views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge. An amazing day to be out on the island! Having run the last 1/2 mile of the course during the warm up paid off, since I caught up to some guys, who had problems finding the right trail, while I knew the way to go. I crossed the finish line after 42:44, good for 5th place overall and 3rd in my age group.
There was some time left, before the ferry left back to Tiburon, which was spent chatting with some friends and munching on the snacks provided by PCTR.
A great event on a great day!
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