Andrew Hooge, CSCS

For some reason whenever I finish a tough day on the slopes I crave a big bowl of steaming hot chili and an ice-cold beer. I’m not alone. Whenever I stir up my favorite chili recipe everyone comes running, spoon in one hand, and a beer in the other. Recently a couple of my ski buddies recommended that I post my secret recipe for improving skiing performance…okay maybe it just makes me feel like I ski better. Without further ado, here it is (beer optional). Enjoy!

Makes 8 portions

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 large yellow onions chopped
2 large green bell peppers chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
2-pound top round or bottom round steak, cut into 1/2 inch cubes or smaller.
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp. leaf oregano
2 Tbsp chopped fresh garlic
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
4 Tbsp Chipotle pepper paste (comes in cans packed in adobo sauce, just puree to a fine paste)
1 cup water or stock
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh cilantro

Method:

1. Salt and pepper meat and brown in a hot cast iron or heavy bottom pan with olive oil a little at a time, add to crock pot when done. (It does not need to be fully cooked at this point, just browned.)

2. Sautee onions in the same pan (without cleaning) 5 minutes. Add to crock-pot.

3. Sautee peppers (both colors) and add to crock-pot. Add garlic and spices to the pan and sauté about 30 seconds to 1 minute till fragrant

4. Add Chipotle paste and tomato paste and sauté a minute more, and then add some of the water or stock to the pan and stir off any brown bits (fond) from the bottom of the pan. Pour into the crock-pot with the rest of the ingredients.

5. Add celery and can of tomatoes to crock pot with the rest of the water or stock and then turn on high until it comes to a light simmer. Turn down and cook for another 25-30 minutes if using top round. For bottom round cook for 1 1/2 hours total.

6. Add chopped fresh cilantro and garnish with sour cream and chopped red onions if desired.

Per portion without rice made with beef top round:

Calories 297
Fat 15g
Protein 27g
Carbohydrates 14g
Dietary Fiber 4g

Guest Blog
Paul Hooge

Crested Butte February 9, 208

Finally sunny days and 20º as February lives up to expectation. The slopes were relatively crowded for this particular weekend with mostly locals riding the Paradise Lift up to the North Face T-bar to access the extreme terrain. The skiing is perfect with a base at the top now measuring over 100”. The high lift terrain is as close to rock free as I have ever seen it. Coring your base out takes a deliberate act of negligence given that you have to look for even a small rock (which in fact is really a three-ton
boulder).
To date, the 2008 season is barely half over and has proven, as every season generally is – unpredictable.

November was dreadful; doubly dreadful given that by Thanksgiving there was only a white man-made “snow snake” winding down our brown mountain under the Red Lady Lift. Looking out our back window at the mountain there was only a little white stuff in the weeds, a grand total of 3.5” for November. To make matters worse, the US weather service had just delivered the most devastating forecast for the winter for the West- “drier and warmer than normal” thanks to the La Niña effect in the tropical eastern Pacific.
Bummer- dismal etc!
Late in November a local in his 80’s was riding my bus and described some well-remembered past season in the 70’s when he said it didn’t snow. “What, no snow?” I asked. “Yea”, he replied, “A whole winter in the donut hole with no snow”. He admitted that it snowed a little, but back then there was no snow making in Crested Butte. My spirits sank, in fact the whole valley was in a state of depression by the end of November. My passenger then continued to describe the 1979 /1980 season (before my time in CB).
“When it started snowing in November, it didn’t quit until May depositing over 440” of snow”. Perhaps there was still hope then, but what if?

There was, by this time great concern for all important holiday season and a vision that the high terrain might not open and for Crested Butte that would be depressing. The last night of November brought snow. It was only a few inches, but it made everyone feel good, then over that first weekend of December, two more feet and it didn’t stop and by December 10th there was over 90” of snow. Snow is magic; it changes the landscape and the mood of everyone living on it. Snow is nature’s most poetic form, its most aesthetic. Then in order to completely torment the Us Weather Service, winter became very, very cold, all the way into the first week of February. On our deck, to date, we have shoveled about 200” of snow over the railing; now some people are complaining about too much snow. More snow will come as most of our snow usually falls between February and April. I say “Don’t complain about a good thing”. After all, this is snow country and that is why we live here!

Paul

Review: Garmin Forerunner 305

The Good
-Fairly accurate measure of vertical feet skied
-GPS keeps you from getting lost when skiing the backcountry
-Keeps track of calories burned so you know how many calories you need to consume to properly refuel
-Accurate heart rate monitor that can help you improve your aerobic fitness and anaerobic threshold.
-Keeps track of your average and maximal speed
-Decent Tracking Software

Needs Work
-Heart rate monitor’s chest strap had to be readjusted about every 30 to 40 minutes on the slopes
-Calorie measurement looks a little sketchy. I put an email into Garmin about this, but no reply yet. Hmmmm…..

I’ll admit it….I’m a bit of a “gear head”…especially when it comes to skiing. So when I received my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS “enabled watch (more like a computer on your wrist) I couldn’t wait to take it out for a day on the slopes. I decided that the most opportune time to test the product was my day on the mountain with Dave “Mac” McGuire. “Mac” took me out for a lesson on how to improve my turns (more on this later in the week) and in the process I scored some pretty cool data from this mini computer. The watch tracked the following:
1. Average Speed
2. Maximal Speed
3. Average Heart Rate
4. Maximal Heart Rate
5. Vertical Feet Climbed
6. Vertical Feet Skied
7. Calories Burned
8. Pace
9. Distance Traveled

How is any of this relevant to your day on the slopes? To some extent the data is simply interesting to track over time to see exactly how many hours you’ve skied, vertical you’ve ridden and calories burned over the course of a day, week or season. Below are a number of other reasons data like this can be useful:

1. If you want to know how many calories you need consume to replenish your body to prepare for the next day on the mountain. For example if you look at the data in the screen shot at the bottom of this blog, it shows I burned approximately 2100 calories (note: by my own calculations I should have only burned about 1400 calories). If I wanted to make sure I was properly fueled for the next day I would want to consume at least half of that to make up for the deficit.

2. Runners and cyclists tend to look at milage as a gauge for progress. Your goal as a runner might be to work your way up to running a marathon. For skiers, we are more concerned about vertical skied. The Garmin 305” does a great job of using it’s GPS to track this data. This also comes in handy if you are skiing the backcountry and want to make sure you don’t get lost (the device helps you return to your starting point)!

3. Athletes use average and maximal heart rates as gauges of fitness. Over time, assuming you are skiing similar terrain, your average heart rate should go down if you’re fitness level is improving. The Garmin 305 helps you track this.

Overall the “305” is a good piece of equipment to help you track different pieces of data that may help you improve your skiing fitness. If you have a personal experience with this wrist-top computer or similar products let us know your experiences. Next time I will be reviewing watches from both Suunto and Polar so keep an eye out.

Andrew Hooge, CSCS

Andrew Hooge, CSCS

Symptoms of Altitude Sickness
High altitude is defined by elevations above 5280 feet (approximately 1 mile high). A sudden change in environment from sea level to high altitude can produce symptoms of dizziness, nausea, insomnia, diarrhea, restlessness, and shortness of breath. Palpitations or fast heartbeat, headache, nasal congestion, coughing, increased flatulence or gas, easy fatigue and intolerance to exertion may also be experienced. If the high altitude experience progresses, more shortness of breath and increased coughing and edema (fluid accumulation in the lungs) may occur, requiring medical attention and possible hospitalization.

How Long Does it take to acclimate and what can I do to help curb the symptoms?
The initial complaints should disappear as your body adjusts to the lowered oxygen content and dryness. This may take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Upon arrival to high altitude, drink plenty of water, eat lightly and limit alcohol for the first 48 to 72 hours (alcohol aggravates the high altitude syndrome). Most of all keep physical exertion to a minimum for the first day. Over-exertion before your body can adapt to the lower oxygen and dryness can result in more severe and persistent symptoms.

Final Notes
Remember to hydrate! Rest appropriately and do not over-ski during the first two days. Take a nap when sleepy and get a good night’s sleep after a day of skiing. Eat lightly and drink plenty of liquids, but limit alcohol for the first 48 hours.

Andrew Hooge, CSCS

Ahhh…there’s nothing like the feeling of fresh snow underneath your skis during the first few days of the season (until a champaign powder day comes along of course). After a long day in the air I finally landed in Crested Butte, Colorado last night. I was like a kid in a candy store this morning as I clicked on my new Volkl Tigershark’s and hit the North Face (about 12,000 feet). This is the best early season snow I have skied in years. Over 100 inches have fallen towards the top of the mountain in the last few weeks. As you can imagine I was itching to grab first chair.

That being said, I wanted to make sure my day on the slopes wasn’t prematurely shortened by a body that wasn’t properly prepared. Check out today’s pre-ski warm-up routine to help prepare your muscles to fire on all cylinders instead of stalling half way down the mountain.

10 Minutes to Get Your Legs Under You Workout:

Stationary Bike or Brisk Fast Walk: 5 minutes ( your breathing should be elevated and your muscles should feel “warm” by the time your finished).

Foam Roll Quad-Medial: 1 set x 20 repetitions each side

Hit the slopes!

Stay Fit Skiing!