7 Minutes To Fitness

I think if more people followed these scientifically-based exercises, there'd be no need for classes, gyms, coaches, etc. Article here. 

"The exercises should be performed in rapid succession, allowing 30 seconds for each, while, throughout, the intensity hovers at about an 8 on a discomfort scale of 1 to 10, Mr. Jordan says. Those seven minutes should be, in a word, unpleasant. The upside is, after seven minutes, you’re done."

Ice Over The Falls

Jen sent me a link to this video of ice out at Tettegouche Park this spring. It's quite a dramatic change in the river level once the ice comes through.

Quite The Tree House

Built near Whistler in B.C. More info here.

A Climbing Love Story

Here's the trailer from a movie featured at the recent Tribeca Film Festival. Outside Magazine says:

"The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars opens outside a hospital: Matteo (Enrico Lo Verso), an avid mountain climber, has just received a heart transplant. He says farewell to fellow heart patient Sonia (Nastassja Kinski) and waves a carabiner at her—a reminder of a climbing date they’ve set for the future. 

Six months later, they keep their plans and meet in the Dolomite foothills of Italy. She has a husband, but this isn’t an affair. She must make this climb, she tells her husband, to fulfill her promise to a man who helped her through surgery—and as she and Matteo begin their vertical ascent, you get it. This is more than a promise. This is two people testing their new leases on life, affirming that no physical feat can hold them back. A bit sentimental? Yes, but it also resonates. Plus, the views from the top are pretty spectacular."

Ice Breaking In Antartica

An article about spending two months on an ice breaker that started at McMurdo, is here. As extreme as the conditions are, this ship appears to be fairly comfortable.


A 5 minute video of her two month trip is below. It's fun to watch.

Canyoneering In British Columbia

Canyoneering near Squamish, B.C. Looks cold, wet and fun. More details here.



Down The Line - Trailer from Francois-Xavier De Ruydts on Vimeo.

Climbing Is Best Left To Young, Single Men

In an interview with high altitude Sherpas of Nepal, one of them says, ""Climbing is exciting, but dangerous,. It's best left to young, single men." 

He's talking about the career Sherpas who support the big expeditions in the Himalayas. 

There is a lot of information about the history of Sherpas and climbing in this article. 

Best Belay Photos

There's a forum topic on SuperTopo with many photos of "Sketchy Belays." Here are a couple I thought looked fun.

135 MPH On A Bike

New record for speed on a production mountain bike set by the guy who crashed so hard 10 years ago on a volcano. More info here.

Another Warm, Sunny Day

What a beautiful sunny day! The sun's shining on another warm spring day in Minnesota. Well, at least in my imagination. I looked out our windows this morning and tried to believe I was seeing this:

I will go through the next few days pretending I am biking in the sun instead of trudging through the wet snow. 

Cave Climbing In Columbia

A new area in Columbia is being developed for climbing with 2,000 foot limestone walls and a huge cave with climbable stalactites. There's a video trip report below - skip to the 6:15 to hear them describe the mountain. And skip to the 7:15 to see them walking into the cave. The town they're in is called LaFlorian. 

Drink Beer To Feel Good

News you can use - if you drink some beer, you crave more. Who knew? I hope they didn't spend too much money to learn that.

"There were significantly increased levels of dopamine on the beer scans compared to the Gatorade scans. Subjects said they craved more beer after tasting beer, while not many said they wanted to drink more Gatorade after drinking the sports drink. This was in spite of the fact that many participants said they preferred the taste of Gatorade."

Camping Is Inherently Dangerous

A tree fell on a boy and injured him while his family was camping. They are suing the Forest Service because: "'The tree was clearly dead — had been dead for years — and was within eight feet of the fire ring, and within 48 feet of the Forest Service road,' said Eric Rossman, their attorney in Boise, on Wednesday."

It was Joyce Kilmer who said "I think that I shall never see a poem as dangerous as a tree." 
Be careful outdoors folks; pretty much everything in Nature is out to get you. So stay indoors and read poetry. 

Salt Mines

From aquamarine salt lakes (left) to salt "waterfalls," (below) a group of photos from around the world of salt mines. 

Living Close To Nature

This is part one about a family isolated for more than 40 years in the wilderness of Siberia. They certainly learned how to live close to nature. More videos of her story here.