Beyond Good and Evil

North Face, l'Aiguille des Pelerins, Chamonix, FranceLong before I was a ski alpinist I was a climber. I still am. Actually, I love all the games we play in the mountains. For various reasons, I've always been an average player in these games but, like many of us, love to read about the elite and their antics in the alpine.

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Cancer Recovery and Restwise

A few years ago I became involved in some beta testing of a internet-based recovery monitoring software program called Restwise. I used it effectively in my own training and preparation for ski mountaineering racing. After going live in 2009, Restwise has been used effectively by individual athletes and professional teams in a variety of sports worldwide.

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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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The Otter Kind

Thought I'd give a shout out to my friend Michelle Smith, a film maker from Jackson Hole who has been steadily upping her game with these fun videos featuring my old stomping grounds. The Grand Teton is getting some love lately from TGR and will be featured on Jeremy Jones' next effort, Higher.

Michelle beats him to the punch here with this tasty nugget. She was preceeded by the Otter Body Experience, a film by David Gonzales but that awesome movie is MIA on the internet now. UPDATE: This great film is now available again here.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcsQG3HZkYU 

So, sit back and check out the fun on one of the coolest lines on the biggest peak in the range along with some perspective from Teton skimo pioneer, Mark Newcomb.

The Otter Kind from getungrounded on Vimeo.

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