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.

For my birthday, Ian organized a proper adventure. We planned to ride from Marion Gulch in Carbondale to Sunlight Mountain on a series of maintained snowmobile trails. I borrowed a new Surly Moolander from our friend Darin Binion who owns the Gear Exchange in Glenwood. The Moonlander has five inch tires and it proved to be have impressive traction and floatation on the snow packed trails. Ian and Michael on their Pugsleys, were both envious.

Riding up Marion Gulch with Michael Hayes (and his fancy diamond-plate custom fenders).

Riding in 4-Mile Park above Sunlight.

Michael and I up Babbish Gulch.

Riding back on Dry Park Road.

In all the 30-mile ride took us four hours. It was the perfect way to spend my birthday.

Otherwise, I’ve been training on my rando gear whenever possible, usually early morning up at Ajax. Ian and I are heading to Jackson Hole on Friday for the US National Ski Mountaineering Championships.  It’s going to be to tough race with an especially competitive women’s field.

Over the years at TMG I’ve participated in 12-hour adventure races with Team Nike, raced in a mountain bike crit around Vail Village, trail run in the snow, kayaked Gore Creek, and done the four-event Ultimate Mountain Challenge more times than I care to remember.  A couple of things I’ve never done at TMG are nordic skiing and ski mountaineering. That’s about to change. I’m more than a little excited about the inaugural Winter Teva Mountain Games. I’m planning to race in the winter version of the Ultimate Mountain Challenge, which includes a Pete Swenson-designed SkiMo race. Check out the video below, where Pete explains the SkiMo race. It’s going to be sweet for both amateurs and pros. If you’ve ever thought about trying randonee racing, this is the event to put on your calendar. Hope to see you there!

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.

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!

Lyndsay Meyer, Todd Kennedy and I skinned a lap and a half on Ajax early Sunday morning. It took me awhile to sort my gear on Saturday evening but once my boots and skis were on the snow, I thankfully didn’t feel like I haven’t skied in almost six months. I actually felt really good – bring on winter!

After social hour at the Sun Deck complete with hot chocolate and a warm fire (it’s Aspen after all), I met the family for a ski day at Snowmass. Juniper also jumped right back into skiing and Axel thoroughly enjoyed his first day on skis.

…here’s hoping the skimo racing comes back as easily on Saturday in CB.

Our family headed to Moab on Friday morning with friends for one last desert getaway. Normally when we have the chance for a weekend like this, I get as much training in as possible. It was a nice change to go on a few short runs and then hang with the kids. We even got a great family hike in Arches National Park this morning before heading home.

I’ve taken ‘off seasons’ before by default when a racing season is complete, but this is the first time I’ve had someone telling me to really rest. Without being accountable to Lindsay Hyman at CTS, I’m not sure if I would be able to hold back as much as I have. After a great weekend with the family, I’m looking forward to another easy week before getting going again. Especially since my new Sportiva skis arrived while we were away!

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