One of the first things Lyndsay mentioned was that a Foehn (pronounced phoon) wind was coming in. Having never heard of such a thing, I assumed this had something to do with a typhoon. Lyndsay also said that often people who commit crimes during the foehn winds in Switzerland, can have their sentences reduced because they make people temporarily insane. Oh, and they bring on migraines and raise temperatures by 30 degrees.

With our race just two days away, we ignored the winds and started prepping our gear and ropes for the Patrouille des Glaciers. Thankfully both Lyndsay and Nina have raced the PDG twice, which occurs every other April. With their knowledge, we got ourselves dialed and headed to Zermatt for final preparations and instructions from the race organizers – the Swiss Army.

Nina and Sari get help from Nina’s son, Birken, prepping the rope.

Just as we departed Chamonix, we heard news that the first wave of the race on Wednesday had been cancelled due to bad weather and poor visibility. Our race was scheduled to start on Friday night and we just hoped the weather would clear.

The foehn winds and the weather was all anyone could talk about in Zermatt as the racers took over the quaint Swiss village. With reports stating that the weather would be worse on Saturday night, the Swiss Army decided to start the race as planned on Friday evening with the first group starting at 9pm and subsequent heats going off every hour until 3am.

Nina, Sari & Lyndsay before the race.

Nina, Lyndsay and I started with the midnight group, running with our skis and boots up the valley towards the Matterhorn for just over an hour. We felt the wind and the warm temperatures but didn’t quite realize we would face 100 kilometer per hour and stronger gusts as we gained elevation up to Tete Blanche.

PDG course (from right to left – Zermatt to Verbier). We made it to Arolla. Avalanche was just after the Col de Riedmatten.

Our team worked very well together as we climbed roped up into the strong winds. We were moving quickly passing teams that had both started with our group and before us. By the time we crested and headed down to the Dol de Bertol, we had all added our wind shells and down mittens as the winds grew stronger. My Polartec NeoShell proved to be extremely wind resistant in gusts that I had to brace for so I would not get blown over.

I am confident in my skiing and racing abilities, however I was the most nervous about the descent in the PDG where our team had to ski roped together. Both Lyndsay and Nina are amazing alpine skiers and I worried all season about slowing them down. The visibility was poor with all the blowing snow but with strong lights from Ay Up! we managed to ski fast and pass several more teams.

With one more very short ascent while roped together then a large descent into Arolla, the halfway point, we were all starting to feel as if we were just settling into the race. As we reached Plan Bertol and a checkpoint, the wonderful mountain guide that was helping stuff the rope back in my pack, informed me that the race was going to end in Arolla. In disbelief, I apparently turned around and yelled somewhat loudly while blinding the poor man, ‘What? Are you kidding me?’ I was somewhat convinced he was practicing his English joking skills and wanted to see what my reaction was. It was windy, but we had passed the dangerous section on the glacier with the crevasses so I thought we would be able to continue. He assured me he was not joking.

Adjusting to skiing on the rope was not as bad as I feared.

Lyndsay was suffering from snow blindness in her right eye but it did not slow her down on the long descent into Arolla. We passed countless teams struggling to keep their speed up in the dark and finished the shortened race in just over 4 hours and 40 minutes landing us 7^th place among the elite women’s teams.

Once we arrived in Arolla, we met our support crew that had graciously spent their night standing in the wind to give us more food and water. They informed there had been an avalanche further on the course. Relieved to hear that no one was hurt but very disappointed we could not complete the entire course, we followed the Swiss Army’s orders and took the long and winding bus ride to the finish in Verbier. Although the bus crossed the finish line, it wasn’t quite what we had hoped for.

Coming into Verbier after the long bus ride. Not exactly the feeling we were hoping for.

With Lyndsay getting sick on our way back to Chamonix, we chalked it up to being nauseous both from skiing with one blurry eye and then the bus ride. However, as we arrived at the house, I soon became sick and we spent the entire day sleeping on the couch. We slept right through the 150 kilometer per hour foehn winds that tore roofs off schools and hotels, knocked hundreds if not thousands of enormous trees over and had the fire department supporting old buildings to prevent them from collapsing.

Feeling much better on Sunday, we took a run on the trails and through town to assess the damage. Lyndsay and I realized what we had slept through while poor Nina had another sleepless night listening to the carnage around her home. We were thankful everyone was okay and mystified by what we had missed.

As I fly home, I am thankful for an amazing trip to Europe to race in a sport I love so much. With my ski mountaineering race season officially over, I must thank many people for the successes I’ve had this year: My amazing husband and supporter, Ian, as well as my children Juniper and Axel; my parents for babysitting help for training sessions and races; La Sportiva for fast and light skis, boots and bindings; Polartec for my baselayers and wind protection; Honey Stinger for keeping me fueled; and The Max Marolt Scholarship for helping me get to the Patrouilles des Glaciers. Thank you all very much!

The Inferno finish line at the Deep Temerity chairlift.

Ian and I at the top of the Bowl after the race.

My brothers Ben and Ted were in town this weekend and came up to cheer me on for the race.

Juniper had her own ski race on Saturday for her last day of ski school at Panda Peak – thanks for the photo Kir Newhard

Ian found new singletrack to ride in DeBeque (who knew!?) on Sunday. Looking forward to checking it out myself soon.

Lyndsay and I celebrate at the finish of the Power of Four

Lyndsay Meyer and I have been looking forward to racing the Power of Four Ski Mountaineering Race together for months now. Both of our partners last year ended up on IVs, one in the hospital and one at ski patrol. Although we both finished unranked without our teammates, this year we planned to complete the course together and hoped to finish strong in the women’s division.

We decided to use a bungee cord tow system from the start, ensuring that we would stay close together. Racing in pairs can be difficult when teammates have different strengths, so a bungee gives a big advantage.

I’ll spare you all the gory details of the race, but suffice it to say, climbing over 11,700 vertical feet over 26 miles is no easy task. Lyndsay and I worked well together – I paced on the uphills and she led the way on the downs. We both got pretty darn cold climbing up Highlands Bowl, where it was blowing over 60mph but we kept all our skin covered and thankfully avoided the nasty frostbite that a lot of teams suffered.

In the end, we finished in second place in the women’s division, with a time of 6 hours 28 minutes, behind the super strong women’s team of Stevie Kremer and Gemma Arro Ribot.

Full results here.

Here are some photos Ian took at the finish line.

Overall winners John and Pete Gaston. They beat Bryan Wickenhauser and Brian Smith by just two seconds. Read more here.

A look of disbelief from Pete Gaston after hitting 60mph to pass the “Brians” just before the finish line.

John and Pete. I raced the Elk Mountains Grand Traverse with Pete last year.

Wick and Smithy

Gemma and Stevie celebrate their hard-earned win.

Jack and Jari at the finish – winners in the coed division

Brian Edimiston and Lindsay Plant – second in the coed division

Ty Newton and John VanNordstrand

Of course, I’m kidding (kind of). The inaugural WTMG turned out to be a terrific event in its first year and I had three days of good, clean, fun racing.

Like the summer Teva Mountain Games, the WTMG featured an Ultimate Mountain Challenge (UMC) competition, including three separate races over three days: a 10K Nordic race, a ski mountaineering race and a vertical ascent. I’ve won the summer UMC once and placed second twice, so I was excited and more than a little anxious to try the first winter UMC.

On Friday morning I lined up at the start line of the Nordic race with one Olympian and one National Champion, both of whom were also racing the UMC with me. I knew Rebecca Dussault from Gunnison, who raced at the 2006 Torino Olympics, would beat me by anywhere from five to ten minutes. The same went for Morgan Smyth from SLC. My plan was simply to minimize my losses. Thankfully, my longtime friend Stephen White is a Toko rep and he hooked me up with a super fast wax the night before.

Thirty minutes later; mission accomplished. Rebecca won the race overall for the women, taking home a nice check. I was just about five minutes behind her. Janelle Smiley was just a few seconds behind me. I was hoping and planning that Saturday would be my day to really win the UMC. (Vail Daily Nordic race recap here).

The SkiMo race start

With 8,000 feet of climbing over 20 miles to Blue Sky Basin and back, we all were expecting the ski mountaineering race on Saturday to take at least five hours. I knew that it would be my opportunity to put some time into the pro Nordic skiers, and hopefully add to my minimal lead over Janelle. I started the race at a pace I thought I could maintain for 5+ hours. Janelle, who typically goes out fast, stuck to my tails like glue. We quickly built a solid lead over the Nordic girls and were within the top 15 men. Janelle stuck right behind me until the last ascent and descent, when she started to fall back by just a few minutes. I finished the race in 4:17 beating Janelle by four and half minutes. Stevie Kremer came in third. Rebecca had a tough race with major blisters from her boots and finished over 40 minutes back. (Vail Daily SkiMo race recap here, Denver Post recap here)

Me and Janelle at Belle’s Camp in Blue Sky Basin, about halfway through the SkiMo race

Slightly cheesy, staged photo of Janelle and I at the SkiMo finish

Team La Sportiva represent!

On Sunday, at the Vail Uphill, my plan was simply to stick with Janelle. I had some time to give but I certainly couldn’t walk it in. Stevie, in running shoes, crushed the 2-mile, 2,200 foot ascent in 38:15. Janelle kept up a great pace and finished in second place at 40:05 racing in her La Sportiva boots and skis. I finished 24 seconds behind her on my matching Sportiva gear for third place, but more importantly, I preserved my overall lead in the UMC.

When the weekend was all said and done, I won almost $3K at the Winter Teva Mountain Games for the UMC victory, the skimo top step, and third place in the Uphill race. It was a great payday for an awesome weekend of racing, and it should buy us a nice, new bathroom shower. I’m calling the contractor tomorrow morning…

Special thanks to my sponsors La Sportiva for providing me awesomely fast and light RSR skis and bindings, as well as my sexy carbon Stratos boots, to Polartec for keeping me warm and dry with baselayers all weekend, and to Honey Stinger for fueling me with chews and waffles in every race. I certainly would not have been prepared to race without the stellar coaching of Lindsay Hyman at CTS. Also thanks to all my Vail friends for cheering me on and an extra special shout out to Dee and Farnham, who housed me and the family in Vail…we couldn’t have done it without you. Last, but certainly not least, thanks to my parents for helping with the kids and getting them to Vail to enjoy the event.

All 2012 Winter Teva Mountain Games results can be found here

Ian had a blast racing the Snow Bike Crit on Saturday night

Check out this video of the Best Trick contest on Saturday night at the event. Those guys were impressive (and Axel LOVED the flames).

And this edit from PinkBike.com
http://www.pinkbike.com/v/241717

The family relaxes after a long weekend of working and racing

In order to step up to the European standards of skimo racing, a sprint race was added on Saturday morning. We woke early in order to get a sufficient warm-up in before the short six minute race. The temperature was frigid, -18 degrees Fahrenheit at the start, which does not match well with spandex race suits and thin gloves. I had never participated or even watched a sprint before, but understood that it included uphill kick turns, a descent, another ascent, a bootpack and a final descent. It was an individual time trial format with racers going off at 30 second intervals.

Of course, I was chosen to go first for both men and women so I had no one to pace or watch for pointers. Six minutes is not enough time to really get hot, so my fingers were completely numb when I tried to put skins back on my skis for the second ascent. I dropped my skins a few times purely because I could not feel what I was doing. The second girl to start, Melanie Bernier of Canada, caught me in transition, meaning she had already made 30 seconds on me. I finished just behind her, went inside and worked on thawing my fingers. I manged to finish in third behind Melanie and Janelle Smiley, about 35 seconds back from 1st place.

The championship race on Sunday was truly epic. Leaving the base of Crested Butte ski area, I pushed hard to stay close to the front of the pack in order to have as few people in front of me on the ridge as possible. Racing alongside men I usually am behind, I felt strong from the start. When I arrived at the rope for the Guide’s Ridge section, I quickly transitioned and managed to pass about five people. Despite my fear of heights and ropes, I managed to move pretty well on the ridge and even pass a few people. Only a few people passed me, all of whom are experienced climbers and mountaineers. One of the people to pass me was Janelle Smiley, my Sportiva teammate and a great climber.

I was relieved to hear at the top of the ridge that Janelle had only put about five minutes on me throughout the rope section. I put my head down and worked hard to make up any ground I could over the next two ascents and descents. As I got within about two minutes of Janelle, I got panicky and lost all form, causing my skins to come off. Quickly replacing skins, I lost vaulable time and momentum.  Caught behind a bunch of racers on their first lap at that point, I realized I didn’t have enough mountain to catch Janelle so I sat up and enjoyed the final climb and descent.

I finished Sunday in 2nd place, 4 minutes 21 seconds behind Janelle. With our combined times from Saturday, Janelle won the weekend and Stevie Kremer placed third. The American women swept the North American Championship podium! It was an amazing course that tested my skills and my comfort level. Thanks to Bryan Wickenhauser for organizing! Links below.

Ascending the Guides Ridge. From bottom: Chris Kroger, Sari Anderson, Janelle Smiley and Jan Koles

Sprint Results

Championship Results with Overall

Photos from Kevin Krill of Crested Butte Photography.

Photos and video from Chris Miller.

Last year at the US National Ski Mountaineering Championships in Jackson Hole, I had a disappointing race because of equipment issues – I didn’t manage my skins properly.  I’ve been looking forward to coming back to Jackson ever since. I’ve been training hard despite the lack of snow in Colorado and felt ready going into the weekend. My parents graciously volunteered to watch the kids so Ian, Jari Kirkland and I could drive up to Wyoming on Friday.

Despite my preparation, I felt nervous on Saturday morning and began to doubt my fitness. As the gun went off, we all started fast as usual. I took the lead for about three minutes until Gemma Arro Ribot passed me with Stevie Kremer and Janelle Smiley on her tail. I tried to fall in behind them, but I couldn’t hold the pace and I fell off the group by a few minutes. Feeling a bit frustrated, I decided to race my own race, knowing I was going as hard as I could and there were three more hours to go.

Towards the top of the first climb, about an hour into the race, I was beginning to gain on the lead girls. I passed last year’s national champ, Janelle Smiley, in the first transition as she struggled with a broken boot (impressively she was able to get a strap and finish the race) and gained more time on both Gemma and Stevie.

At the bottom of the second descent, I passed Stevie Kremer in transition and started to feel like my training was paying off.  I was feeling strong – eating and drinking well.

I passed Gemma on the second-to-last descent and never looked back. With one more fast transition, I was in and out before Gemma arrived. I concentrated on form and managed to pass about three or four more men on the final climb. I skied the final descent fast, but with a bit of caution to ensure I didn’t get sloppy and crash. As I tucked into the finish I was finally able to breath a sigh of relief. I finished in 3:04, about four minutes faster than last year. My training paid off, and my decision to stick to my own race plan proved to be the right call.

Stevie Kremer finished in second with Gemma Arro Ribot in third. My La Sportiva teammate Luke Nelson took the win for the men with Scott Simmons and Jason Dorias finshing second and third respectively. Full results can be found on the race site here. Photos from Kevin Krill here. A bunch of photos that Ian took are below.  Thanks for reading!

Start of the 2012 Ski Mountaineering National Champs at Jackson Hole

Men’s national champ and La Sportiva athlete – Luke Nelson

Cary Smith with the Grand Teton in the background

Stevie Kremer and I finishing the first bootpack

Sari & Stevie again. We go faster when we drop our heads.

Brian Edmiston rips skins for the short descent down Coombs Couloir.

Jen Gersbach rocked her first skimo race.

A good day for for Sportiva! Sari & Luke happy to be national champs.

Sari & Stevie at the finish. Women’s #1 and #2.

(L to R): Stevie Kremer 2nd, Sari Anderson 1st, Gemma Arro Ribot 3rd

Super cool trophy. A piece of the old tram cable.

As usual, the start felt fast and I pushed to keep pace. It felt great to be back racing on my skis however I knew early on I would suffer straight through the finish. Stevie Kremer, Janelle Smiley and myself raced alongside one another through the first climb and descent and partway up the second climb. At which point Janelle started to trail a little.

Stevie and I raced tip to tail up three quarters of the final climb when I finally cracked. I could tell Stevie had more in the tank when I pulled over to fix my boot for a second. As Stevie went by, I tried to hold on as long as I could but she quickly opened a gap.

I finished a few minutes behind Stevie leaving everything I had on the course. Janelle finished in third with Lyndsay and Jari Kirkland in 4th and 5th. It was so much fun to race so closely with Stevie and Janelle and to fight right until the end. There is lots of work to be done before the next race but I’m ready for it after a nice relaxing off season.

Unofficial results from memory:

Men:
Marshall Thomson
Brian Smith
Bryan Wickenhauser

Women:
Stevie Kremer
Sari Anderson
Janelle Smiley
Lyndsay Meyer
Jari Kirland

Thank you very much to Jake Jones, Bryan Wickenhauser and the CS Irwin staff for another great race!

I hadn’t done an adventure race in a few years and was very excited for the opportunity to race with Buff/Thermocool. I was very aware of how hard it was going to be to be away from the family for over two weeks, but I never imagined just how hard it actually was.

As Arnau, Benja, Fran and I started racing alongside 80 other teams, we all had the goal of a top five finish which I believe we were capable of as a team. Unfortunately we had a kayak on leg one of the race which continued to deflate, causing us to be much slower and work much harder. We took that in stride as it was out of our control and moved on knowing we had days to make up the time. When we arrived at the clay pigeon shooting, I realized my teammates had decided I would shoot for our team being that I was the American. Or really, because none of us had done this before. Despite thinking I was right on target, I managed to miss all five pigeons so we had to sit out a ten minute penalty.

Although we never said it out loud, we were all getting a bit worried about our position so early in the race. We moved well in the next legs of biking, trekking and kayaking with some mistakes. Racing with two Spanish guys and a Frenchie that speaks Spanish, I often felt out of the loop as they discussed tactics and options in Spanish. Knowing they had the same goals as I did, I trusted their decisions and often completely zoned out the chatter around me.

By the fifth day of racing, I was becoming very sleepy and wishing it was a little easier to communicate with my teammates to help keep me awake on our 150 km bike ride mostly on dirt roads not requiring much attention. I felt bad that I have no Spanish skills and was solely relying on my teammates to use their second or third language to communicate with me. The longer we raced and the more tired we became, the harder it was for Benja and Arnau to speak in English (Fran spoke only Spanish requiring he and I to communicate through one of our teammates). Therefore I began to fall asleep on the bike and could not come back without actual sleep.

Racing with teammates that have raced many expedition adventure races is great, as they quickly realized I needed sleep and took the opportunity of a covered shelter to sleep for three hours. When it was time to rally, I woke up feeling extremely nauseous. Knowing this is normal in these races, I forced some food down and myself onto my bike. We didn’t make it far before I began to feel worse and had to make some pit stops in the bushes. Moving very slowly, we came upon a mining camp that graciously hosted us for a hot breakfast and a lounge to sleep. With almost four more hours of rest and a bunch of trips to the bathroom, we knew we no longer were fighting for a podium position but continued on.

Just a few hours later, I was on the side of the road again and our race was over.

The race may have been over, but I have not stopped thinking about it since then. I’ve had good races and bad adventure races before, but my team had always finished. It is still hard for me to know that Buff/Thermocool, 2010 world champs, did not finish because of me. I had no fight left in me when I climbed into the explosives expert from the mine’s car and headed back to Burnie but I was more bummed than I can remember feeling before.

My teammates were very supportive and caring throughout the race, our withdrawal, and the days after the race. Despite them telling me it was okay, I know they were as bummed as I was. We had plenty of time after the race to discuss what happened and talk about ways to prevent it from happening again. All this made me feel slightly better but only slightly.

Through emails, texts and Skype chats, Ian let me know things were overall fine at home but that Juniper’s behavior was less than stellar while I was gone. I felt guilty for leaving both Ian and his mother in this situation and wished I could transport myself home to help. At this point I was feeling sorry for myself and swearing to myself that I was done competing and training. I must have been delusional from the race because I figured since I missed the kids so much and was so ready to be home, that me quitting racing would make everything right.

I’ve been home five days and had to get out for a short run the second day back. Although I don’t feel 100 percent recovered, I have enjoyed a few more runs and had a few days I couldn’t drag myself out the door. Running with my friend Elinor, we chatted about how there is no limit to the amount we love our children and husbands and how much we miss them while apart. I know in reality that doing more multi-day races in the next few years is not realistic but I also have come to the conclusion that I am too competitive to give up racing altogether.

Being able to focus on my children this week has been a blessing. It has enabled me to not think about the race every minute and has given me a chance to make up for some lost time we spent training before heading to Tasmania. Both Juniper and Axel are thrilled to have me home, Ian is getting a much needed and deserved reprieve and I am actually taking an off-season before skimo racing begins in a few weeks.

Although I have always preached about being able to train, compete, work and have children, I think I pushed myself and my family to its limits leading up to and during the AR world champs. My family is the most amazing and important thing in the world to me so if that means a little less racing for a little while, then I’ll take it.

After some hot food and a rest in their lounge, we once again thought we would be good to go. Unfortunately my stomach did not have the same intentions. Even with Fran towing me on the bike, I was forced to stop yet again. This time for good.

As we flagged down a car to drive Arnau and I to Burnie, the reality that I had forced my team to withdraw began to hit me. Although I could not continue, it is still extremely difficult to let myself and my teammates down like this. I am so thankful that the boys have been super supportive and caring throughout. Despite not always being able to communicate with words, they communicated their empathy very well. Thank you to Fran Costoya, Arnau Julia Bonmati and Benjamin Medina for being wonderful teammates. I am sorry our race ended this way.

Despite being a little sore from the Lead King Loop last weekend, I continued a hard week of intervals and training thanks to Lindsay Hyman at CTS. On Friday, I enjoyed an easy day to prepare for the Golden Leaf Half Marathon on Saturday.

I took the last two years off from the Golden Leaf but three years ago I managed to pull off a win with a time of 1:45:47. My main goal this year was to better that time by a few minutes.

Training on the road with the kids in the Chariot has helped my speed on the flats and the descents but my pace on the steep climbs has suffered. This was obvious both last week and this week as I struggled up the starting climbs in both races. As the Golden Leaf course topped out and started heading down the Government Trail, I began to feel stronger and eventually found I could to push the pace.

Axel, Sari & Juniper at the finish of the Golden Leaf

I finished as the second woman in 1:47:52, four minutes behind Stevie Kremer from Crested Butte and two minutes slower than my time in 2008. After talking to many of the racers at the finish, we agreed the course was at least a few minutes longer than a few years ago so I figured my pace still was a bit faster.

Overall, I was  happy with my race and how strong I felt throughout the 13.1 miles. I even managed to get in a brick of sorts, with a mountain bike ride in later that afternoon for an hour and a half.

Sari & Ian enjoying a rare ride together

Sunday continued a great weekend as Ian and I joined about 10 other Roaring Fork locals for an amazing fall mountain bike ride.  The perfect weather and spectacular views quickly cured my tired legs.

As we descended a newly built trail, Ian and I were forced to make the decision to cut out and head back home to the kids. As much as we would have loved to ride another hour or so, we figured a five hour ride together was a sweet opportunity and we shouldn’t push our luck much more.

Finishing up the day with some family time completed the golden weekend. Here’s to hoping we have more beautiful days of training before I head to Tasmania for the Adventure Racing Wolds.

Golden Leaf results here.

Perfect day in the mountains in my new skin suit I picked up in Chamonix