Chris Miller put together this terrific video from the North American Ski Mountaineering Championships in Crested Butte a few weekends ago. The video includes some awesome footage from Guide’s Ridge, reminding me just how scary it was. I’m easy to pick out in the video with my hot pink POC goggles and look of terror on my face…

Team Crested Butte, with Brian Smith, Jon Brown and Jari Kirkland will be competing again at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail this weekend. Smithy and Jon are doing the Ultimate Mountain Challenge, battling out with Luke Nelson and Marshall Thomson among others. Rumor has it that even Mike Kloser is coming out of “retirement” to race. It’s going to be epic!

Also, psyched to be a part of the 2012 Sportiva ski mountaineering team:

(Boulder, Colo.) –La Sportiva North America introduces its ski mountaineering team for 2011-2012.

On the women’s side, the team includes last year’s Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup (COSMIC) series winner Sari Anderson, 2011 national ski mountaineering champion Janelle Smiley and IFMGA guide Olivia Race. The men’s team features some of the top skimo racers in the country including Adrian Ballanger, Keith Garvey, Jared Inouye, Chris Kroger, Luke Nelson, John Race, and Jason McGowin.

“I’m excited and honored to be a part of the La Sportiva ski mountaineering team,” states Sari Anderson .“My set up of Stratos boots, RSR skis and bindings is incredibly light and performed without fail last season.” Read more here.

And for next season:

(Boulder, Colo.) –La Sportiva North America, makers of the world’s finest mountain products, announces today that it will debut a full line of technical ski mountaineering apparel at the 2012 OR Winter Market, SIA Snowshow, and ISPO Munich tradeshows.

“The culture of ski mountaineering is thriving in Europe and shows signs of significant growth in North America,” states Jonathan Lantz, president of La Sportiva North America. “Our team of designers in the Dolomites used feedback from some of the world’s best ski mountaineers to design apparel that is fast, light and highly efficient. For randonee racing, backcountry touring, and alpine climbing, the La Sportiva apparel line sets a new bar for performance and innovation.” Read more here.

Of course I’m thankful for the usual things like my amazing husband, my kids, our extended family, etc. But this year I’m also thankful for La Sportiva sponsoring me for the skimo season again and the gear that is on its way to my house. I had a hard time not feeling like a kid on Christmas while reading the email showing my RSR skis and binding and Hi5 skis had shipped. My Stratos boots from last season are perfectly broken in and ready for some ski days very soon.

First however, we are headed to Moab for a little more mountain biking and trail running before more snow flies. We just can’t seem to get enough of the desert even with Ian picking up his Surly Pugsley snow bike this afternoon and my skis on the way.

Happy Thanksgiving!

http://www.sportiva.com/products/ski/skis/hi5

Packing for an expedition race like this is practically a race in and of itself. My gear list is below. Somehow, I managed to fit it all in one huge duffel bag, one bike box and one carry-on backpack.

Custom bike box courtesy of Mike Kloser

Thankfully I didn’t have to pack Hank the dog

-4 Black Diamond headlamps  (we have to have one on us at all times)
-1 set AyUp! handlebar and helmet lights
-1 pair Black Diamond folding carbon fiber Z poles
-3 pairs of La Sportiva trail running shoes
-1 pair SOLE Sport Flip flops
-custom made Polartec Neoshell anorak
-Out There! AS-1 pack designed by Mike Kloser
-ultralight sleeping bag from Macpac
-2 down jackets
-1 Polartec super secret prototype insulating mid-layer
-1 pair custom made Polartec Power Shield Pro pants
-1 pair of Westcomb Polartec stretch woven pants
-4 Polartec wool shirts (3 LS, 1 SS)
-3 LS Polartec high efficiency polyester mid-layer shirts
-lightweight windpants
-3 pairs of bike shorts
-2 bike jerseys
-3 pair of bike gloves (different weights to wear paddling and hiking as well)
-2 pair of Black Diamond insulated gloves
-2 Polartec knit hats
-1 SmartWool knit hat
-1 skull cap
-knee warmers
-leg warmers
-arm warmers
-1 pair of bike shoe booties
-1 pair Outdoor Research gaiters
-2 cases of Honey Stinger Chews, waffles & protein bars
-extra batteries
-candy corn (I’m missing Halloween here)
-snacks (gorp, gummy bears, yogurt pretzels, wasabi peas)
-Trek Superfly 100 29″ hardtail with Stan’s ZTR Race Gold wheels
-4 spare tubes
-2 extra Maxxis tires
-Bontrager bike helmet
-3 hydration bladders (1 for the bike, 1 for the PFD)
-5 water bottles
-electrolyte tablets
-Gu2O electrolyte drink mix
-extra Crank Brothers eggbeater pedals
-bike multitool
-Epic breakdown carbon fiber wing paddle
-Coleman bug head net
-emergency blanket & whistle
-2 pairs of sunglasses
-waterproof camera
-sunscreen
-lip balm
-Specialized S-Works MTB shoes with a Boa Closure System
-4 pair SmartWool PHD cycling socks
-1 pair SmartWool Compression socks
-2 pair running shorts
-PFD
-wetsuit
-Westone True Fit 3 earbuds (best headphones I’ve ever used)
-Water shoes
-Sportslick
-Chamois Butter
-first aid kit
-prescriptions for Cipro, Ambien, Bactrim (antibiotic)
-toiletries-
-bag of wet wipes
-glowsticks
-Gerber knife
-ipod Nano
-American flag
-Silva shin guards (for bushwhacking)
-bikini (for relaxing after the race)
-4 pair of underwear
-1laptop
-3 books

My awesome new Polartec Neoshell jacket that weighs less than 5 ounces (also, apparently it can be really buggy in Tasmania..and dark).

Ian is going to try and update this site with whatever race reports he can find online. Wish me luck and thanks for all your support!

Pete Gaston & I happy to be home in Aspen

The EMGT podium is an elite boy’s club. A quick look at the results from the past ten years reveals many of the same names; Mike Kloser, Pat O’Neill, Jimmy Faust, Bryan Wickenhauser and Pierre Wille to name a few. I’m proud to say that this weekend not one, but two women’s names will be added to that list.

I’ll spare you the 40-mile race blow-by-blow but here’s a quick recap. It snowed all day Friday before the midnight start in Crested Butte so fresh snow on the course was a major factor throughout the race. My partner Pete Gaston, a 24-year-old Aspen young gun who works as a guide for Aspen Expeditions, and I were with a group of about 20 teams in the lead pack for the first 15 miles until the Friends Hut. From there, the field quickly thinned out until we found ourselves climbing up to Taylor Pass with just Ethan Passant and Travis Scheefer, Teague Holmes and Brad LaRochelle.

Breaking trail along Richmond Ridge

For the next 15 miles, our group took turns breaking trail through some pretty deep snow and I took a bunch of long pulls out in front. On a few occasions I even had to guilt the boys to take their fair turns. When we left the Barnard Hut as a group of six, I knew that the next coed team of Stevie Kremer and Marshall Thompson were only a few minutes back. Despite being pretty worked, I continued to push the pace in hopes of holding them off. With only few miles left to skin before the final descent down Aspen Mountain, one of my skins kept falling off. As I dug in my pack for a fresh skin, Stevie and Marshall passed me. We gave it everything we had left but Pete and I could not close the gap. We finished 50 seconds behind Stevie and Marshall and two and a half minutes behind Ethan and Travis as the third place overall team and the second place coed team.

I can’t help but wonder if I hadn’t broken trail for so long if I would have been a little stronger at the finish, but no matter what I’m pleased with my performance and  I’m proud that both Stevie and I broke the gender barrier at the EGMT.

The Aspen Times wrote a nice recap of the race here.

The gear spread pre-race

A quick note about my gear…there’s probably no greater test of backcountry gear than the EMGT. Overall, my set-up performed beautifully, but there were a couple of standouts. First of all, I wore an awesome new jacket from Patagonia called the Knifeblade. It’s a minimalistic, anorak-style jacket made from Polartec Power Shield Pro – essentially a lightweight pullover softshell. While I watched almost everyone in the race shed layers on the climbs and then layer up for the descents, I never took the Knifeblade off. It kept me warm and completely dry while it snowed for the first few hours of the race, but breathed well enough so I didn’t overheat once the sun finally came out. Full disclosure – I’m on the Polartec Athlete Advisory Board – but this truly was the best aerobic outerlayer I’ve ever tried.

Another truly impressive bit of gear for this race were my gloves. My friend Doug Heinrich, the glove product director at Black Diamond, sent me a pair of Impulse gloves to try and they were awesome. I wore them the entire race and my hands never got too hot nor cold.

Last but not least, my boots and skis from La Sportiva continued to kick ass. Over 38 miles of racing for 9+ hours and I only had one little blister on my pinky toe.

Here are some more photos from the race (a couple borrowed graciously from Mike Trecker – thanks for cheering us on up there, Mike).  Thanks for reading!

Travis Scheefer & Ethan Passant congratulate each other on their win

Marshall towing Stevie a mile or so before they passed us

The best way to end a race is with Ian and the kids at the finish line

Here’s my GPS data from the course (I couldn’t get Garmin Connect to work so I had to use Ian’s Strava account).

While waiting for the skis to arrive I’ve been getting out a bunch with the Chariot with a bike, skate ski and run in last few days. We also celebrated Ian’s birthday last week with a skin up to the warming hut at Buttermilk. It has been so much fun to share our love for the outdoors with the kids. Juniper barely made it through having cupcakes because she was so excited

Juniper, Axel & I finishing up a great night skin and ski.

to ski down in the dark and Axel was very relaxed in the pack skiing. We are all looking forward to the next birthday celebration next week.

Happy holidays to all – time to lay down and get a good night sleep thanks to Sealy and Polartec!

I’ll post a full report this weekend after the race unless I’m still out skiing.

Anyway, my involvement with Polartec has just landed me what is certainly the coolest piece of gear I’ve ever gotten. Yesterday, a delivery truck showed up at my house with a brand new mattress from Embody by Sealy. Now, a mattress may not seem like the most technical or advanced gear available to athletes, but to perform at your best, there’s really nothing more important than good nights sleep to allow your muscles to recover. And I’ve got to tell you, after just one night sleeping on my new mattress, it’s much more exciting than any bike, boat or clothing I’ve ever used. For the first time in months last night, I didn’t wake up sweaty.

Prior to the race I was a little nervous about having the endurance to ride a total of about 12 hours and to be able to keep my laps consistent. It was a nice surprise to manage both and even pull off the fastest women’s lap of the race. I could not have have done this six months after having Axel without Lindsay Hyman of Carmichael Training Systems. Not only has Lindsay been coaching me and getting me back towards race shape but she also gave me an amazing nutrition and hydration plan for the weekend. I was able to get through my nine laps (135 miles) without ever being nauseous, bonking, or even feeling the need to drink caffeine. I drank a full bottle of water with a nuun tablet each lap to keep my electrolytes high and then another full bottle or two during of water between laps. My top priority of the race was to make sure I had plenty of energy to continue to nurse Axel throughout the race and this was no problem.

Thankfully and miraculously Max and I did not have any mechanical, lighting issues or major crashes. We both raced on our Trek Top Fuels with Bontrager XR1 2.4 tires which were perfect for the sandy, rocky and hard packed course. I was also super impressed with my other gear holding up to all the sand and dust including my SOLE Lightweight Sport Socks, SOLE footbeds, Specialized S-Works shoes with Boa Technology, and my borrowed Ay Up lights (thanks Kerry White!). And arriving just in time, the new Honey Stinger Waffles were a huge hit with everyone – thanks Lance!

The Honey Stinger/Trek teams raced well all weekend also claiming a national title in the Men’s 4 Person division and second place in the Men’s Duo and Women’s Solo divisions. Nice work all!

Juniper, Axel & I just before the start of the race.

Max got to enjoy the Le Mans running start.

Brian Edmiston. My awesome support crew who was happy to help with everything...even the babysitting. Thanks so much B-town!

Happy mom and daughter after the race.

Ross Schnell and I were crowned the "King and Queen of Moab" for posting the fastest race laps.

Juniper is thoroughly enjoying the Stars & Stripes jersey!

Thanks to Ross Schnell for the RV to relax in and Cynthia Reynolds for amazing food and support!

Me and Max - happy to be finished.

And here’s some cool CONTOUR helmet cam footage of Max at the LeMans running start.

A quick video on The Polartec Power Shield Pro material that I have been testing and really enjoying.