Snowshoe time! Reid's Ridge

Well it's Monday again and with winter here in full force Saira and I headed up to Spray lakes. As the avalanche risk is high in the Alpine after the weekend's snow, some careful and sensible decision making was needed when choosing a route. Reid's Ridge on Sparrowhawk Mountain seemed a great choice, and as always, the mountains delivered a stellar morning. Some pics below.

Tendon Injuries - an article I published in Ski Trax Magazine

I realise this is a running blog, but runners are often afflicted with tendon injuries, most notably in the achilles or patellar tendons. Below is a basic article that was published in Ski Trax magazine. In fact, you will find my regular column in Ski Trax throughout the winter season. Enjoy!

Tendon Injuries

Like many things in medicine, tendon injuries cover a broad spectrum of severity ranging from mild strain type injuries to complete tendon failure and ruptures. In the past, treatment of such injuries has consisted of rest, ice and anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medications, but in the last few years there have been new developments in the treatment of these common injuries.

In basic terms, tendons are thick, fibrous sinewy structures that connect muscles to bones. Tendons are comprised primarily of dense collagen fibres. When a muscle contracts the tendon acts to move the bone at the other end, across one or more joints. We refer to tendon pathology as a tendinopathy or tendinosis. The term tendinitis is being used less, as we now know that there is actually little in the way of inflammation in most tendon problems.

When a tendon is stressed beyond it's tensile limit, micro-tearing may occur within the structure of the tendon. There is swelling, acute pain, and the tendon may feel creaky to touch. In the first few days there is certainly inflammation, and icing and anti-inflammatory medications can provide relief, but but we now know that this inflammation is likely a beneficial process, leadingl to recovery, and over zealous use of NSAID medications can actually be detrimental to healing. I recommend NSAIDs for a few days only, with rest and regular icing. After this initial period, however, a program of gradual tendon loading seems to produce the best results. A physical therapist will typically prescribe a program of gradual eccentric loading, to 'stress' the tendon in a controlled fashion to stimulate blood flow, new collagen production, and healing. Of course, more severe injuries such as complete ruptures, require prolonged immobilization, and even surgery.

Recent research has focused on the management of more chronic tendon pain. It seems that often the healing gets 'stalled', once the initial inflammation subsides. Irritating these tendons, increasing the blood flow in the damaged area, and trying to increase the inflammation can kickstart healing. Nitroglycerin patches, typically used to treat heart problems, applied to the skin overlying the injury causes blood vessel dilation, increased blood flow and stimulates new collagen production. Vigorous massage across an injury (cross-frictions) has similar effects. Physical therapists may dry-needle injuries or use a form of deep acupuncture (IMS), in an attempt to inflame the tendon and start the healing process. More recently, injections of either dextrose (prolotherapy), or a patient's own growth factors in the form of platelet rich plasma (PRP) has shown promise. 

As always, it is best to consult a professional with experience in treating the specific injury.

Mt Bourgeau

It's Monday again - Monday Fun Day as we saw in our household - the long range forecast isn't looking good, so this might be the last warm day for trail running round here. Today's adventure was a jaunt/run/hike up Bourgeau - been on the bucket list for a while. And it didn't disappoint - mostly runnable the whole way too which is a bonus!

Enjoy the photos.

Wasootch Ridge

Winter is here! No doubt about that. After a run in shorts up Mt Bourgeau last Monday, it was a bit of a shock to have full on winter conditions on Wasootch. Breaking trail the whole way was a good workout, however, and the views speak for themselves. Great day, and a stunning route. Need to go back though and bag the summit - will take an ice tool for that though!

Here's a link to a 360 panorama I took:

http://360.io/NCJfTL

The final summit is the pointy peak just right of centre 

Saira cranking

The Grand Teton - Owen Spalding route 5.4

I'm a bit late posting this one, but anyways!

Since watching Kilian and Tony all over the interwebs blasting up the Owen Spalding route (5.4) last summer, this one has been on my radar, not least since I've always admired the Grand as a beautiful peak, and have a pic of it hanging in my office.

We decided to make a trip of it before Leadville, and the high camp at over 10,000ft on the moraines provided perfect acclimatization. And what a spot to camp - just incredible, and a huge adventure for Saira, myself and the boys. I did a recce of the route on our first day, run/scrambling up to the upper saddle. I have to say the upper section was looking a bit intimidating at first sight, but the next day I was able to make it up to the summit alone, without too much difficulty. I would say 5.4 is a push, as the route is mostly a hard scramble, but the exposure is HUGE!!

Crux - definitely the belly roll. The initial chimney after the crawl is easy, but a slip here would be costly. The summit is really quite incredible, and it was cool to arrive up top in the sun in a pair of shorts, with a handheld bottle, and be greeted with some odd (disdainful?) looks from the mountain guides and their clients, who'd taken half a day to get there.

I think I was back at camp in under 3 hours for the round trip, at a relatively relaxed pace. Next time, I'll go for the car to summit to car push. Looking forward to that one!

For anyone interested in this route, by far the best resource I came across was

http://www.wyomingwhiskey.org

You'll find great route descriptions and photos, some videos and current conditions. Enjoy some of my photos below.

Approach up the zig zags

Stellar camp on the moraines below the lower saddle (centre top)

It looks rough, but we had super comfy, flat platforms for our tents
And check out my 360 here: http://360.io/QtHe4h

View down from the lower saddle

Heading up from the lower saddle on my evening recce 

The chockstone Chimney. The Eye of the Needle is up and right 

This is where the real climbing starts. The route essentially heads across the obvious ledge, leftwards

The Belly Roll, and the crux in my opinion. Big exposure below!

If you fall, it's a long way down

The crawl - an easy but exposed hand traverse

I took this pic from the Crawl on the way down

Summit view - and check this out! http://360.io/kt7CPv

Back at camp

Saira, brewing up!

Our lower camp in the meadows below Middle Teton

Bert enjoying the evening sun below Middle Teton

Definitely an adventure for the boys!

Strava Ha Ling ascent leader board

Ha Ling

Big effort tonight. And apparently I've taken pole position in the Ha Ling climb Strava leader board . Time for a beer!