Bicksler 7 and Trainhardfitness.org

Training for the 7 Summits!

Not only do we spend countless hours on the mountains climbing and freezing, it is important for us to spend time in the Gym developing our bodies and pushing ourselves to the limit!

We at Bicksler 7 have Teamed up with the wonderful Miss Kacie  over at Trainhardfitness.org!

Insane push-ups

10 sec much needed break between the next workout

Box jumps on a stack of weights

Thanks Kacie for pushing me to the limit!


Training in the gym with a trainer is a great way to push your body further than ever before and developing the needed strength to get you up those mountains!

Kacie / Trainhardfitness.org is about to attempt to break 5 world records Rollerblading across America.
Bicksler 7 stands behind you 100% and cant wait to see you break them all!

Bicksler 7 Mountaineers Route Training

   What a perfect weekend to train hard on the Mountaineers Route of Whitney!

We set out to meet and organize gear at the Road closed sign 4 or so miles from the portal

         At this point it was a matter of dividing up the gear and making sure we were not doubling up on anything.

We then sett off to see how far we could drive up towards the Portal for Camp 1. We decided that Adams Two man MSR tent weighing in at under 6LBS was better suited for two tall guys rather than the mini NorthFace, Here its is pitched on the side of the road at the Portal. Very easy to pack up and sets up in minutes!

6am start on Saturday Morning and we weighed our packs and headed up the snowy trail toward UBSL for a quick Ice Climb shortcut to Iceberg lake! Packs with climbing gear weighed in around 46lbs!

Snow Shoes strapped on our feet , Packs on our back and we are off for a tuff deep snowy trek up the Mountaineers Route of Mt Whitney!

We have come to the frozen Falls just below UBSL and its time to strap on the Climbing gear and head straight up the Falls.

What an Epic Climb. After playing around for several hours on the Ice we determined our route was not safe to attempt with full packs and we were running out of time. We quickly repelled down and headed for camp 2 at UBSL. it was getting Dark, Cold, and we were Hungry!

Set up camp, at some food and hit the sack! we needed to head out early if we wanted to Make the Summit and back down to the Portal in one day.
5am start on Sunday for an Amazing Sunrise hike too Iceberg, and then up the Chute to the Notch.

Finally at the Notch and on our way up the Final 400.. Quick lunch at the Summit and head back to camp.

Awsome Climb and the view was amazing at the top of Whitney.

2012 Training

Another Mountaineers Route Summit of Whitney is near and this will be great training for Mt Rainier and Kilimanjaro. Today Was a quick hike up Baldy in one last prep for Whitney. We are so lucky to have Mt Baldy in our back yard.. Perfect local training spot.

Baldy Bowl with No Snow in late Jan..

Fav Boots La Sportiva Nepals

View from the Hut!

My Fav Day Pack, By Black Diamond

Clouds rolling in

Back at the Truck making Coffee

The New MSR Reactor

Coffee in the Nalgene and the MSR Reactor


Awsome day on Baldy training in Jan. Wish there was more snow !

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving.

     Today I am thankful for my health. Things are starting to come together for the Bicksler 7 adventure!
Training hard and feeling good.
     I want to thank my personal trainer Kacie for pushing me to new limits. Kacie was hired 4 weeks ago and will stay a critical part of my training for a long time to come. I have felt for a long time just running and climbing Mountains is not going to get me were I need to be!

  2012 is just around the corner and kicks off the 10 year plan. We have booked Mt Rainier summit and training for early July. Kilimanjaro still needs a lot of planning and its in the works.

   I am setting out to train hard this Holiday season. I must not lose focus and keep my eye on the goals.
Over the next few days training is going to be at the top of my list of things to do. Starting with a great 530am workout this morning..

  Next on the list of things to focus on is eating healthy. Today starts off with lots of water, Oatmeal, Fresh Blueberries and fresh Blackberries.

 Over the next couple days I plan on trying a double summit of my Favorite place to train Mt Baldy!

Friday will be a warm-up with Derek and friends. Sat will be a double, Back to Back Summit!

Summit of Mt Baldy enjoying some Coffee!

It can get cold at times on Baldy

My kids just before a training Run up the fire roads.



HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Mt Whitney Gear list from Oct 29th 2011

Gear in Tommy B's Backpack Whitney MT 2011

Starting at the top left to right. Here it is

1.  North Face 70 liter backpack
2.  Marmot compressible  summit backpack
3.  Scarpa 12pt crampons
4.  North Face Summit Series Gore Tex pants
5.  North Face Summit Series Gore Tex Shell Jacket
6.  North Face Summit Series Prima Loft jacket with hood
7.  Bear Vault for the food at night
8.  Nalgene Bottle
9.  Suunto Core Watch
10. North Face Assault 2 tent
11. North Face Summit series Expedition style Gore Tex gloves
12. Mountain Hardwear  Full length gaiters
13. Mountain Hardwear wind stopper leather palm gloves
14. Julbo Bivouac Shades, photochromatic, antifog
15. Small TI Jet Boil with 1 extra small fuel can
16. Starbucks instant coffee
17. Garmin GPS 60csx
18. Black Diamond carbon Trekking poles
19. North Face Beanie
20. MSR Hyperflow MicroFilter ( not really needed but you never know )
21. Plastic green mug to eat out of and morning coffee
22. Mammut Alum. Snow shovel ( left behind ) not needed
23. Petzl Ice Axe
24. Analog scale to weigh gear, Not taken on the hike of corse
25. snacks, sport beans, shot blocks etc..
26. small First Aid kit
27. Sunscreen 70 spf
28. LipBalm
29. small leatherman , Multi tool , Knife
30. Spot GPS to check in at home and with friends, and Last resort SOS!
31. Bic Lighter and water proof Matches
32. very small amount of shock cord / rope just in case emrgency
33. La Sportive Nepal GTX boots ( My Fav )
34. Nike Dry Fit compression socks with SmartWool Mountaineering socks over them
35. Thermarest sleeping pad ( Compressed down very small )
36. Petzl Tkka 2 head Lamp with extra batts
37. Camera - Olympus Stylus tough  8010 with extra batt ( Not My Fav )
38. TI Spork ( Snow Peak )
39. REI 0 degree sleeping bag ( not in photo )

If you have any questions feel free to contact us: Tommybmountaineering@gmail.com

Whitney Main Trail OCT 29th..

  The time has finally come. Set up camp friday night at the Portal.. enjoyed some good company and got a good nights sleep in the new tent. After spending the day in Lone Pine getting our gear together and shopping at Elevations we were ready for bed and excited to hit the trail!!!

   The big question of the day was what boots to wear. We know that only a part of the trail is covered in snow, so the big debate was, do we need an axe and crampons. If anyone knows me, I always over pack. Yep I took the La Sportiva Nepal GTX boots and the crampons. In the end I didn't mind the extra comfort of a heavier boot..

Our Favorite Mountaineering store in Lone Pine.. Elevations..

Camping at the Portal

The famous FJ Cruiser and Gear Photo!

Camping at the Portal

Happy Camper with instant Starbucks!!

Trail Snacks

Weigh - In at the Portal.. not bad for semi winter gear

Pack felt just right at 40lbs

Look at that view, WOW!

A few hikers along the way!

Yes a little snow at the Cables

yep there was Snow and Ice at the cables!

Amazing weather for October at Whitney

Breath Taking

Little More Snow along the way to the Summit

Had to sign in at the Summit!

Summit Victory on Mt Whitney Main Trail Elv14,502

We had an amazing two days training and playing around trail camp and trekking to the Summit of Mt Whitney! I have huge respect for the Mountains of So. Cal. My climbing partner did an excellent job. Mt Rainier and kilimanjaro are on the books for 2012..

Our Whitney gear list is our next post.. stay tuned