It's official: Let the 24 hours of ice suffering commence..

Climbing a lot of routes in a day is fun. I've done some engaging one-day linkups over the years, ranging from climbing the Diamond on Long's Peak and paddling Gore Canyon in a day to climbing an alpine route, an ice route and a rock route in a day, but I've never done one sport for 24 hours straight. How much ice could I climb in 24 hours (on a TR, no need to die here)? Well, I'm going to get to find out, and raise some money with the dZi foundation, which does great work in the mountains. I look at my daughter and think of her in a very, very poor village; basic health and schooling would be a real help. If I can help the dZi foundation provide some of that help then I'll be proud to. I've know the dZi's director, Jim Nowak, for years and trust him. We'll have a fundraising site up in the next couple of weeks called "Endless Ascent," which I'm sure this is going to feel like by about the second hour.

So I'm heading down to Ouray December 26th to train until January 8th, then it's game on for 24 hours. Over the years I've spent a lot of time in Ouray; I like the people, the place, the climbing and the scene that develops around the Ouray Ice Festival. Positive people are a great force in the world, Ouray has more than its share.

Thanks to everyone who is helping on this, I'll do my best!

Now it's maybe clear what I've been training for.... With my dang elbow injury I couldn't train as I "normally" would, but I spent all summer paddling long distances and beating around in the mountains a fair amount, then the late summer and fall doing CF to strengthen my legs and continue elbow rehab. Now my training is getting very specific--lots of ice climbing, lots of time out in the mountains. My elbow is good to go for ice climbing, my legs can bang out squats for a long time (a squat is pretty much exactly the stand-up part of an ice climbing move), and I've take some other radical training steps including getting a heart rate monitor, drinking electrobytes and even cutting down on scotch. Hell, I even gave up all forms of nicotine (I was a Nicorette fiend for years plus snuss) six months ago to help my body recover faster... I feel pretty fit, I just need to get very specific about my fitness for the next two months and then grind for 24 hours. I have no idea what's going to happen, but I sure am fired up to find out!!!

Best,

WG