10/29/22 Above Ashcroft to Lindley Hut-ish
Pav, Wendy Boland and Zia
10/30/22 Marble Lead King Road to top of Sheep Mt
Pav, Zia and Todd
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Sunday, April 5, 2020
Extreme Social Distancing on Sawtooth Mt
In these days of social distancing, shaming people who get out, run, ski and crowd trailheads, we have adopted social distancing practices that meet even the most extreme requirements. Nine hrs and ?? miles, we saw one person.
Sawtooth Mountain is a 12,300ft (3,730m) peak on the Continental Divide west of Boulder, CO. The trailhead isn't widely know exempt to some local nordic skiers and Holubar kitted durable old-timers and those looking for extended hours to get to skiable slopes.
Posting this as a stand-alone blog to avoid the fracas of FB.
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| Breaking out of tree line with Sawtooth looming large ahead. |
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| Slowly, slowly churning up the final 1000ft (333m) to the summit. One post hole at a time. |
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| Question. Which would you choose? Post holing up to your thighs or teetering and wobbling on snow covered scree? |
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| Battling 60-100mph winds across the summit. Nothing like ski sails on your back. |
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| Let's see, 7 hrs to the top, 2 hrs to the trailhead. Love that ski mountaineering. |
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| Skiing down from the summit, high winds and intermittent clouds make for great lighting. |
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| Shuffling back out. Clouds and great lighting make it look big, Alaska big. |
Sunday, September 9, 2018
La Meije: Blame it on Skis and a Glossy Magazine
I've been staring at my K2 Coomback Skis for a while. There are cool graphics showing gondolas, French words, elevations etc. etc. Sample picture here:
One day riding the lifts solo at Aspen Highlands I hooked up with a French couple who spied my skis. "Wow, fantastique, have you skied La Grave? or climbed La Meije?" Uh, no, but tell me about it. I heard great stories about steep skiing, glaciers, crevasses and so on. Sounded great, put it on the bucket list.
Fast forward a a bit and I'm reading through my latest copy of Alpinist magazine, Autumn 2017, Vol 59 featuring La Meije. Wow, what a mountain, what a history. The start of the Silver Age of mountaineering in the Alps (you'll need to read the excellent articles from Erin Smart, to understand). This was followed up with Vol. 60 with more history and route info. I'm hooked, this project got moved way up on the bucket list.
Fast forward a bit more and my Partner and I start talking about a trip to Europa to see her family in Czech and I bring up the idea of doing La Meije before the dumpling, strudel and schnitzel gorging begins. "Great idea!" was the response.
Now I have climbed many mountains, some of the biggest and coldest in the world, ski CO backcountry probably 50 times a year, and consider myself a savvy mountaineer. Typically, I do a bunch of research on routes, approaches, exits, weather patterns, trip reports and so on. With La Meije, there is next to nothing to be found. In fact my partner was in the American Alpine Club Library in Golden and was told there was only one book in French from 1959 and it was only recently checked out by a women writing an article on the mountain. The most that could be found online was some fairly well done youtube vids from French TV and a few weekend warrior-type climbing videos, hardly the detailed information needed to plan well. We made the decision to go with a guide. Someone who knew the mountain and should the shit hit the fan, could navigate us off the peak down perhaps non-standard routes without getting cliffed-out or worse. It turns, out, that woman who wrote the Alpinist articles on the peak (Erin Smart) still lives in a La Grave and would be open to guide us. Cool! Nice peak and someone with intimate history of the peak and surrounding area. The basic plan is to climb / traverse the peak from South to North, staying at a Refuge at either end of the traverse. The Promontoire Refuge on the South side and the Refuge de l'Aigle on the North Side.
The trip is planned for late August and plane tickets are booked. We decided to fly to Prague, CZ and make the two day drive down through Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein, Switzerland and finally France. Why not? A little road trip to see Europe from street level rather that from 30,000ft up (might think twice about this one, subject of another possible post).
We enjoyed seeing some of the classic Tour de France mountain stage names of the Alps, Alpe d Huez, Col du Galibier, Briancon, but we ready to finally be in La Grave. Pretty spectacular!
Erin advised us of some last minute mountain dynamics. Due to a very hot, dry summer in the Alps, a house sized rock had moved on the upper edge of Glacier Carre, exposing all doing the traverse from the South from the base of the route to the Glacier Carre crossing to a very dangerous condition. Effectively, that portion of the mountain was closed and a traditional Traverse was not possible. After some discussion, the new plan was to do the Reverse Traverse, effectively starting on the North side, crossing the peaks, then returning back North to Refuge de l'Aigle. It was farther, a bit harder and actually what the original 1880s mountaineers used to tackle the peak for the first time. Actually sounded like a better plan!
The first day starts pretty casual at 10am with a gathering at the Eidelweiss Hotel (highly recommend), a little stop at a bakery for sandwiches and a short drive to the trailhead. The first objective is to get to the Refuge de l'Aigle at 11,300 ft (3,440 m) from the valley floor at ~5,000 ft (1,500m), glad to be going light! (For those who have done European mountain refuges, they know the beauty of the refuges, carry a day pack, sleep in beds with blankets and eat great local food.)
As expected the summit day started before sunrise. The plan was to climb La Meije Centrale or Doigt de Dieu, then drop down and climb Le Meije Oriental then return to Refuge de l'Aigle.
One couldn't ask for a better climbing day. Great weather, fast conditions and great company. We were able to accomplish both peaks in a little under six hours. Frankly, felt like a short day. Some days your good, some days your lucky. Don't ask questions, just relish the journey!
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| Lovely fat backcountry K2 skis with whippet Dynafit Manaslus clacking along some high CO alpine lake in Winter. |
Fast forward a a bit and I'm reading through my latest copy of Alpinist magazine, Autumn 2017, Vol 59 featuring La Meije. Wow, what a mountain, what a history. The start of the Silver Age of mountaineering in the Alps (you'll need to read the excellent articles from Erin Smart, to understand). This was followed up with Vol. 60 with more history and route info. I'm hooked, this project got moved way up on the bucket list.
Fast forward a bit more and my Partner and I start talking about a trip to Europa to see her family in Czech and I bring up the idea of doing La Meije before the dumpling, strudel and schnitzel gorging begins. "Great idea!" was the response.
Now I have climbed many mountains, some of the biggest and coldest in the world, ski CO backcountry probably 50 times a year, and consider myself a savvy mountaineer. Typically, I do a bunch of research on routes, approaches, exits, weather patterns, trip reports and so on. With La Meije, there is next to nothing to be found. In fact my partner was in the American Alpine Club Library in Golden and was told there was only one book in French from 1959 and it was only recently checked out by a women writing an article on the mountain. The most that could be found online was some fairly well done youtube vids from French TV and a few weekend warrior-type climbing videos, hardly the detailed information needed to plan well. We made the decision to go with a guide. Someone who knew the mountain and should the shit hit the fan, could navigate us off the peak down perhaps non-standard routes without getting cliffed-out or worse. It turns, out, that woman who wrote the Alpinist articles on the peak (Erin Smart) still lives in a La Grave and would be open to guide us. Cool! Nice peak and someone with intimate history of the peak and surrounding area. The basic plan is to climb / traverse the peak from South to North, staying at a Refuge at either end of the traverse. The Promontoire Refuge on the South side and the Refuge de l'Aigle on the North Side.
The trip is planned for late August and plane tickets are booked. We decided to fly to Prague, CZ and make the two day drive down through Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein, Switzerland and finally France. Why not? A little road trip to see Europe from street level rather that from 30,000ft up (might think twice about this one, subject of another possible post).
We enjoyed seeing some of the classic Tour de France mountain stage names of the Alps, Alpe d Huez, Col du Galibier, Briancon, but we ready to finally be in La Grave. Pretty spectacular!
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| Room with a view! La Meije and the Tabouchet Glacier. |
The first day starts pretty casual at 10am with a gathering at the Eidelweiss Hotel (highly recommend), a little stop at a bakery for sandwiches and a short drive to the trailhead. The first objective is to get to the Refuge de l'Aigle at 11,300 ft (3,440 m) from the valley floor at ~5,000 ft (1,500m), glad to be going light! (For those who have done European mountain refuges, they know the beauty of the refuges, carry a day pack, sleep in beds with blankets and eat great local food.)
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| The grind, about 6,000ft vertical of uphill. Photo - Benj Riberye |
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| Yep, more up! Photo - Erin Smart |
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| A little via ferrata to mark the end of the rock section prior to stepping onto the Tabouchet Glacier. Heard it was good skiing come Winter! Photo - Benj Riberye |
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| Panorama from the Refuge de l'Aigle. |
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| Pre-dawn tie-in, and we're off! |
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| Perspective on the peaks as the nearly full moon sets. |
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| Nearing the top of the Tebouchet Glacier as the sun warms thing up. Photo -Erin Smart |
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| Approaching the Tebouchet Glacier bergschrund and steep snow climb into mixed en route to La Meije Centrale. |
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| The fun above the Tabouchet bergschrund, little snow on top of old black ice. Make it count! |
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| Times like these provide focus and perspective. Refuge down below. Photo - Benj Riberye |
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| Super fun Alpine climbing. Just be mindful of the plethora of loose rock! Photo - Erin Smart |
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| Lei Meije Centrale Summit. Amazing weather, so far. Now onto La Meije Oriental. Photo - Erin Smart |
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| Could be more reasons to return, Summer or Winter! |
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| Lot's of Rapping! Trick is to find the anchors! Not exactly well documented! |
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| And another Rap bites the dust. Getting down over the 'schrund to head over to Le Meije Oriental. |
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| Rope games with snow horns. Just another great shot of the Refuge. |
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| La Meije Oriental summit. Looking back at Le Meije Central, wow, we were just over there! |
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| And another Rap while the sun continues to warm things up. Time to head to the refuge! |
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| Enjoying sunset wisps on Le Meije from the Refuge. Tomorrow, the stomp down to the valley floor. |
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| What a great send-off the morning of our exit! Might have to come back and play another day! |
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Mt Toll Ski Outing
4/12/17
Mt Toll is one of the sharp peaks on the Continental Divide west of Brainard Lake near Ward CO. Classic spring ski descent. More details can be seen at the Front Range SkiMo page here - http://www.frontrangeskimo.com/toll/ I've done this one several times, always a good long day.
Sometimes I write these up as much as a reminder for me for future outings. Things that went well, things that could have been done better. I started at the Winter closure at 7am. Usually I bring a mountain bike to use on the paved road to the trailhead. Sometimes, there's a little hike-bike this time of year. This year, the bike was a total waste of time. So much snow. Friends had skied here 4 weeks ago and said, don't bring a bike. I thought, 4 weeks, should have had some good melt-out by now. Good melting, but not enough. The mt bike was abandoned after 1/2 mile. A fatty would have been better on the frozen snow, but all that snow would super soft by the afternoon. This will make for a longer outing I guess.
Giving into a long approach skin, one has time to think, listen and observe. The Winter transition is underway. Song birds are flitting around. Woodpeckers are doing their work. Streams are just starting to open up.
One of the interesting things about this ski, is you can always see Mt Toll. Gradually, it comes closer and closer till the final headwall. So, close, right? Still another hour to the top.
The Divide was socked in under a storm for a few days a few days back. What's the snowpack looking like? Below treeline, pretty spring-like, above tree-line more and more Wintery. The final push up the summit grade, was very winterlike with knee-deep post holing. Moving to the rocky saddle and ridge was much faster. Think it needs a few more weeks of freeze / thaw to consolidate.
Once on top, the views are fantastic, the wind dies and it's very pleasant.
Time for the descent. Not sure how stable the snowpack was, I chose to keep far skiers right near the rock. Should anything go, I felt I had a safe exit. Jump turning in winter snow with a skin of wet snow on top was work. Down at the lower slopes, the snow transition to hero corn snow and the glide to treeline was fabulous.
Below treeline the snow got heavier and wetter. Skiing through the tree shadows was a precarious balancing act as the snow in the sun was extremely wet and slow while the snow in the shadows was not as wet and faster. It was a game of push me pull me back to the road. The final ski out the road was relatively quick, picked up the Mt Bike and pushed / rode it out the last half mile. Always enjoy the looks and questions on hikes seeing this person coming out with all this stuff.
Over-all, 7 hours over 14 miles, ~3k vertical feet.
Mt Toll is one of the sharp peaks on the Continental Divide west of Brainard Lake near Ward CO. Classic spring ski descent. More details can be seen at the Front Range SkiMo page here - http://www.frontrangeskimo.com/toll/ I've done this one several times, always a good long day.
Sometimes I write these up as much as a reminder for me for future outings. Things that went well, things that could have been done better. I started at the Winter closure at 7am. Usually I bring a mountain bike to use on the paved road to the trailhead. Sometimes, there's a little hike-bike this time of year. This year, the bike was a total waste of time. So much snow. Friends had skied here 4 weeks ago and said, don't bring a bike. I thought, 4 weeks, should have had some good melt-out by now. Good melting, but not enough. The mt bike was abandoned after 1/2 mile. A fatty would have been better on the frozen snow, but all that snow would super soft by the afternoon. This will make for a longer outing I guess.
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| Tools for the day. |
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| Buried Visitor Center at Brainard Lake Summer Parking Lot, Mt Toll is triangular peak left of center, 12,979ft |
One of the interesting things about this ski, is you can always see Mt Toll. Gradually, it comes closer and closer till the final headwall. So, close, right? Still another hour to the top.
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| Mt Toll, ski line is left shoulder. |
Once on top, the views are fantastic, the wind dies and it's very pleasant.
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| The jagged West side of the Divide behind Pawnee Peak. Big lines abound. |
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| Westward panorama. |
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| Wiggle is near rocks. |
Below treeline the snow got heavier and wetter. Skiing through the tree shadows was a precarious balancing act as the snow in the sun was extremely wet and slow while the snow in the shadows was not as wet and faster. It was a game of push me pull me back to the road. The final ski out the road was relatively quick, picked up the Mt Bike and pushed / rode it out the last half mile. Always enjoy the looks and questions on hikes seeing this person coming out with all this stuff.
Over-all, 7 hours over 14 miles, ~3k vertical feet.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
The Grand Traverse, The Real Deal
Warning. Not much on the picture front, hey we were racing.
The Grand Traverse is a ski mountaineering race from Crested Butte to Aspen. Forty miles and about 7,000 vertical feet across the Elk Mountains. In 2017, it's celebrating it's 20th anniversary. As SkiMo races go, it's longer, less vertical and considered a bit of a sufferfest. Here's a link to the event website with some history, stats and pics.
https://www.facebook.com/grandtraverse/
Training consisted of long days on the weekends (see previous blogs http://kubeadventuresinc.blogspot.com/2017/03/grand-traverse-training-longs-peak-via.html) and some shorter weekday outings. Was it enough?
Springtime in the Rockies is very unpredictable. Warm temps and spring snowpack? Cold temps and deep powder? That outcome will decide the course and destination of the "Traverse." Previous years have had winter storms and the race "Reversed" not getting to Aspen. What will this year bring? Early forecasts called for storms, everyone whispered about another Reverse.
The race begins at midnight Sat morning and ends sometime Saturday in Aspen. With this timeline, Friday turns into sort of an odd day. Racer briefing mid day Friday reveals that the promoters are happy with the forecast and snowpack and so we are heading to Aspen. One of the race's peculiarities is that there's a fairly extensive required gear list and mandatory gear check. Once through this, it's time to pack, re-pack, re-pack again, try and nap, eat and wait for midnight.
The race starts at the base of Crested Butte Ski Area with a festival atmosphere. Once the gun goes off, all 400+ of us start a rapid skin pace up the mountain. Trying to stay with your partner at this point, is not really possible. Pavla and I set a plan to try and connect on the top of the ski area and if not possible, on the back side at the base of the ski area boundary. Pavla and I actually stayed fairly close to each other to the top, but got separated on the icey "Dark Blue" Indian Trail Ski run. To summarize the ride down, a racer fell near Pavla and slid down most of the run, unable to stop. Nothing like a stiff cup of coffee after midnight to wake-up!
The backcountry experience starts after the icey descent with a long side traverse to the mouth of Brush Creek drainage. Along the way, there are several ski off boot packing efforts due to lack of snow coverage or too steep ascents out of "elk wallows." I found it amusing, other's cursed under their breath. It was during one of these efforts that Pavla called out, "My boots are broken!" What? New LaSportiva Cyborg boots, maybe seven outings, but sure enough she pulled up and the instep buckle straps had snapped in the middle of both boots. Damn, are we done? Perhaps not, we have grey tape. Indeed, just enough grey tape to wrap around boots were strap once was. Will it hold for the next 25-ish miles? The next obstacle was that Pavla's rental ski Dynafit TLT Superlite bindings refused to lock into tour mode. Sort of important, since they just release when in ski mode due to side loading. After much fussing, it turns out the pins were maybe a little long or Her ski boots a little wide, or a bit of both, but the detents in the boots had to be absolutely free of mud ice or snow or they wouldn't lock. So we had a little ritual at every boot pack / ski transition where I got down and cleaned out the detents with an awl tool and she could lock in. Lot's of time lost, let's see what we can do to make up time.
The next segment of the race is a long grind up (~2.5kft vertical climb) to Friends hut and mandatory checkpoint. We seemed to be among slower skiers, but it's a single track so passing needed to be timed when there was maybe a side track. The passing went some thing like this. "Pavla? Are you there?" "Yes" "Are you ready?" either "Yes" or "Not yet." If "Yes" we'd accelerate around the string of skiers and step back into the track looking for the next set to pass. It's pretty difficult to gauge where we were relative to the masses, so we just kept this up till we reached Friends hut. 5:30 am, get some fluids, eat, head up Star Pass.
Star Pass, elevation ~12,400ft, was not to be skinned up this year. Hard snow / ice turned it into a boot packing climb. Once in the "line" there was no passing to be done as stepping to the side meant a potential slippery fall on smooth hard snow. Stay in line. Dropping off of Star Pass was just that. Dropping off a cornice into pretty steep terrain. Not the place to take a tumble. There was another mandatory check point at the base of the Star Pass descent, Geo's Bonfire. Sunrise.
Somewhere around halfway at this point. Legs feeling ok. Time for a big climb back up to Taylor Pass / Peak, 12,400ft. Things have pretty well spread out at this point. We seemed to be moving a little faster than those around us, still passing folks. This is a long section of the course. Lot's of time above treeline, beautiful views of the Elks Mountains, wind packed snow. At the Taylor Pass check point we hear, 5 miles to final checkpoint, then 7 miles from there to Aspen. Damn, we're getting there.
Our pace started to slow going into Barnard Hut checkpoint. The aid station people laughed about how people enjoyed lounging there perhaps a little too much. The ramen was tasty. The drinks very liquidy. 10 am, think we could be in Aspen by noon.
Alright, seven-ish miles along Richmond Ridge. A section one of the promoters commented was used by evil Russian coaches to test their athlete's ability to withstand suffering. It held true to this description. Snow warmed and softened. Sticking to skins. Fatigue sets in. Pavla bonks. Bad.
To those that have bonked or been with someone who has bonked. It's not a pretty sight. Motivation evaporates. Tempers may flair. "I just want to be home!" Strategies to get someone through this vary: Browbeat - "Dammit why did you eat?" usually don't work so well unless this is the last outing you want to do with said partner. Silence and get them home, break the wind / break trail strategy can work, but they are going through their own inner Hell that if you've ever been there is like multiple root canals. Or, you can distract your partner with tales of childhood pets. Cats, hamsters, poodles, horses, etc. etc. If you want to do something again with this partner or have to wake up with said partner, I suggest option three. You never know when it might be your turn.
In the end we reached the top of Aspen Mountain (Ajax) after a 3 hour traverse and all that was left was a 3kft descent to the finish line. The Russian coach analogy lived up to it's name. We dropped in and skied the last stretch with pauses to let the jelly legs recover a bit. At the finish line, just under 14 hours from the start, was one of the race stalwarts who greeted us with a hug and finishing metals and a trail running friend, Deb Luther, who helped us navigate foot repair, food, pitstops while she waited for friends to finish.
My second GT race. Would I do it again? Perhaps with the right reason.
The Grand Traverse is a ski mountaineering race from Crested Butte to Aspen. Forty miles and about 7,000 vertical feet across the Elk Mountains. In 2017, it's celebrating it's 20th anniversary. As SkiMo races go, it's longer, less vertical and considered a bit of a sufferfest. Here's a link to the event website with some history, stats and pics.
https://www.facebook.com/grandtraverse/
Training consisted of long days on the weekends (see previous blogs http://kubeadventuresinc.blogspot.com/2017/03/grand-traverse-training-longs-peak-via.html) and some shorter weekday outings. Was it enough?
Springtime in the Rockies is very unpredictable. Warm temps and spring snowpack? Cold temps and deep powder? That outcome will decide the course and destination of the "Traverse." Previous years have had winter storms and the race "Reversed" not getting to Aspen. What will this year bring? Early forecasts called for storms, everyone whispered about another Reverse.
The race begins at midnight Sat morning and ends sometime Saturday in Aspen. With this timeline, Friday turns into sort of an odd day. Racer briefing mid day Friday reveals that the promoters are happy with the forecast and snowpack and so we are heading to Aspen. One of the race's peculiarities is that there's a fairly extensive required gear list and mandatory gear check. Once through this, it's time to pack, re-pack, re-pack again, try and nap, eat and wait for midnight.
The race starts at the base of Crested Butte Ski Area with a festival atmosphere. Once the gun goes off, all 400+ of us start a rapid skin pace up the mountain. Trying to stay with your partner at this point, is not really possible. Pavla and I set a plan to try and connect on the top of the ski area and if not possible, on the back side at the base of the ski area boundary. Pavla and I actually stayed fairly close to each other to the top, but got separated on the icey "Dark Blue" Indian Trail Ski run. To summarize the ride down, a racer fell near Pavla and slid down most of the run, unable to stop. Nothing like a stiff cup of coffee after midnight to wake-up!
The backcountry experience starts after the icey descent with a long side traverse to the mouth of Brush Creek drainage. Along the way, there are several ski off boot packing efforts due to lack of snow coverage or too steep ascents out of "elk wallows." I found it amusing, other's cursed under their breath. It was during one of these efforts that Pavla called out, "My boots are broken!" What? New LaSportiva Cyborg boots, maybe seven outings, but sure enough she pulled up and the instep buckle straps had snapped in the middle of both boots. Damn, are we done? Perhaps not, we have grey tape. Indeed, just enough grey tape to wrap around boots were strap once was. Will it hold for the next 25-ish miles? The next obstacle was that Pavla's rental ski Dynafit TLT Superlite bindings refused to lock into tour mode. Sort of important, since they just release when in ski mode due to side loading. After much fussing, it turns out the pins were maybe a little long or Her ski boots a little wide, or a bit of both, but the detents in the boots had to be absolutely free of mud ice or snow or they wouldn't lock. So we had a little ritual at every boot pack / ski transition where I got down and cleaned out the detents with an awl tool and she could lock in. Lot's of time lost, let's see what we can do to make up time.
The next segment of the race is a long grind up (~2.5kft vertical climb) to Friends hut and mandatory checkpoint. We seemed to be among slower skiers, but it's a single track so passing needed to be timed when there was maybe a side track. The passing went some thing like this. "Pavla? Are you there?" "Yes" "Are you ready?" either "Yes" or "Not yet." If "Yes" we'd accelerate around the string of skiers and step back into the track looking for the next set to pass. It's pretty difficult to gauge where we were relative to the masses, so we just kept this up till we reached Friends hut. 5:30 am, get some fluids, eat, head up Star Pass.
Star Pass, elevation ~12,400ft, was not to be skinned up this year. Hard snow / ice turned it into a boot packing climb. Once in the "line" there was no passing to be done as stepping to the side meant a potential slippery fall on smooth hard snow. Stay in line. Dropping off of Star Pass was just that. Dropping off a cornice into pretty steep terrain. Not the place to take a tumble. There was another mandatory check point at the base of the Star Pass descent, Geo's Bonfire. Sunrise.
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| Morning light on Star Peak. |
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| Early morning light was uplifting. Time to turn off the headlamps. |
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| Pavla (R) happy for a little break and some coffee. Communal cup. |
Somewhere around halfway at this point. Legs feeling ok. Time for a big climb back up to Taylor Pass / Peak, 12,400ft. Things have pretty well spread out at this point. We seemed to be moving a little faster than those around us, still passing folks. This is a long section of the course. Lot's of time above treeline, beautiful views of the Elks Mountains, wind packed snow. At the Taylor Pass check point we hear, 5 miles to final checkpoint, then 7 miles from there to Aspen. Damn, we're getting there.
Our pace started to slow going into Barnard Hut checkpoint. The aid station people laughed about how people enjoyed lounging there perhaps a little too much. The ramen was tasty. The drinks very liquidy. 10 am, think we could be in Aspen by noon.
Alright, seven-ish miles along Richmond Ridge. A section one of the promoters commented was used by evil Russian coaches to test their athlete's ability to withstand suffering. It held true to this description. Snow warmed and softened. Sticking to skins. Fatigue sets in. Pavla bonks. Bad.
To those that have bonked or been with someone who has bonked. It's not a pretty sight. Motivation evaporates. Tempers may flair. "I just want to be home!" Strategies to get someone through this vary: Browbeat - "Dammit why did you eat?" usually don't work so well unless this is the last outing you want to do with said partner. Silence and get them home, break the wind / break trail strategy can work, but they are going through their own inner Hell that if you've ever been there is like multiple root canals. Or, you can distract your partner with tales of childhood pets. Cats, hamsters, poodles, horses, etc. etc. If you want to do something again with this partner or have to wake up with said partner, I suggest option three. You never know when it might be your turn.
In the end we reached the top of Aspen Mountain (Ajax) after a 3 hour traverse and all that was left was a 3kft descent to the finish line. The Russian coach analogy lived up to it's name. We dropped in and skied the last stretch with pauses to let the jelly legs recover a bit. At the finish line, just under 14 hours from the start, was one of the race stalwarts who greeted us with a hug and finishing metals and a trail running friend, Deb Luther, who helped us navigate foot repair, food, pitstops while she waited for friends to finish.
My second GT race. Would I do it again? Perhaps with the right reason.
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