Finishing the first of many ascents. Photo credit: Jeremy Swanson
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.
Apparently, the promise of a home remodeling project is good motivation for me to race hard. After a lot of hand-wringing last week about the Winter Teva Mountain Games (WTMG), my husband Ian promised that if I raced and won, we could get the new shower we desperately need in our bathroom. The prospect of new tile kept me going all weekend.
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.
I have a love-hate relationship with the Teva Mountain Games (TMG). As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve competed in just about every version of TMG going back over 10 years. It’s been amazing to watch the event grow and evolve. I look forward to the TMG weekend every summer – hanging out in my former hometown, catching up with old friends, watching all the amazing athletes competing, and of course, punishing myself in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge.
I also stress out more over the Teva Mountain Games than just about any other event I race in all year. The Ultimate Mountain Challenge in the summer, which includes four races over two days, is exhausting. I also feel like there is more pressure on me competing in Vail, and the expectations are high racing in front of so many of my friends. Furthermore, Ian works on the PR for TMG, so he’s talking about the event constantly. It gets to the point where I dread it.
So, now the new, WINTER Teva Mountain Games is just a few days away and I’m getting more and more anxious. The winter version of the Ultimate Mountain Challenge includes a 10k Nordic race, a skimo race with 6,500 feet of vert and the two-mile, Vail Uphill race with 2,200 feet of vert.
I feel fit for the race, but not totally prepared. I skate skied for the first time all winter on Saturday. It hurt. I haven’t been running much, and definitely not uphill. There are some strong women signed up for the UMC, including my friends Stevie Kremer and Lyndsay Meyer as well as US Mountain Running team member Megan Kimmel and National Nordic Champion Morgan Smyth. It’s going to be a really competitive race.
This weekend I’m going to try adopt Axel’s mantra…just have fun in the snow! Hope to see many of you in Vail. Thanks, as always, for reading.
A weekend of racing in sunny Crested Butte is always something I look forward to – summer or winter. However, this year’s Crested Butte COSMIC race made me a little anxious for two reasons. First the race served as the North American Ski Mountaineering Championships, drawing an international field of racers. Second, because the racecourse included a new technical climbing section requiring ropes, via ferratas and ascenders – and anyone that knows me well, knows I’m not a climber and I don’t particularly like heights.
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
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
With just over a month of rest, I jumped back in with the first skimo race of the season at CS Irwin Lodge on Kebler Pass. Ty Newton, Lyndsay Meyer and I left the Roaring Fork Valley this morning with great views of the lunar eclipse. We hopped on our snowmobiles for a fun 45 minute sled ride to the Irwin Lodge for the 2nd annual COSMIC race.
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!
Autumn has always been my favorite season in Colorado and this weekend reaffirmed that.
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.
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
Finally, a clean race. The third race in the COSMIC series was the Camp Ski Mountaineering Race at Crested Butte yesterday. Under perfect blue skies, we started the race at 8am with a Le Mans start. Jan Koles got the hole shot and set the fast pace for the lower part of the first climb. Janelle Smiley came past me early on and pushed me at a pace I wasn’t sure I could hold much longer. Once into the technical ascent, I was able to move in front of Janelle and open up a small lead.
Brian Edmiston, Michael Schilling, Mark Smiley and I continued down the Head Wall, up a short climb, down the North Face and up through Teocalli Bowl where we picked up Brian Riepe. The final climb finished with a boot pack up the Peel and then a long descent down to the finish. I finished without having any skin issues and descending very well thanks to my La SportivaStratos boots.
Thanks to Lindsay Hyman at Carmichael Training Systems, I felt fresh afterward and enjoyed some great skiing on the resort. Lindsay has coached me since May and I’ve learned a lot about training and refueling. Making sure I intake enough water and Honey Stinger gels has not only allowed me to finish strong but more importantly to feel great after the races.
Check out photos from Kevin Krill of Crested Butte Photography.
Finishing the first of many ascents. Photo credit: Jeremy Swanson
Lyndsay and I celebrate at the finish of the Power of Four
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
