tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113910422007-03-07T11:03:13.750-08:00StaffBlogger451tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-25421930442172144002007-02-19T19:28:00.000-08:002007-03-06T11:43:06.138-08:00

I missed you all! I have been remiss in posting on mountainzone.com as I’ve been wandering a bit. A couple weeks ago I returned from a bit of travel to Europe, Africa and South America, successfully climbing Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua as well as taking in the cultures, people, and sites of the areas in which I traveled, specifically – England, Tanzania and Argentina. I wanted to share with you

schneidertag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1166592668708280702006-12-19T21:29:00.000-08:002006-12-19T21:31:08.720-08:00

Greetings from Moshi, Tanzania - or Moshi-town as the locals call it. After another long haul of travel we have arrived to a beautiful and serene part of Eastern Africa. After dealing with lost luggage issues and logistics stuff, we got a chance to test the local food and get a sense for the area. It looks as though we will be eating a lot of rice and, veggies and meat - which works well for me.

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1160585369495288812006-10-11T09:48:00.000-07:002006-10-11T11:05:55.656-07:00

After some much needed time off of concentrated training post Russia/France travel extravaganza, I followed a yearning to visit my first love - the romance of my youth. So I headed out for a strong dose of heady granite visuals and tough hiking/running in the Yosemite high country. Yosemite high country... Hanging out for a portion of each youthful summer in Yosemite taught me early on about

schneidertag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1157056177936874672006-08-31T13:29:00.000-07:002006-08-31T13:29:37.946-07:00

To protect my body I have a rule of thumb in races. I will never continue in an event if I feel I could be potentially permanently damaging a body part. Despite being highly goal oriented, I respect my body and am constantly amazed at what it will let my mind coerce it into doing. So when at 80K into the 158k brutal Tour du Mont Blanc Trail Ultra I felt my chronically bogus Achilles tendon start

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1157055910036572302006-08-31T13:24:00.000-07:002006-08-31T13:25:10.036-07:00

The Tour du Mont Blanc is a 158k circumambulation of the Mont Blanc Massif. The event moves through France, Italy, and Switzerland via a total elevation gain of 28,000 feet and various villages and mountain passes. Most folks hike/backpack the circuit over a period of 7+ days. Our aim in this race is to cover the distance in less than 45 hours. The race organization will provide 30 aid

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1157055743174844592006-08-31T10:36:00.000-07:002006-08-31T13:22:23.226-07:00

During another mini-marathon of travel starting at 1:00 AM in Moscow, Russia, we touched down as I woke from a nap. Feeling a bit disoriented, I turned to my travel companion, Louise, and asked, "What country are we in?" After a pause combined with glazed stare I realized Louise was as unclear as I on our arrival location. Three flights and three countries later, our initial glance into the new

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1156998222468679592006-08-30T21:22:00.000-07:002006-08-30T21:23:42.483-07:00

Life. After several days of acclimization, camaraderie, and Russian gastronomies, we woke at midnight to our clear, calm, summit day on Mt. Elbrus in southern Russia. Bundled in three solid layers to start our initial ascent, I had the privilege of a conversation with Migma Gelu Sherpa, a 26 year old Nepalese man who has summitted Everest five times. He was proud to share with me that his sister,

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1155511861269493712006-08-13T16:30:00.000-07:002006-08-13T16:31:01.280-07:00

Four flights, three airlines and a day and a half later I arrived in Moscow, Russia sans my backpack with all my mountaineering gear. The extremely by the book, diligent, Russian airport workers decided that I needed to have my recovered pack sent to my room at 2:00 am. If I weren't brilliantly happy to see the gear intact, I would have passed out in the guy's arms. Can you say jet lag... If

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1154980213977944992006-08-07T12:49:00.000-07:002006-08-07T12:50:13.993-07:00

As usual, I spent a pre-dawn moment multi-tasking. Brush teeth, assess spider-web accumulation on the bathroom ceiling, fill water bottles, make toast and feed Gryphon. Within the easy whirl of early morning prep I paused to catch a glimpse in the mirror of my “morning face” as I remembered how much I enjoy getting up before the rest of the world on a Sunday. When I saw the face I smiled,

schneidertag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1150095982159927572006-06-12T00:05:00.000-07:002006-06-12T06:26:19.370-07:00

While out in the Gobi I thought quite a bit about exceptionalities in life. These thoughts were brewed by the brilliance in geography of the area, its aesthetic juxtapositions and history, the condition of the world as China sits in it, the competitors and the natives. The people were exceptional. I will remember a lot of laughter and stories, bullshit slinging and kindness—the kind that fills us

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1149618968787781292006-06-06T11:34:00.000-07:002006-06-06T13:33:17.973-07:00

A "payback" of sorts is often viewed as tangibly getting what you are working toward. In this race and in sport in general, my view of a payback is usually to cross the finish line, or push a training session knowing I gave it my best shot. Absolute best. Nothing less. In reality, in any kind of performance, that is ultimately our only option – give it our best shot. Throw it all down. If we’re

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1149268004529982322006-06-02T09:59:00.000-07:002006-06-02T10:53:02.290-07:00

Today's 50K course brought us up and over the Tian Shan range we’ve been staring at for days. It was beautiful and difficult and once again we were up at just below 10,000 feet at our high point. After a long decent we rolled for a while through farmlands and villages before hitting a couple of creek crossings. Our next task was 12K of canyoneering – hiking, scrambling and crawling through a deep

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1149184973558306162006-06-01T11:00:00.000-07:002006-06-01T11:13:18.006-07:00

Day 4: Our long day (sort of) started with a wave start. The last 75 percent of the field went off at 8:30 and the top 25 at 10:30. Our 57Ks brought us through rolling green hills, riverbeds, cropland, dusty roads and many villages before heading toward the sand dunes and mountains. The wind and dust was unprecedented and many were close to getting blown over, but the scenery on our journey made

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1148923508119903572006-05-29T10:24:00.000-07:002006-05-31T17:14:25.076-07:00

Today we took a 35k trot through multiple pastoral valleys here in the Gobi. Long flat stretches of scrub, rocks, dirt, small craggy peaks and knolls were surrounded by a double layer of mountains, the ones in the distance being the snowcapped Tian Shan mountain range. The valleys peppered by shepherd communities. Compared to yesterday's posthole/slog/crawl through the clay, mud, and cow dung

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1148922808329483052006-05-29T10:09:00.000-07:002006-05-31T17:13:14.813-07:00

First race day. I got my ass kicked by the salt flats today. The struggle across 10K of thigh deep muck at altitude proved brutal for all. I lost my shoes twice and had to dig around for them, hiked in socks, and proceeded to the finish looking like I had survived a mud-wrestling contest. Needless to say the rest of the day was quite challenging. They said this was an easy to moderate day of

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1148922518841280112006-05-29T10:06:00.000-07:002006-05-31T17:12:19.393-07:00

Urumqi is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the city furthest away from any ocean or sea. My urban adventure getting to this bustling city in far north China seemed to highlight its remoteness. After almost 30 hours of travel, including a delay in Harbin, China due to a sand storm in Beijing, I am required to navigate through various baffling conversations in the Beijing airport in

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1149009252607414342006-05-30T10:13:00.000-07:002006-05-30T10:20:48.913-07:00

Today was supposed to be 37K - but we ended up doing 39K - we're not sure why we did more than was originally told us, but we definitely felt that last 4K. The course was spectacular and very, very tough. Climbed from the start making our way up through rolling steep climbs to a long slog up stunning valleys, surrounded by craggy peaks and pine forests. Our high point was just below 10,000 feet

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1148666730597930772006-05-26T10:47:00.000-07:002006-05-26T11:49:09.946-07:00

Mandatory Equipment (required by the race organization) Additional Stuff (personal items I’ve chosen to bring) Note: If you followed my progress through the Sahara Desert last fall, you’ll notice that this gear list is quite similar with the addition of a few extra pieces of clothing for warmth at night in the Gobi. Making solid gear choices the first time around for an event of this format made

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1148403791168409802006-05-23T09:58:00.000-07:002006-05-23T10:40:45.803-07:00

Racing the Planet, Gobi Desert, China I was recently asked at a speaking engagement what I enjoy doing for vacation. Noting that I'm not much for umbrella drinks poolside, except if used for a short respite between adventures, I shared my upcoming event of choice—a 150-mile, self-supported, running stage race across the Gobi Desert. When my inquisitor's jaw dropped in the ever familiar "why

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1135215917270557252005-12-21T17:39:00.000-08:002006-02-20T12:59:18.696-08:00

Paper fetish. I have this thing about paper. Full pieces, scraps, and various textures—any part of paper that has a blank space on it draws my attention. It started the day after college. I announced to my parents, who had come into town for graduation ceremonies, that I would be leaving the next day to ride my bike 200 miles up the California coast and that they were assigned the task of

schneidertag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1133824034061125032005-12-05T15:04:00.000-08:002005-12-06T10:53:36.793-08:00

After a year of hard core early morning training, gear organizing, business developing, and racing in crazy tough places like the Sahara Desert, Costa Rica, and the Sierras, a girl just gotta cut loose and have a little fun. So to cap off a year of toil with some no pressure stimulation I decided to head down to Mexico to climb a few volcanoes, and insert myself into the local scene. I joined a

schneidertag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1128806148495476492005-10-08T14:11:00.000-07:002005-10-09T15:42:59.846-07:00

Editor's Note: The following is the dispatch for day three, which somehow didn't get to us until now. Read on to learn how Terri battled her mental demons. Day 2 - night - Sand Storm! The tent started to come down and we could barely see to get it staked in again in the horrendous wind. Waves of sand blew under the tent sides and through the door blanketing us, our gear, food, nerves. I

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1128895154135761722005-10-09T14:54:00.000-07:002005-10-09T15:42:35.803-07:00

I've been a tad brain compromised since my return from Egypt. Thinking through each movement as though it were my first, metaphorically drooling, riding the short bus. It feels oddly peaceful yet not particularly functional since the slide back into society from the fringes of the earth requires me to plug back in. I struggle with this requirement. Grand adventures are always insta-cathartic

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1128280079066033522005-10-02T12:06:00.000-07:002005-10-02T13:47:19.843-07:00

Day 7- Giza, Egypt One kilometer from the finish of this grueling 7-day stage race across the Sahara Desert I ran past the great Pyramid. As the first woman and 4th overall person in this epic journey I was handed an American flag to carry to the finish line at the base of the Sphinx. Definitely a moment that will be tatooed on my brain. Terri eats up the sand... Photo by Chris Lusher / Racing

Stafftag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391042.post-1128121277464441882005-09-30T16:01:00.000-07:002005-09-30T20:47:53.660-07:00

Day 5: Distance: 80K, total elevation gain: unknown. Temperature: holding steady (note: as I write this it is Day 6). Yesterday’s run was a microcosm of life. Huge emotional peaks and troughs, elation, astonishment, dread, fear, thoughts of feeling invincible. What an epic trip. I woke feeling like I got hit by a truck — several days of hard running were starting to take their toll — legs

Staff