After their ballsy go for broke lay it all on the line before during and after the 36 hours of possible good weather ascent, as they are descending in the teeth of the storm, totally shattered physically, mentally and emotionally, they are hit by a massive avalanche. As Cory’s tears flowed with relief at being alive, fear and possible disgust at himself for risking it all while his new wife is at home alone, I was touched. This moment in COLD brought me back in time, back to 1998 to Mount Owen, where I was going for my own bit of glory, the first descent (ski or snowboard) of the North East Snowfields of Mount Owen. It was here that I was also taken by an avalanche. I am sure that I would have cried if I hadn’t to use all my energy for survival. I also would have used a cell phone if I had one. Or a SPOT satellite rescue beacon, but those things were not available to the masses in 1998. What I did experience while watching them stand from the avalanche was relief. Relief that they were alive. I also felt deep gratitude my life was not extinguished that day. And happiness at having found my spectacular wife who has bore me two beautiful sons.

Life goes on, especially after harrowing experiences. And with the super challenging experiences comes growth and renewal. My body has healed, my ambitions in the mountains have mellowed and now I am looking towards a bright future after serious struggle the past several years. In my envisioned future, I find new goals and the strength and determination to find a way to accomplish them. I owe it to myself and to my family to learn to thrive outside of the mountains. The way down below is much less obvious and wrought with (at least for me) severe challenges. But with boldness and humility I will succeed.

And Below is the trailer:

COLD – TRAILER from Forge Motion Pictures on Vimeo.

Stay warm on your next epic with a Down Jacket from Backcountry.com. I always carry one with me now when I venture into the mountains in winter.

Join us for the Adventure Film Festival World Tour Show in Jackson, Wyoming.

Climb. Ride. Slide. Fly. Fight For Your Environment. Inspire. Go Higher Than You’ve Ever Dared To Go. Journey into the imagination.

Behold the idealized beauty, carved by unbridled passion, at the first annual Adventure Film Festival World Tour Show in Jackson Hole hosted by Purple Orange Brand Communications and 307 Live.

The show starts on December 10th, 2011 at the Town Square Tavern. Doors open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7 pm. Tickets are available here online, at the Jackson Hole Playhouse, and Tavern Liquor Store. Tickets – $10 in advance and $12 at the door.

*Alcohol will be available for purchase

Purchase Tickets Online

December 10th – Evening Film Schedule:

Hour 1:
The Dark Side of the Lens – Directed by: Mickey Smith
Towers of the Ennedi – Directed by Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk / Camp 4 Collective
Hectometer – Directed by: Mathew Brown
On Thin Sea Ice – Directed by: Tor Eckhoff
Scraper Town – Directed by: Zack Canepari
COLD – Directed by: Cory Richards

Hour 2:
Chalk & Ski – Directed by: Chalk and an artist that loves skiing
Summer Snapshot – Directed by: Allie Bombach
Real Skifi- Directed by: Juho Killki
Kadoma – Directed by: Ben Stookesberry
Jimmy Chin “On Assignment” – Directed by: Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk / Camp 4 Collective
Mr Happy Man – Directed by: Matt Morris

**ATTN Parents** some films involve graphic scenes and language.

If you can pick something off of the ground you can do a Burpee! In this video I demonstrate an easy version of the Burpee and a more dynamic, or the classic, Burpee.

Don’t be alarmed with the sore muscles you may experience 24 to 48 hours post first Burpee session. This is your body’s way of letting you know that you did a good thing and that you are getting stronger! That being said, go easy to start if you have not been working out.

The beauty of the 30 seconds of Burpees, 30 seconds of rest is that you do as many as YOU are capable of. The key is to just start. Get up off your chair, drop down and DO IT! One. Just do one. Once you are down and realize how simple, fun and easy it is, go ahead and do another, and another and then you realize 30 seconds has passed and it is time to rest. A rest you earned! Then at the top of the minute, drop down and do another 30 second round! The clap at the finish is to celebrate! Go ahead and celebrate! You will be stoked you did! If you are an experienced athlete/person who works out, Burpees are a great warm-up exercise.

Burpees: Total time…10 Minutes a day! 30 seconds of Burpees, 30 seconds rest. Repeat 10 times (go for 5 minutes…2:30 of actual exercise time…to start). Key to do them again when sore in a couple days! The movement and use of the muscles that are sore vitally need to be moved again. You will be less sore after working out again anyway! Drink plenty of water. Water is the medicine.

And most important of all, listen to your body. If you are feeling faint/super fatigued etc. stop. Chill. Walk around the room/house/car/block. Breathe, relax and feel your heart rate drop.

That is enough for now. Now, drop down and do some burpees!

Petzl Tikka 2 Headlamp

Help support StephenKoch.com with a Petzl Tikka Plus 2 Headlamp for your no excuses in the dark Burpee session!

In this short video Greg explains how he fuels himself, sometimes for 15 10K vertical days in a row…again…MASSIVE! As he explains, he stops every hour to fuel his engine. Greg breaks a big 10K vert day into bite size chunks…one hour at a time. He is breaking his goal of skiing 2 MILLION VERTICAL feet down and taking it one day at a time, one step at a time, one moment at a time. There is only one moment, and it is now…and now! May you enjoy your moment!

Go Greg, Go!

Calories from Greg Hill 2 Mil on Vimeo.

Help support StephenKoch.com by fueling yourself on your next adventure with GU CHOMPS from Backcountry.com!

I/O Bio Merino Wool

When it is cold and raw, like it is now in Jackson Hole, I reach for my wool. The new Merino wool is not uncomfortable and scratchy like its predecessor. This is not the wool sweater your mother used to throw on you. The new wool is luxuriously comfortable, warm and best of all for the active set, doesn’t smell worse than if  you rolled around in the dogs mess, like most synthetic long underwear, after sweating in it.

The thing I like about I/O Bio is the styling of the pieces. They are made to function for high intensity activities like running, biking, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, but they also look good worn on their own. So you can be just off a backcountry skiing or snowboarding run on Teton Pass, peel off your soft shell jacket and head straight into work with nary a nostril flared nor eyebrow raised.

Last winer Darrel Miller and I partnered for a climb and descent of he Teton Classic West Hourglass Couloir. The WHC rises above Garnet Canyon at a lovely steep angle on a north aspect for around 2,000 plus feet. I was initially snickering at D’s snowshoes until he busted ahead of me as I was too skeched to continue on my split snowboard due to my inability to sink my edges into the firm snow. I was forced to deboard (take off board) and climb. As I started up I sank up to my hips into the snow that was firm enough to support D’s snowshoes but not my Scarpa F1 Boots. That will not happen again as I now have B & D Ski Gear’s super FAT Crampons and will bring them on all splitboarding excursions from now on. It is frustrating putting oneself in a compromised position because of not having an essential piece of gear. Certain pieces of equipment at the right time are key. Check out my gear list here.

Darrel Miller climbing West Hourglass Couloir on Nez Perce.

Darrel Miller shredding West Hourglass Couloir on Nez Perce.

Darrel Miller spraying in West Hourglass Couloir on Nez Perce.

Help support Darrel Miller and Storm Show Studios by buying his sweet snowboarding DVD’s, featuring Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and the Teton Backcountry!

http://bit.ly/abcWqj

Shattered from getungrounded on Vimeo.

Help support StephenKoch.com by picking up a sweet Contour HD Video Camera and a pair of Petzl Sarken Crampons from Backcountry.com to help keep your friends up to date and you attached to the ice on your next ice climb.

Photo: Stephen Koch 2010

While climbing the north face of the Grand Teton earlier this month I took photographs of this beautiful, rare and unusual looking flower which I had never seen before, called Alpine Lantern, at about 11,900 – 12,000 feet, just below the Guano Chimney. After some searching and inquiring about it, this is what Dick Scott, author of The Alpine Flora of the Rocky Mountains: Volume 1, The Middle Rockies, wrote to me about it:
It’s an uncommon plant, often overlooked, of rocky places above timberline. We have it from cirque walls, moraines, fellfields, talus, scree, and other rocky places in many, but not all, alpine ranges of western Wyoming. It has sort of a disjunct distribution pattern, skipping from one range to another in western North America. I’ve seen it and collected it, here and there, from the Wrangells in Alaska to the Uintas in Utah. If you’d like to see a distribution map for the Middle Rockies you might check the Jackson Library for a copy of my book, The Alpine Flora of the Rocky Mountains: Volume 1, The Middle Rockies (I’m still plugging away on the Southern Rockies and the Northern Rockies). – Dick Scott

So it seems like this may be the first sighting and recording of it in the Tetons. Pretty exciting!

Help support StephenKoch.com with a sweet pair of Steiner Binoculars, to view alpine flowers on your next adventure, from Backcountry.com!