MARC Murphy's troublesomeknee has so far coped well with the workload on Carlton's high-altitudetraining camp in Arizona. 

The Blues skipper,who last week revealed he was up to three months aheadof where he had been at the same time last year when he underwent minor knee surgery, is enthusiasticabout the progress he has made during the preliminary stages of training insub-zero temperatures at Flagstaff. 

Murphy, who hasalso previously expressed a belief that he is "getting on top" of theknee issue that hampered him this season, trained only briefly during theclub's final training session before travelling overseas on December 3. 

However, he was gladto report the problem had not flared in the snow. 

"The knee's fine.I've been running for about a month now and today I obviously trained with allthe boys. (It's) good to get the boots back on," he told carltonfc.com.au. 

The Blues ruggedup to complete an early-morning fitness and skills session on the snowfields –a surreal experience for many involved. 

"It was thefirst time I've trained in ski gloves and ski goggles, so it was a bit of fun,a good experience, but there was plenty of hard work as well," Murphysaid. 

"We did afair bit of running at the end, which was good but obviously with the snow (itwas) a little bit different." 

The Blues werepreparing for a 5.30am wake-up call and a 90-minute bus trip to the GrandCanyon, where they would complete a six-hour trek. 

"It's goingto be physically demanding, but (also) a big mental test for the group,"Murphy said. 

"It'll begood, especially for the new guys who are new to the side – the drafted guys andthe guys coming from other clubs – to get to know the boys and the coaches aswell. 

"It'll begood for our development as well as our leadership."


Below: Jarrad Waite in action during a very cold training session.