• Training

    Running in MSR Snowshoes

    If you remember my last article about Snowshoe Hiking in Colorado [CLICK HERE] I mentioned that I was using MSR EVO Ascent snowshoes and that I would hardly consider running in them. Here’s the article quote: I have a pair of MSR Evo Ascent Snow Shoes, and so long as you’re not trying to run, they’re decent enough for snowshoe hiking. I decided to give it a try to see how I would do, in spite of that, since I know a few people do run in them. I’ve seen someone running in MSR snowshoes on the Steven’s Gulch Road toward the Grays Peak Trailhead. Trail running has been rough…

  • Motivation

    Inspirational Quotes: Hills to Climb

    Inspirational Quotes: Hills to Climb… After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. Nelson Mandela I have a notebook full of inspirational quotes and this is one I reflect on frequently. I’ve been to the top of so many hills in my life. From that lofty vantage, I realize that there are indeed many more hills to climb. I’ve gone from success to failure to success so many times and so fast, that I’ve begun to enjoy the uphill journey as much as the time on top. I wrote about one of the lowest days in my mountaineering life in my book…

  • Nutrition

    Vegetarian Differences in Practice

    Vegetarian differences vary a bit between many people who call themselves vegetarian. There are those who eat their diets based on moral or philosophical reasons. There are those that eat based on health concerns. Some have obvious allergies or react badly to different foods. There are those that eat according to religious ideologies. There are a few technical terms for the vegetarian differences if you want to go look them up. There are lacto and ovo and pesco etc. etc. etc. If you go to the message boards and other places where people can leave comments you’ll find quite a few opinions about vegetarian differences. One problem you might find is…

  • Training

    Snowshoe Hiking in Colorado

    I’ve been running a lot this past winter. We’ve had a lot of snow this past month and the trails I usually use are very deep soft snow. Even the roads that the snowmobiles pack down are really loose and bad footing to run on. At the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake this January I was talking to a sales rep for a Colorado snowshoe manufacturer and he recommended I try snowshoe hiking. I have a pair of MSR Evo Ascent Snow Shoes, and so long as you’re not trying to run, they’re decent enough for snowshoe hiking. I used them on Denali in 2011 and on Rainier a…

  • How-to

    Spiked Running Shoes: Hoka One One Stinson EVO

    Spiked running shoes are essential gear for the Winter runner. I had a pair of Hoke One One Stinson EVO with about 300 miles of trail use on them and I thought that I would be able to extend their life by spiking them. I also have a pair of Mafate WP that I’ve turned into spiked running shoes ARTICLE HERE. I do a lot of trail running outside in the Winter. Up here in Summit County Colorado that’s sometimes about 6 months, give or take a little. It’s great training for moving fast on glaciers and it helps you build up resistance to the cold. The coldest I’ve been…

  • Motivation

    Inspirational Sayings: Man on Top

    Inspirational Sayings are one of my favorite “down-time” activities on Pinterest, like MY INSPIRATIONAL SAYINGS BOARD which is one of my favorites. The photo I used to create this inspirational sayings poster was from my summit of the Carstensz Pyramid on 30 April 2013. At the time I thought I had a cracked rib, but it was damaged sternum cartilage and torn intercostal muscles (as diagnosed by physicians in Tembagapura, Papua, Indonesia, and Orem, Utah, USA). It was a tough upward battle of mind over muscle as each pull upward with my right arm, and each downward rappel braking motion shot waves of agony through my chest. I wrote about…