The third race in the COSMIC series was on Saturday in Aspen. The race started at Snowmass with a few acsents and descents and then headed through the backcountry to Buttermilk. It was another beautiful early morning race.
Brian Smith heading down Rock Island on the first descent. This descent is super short so we all opted to keep our skins on. Ian volunteered and got the post at the bottom of the descent which was highly entertaining for him.
Mike Schneiter and Brian Johnson.
Dawes Wilson opting for the slide instead of skiing as I come into the top of the descent.
Brian Edmiston also taking the slide instead of the ski.
Monique Merrill climbing out of Rock Island.
Unfortnately Ian missed the finish by a few minutes but I was able to hold off Monique by just under 2 minutes. Both of us were much faster than we were last year on the same course and I managed to get by with out many skin issues which is always a plus. Travis Scheefer edged out Brian Smith on the last descent down Buttermilk to win by a second and Bryan Wickenhauser finished very close behind.
My parents, brother Ben and nephew Christopher have been visiting so Ian and I decided Ben should see the Marble backcountry. We had another early morning wake-up call on Sunday and skinned up No Name and then skied the Carbonites. I had never skied this line which had gorgeous turns and we were able to make it back to town in time for a late breakfast with the kiddos and for the parents to make it to Snowmass for some great skiing.
Me and Ben getting ready to ski down the Carbonites.
Ben taking advantage of some great turns.
This was the first time I had been on my tele skis in awhile as I have been practicing descending on my race skis as much as possible lately to get ready for the Pierre Menta.
Ian finally let someone else use the camera so I could actually get a photo of him.
Ben filled his beard with a little snow while I ran up the road to get the truck.
It has been a great week of training, racing and hanging with my family. Next weekend is the COSMIC at Monarch and the Highlands Inferno so I have a tough decision this week of which race to go to. I’ll be getting out on the bike as much as possible as the XTERRA Winter Worlds are just two weeks away.