Way off topic and NDR...It's just where I've been all summer.

[Steve Steffy]

I know, I know...my presence here is so sporadic. I have been busy all summer with climbing and trying to put out a few calls here and there when I can

So what have I been up to this time? Oh, 4960 feet at one point, 4826 at another. My daughter Tori and I finally finished climbing the Adirondacks 46 high peaks over 4000 feet back in May. So now we're officially 46R's...Here are a couple of shots from the last trip...

Mount Haystack - NY...

Yes, those specks are people on top...

Tori dropping down into the col between Little Haystack before climbing up Mount Haystack...

Coming up Basin for the last of the 46 peaks...

Uh oh, we might get a bit wet. There were squalls scattered all over when we reached the summit of Basin. Needless to say they caught up to us quick and we descended equally as quick.

My good side heading up the Saddleback Cliffs...Now this was fun! Tori said she'd just as soon jump out of plane than to climb the cliffs again. She actually enjoys sky diving though, so that's not entirely fair.

Then it was on to the Black Fly Challenge bike race through the Moose River Plains in June. I actually cut my time down substantially from the previous year. Of course the new wheels played a huge role in that. But it didn't whip my butt nearly as bad this time either...see I'm still smiling even with mud spattered all over my face.

More recently I finished up the 4000 foot peaks in New York state by hitting the remaining two in the Catskills. Okay, there may be one more unofficially that I will climb at some point (MacNaughton), but it isn't found on any list. An avid hiker actually died on MacNaughton this past winter due to hypothermia (and a major lack of being prepared for the conditions while losing her bearings).

My latest was just a few weeks ago in Vermont...I climbed 3 of the 5 4000 footers up there and have plans to go back next month to finish up the other two. Then it's off to New Hampshire to see how many peaks I can get climbed in a span of 3 or 4 days. Mount Washington will be at the top of that list, but it will depend largely on the weather.

Here's a summit shot of Mount Abraham in Vermont...

This white rock was near the summit of Abraham...it looked like a giant snowball. It was the only thing white in the vicinity. And I thought wood had some really cool and unique characteristics...this boulder was awesome!

These have all kind of become training climbs for me at this point. I leave next June for Washington state to climb Mt. Rainier via the Kautz Ice Chute. Better get some time spent on ice climbing this winter too I suppose.

And a fitting shot for an end to this post...descending Rocky Peak Ridge at last light. Now that was an interesting story.

Thanks for looking,
Steve

 

[Jon Yenulonis]

Congratulations! Although IAM just a bit jealous Steve!

My wife and I do a little hiking, but not of that quanity.

This summer, we did Harney Peak in South Dakota though. Harney Peak is the tallest peak between the Rockies and Europe at around 7260. We also hit Hawksbill in the Shenandoah National Park at 4260. Then there was the longest waterfall east of the Mississippi at 1260 total feet of waterfall. That was along the Blue Ridge Parkway, also in Virginia.

I would like to climb a bunch more before I hit my age limit. One I really want to hit is Old Rag Mountain, also in The Shenandoah. It is touted as the most difficult and most dangerous in Virginia. THAT would be fun!

Thanks for sharing and writing about it.

Jon

 

[Al Hansen]

Great shots, Steve. Glad you two had so much fun. Congratulations on being known as 46Rs!
Al

 

[Carl]

You mean you didn't see a single duck up there???

Great pics and what a great adventure with your daughter!

 

[ksherbine]

Awesome trips and pics!

 

[Bill Clark]

Wow what a summer and to do it with your daughter,great. I get winded just walking up the driveway from the mailbox.

 

[Brad Bortner]

Great shots Steve. Glad there is another climber in the group. If you are planning on Kautz, I would highly recommend the ice climbing practice. I haven't done Kautz but it's impressive to look at due to its steepness and technical challenges. Review your crevasse travel and rescue skills. I done Emmons.

Jon, Old Rag is fun but one of the most popular hikes I've been on. While in DC I usually make the pilgrimage at least once. Get there early and pick a weekday. I've seen hundreds of people on it and when the masses hit the 2 or 3 5.0- moves on it, the backup starts. It's a mess with a queue of people lined up to take what amounts to a two step technical problem. Enough rescues take place that the National Park Service has the trail blazes numbered at 0.1 intervals to assist in locating parties in need of help.

 

[Kevin Harrington]

Very cool. Did Mt Marcy in my younger days. Great pics.

 

[Steve Steffy]

Hey Jon...Old Rag sounds like it could be some fun for sure. If you ever want a partner to go there let me know. Or if you ever want to go check out the Adirondacks let me know. Just before your knees give out please, though I have encountered some very old people climbing in the ADK...surprising at times to find them in the middle of nowhere.

Al...it's been a wild ride up in the mountains for sure.Tones of fun though along with some very grueling days. The entire Dix Range (5 peaks) in a day comes to mind. Good times though...it builds character right?

Carl...Nope, not a single duck. I have seen geese flying among the mountains in the spring though. That was pretty cool, they were migrating back north.

Thanks Kirk and Bill...I Really enjoyed having a climbing partner for most of these climbs. Next month will be our last climb together until she returns from Africa. I'll be flying solo from here on out. Unless of course I can find some other unsuspecting soul...Like Jon maybe?

Brad...I was actually debating going up Rainier via the Emmons Route, but the adventurous side of me convinced me to shoot for the Kautz Glacier. I figured it would be good training for bigger things. Rainier is actually a stepping stone for me as well. The ultimate goal for all of this climbing is actually Denali. The climbing team is mostly put together and includes a guy from New York state. We will be trying to get together this winter in the ADK or Whites to do some ice climbing together prior to the Rainier climb. It will be good to get to know another team member well in advance of the actual climb. Give me a shout next time you venture out this way...I'd be happy to find a mountain or two to climb with you. I don't think I've climbed with another duck hunter yet.

Kevin...I'm looking forward to doing Marcy again this winter. My last climb up there I just wasn't feeling it. I don't think I ate properly prior to climbing and just felt like crap. I've learned to fuel up properly since then. Can't wait to do that one again. And the Saddleback slide...That was one of my favorites, but my climbing partner that day was so out of shape I made him stay back at the Ranger outpost until I finished climbing.

Steve

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

Steve - Congratulations. Yer livin' The Dream.

My only question is why are you not a Mountain Goat & Sheep Hunter? If yer gonna go through all that enjoyment, why not combine it with hunting? Just pack up and go way NW, at least for a month or more.

Of course, that's coming from someone who wish he had, while he could...

 

[Steve Steffy]

Sheep hunting was something I always wanted to do Vince. I guess I look at the summit of each peak as my trophy now though. I'd still love to go northwest and spend a month in wilds of Alaska...that day will be coming, it won't likely include a firearm or hunt though.

 

[Al Hansen]

Hey Steve, this ram was taken from the Tok Management Area if you are planning a sheep hunt in Alaska. The only drawback would be that it is a computer draw area. I was flown in on a solo 15 day hunt.
Al

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[RLLigman]

One note of caution on chasing the "lighter is better...best" in wheelsets mantra. I am a shade over 6'-3". When I was racing routinely, I was 200-206lbs. I bought a Bontrager custom race wheelset that John made and sold from cut-down Mavic MA-40 road rims and ran them on the Secialized hardtail I was racing at the time. The front rim "tacoed" a year later on a descent in the Mud Duck Classic. I whacked into a couple of trees on the way down while trying to keep the bike upright, after the front wheel seized-up against my front forks. It was a three lap race on a twelve mile circuit, so I had a relatively short ride-out to an aid station to get off the course. I had to take the front wheel off and slap it on the ground a couple of dozen times to bend it back into workable shape and then open my cantilever brake set on the front fork...not a fun ride out with two cracked ribs and a broken metacarpal in my right hand. Your better time was more likely the direct result of improved power from climbing at elevation all summer.

 

[Steve Steffy]

Nice sheep there Al...Full curl and then some. Now that is a trophy. Here's the trophy I have in mind for a visit up north. Denali...

I'm shooting for Denali 2019 after Rainier in 2017 and again in 2018, along with all of the ADK 46 in winter again, the NH 48 and Maine's 14.

No firearms required on that trip...the climb itself is about 3 weeks long.

 

[Steve Steffy]

my new bike has mostly stock components on it still. I don't doubt the climbing helped improve my time. But it was mostly due to the bike itself. I transitioned from a mountain bike to a cyclocross bike just before the race. I can't imagine ever going back to the mountain bike now. I had it out once this year on some single track and broke the chain. I haven't replaced it yet, just having too much fun with the cyclocross bike.

Sounds like you had a heck of a ride...that's never fun when you have incidents like that. There was a guy last year that took one of the downhills too fast and came across the finish line with hamburger face. He still finished though. Another guy in this race was paralyzed two years ago when he took one of the downhills too fast and forgot about the sharp curve at the bottom of the hill. He went flying over the berm and into a tree. Life flighted out and that was just a training run the day before.

The races are a lot of fun, I just hope I don't have an accident, my wife will never forgive me for that and it will be tough to convince her to let me go again.

 

[RLLigman]

There must be a fair amount of dismounted running in that race for a cyclo-cross bike to shine. I would think a full suspension mountain bike would have a significant advanatage in rocky terrain. What frame are you riding?

 

[Steve Steffy]

Nah, the Black Fly Challenge is as, gravel grinder race. The only obstacles are the mountains and boulders protruding from the road. Oh and the black flies...don't stop riding or they'll carry you off and dine voraciously on you.

Anyway, my first time in the race I saddled up to my Gary Fisher with front suspension. This past year I hopped on a new Cannondale CAADX 105 and shaved off an hour and seventeen minutes. Not oo shabby, still a lot of room for improvement though. The fastest times are sub two hours, but those times are coming from professional racers.

There are mountain bikes and fat tire bikes that still place better times than me, but those guys have been doing this a while. I just started getting into it myself, but I really love doing it. I can't wait til next Junes race. I used to look at it as more of a challenge as the name implies, but I'm slowly starting to think of it as more of a race...not necessarily against the front runners, just against myself and my previous years time. My challenge for next year is to not hop off the bike at all during the entire course. Some of those hills are absolutely brutal, but other guys (and gals) ride up them, though most don't. I think it's time for me to not be one of those guys hopping off and running.

 

[RLLigman]

Interesting that you word your approach to competition that way. I raced mountain bikes for 11 years in summer and XC ski raced in the winter months. Most of the folks I competed with held the same perspective, improve your time, not beat your immediate competition...basically, it comes down to how much suffering are you willing to endure. Odd sport, but very personally fulfilling, with a great group of fellow participants/competitors. There is a tremendous amount of camaraderie among the participants. Two things to consider: 1.) Your gearing, as in adding a triple ring crank(yes,these have fallen out of favor) and a different rear cog cluster to get a 12:28 ratio, very good for ultra steep climbs to get-up on the nose of your saddle, relax your upper body as much as possible to minimize Oxygen consumption in all these muscle groups when tensed in contraction phase, and just spin. I used to focus on just laying my palms flat on the bars on climbs to force me to relax my arm and hand muscle groups, rather than wrapping them around the bars. 2.) Kevlar bead tires and a tread pattern that is aggressive enough for gravel, but with a minimum rolling resistance. If you are not facing mud, or a lot of loose screed, tires with a really aggressive tread block have a greater level of rolling resistance. Natural rubber tubes (pale tan) are much lighter than butyl tubes, with lower rolling resistance values than standard tubes. They don't hold air as long and are a little more prone to pinch flats, so I used to switch over to a pair just prior races.

I assume you are using a shoe/pedal combo. that keeps you clipped-in, with some degree of rotational "float"

 

[Steve Steffy]

It's hard to beat your immediate competition in some of these races since there are lot of sponsored professionals racers in the mix. That's why I think a lot of the racers just try to beat their personal best or there buddies.

You are right though, lots of good camaraderie among the ranks. During last years race we were running a flat section which was mostly sandy road...not the best to have skinny tires in that mix, but I kept pounding away. As I was passing another guy he noticed my death grip on the hoods and suggested relaxing a bit. He was right...just releasing some of that tension helped save some energy for where I would really need it. I think I need to try that on some of the climbs next time I'm out riding too. It turns out that guy was a bike shop owner/racer. He was just out to have some fun and help others out. The year before I road half the race with a girl while we chatted. That was fun, but I wasn't having any of that this year. I found a lot of the riders chat for a brief spell then they disappear leaving you in their dust. Lesson learned there...I did end up finishing before her though.

I'm going to be looking at my gearing for next season too. I think it's a little lacking on the climbs and flats. I have a double front ring crank on my cyclo bike. I really like that for the better shifting, my mountain bike has a triple and I just don't care ,much for it anymore.

I'll be switching tires out yet again for the next race too. We'll have to chat more about racing via PM if you want. You sound like you have a good bit of experience to share. Shoot me a PM when you have a chance.

Steve

 

[RLLigman]

Uphills: focus on exhaling, inspiration will occur naturally, but if you focus on blowing-out as much CO2 on each exhale, your heart rate will be lower.

Look-up calculating gear inches, Wikipedia has a good overview. You can figure-out what each of your bike's gear combinations are doing to push you along. I road a 12-28 on hillly courses with a lot of singletrack, and a 13-30 on flatter, less technical routes.

Spin as much as possible, not the 90RPMs you would do on a road bike, but by learning to spin, you will round-out your peddle stroke and become more efficient. My cadence on a mountain bike was usually in the 70rpm range, unless I was on a fire road connector where I could kick-up the pace.

I went back to thumb shifters on my mud bike(Yeti Ultimate) to avoid the weight and grit associated shifting problems. This frame has raised chain-stays to prevent chain-suck on muddy courses and the slightly shorter chainstay length improved its climbing...

Good luck and stay safe! I have an appointment with some geese!