Monday, August 10, 2015 at 09:46PM 
It’s hard to believe how little skiing I’ve done on this trip as I come down to my last four days. But winter has been hitting the area hard, which is good for the area but tough on tourists with limited time. Like they say, pay your money, take your chances.
Las Leñas skiing in Race/Trip Reports Thursday, August 6, 2015 at 03:01PM 
I’m not sure how I made all those long ass flights in coach over the years traveling to far flung corners of the world. I guess youth makes us tolerant. It seems I lack some of both these days. The only thing that made the 13-hour flight to Santiago tolerable was the easy access to movies. I think I watched five. Good to catch up on cinema, you know. But the airline industry has us by the balls and they can pretty much do whatever they want. Witness the complete stuffing of most flights and the gradual squeeze on our personal space. I had one centimeter between my knees and the tray table. Is extra room worth thousands of dollars? Maybe.
Las Lenas 2015 in Race/Trip Reports Saturday, July 11, 2015 at 02:05AM 
Start line, Women, 2015 Mount MarathonThose us paying attention were not surprised by the crushing performances of Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg at this year's MMR. However, to speak locally of this likely outcome leading up to the race was near heresy in this part of the world. Alaskans are proud of their athletes and are particularly possessive of this iconic race. There was plenty of grumbling about these "outsiders" coming up before hand. Alaskans love their stars and simply didn't want to see them humbled by foreigners. Not exactly xenophobic behavior but, really, just local pride. But when both winning athletes demonstrated the kind of humility, grace and astonishing athleticism they possess, well, most folks up here couldn't help but love it.
Monday, April 13, 2015 at 03:41PM 
Speeding through elegant ski traverses here in Alaska is a fun distraction for those of us prone to such shenanigans. When I lived in Jackson, I was an avid skimo racer and spent most of the fall and winter preparing for and competing in races all over the west. I had lots of friends who did the same. It produced a type of momentum in our approach to the mountains that's unique to those that do it.
Saturday, April 4, 2015 at 04:20PM 
The early days of the Grand Teton Speed Project, Lycra required.As most readers know, I've been playing the speed game in ski mountaineering for several years. It was a natural distraction for active Teton and Wasatch skimo racers who wanted to take their race-honed fitness and ski skills to the higher peaks. For those of us who toyed with this sort of masochism, we enjoyed pushing each other, setting standards for others to pursue and generally enjoyed testing ourselves in the mountains. We coined it the "Grand Teton Speed Project". Granted, this stuff is not for everyone. The fat and baggy crowd could care less about going fast and covering lots of ground in a day. For them, the focus is on the down. Fair enough. For sure, our skiing was not pretty but we got more of it each day and this made us happy. We still like powder skiing on fat boards but Lycra and race sticks still capture our imagination.
