Ladies after the race. L to R: Jari Kirkland, Sari Anderson, Lindsay Plant, Jessie Young
I thoroughly enjoyed the suffering of coming back to my first skimo race of the season yesterday at Sunlight. It’s not always fun to push that hard for over two hours, but yesterday was different. Racing along with friends makes the suffering more enjoyable.
I worked hard to race my own race and stay within my limits. With work and coaching, I’ve spent more time on my skate skis this season with some skinning sessions in between. I had no idea where my fitness was but figured the race was the best way to find out. I was pleasantly surprised with where I’m at in January and am motivated to get out for more training.
Jessie Young came from behind for the win with Lindsay Plant close behind in 2nd and myself in 3rd. I’m looking forward to another battle next weekend at Powderhorn.
**Update** Check out my good friend Jeffrey Kapahn’s photos from the weekend. Jeffrey and I go way back to Vail – he’s a super talented photographer and a jeweler (he designed my wedding ring!)
Views of Jackson from Snow King
If the La Sportiva Irwin race was my reintroduction to skimo racing, then the Wyoming Randonee Roundup was a full immersion. Three races in two days definitely put me to the test. Whether it was denial or pure naivety, prior to last weekend I had convinced myself that I hadn’t lost my endurance despite not racing in more than a year. I’m not sure if it was a lack of endurance, missing my top-end race pace, or the lack of articulation on my ankle, but by Sunday’s race at Jackson Hole I was a bumbling greenhorn.
Racing began on Saturday morning at Grand Targhee Resort on the Idaho side of Teton Pass. In the past, the Targhee race has been on Sunday after nationals at Jackson on Saturday. Therefore, I’ve never been fresh for this race but this year I felt a little stronger. I reached the top of the first climb just over a minute off of Stevie Kremer–about where I expected I would be. Despite a cartwheeling crash and a small hike back up for my pole, I came into transition with Stevie still there. Although I could see her for much of the second climb, she was already gone by the time I reached the top of the boot pack and transitioned for the second descent. Starting the last climb, I told myself to keep doing what I could do even with Stevie almost four minutes ahead. After a final frigid tuck descent to the finish, I came in under three minutes back.Racing at Snow King
After the Targhee race, there wasn’t much time to do much but eat, hydrate and get back over to Jackson for the circuit race at Snow King right that started at 6pm. Snow King is small mountain with just two lifts, but it’s a great resource for Jackson locals as they allow uphill traffic all hours (Jackson Hole does not permit any uphill traffic except for the race). Forest Dramis, Cary Smith and Pete Swenson set a fun course of about 6-8 kickturns, a boot pack and a descent through some gates. We completed the circuit for 3 laps with a small uphill finish. It was very spectator-friendly and great to have so many people heckling and cheering us on. After just 23 minutes of racing, I finished 41 seconds behind Stevie. That girl is fast!
After an early bedtime, I woke up Sunday morning feeling a bit off but ready to get race #3 over and done with. I was nervous about the weather as it was forecasted to be very cold with lots of wind. And for once, the weather people were correct. The base of Jackson Hole was mild but it was -9 degrees at the top. At the start I stuck to Stevie’s tails as long as I could but I found myself slipping back after about 12 minutes of racing. By the time we reached the top of the first climb I was over two minutes back. Telling myself to race my own race just like I did in 2012, I continued to push myself and managed to pass a few men. Although Stevie continued to put a little more time into me with each ascent, I stuck with the guys I’d been racing around for a while and we created a small gap over a chase group.
Coming into Corbett’s Couloir, the wind was fierce and my hands were numb (despite having hand warmers in my gloves) so I stopped to add over-mitts. We all knew we had to suffer through the short climb to the top of the tram so we could descend back to the bottom of the resort and get out of the wind. I went into survival mode at some point and was happy to begin the long ski down. Normally I enjoy the final climb of the race. But this year, with a lack of snow, the skin track was almost non-existent and I struggled to get a flat ski on the snow with my bad foot, causing me to slip every other step. And this is where I went backwards. Frustrated and feeling defeated, I almost dropped out with just a few kickturns left. I forced myself to keep going and finally I made it across the finish line almost 13 minutes behind Stevie and over 20 minutes slower than 2012.
I was so relieved to be finished – it felt like I had raced a six-day expedition adventure race. But I was also frustrated with my performance. It sounds silly to complain when I finished in 2nd place, but performing to the best of my ability is more important to me than my standing. Having a bad race comes with the territory and it happens to all of us. For a few hours after the race I had decided I didn’t need to race again, but eventually I felt motivated to train harder, do more physical therapy and get myself back in the game.
Big ups to Stevie and John Gaston, who completed a clean sweep of all three races in pretty convincing fashion. They’re both going to be hard to beat this season. Full results here.
(left to right) Jessie Young 3rd, Me 2nd, Stevie Kremer 1st
(left to right) Tom Goth 2nd, John Gaston 1st, Jason Dorais 3rd
I took the day off my skis yesterday and then went back to racing on Wednesday night for the first of the Highlands Skimo Series. Over 25 people showed up for the race, including lots of first-timers, which was great to see. My legs were certainly tired, but thanks to a wrong turn by a bunch of the field, I finished near the front. Next up I’ve got the Sunlight Heathen Challenge on Saturday. I hope and trust all this racing will help get my fitness back to where it used to be. Hope to see lots of you this weekend!
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.
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 May I spent a few days in New York City talking to Outside TV about the role of athletes in product development. The Polartec segment starts at 2’45” in the video below. Also included is Peter Whittaker for Eddie Bauer First Ascent and Jeff Lenosky for Teva.
Also, psyched to be a part of the 2012 Sportiva ski mountaineering team:
“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.
“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.
