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.
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
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