Tag: Human Powered

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An Interview with Kyle Dempster

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of speaking with Kyle Dempster about his 2011 trip to Kygyzstan and the resulting film, The Road from Karakol.  In 2011 Kyle took his bicycle and cycled around the mountains of Kyrgyzsan climbing and adventuring, eventually riding through China and into Pakistan to climb some more.  Kyle is an award winning alpinist who’s at the leading edge of modern climbing.  It was a treat to get to talk to him about his experiences in Kyrgistan and what he thinks about the environment’s role in the evolution of alpinism and the incredible miracle of Cycling Alpinism!  Enjoy!

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Human-Powered Mountaineers go skiing.

For the past six months my primary modes of transportation have been skis and the ski lift.  While the latter isn’t human powered, I like to think of it as a form of underutilized public transportation. Between this and my occasional forays into the nearby backcountry I’ve been keeping a pretty low profile, skiing a lot but not really talking about it much here, there’s something about the familiarity of your backyard that keeps me from bringing along a camera or posting videos from each of the thousands of runs I’ve skied.  Alta’s a special place where there’s an endless amount of amazing skiing to be had and it can all be accessed by starting right out your front door.  My friend Chris Bangs of the Human-Powered Mountaineers is a little different though.  Coming from his home of Bozeman Montana he’s got a little bit of an approach to get the the mountain of his choice, an approach that sometimes covers well over 100 miles and he covers with the use of a bicycle and skis, keeping his trips 100% human powered.  Take a look at some of the short videos he’s put together about his project he’s calling the 7 summits of Bozeman.  An inspiring individual and a bit of an eye opener into what’s truly possible in winter human powered mountaineering. Continue reading “Human-Powered Mountaineers go skiing.”

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Pfeiffer-Porn

 
Although this is a re-run of a post I did for The Skierboyz, I thought I’d share it with you here as well.  Gives you a look into some of our off-duty wintertime activities.  Journalistic integrity aside, I’m not above re-publishing some low-key writing and pictures of a good time.  Enjoy!

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A Case for Place

I haven’t been cycling in months.  Although this might come as some sort of sad irony in light of this blog being born from bicycle-powered adventure, I’m not really that broken up about it.  Sure, I miss the bike, and those long warm rides in the mountains, but I miss it like I miss asparagus or basil, those ephemeral staples of spring and summer that might be short lived, but they have a time, and will be back next season.  For now I’m loving the winter, the numbing cold, the short days parenthesized by extended darkness, the styrofoam crunch of snow under my skis, and the unparalleled beauty of the play of light on mountains dressed in white.  I’m embracing the winter for what it is: now. Continue reading “A Case for Place”

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Links You’ll Like

Sometime during the winter of 2011, shortly after our decision to embark on this car-less adventure, I began what has become an in-depth and on-going, online research project into human powered adventure and the car-less lifestyle.  The internet is a vast place and while I’ve only begun to probe its deeper depths I do feel like I’ve scratched enough of the surface to create a small offering of interesting links and information to share with you.

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Enchantments Part 3, Little Annapurna and the Knitting Needles

This will be the last installment in a series of posts about our last big hurrah in the Stuart Range.  If you missed out, check out the overview, a report on some adventure-neering up the south side of McClellan Peak, and a pioneering scramble up the south face of Enchantment’s Southwest Peak.  This post is from day 6 of our trip, another great day of unknown adventure climbing at its finest.  We topped out on two of the highest Knitting Needles and blazed a line up the South face of Little Annapurna Peak.  Capped off with an amazing sunset this day was one I’ll not soon forget. Continue reading “Enchantments Part 3, Little Annapurna and the Knitting Needles”

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How to take a rest day in the mountains.

Truth be told, the only rest day Liz and I took on our recent 7-night trip in the Enchantments was our first full day in the alpine.  After slogging alongside Snow Creek and the 10-12 miles up to our base camp, a good meal and a nights rest were in order.  When the next day dawned, I was up and ready, taking in the beautiful surroundings and turning over all the endless possibilities that may fill the days ahead.  Although we both felt relatively well for having shouldered some big-ass packs for almost 5,000 vertical feet and 9 hours the day before, we thought it’d be wise to take a day to rest and recuperate, which took the form of a casual stroll up the broad Northeast shoulder of Little Annapurna Peak.  The next day, ready for adventure, we tackled our first adventure, a combination of 5th class climbing and scrambling over the Nightmare Needles and up the convoluted Southern expanse of McClellan Peak.  Check out the wright up here, or just look below, HA! Continue reading “How to take a rest day in the mountains.”