A higher level of fitness

When it comes to reaching your fitness goal, steps are just the beginning. Fibit tracks every part of your day - including activity, exercise, food, weight and sleep
- to help find your fit, stay motivated and see how small steps make a big difference.
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The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Fitbit.

Mountain travel isn't the easiest way to exercise, but it sure is fun.  It takes time to adjust to the harsh environments and logistics when compared to the comforts of a nice indoor gym!  I've always known how important it is to stay strong and in good shape for the sports that I love, but the idea of a typical gym setting to achieve that makes me cringe.   With a seasonal passion like splitboarding and snowboarding, I've had to find different ways to stay in shape during the off-season.   The combination of hiking, backpacking, biking and climbing provide me with all the activity I need to be strong when the snow starts to fly.
The more you push your limits, the longer you can stay outside doing what you love, no matter what the sport may be.

I've been using the Fitbit Surge to track my exercises out on the splitboard this winter.  It has proven to be super useful to see what actually happens in terms of statistics while out hiking, something I've never really been able to see.   Everything from heart rate to distance traveled, elevation gain and calories burned.   Day after day, you can track your output and see how your body is changing with time in regards to cardio strength and stamina.   I was blown away to see how may calories I was burning on an average ski tour. I've since adjusted the amount of food I bring, and try to eat on an hourly schedule to keep my calorie intake matched to what I'm burning.   Being able to visually see how many calories I'm burning has been a huge help in keeping my energy levels up, to avoid the dreaded "crash"!

With the GPS tracking I have the ability to see a summary of these stats and review my route afterward on the phone app or computer.  This paints a perfect picture of where I'm at physically, and where I want to be in the future.  It can be difficult to see your progress when it comes to sports like splitboarding and mountain hiking in general. Using this watch I'll have a much better idea of how to improve my fitness while keeping track of it as the seasons change.

Full moon Mt. Timponogos summit hike- 10/21/2010

Went for a hike yesterday to the summit of Mt. Timponogos to watch the sunset, and also to hike down under the full moon light.   The leaf colors down in the cirques were insane.   Timp is a rugged mountain, and doesn't come easily!   It ended up being a 14 mile round trip, 5000ft up and 5000ft down with the second half of the hike lit up only by moon light.  No need for headlamps!  The most action my legs have seen all summer!   Its crazy to think that only 6 months ago one leg was shattered and one knee blown, after that hike i must say things are healed up pretty good!

Josh Finbow on his way to the top.


A nice spot to rest the legs on the ridge, getting ready for the last push to the summit behind us


The views on top were nuts.  Here Josh and i are heading down from the little shack on the summit. The sun went down as the full moon came up, making it seem like day time on the way back down! Amazing view of the Wasatch up here, as well as salt lake city and orem way below.


Full moon was so bright!  About 6 miles and 4500ft down from here, onward march!  We got to the truck at 11:45- what a HIKE!
Ian, myself, Tommi, and fishbone taking it all in before descending...

-Photos by IAN PROVO-

Timponogos recon #2 October 14th. 09

After a long hike to cascade cirque a few days earlier on goat trails, Ian and i were anxious to get up to the snowfield, except following the right trail this time! This is a great hike. You start off waaay down at the valley floor, and climb up 4000+ feet to the snowfield. There was a good amount of snow up there, cant wait to go back with more ENERGY!!! Still have to make it to the summit on another day!

The sun heated things up quick, so i was hikin' in my overall's!

Beautiful view of the Provo Valley

Our play ground for the day- Timponogos snow field lookin' good for Oct14

Ian turning it out on the Snurf Board, possibly the 1st snurf decent down the timp snowfield??? You just never know!

My first turn's of the season on the snowboard... Always awkward but FUN!!!

Next time i go to Timp i'm getting to the summit, no questions!!! Energy is Key for this mountain... It is BIG

October 12th 2009- Hike to Cascade Cirque, Mt. Timponogos

Brother Ian and i wanted to get the legs fired up, so what better mountain to climb then Mt. Timponogos? You can start at the valley floor and climb 5ooo+ feet to the top, which is insane for utah. Our goal was to hit the summit, but we started off on the completely wrong trail which led us to the base of the waterfall at the bottom of cascade cirque instead! We were 2 miles in and the trail stopped! We had no choice but to bushwhack as far as we could go... We made it up to the gut of the cirque and boy, it was a work out! Check out the great views!

The start of the hike. Not knowing that the trail would end so soon, we kept trotting!

After about 3000 feet of scrambling and bushwhacking we made it to Cascade Cirque- Epic Views!

I brought the drum along for some extra weight in the pack to get those legs workin'... Sure worked!

Possibly the first drum session to go down in Cascade Cirque...?! The Billy goats seemed interested!

Check out this pack of gruff Billy's. Must have seen 20 different goats that day!

Loooong ways down into Provo valley, here we go!

This gruff Bill was hanging solo, protecting his crew

Where did the trail go? oh ya, there was none! Talk about BUSHwhacking!

We followed these crazy mule deer and billy goat trail's on the way up and down, Sometimes leading us in to some pretty dangerous terrain! Would have been impossible without em', but it was pretty sketch following those things!... Thanks to the Mulies' and Billies up at Timp! They are some rugged creatures!

Wyoming bonneville cutthroat journey 8/4/09-8/6/09

The brother and i went backpackin to a small river in southwest Wyo for 3 days, in search of native Bonneville's... We found em! Had a great time exploring this new river. Pretty stoked to go back for the spawn next summer when the river is filled with large migratory cutty's!!! Here's some photos from the trip!

-Dutch and i scoping out some runs to go fish

-Throwing some loops!

-Love this place!

-Ian getting bent out of shape!

-One of many choice bonneville's fooled by Ian

-Another...

-Love this photo!!! Epic fish in an epic river!!!

June summer split tour 6/18/09-6/19/09

Just before i turned 21, ian and i set off on a mission to ride some peaks in the Uinta wilderness... The conditions and weather were perfect! We were planning on waking up early in the morning after camping in middle basin, and making it to the summit of Spread eagle peak, but the snowpack was rock solid and we had NO crampons or ice axe! ...bummer! Next time i go back im going to be ready, and have LOTS more energy! Had 2 great runs with killer storm snow on the first day, and great corn on the second.

...Check out the video and the photos!!



Click HERE to watch this video in High-Def!!

^The route of our tour over ____ peak.. 1st day Green on the way up and down the other side, and the second day is in red coming down the face.

^The hike up to the other side!

^This line was waiting for us on the other side! It tops out at 11,800ft- higher than the BIRD! did i mention this is also Ian's first time really shredding lines on a board! Turns out some of the lines were a little much for him, but he nailed this one no problems!!!

^Not bad at all for the middle of JUNE!!! there was 5 inches of fresh storm snow when we came down, so money!

^The sun was going down and we found this choice dry spot to camp on

^Sun setting over Hayden peak and Ryder Lake below

^Sunrise earth, Spread Eagle peak 7:03am -Our plan was to summit the peak, but it was suuuper icy and we had no crampons or ice axe's. Dummy's! Next time i come back here i am going to be SO prepared!!!

^Back on ___ peak, waiting for the other side to warm up to proper shreddable snow!

^Boy the view's are epic on top of ____, will be back someday with proper equipment to shred the shit out of the peaks in the backround.... Massive lines to be had out there, Massive!!!

...Back for an overnighter and some fresh snow... April 27th o9

Click HERE to watch this video in High-Def!!!

Thanks to SnowRev.com for posting this video on their site as well!

Had such a great time the last tour up here we decided to go back. 3:30 on a SNOWY afternoon, the bags were packed and we were off to the trailhead. 40 or so miles later we were setting up camp on a fresh blanket of new pow. The clouds cleared and we knew we were in for a good time the next day. The snow was great the next morning and we were able to get in some fun lines.

^Setting up camp around 6pm, just as the clouds start to clear

^A nice fresh blanket of april BLOWER!!!

^Fire sure is nice when the sun goes down...

^Ian and I, getting ready to rip a line down

^Great snow, great stability, and great weather. What more can you ask for?!? I love april showers in Utah!