TEAM CRESTED BUTTE

Power of Four...Can You Find Us Two Seconds?

2012-03-06T08:32:00.000-08:00

By Bryan Wickenhauser

Heading over to Aspen Friday night before the race, we new the racing would be tight. New snow had fallen the last several days and the competition was getting more sophisticated as teams were staking up to take the title.

The Aspen skimo crowd is really growing and has two great races for the Aspen crowd, and ironically both are partners races...the Grand Traverse and the Power of Four (and two races at Sunlight down valley). The folks really get the sport over there.

The air temp at the start was about 6F, but unbeknownced to us it would be hell on Highlands Ridge! The race started literally with me waiting for Smithy to get out of the bathroom as the start gun went off...I couldn't believe it (actually I could...). It was quite comical as he and I are making our way through the entire field playing catch up to the front of the course....a nice way to say "hi" to all our friends who we wouldn't see for the rest of the race. Once we got up front, about 3 minutes later order was restored and Smithy took to the front of the field, to the top of Snowmass Mtn.

Across the back of Buttermilk it was a total social as the top six or so teams took turns skiing pow and breaking trail, on down to the base area and over to Highlands ski area. At this point all the top teams were right there and trading the lead.

Up Highlands the top three teams pulled away 1st- Smith/Wick, 2nd Kloser/Simmons, 3rd- Gaston Bros. The climb was long and steady and no one really got much of a gap, most all the teams were on tow to keep the partners close together....then all hell broke loose....

As we all entered the top of the resort towards Highlands Bowl winds picked up to 30-40MPH sustained winds, with gusts near 60MPH. We were leading and wearing our CAMP Flash Anoraks (Life savers when going Fast & Light) with hoods up and our nylon covers from our G Comp Wind Mits out trying to stay protected. It was nearly a white out and freezing cold as we started our skin up the Ridge. For some reason Smithy stopped in front of me and started doing an impromptu boot pack. I tried to argue and reason with him that we should continue skinning up the Ridge but in fierce, life threatening weather I sided with him and began trying to put my skis on my pack. Quickly there after, Team Kloser and Team Gaston skinned by...I argued again, but Smithy didn't want to hear it....all I could do is try and start moving to regain any kind of heat.

By the top of Highlands Bowl I was wondering how many folks would incur major frostbite, and how I was going to do a transition with no dexterity in my hands? We caught back up to Team Gaston as they had major "cold hands", but Team Kloser was gone with an approximate 3-5 minute lead....Had Mike done it to us again I thought? You give him the lead in the race, and its usually a done deal.

Smithy & I tried to hang with Team Gaston as we dropped into the "mystic" Highlands Bowl gut, but we were clearly out matched on their home turf. At the bottom we were able to out transition Team Gaston as their hands were slowing them down. Next up was the single track DH descent through the Aspen's on the Congo Trail to the bottom of Ashcroft Road. It was a fun and fast track as we had tons of soft snow to keep our speed in check and avoid trees (not sure how the back of the pack enjoyed it after it was chewed up...ugh).

Now the race was on, we caught Team Kloser at the bottom of Midnight Mine Rd, with the Gastons hot on our tail. This was a slog up to the top of Richmond Ridge (Grand Traverse route to Aspen Ski Resort). We maintained a slim lead and tried our best to get any unfrozen liquids & food down to have energy to fend off an attack. At the top we maintained our slim lead into the Sundeck with now the local Gaston's on our tail by only about 15 seconds.

With a new route down Ajax Mountain and totally blown, we knew the race would be settled on the downhill. With locals chasing us down and wearing "those big targets" on our backs, it was everything we could do to to hold them back. At Sparr Gulch we were all clocked at nearly 60MPH on 160cm skis...it was a full on downhill tuck to he finish and the Gastons took it by two seconds at the line! Ugh!!!! Could we have skied a cleaner race and found two or more seconds? We of course think yes, and that's what motivates us to get out the door and train harder for the next one! ....Plus some much needed powder!

Photographer Kevin Krill's photo gallery

Aspen Times Article on the race recap

Power of Four- SMITH/WICK MUST DEFEND TITLE!

2012-03-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

Team CB Goes back to Aspen to defend title (Aspen Times)

The Team of Smithy & Wick will head over the Elk Mtns to Aspen to defend their title from last year.


Team Smith/Wick at Finish Line of Power of Four 2011.

Jari will be racing co-ed with a guy from Canada (top international co-ed team for sure! ;)

Jon Brown will be teaming up with recent 12 Hours of Sunlight Winner, Billy "Pit Bull" Laird, so they should be a top three team too.

This year's Power of 4 course will be slightly shorter, but still just as tough. This race has quickly turned into a great training race for the Grand Traverse. Its over 25 miles long and 11,000 ft of vertical, plus its clearly a teams race (just like the GT...).

Grin & Bear it!

Race report to follow this weekend's racing.

Team CB ....keeping it safe from Vail to CB

2012-02-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

Episode Three video

Skiing with Team CB this past week and a half as we talk about Teva Games and skiing the Crested Butte backcountry...keeping it safe and fast!

Teva Games Wrap Up

2012-02-16T08:22:00.001-08:00

Team Crested Butte (along with our skimo & Nordic Friends in the Gunnison Valley) killed it this past weekend! Basically hogn' the podium....as we were representing in the Ulitmate Mountain Challenge and the Skimo event. The fields were stacked all weekend as there were large (for skimo racing standards) prize purses for each event.


Luke Nelson 5th, Scott Simmons 4th, Brian Smith, 3rd, Wick 2nd and mia Marshall Thompson 1st for Skimo Race

The Ulitmate Mountain Challenge comprised of :

10Km Nordic race on Friday
Ski Mountaineering race on Sturday
Uphill only race on Sunday ~2600ft of climbing on any gear you want (human powered people)

Hats off to the event staff that pulled off the first ever Teva Winter Games. The skimo event had a nice off-piste feel for Vail. With nearly 8,000ft of elevation gain and over 20mi of ski touring, it turned out to be a "mini Grand Traverse" in Vail....basically circumnavigating the ski area boundry (yeah Vail is quite huge).


Team Smith Wick

Luckily with our winnings we were able to afford some $23 cheeseburgers at the base area....you know you're in Vail when...


Wick with 15 minutes left in the race

Denver Post Article recapping the CB & Vail race

Full results of each event can be found here.

Crested Butte News article on the Teva Games

Team Crested Butte - Video Recap from North American Skimo Championships

2012-02-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

Click on this link to catch up with Team CB on the recap of the weekend of racing in Crested Butte during the Gore-Tex North American Ski Mountaineering Championships.

Next up is the Teva Winter Mountain Games in Vail this weekend.

Gore-Tex North American Ski Mountianeering Championships- CBMR

2012-02-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

By Jari Kirkland....

So this last weekend was the two day Gore-Tex North American Ski Mountaineering Championships race in Crested Butte, CO. The first day of racing was Saturday, which was the sprint race. This is a 5 to 7 minute race and from the first step to the last one is an all out heart-is-going-to-explode go all out race.


Matt Thayer Bib #18 Photo:Dan Madden

It happens to be one of the most fun races we get to compete in all year! You can see almost the entire course from the start/finish line very spectator friendly. After my race I chose to watch the Men's Race a few feet from the top (about 150ft of Total vertical/lap...two separate laps). That way I was able to see who was coming and cheer them on twice!


Marshall Thompson leaving the Start of the Sprint Race. Uley's Cabin in background. -20F+! Photo: Dan Madden

It started off as an incredible cold morning.... -20F to be exact when we left the house and it had only warmed up 4 degrees by the time we started skinning to Uley’s cabin on CBMR. Before the race, folks were already having skin problems. Meaning the piece of gear that we stick to the bottom of our skis to make them stick when we go uphill, were not sticking. It was just too cold.


Jason Dorais #27 and Brian Smith (Team CB) apply skins in the Sprint transition...pray they stick! Photo: Dan Madden

Off the start I felt really good. Had a good first transition but then when it came to second transition and putting my skins back on, I couldn’t get them to stick....Grrrrr! So after I had tried and failed with two skins I knew the third had to work or I wasn’t going to finish. So in a state of panic I tried to warm them up and get them to stick. All I could think about was the time I was losing, my hands are freezing...... and how absolutely frustrating it was to know the time was just ticking by, or in this case time was flying by.

When it was all said and done Jon Brown had the best race on the Team, but the rest of us had our "issues" and looked forward to Day Two. Post race we got to hang out and have breakfast at Uley’s cabin with all the other racers. These are the times when you realize that ski mountaineering racers are really, really great and you get to share breakfast with them and share each other’s “war stories of the day.”


Michael Hagen at the Finish Line of the Sprint course Photo: Dan Madden

That afternoon, we got all our gear together and relaxed, ate, relaxed and had to go to one more meeting in the evening about “Day 2 and the Guide Ridge” and the "skills/gear check".

Sarah Stubbe showing everyone how a Via Ferrata/Ascender kit works!

At the base of CBMR Sunday morning it was time to get inside “the hurt locker”. It was all out from the start. From my point of view the guys take off like a bullet out of a gun. It is quite amazing. When we got half way up the first climb we roped in and got to ascend the Guides Ridge to the Peak of Mt CB (12,196ft....over 1,000ft of fixed rope. The rigging of this section was done by our Crested Butte Professional Ski Patrol.) It was great and by that I mean the views were superb since I had plenty of time to look around because it got a little bit backed up. It was nice because I got to hang out in my CAMP Alp 95 harness, tied in with my CAMP via ferrata and ascender in my SCARPA Alien 1.0 boots with my SkiTrab race skis on my back with other racers having a good ole time! It took a while for us to summit but it was worth it. Then on to more descending and ascending (about 5,000ft up and down).


Racer's take off on Day Two Photo: Dan Madden


Athletes on the Guide Ridge. Marnie Mattner Photography

Ian Gale of Canada near the Finish Line, Day Two Photo: Dan Madden

The Flying Wedge by John Photo: Dan Madden

When it was all done it was one wonderful weekend. Even though there were frustrating times is was one incredible weekend....racer's from Canada, Italy, Slovakia and Spain were stoked on CB!!!! Congrats to Jon Brown 9^th and Brian Smith 11^th. Thanks to CAMP for dialing in a whole lot of racers with Via Ferrata set ups, SCARPA for making sweet, sweet boots and SkiTrab for the best skis on the planet. And last but not least Crested Butte Mountain Resort for both letting us have the coolest races in North America and for supporting athletes. THANKS!!!!!

Full Results can be found at this link.


Our town Mayor...the Honorable Huck & Tom Boyle going over results/awards. Thanks Gore-Tex! Photo: Dan Madden

More Photos here:http://crestedbuttephotography.smugmug.com/Livelihood/Randonee-Racing/2012-ISMF-Crested-Butte/21256478_mk8LWm#!i=1692302214&k=hH3TxqM

A Crested Butte News article is on this link

COSMIC Men's One Day only Results

2012-01-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

GoreTex® North American Ski Mountaineering Championships
January 28-29, 2012
Crested Butte Mountain Resort

Class	PLACE	BIB	Last Name	First Name	Gender	Age	Individual Race Time	PENALTY	ADJUSTED TIME
MEN INDIVIDUAL RACE ONLY
1 Day - Race Division	1	61	McGowin	Jason	M	42	2:59:49		2:59:49
1 Day - Race Division	2	5	Riepe	Brian	M	41	3:16:54	0:05:00	3:21:54
1 Day - Race Division	3	64	Swift	Bill	M	31	3:23:14		3:23:14
1 Day - Race Division	4	63	Peterson	Alan	M	41	3:29:43		3:29:43
1 Day - Race Division	5	36	Rietmann	Jeremy	M	29	3:46:13		3:46:13
1 Day - Race Division	6	35	Newton	Doug	M	35	4:00:16		4:00:16
1 Day - Race Division	7	65	Elliott	Ian	M	34	4:02:01		4:02:01
1 Day - Race Division	8	62	Kjerengtroen	Lars	M	32	4:02:22		4:02:22
1 Day - Race Division	9	2	Wood	Henry	M	42	DNF		DNF
1 Day - Race Division	10	33	Read	Chris	M	41	DNF		DNF

Sunlight 2012 Race Report

2012-01-23T17:51:00.000-08:00

Next on tap for Team CB is the COSMIC Sunlight event called the Heathen Challenge, just outside of Glenwood Springs Colorado. Jon, Jari and I made tracks (litteraly) for Kebler Pass. We got about 100 yards from the summit and lost traction. We hooked up with Teocalli Tamale for some fat burritos and Jari hooked up some sweet new movies. Although it was nearly 11 when we arrived at our hotel in Glenwood the trip went quickly. While taking our gear out of the vehicle Jon realized he didn't pack his ski boots (SCARPA Alien 1.0). After a night of trying to help Jon strategize about racing the event with his nordic gear, Jon got a 3am phone call from Stevie and Marshall. They were leaving CB for the event and were going to pick up Jon's boots in Gunnison! Jon told me the next morning hoping he hadn't woken me in the night. Game on JB!

We arrived at the resort at just past 7 for an hour of prep and warming up. Jon and Jari looked pumped and I was psyched to represent on our new and insanely light gear! This was going to be my first race of the season on the Ski-Trab Duo Race World Cup skis and Trab Race binding. The pace at the front was fast and furious for the first 30 minutes. Greg Ruckman ran to the front and kept a gap of 5-10 seconds for the first 15-20 minutes. Marshall Thomson, Pete Gaston, and myself were in the chase group. Marshall put in some hard efforts and left Pete behind. I passed Pete and about 5 minutes from the top we were all together. When I turned on a switchback near the top I saw Jon working his way up. On the first descent there was confusion about the direction and there were about 6-8 racers bunched up. Pete had an awesome descent and was alone at the second transition. Unfortunately Pete had some major skin issues and was passed by myself, Marshall and Jon. I attacked the first ascent and was steady on the boot pack. By the last skin ascent to the top I had 15 seconds. Marshall dug deep and had me reeled in by the top. From there to the last skin strip on Defiance we yoyo'd. I blasted the last descent and held a 27 second margin to Marshall. Jon blazed to the line less than five minutes later for his first COSMIC podium. Jari had a strong race and finished on the podium for 3rd as well. Sari Anderson took the woman's race with CB local Stevie Cramer in second. A solid showing for the locals of Gunnison County!


Men's Podium All CB! L-R Marshall, Smithy, JB

All in all our new gear met and exceeded my expectations for lightweight performance. The Alien boots were super stable with the new bellow-less lower shell. The skis and bindings were not only lighter but performed better than anything else I've raced on. Turning was effortless and precise. The Piuma vertical poles were light enough to keep nordic race tempo on low angle approaches and accelerations.

Next stop for the team is the North American Championships on their home mountain. With home field advantage to Team Crested Butte, top results should be expected. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more podiums.

CB team member
Brian Smith

Webisode II of Team CB

2012-01-23T12:10:00.000-08:00

Hit this link to YouTube to listen and see how Team CB maintains there fierce race pace....one secret, hard work and having fun!

Get down to CB this weekend for the GoreTex North American Ski Mountaineering Championships...it will be the event that puts mountaineering back in ski mountaineering!

...and Yes its finally snowing out!!

Team Crested Butte Video Blogging

2012-01-18T07:43:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uokEOvRfoeM&feature=youtu.be

Clink on the link above to see what Team CB has been up to this early season for training. Basically a bunch of snow dancing, a few races (Irwin and US Nationals) and fighting the high winds. We've land on the podium five times at three races so far this season...with Brian Smith capturing the most recent victory at Sunlight last weekend.

Finally its snowing and the extended forecast is actually looking great for once this Winter.

Get signed up for the GoreTex North American Ski Mountaineering Championships coming to Crested Butte at the end of the month....event the Italian National Team is coming!

Ski Fast!

2012 US Nationals

2012-01-09T10:46:00.000-08:00

It’s been a tough year for snow in the West, and CB & Jackson Hole are not immuned to this dry spell. The drive to Jackson is usually a dreaded affair as the roads are slick and plain old long (11+hrs). Great roads this year meant one thing, firm snow on the resort and fast driving!

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has been the host for US Nationals for the last 11 years. This race during a World Championship year is always one of three qualifiers, in order to make the US Team that competes over in Europe. This is a non World Championship year, so the race has slightly less significance, but it still crowns the Men’s and Women’s National Champion.

Team Crested Butte sent three of our four athletes to Jackson Hole, with Brian Smith sitting this one out, due to work.

Most of the team was able to preview the course on Friday, with the only change to the course being that the “landmark climb” up Corbet’s Coliour was not included due to a lack of snow. Instead they had us go around Corbet’s, with a longer but mellower boot pack. The course preview as expected was hard packed snow with descent coverage, setting up a technical race with challenging skinning conditions.

The race started with a deep US field…more and more talent (and skin suits) each year….a great sign for the sport!. Jon and I positioned ourselves in 4-6^th place for the first climb with Scott Simmons (Durango, CO) leading the charge.

The first descent was a steep, bumped out run testing one’s gear and skiing abilities. The new SCARPA Alien 1.0 were awesome as they are even lighter, and without the bellows….perform soooo much better on the downhills…..they inspire confidence! Perfect conditions today for the boot.

Leads were swapped back and forth depending upon each skier’s downhill and uphill skills. If you could find some efficiency on the skinning sections, it would pay dividends later in the race. Two boot packs separated the field and Luke Nelson (Idaho Falls, ID) was able to reel in Scott Simmons and challenge for the lead. Marshall Thompson (CB, CO) established 3^rd and myself in 5^th.

The second last downhill started at the top of the tram and descend over 4100ft …..I can only guess but I bet this took at least 9-10 minutes. Its super techie, bumped out with refrozen “death cookies”, looking to take out the tired racer. I was not able to reel in 4^th (Jason Dorais SLC, UT) but at the last uphill transition I noticed Marshall Thompson was not up front on the skin track. I could only assume he got lost on the long descent.

This last climb was south facing with skin purchase at a premium….you're blown and the most technical climb of the day was standing in the way of the finish line.

As I got to the top of the last climb, 5^th place (Ben Parsons Kalispell, MT) about two minutes behind me, so I felt comfortable I cold hang on to fourth with one last techie descent.

At the finish line I got fourth (yeah I’m in “that position” …the 1^st guy just off the podium). My suspicions were confirmed about Marshall….he indeed did get lost on the second last down hill. Unlucky, but that’s racing. He is talented and will clearly be a force to be reckoned with.

Luke Nelson ended up taking the National Championship Title by a minute over Scott Simmons. Jason Dorais end up in third and my self in 4^th, Ben Parsons rounded out the top five.

In the women’s race Sari Anderson (Carbondale, CO) was crowned National Champion, with Stevie Kremmer (CB, CO) in second and Gimma Arro Ribol, from Spain in third. Listening to Sari at the finish the Gimma was wicked fast on the uphills but not as aggressive on the downhills.

The race is tough for a lot of reasons already mentioned, but the stats don’t lie. 8000 ft of vertical gain/loss and over two hours and forty minutes of racing for the guys and probably over three hours for the women….how’s that for many athletes first skimo race of the season?!

Jon Brown end up 9^th in the men’s division and Jari secured tenth in the women’s division.

The weather was reasonably mild with bright sun. I personally ate two gels and about 8oz of Acli-mate during the race. I certainly think I could have benefited by eating one additional gel to have some energy for the last 30-40 minutes of the race.

A great day of racing!

A video of the action from Saturday's race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wt9zSLO4S4

Results can be found here:

http://jacksonrandoneerace.blogspot.com/

Kevin Krill's photos here

Happy New Year from Team CB

2011-12-31T11:51:00.001-08:00

Its been an ugly start snow wise, but we are thankful for the snow we do have. No sitting around and complaining about the lack of snow for this crew.... Take for instance this morning....the last day of 2011. We joined Chris Miller for an attempt at some ski touring video.

Wind Gusts to 95 MPH on Scarp Ridge?!?!? No Problem....let's go ski! Take it all in stride, get out there and ski! No Bad Days.....

Off to Jackson Hole later this week for US Nationals on Saturday the 7th. Targhee on the 8th.

Pray for snow.

Happy New Year

Team CB

Irwin Rando Video

2011-12-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

Videographer Chris Miller was out capturing footage from the 12/10/11 skimo race.

click here to get to the Youtube footage.

Do your snow dance!

2011 Irwin CSOMIC Rando Results

2011-12-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the volunteers for helping with results. As you know we don't use a Tag Hauer or Rolex timing system...its better than a sun dial but is not accurate to the second. That being said here are the results:

Thanks for coming out to this 2nd annual event. Its quickly becoming an instant classic. Jackson Hole US Nationals on the 7th of January.

The CB race will be the GoreTex North American Skimo Championships, presented by Arc'teryx. You will need Crampons, ascender, harness, and via ferrata set up to race. We will have fixed rope lines up the Guide Ridge. It will add a technical element to the race never seen before in North America. Do your snow dance!

2011 Irwin Rando Race Report By Jon Brown

2011-12-12T09:26:00.000-08:00

After last years inaugural event saw a maxed out field, nearly 2 ft of new snow and a wonderfully unique venue the buzz of anticipation has been nearly unbearable! The 2nd annual Irwin COSMIC race, once again, did not disappoint. While we didn't have the huge snow we did have adequate coverage and weather that is best described as blue bird!

Since Irwin is located about 7 miles outside Crested Butte and winter access is limited by the seasonally maintained Kebler pass, getting to the start is an experience in itself. For those who had snowmobiles, a quick 15 minute sled ride brought them to the scenic start line at the restored "movie cabin". The folks that didn't have access to snowmobile, a shuttle in one of Irwins 3 luxurious snow cats was offered. A third option, which I took, was a mellow 30 minute skin up through the townsite of Irwin and across the lake... it made for a great warm up and chance to say hi to a friend living "off the grid" in a sweet little cabin a few hundred yards down the hill from the lake.

I arrived at the start with about 40 minutes before the gun and had a chance to ski around and catch up with folks that I hadn't seen since last years races. The rando race scene, while growing fast, is still a small niche of great people who are among the friendliest and supportive around. Even though it's insanely competitive, the atmosphere is still light and jovial. Things got only slightly more tense when everyone lined up for the start. I'm not sure but I think the race filled up with 65 slots available and looking around I could see all the usual suspects and new it was going to be a fast and furious start! I took a spot on the far side of the front line and hoped for a good position on the first climb. The route's first climb begins with a few minutes on a cat road before entering some lower angle single lane skinning in the woods. I wanted to make sure I got a solid start on the road in order to enter the skin track in a good position. When the flag dropped there was a mass scramble as everyone started to jockeying for position. About a hundred yards in things sorted out up front and I found myself in third position behind Marshall Thompson and my teammate Brian Smith. I thought "not bad" but about 5 minutes in I started feeling the pace and could tell there was at least one racer on my tails. As we approached the old lodge just before hitting the skin track I moved over to let them by - it turned out to be 2 people Brian Reipe and my other teammate Bryan Wickenhauser. I jumped back in the line and tried to hold the pace. By now Marshall and Smithy were solidly ahead and Wick was looking to get around Reipe in the more "techy" skin track. He made his move and proceeded to pull away as I was redlining just trying to stay with Reipe in 5th. Through the first climb we maintained this order and I could feel some serious pressure behind me but didn't look back. It wasn't until the transition that I got a look back at the rest of the field. I had a quick skin rip and was able to start the descent just ahead of Reipe and noticed all the others just seconds back - Pat, Jared, Jan, Jessy, Billy... All much better descenders! The conditions were really pretty good considering the shallow snow pack. There were a few inches over a nice crust that supported even on our short skinny rando skis. As I picked my way down through mix of open meadows and gladed trees I got passed by Jan, Pat, Jared, Brian and another guy who I didn't recognize but was able to stay close enough to hit the transition together and jump in line in 8th position. The second climb went right into a skin track and I was able to pass a couple racers back and work my way back into 5th position by the time we hit the boot pack 3/4 of the way up. At this point we took our skis off and stowed them on our packs for the climb up a tight little couloir complete with a hand line. The initial part was thin icy and the line was helpful but as we got into the couloir

At the finish line I found out how the race unfolded up front with Marshall taking the win and teammates Brian and Bryan filling out the podium in 2nd and 3rd.

For the women local Stevie Kramer beat out Sari Anderson and current National Champ Janelle Smiley with Team CB's Jari Kirkland just off the podium in 4th.

I want to give a special shout out to Wick, Jake Jones, Billy Rankin and all the others who helped make this event happen. I know it's a ton of work but you guys made it look easy! Thanks!

Next up is the US National Champs in Jackson on January 7th.

Photo Gallery Here:

http://crestedbuttephotography.smugmug.com/Livelyhood/Events/CS-Irwin-Cosmic-2011/20538631_wLvhV8#1627204153_Vx6cFRD

http://www.xavierfane.com/Other/Irwin-Rando-2011/20529082_LWsHCK#1625985572_g2bzbWf

5 Peaks Race Recap from Last Year...Racing with Mike Kloser

2011-11-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

Ski mountaineering is often considered an individual pursuit, but for safety reasons it is best to go at it with a partner who shares your same sense of risk versus reward. It can also be more fun. The right partner can create a team that is much stronger than the sum of its parts. So it was fifty minutes into the Breckenridge Five Peaks skimo race in 2011. I was sure I had this kind of partner and I was confident we would win this race.


Wick, Ethan Passant, Kloser several years ago.....

Mike Kloser is a rival and friend and both interpretations of our relationship are equally accurate, just pick the day. I have chased Kloser on a bike for more miles than I care to count, often coming up short at grand scale events like adventure racing world championship races. But let’s not talk about that. My hands are starting to clench and I feel the veins in my head beginning to bulge. Breathe. Exhale. Okay.

On the flip side, I have found myself grinning in solitary satisfaction as Mike has taken his place below me at some of North America’s most challenging ski mountaineering events like the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse. Of course even here, I have watched Mike ascend the podium one step higher than me.

In short, Kloser is my nemesis and anyone versed in epic tales and classic comics knows that the power of the protagonist combined with the power of the nemesis produces an unstoppable force. This is why we chose to link up for the epic Five Peaks race. To crush the competition with a combination of skills, gumption and raw physical power that would be unstoppable. Okay, we are also friends. But this is really beside the point because neither of us is tending to a friendship while we are racing. We are there to WIN.

We summited Peak 9 in the Ten Mile range in first place, battling the elements on what was hailed to be a ‘Spring-like’ day. In Breckenridge, this can mean colder than nude polar bearing in the arctic and today the moniker of ‘Breckenfridge’ would have been easy to wrap my head around if it weren’t numb. But the elements aside, I was racing with Kloser and we were pushing each other with the same momentum of a spinning coin, two faces reversing position as they race in combined unity towards the destination.

As I raced down the first descent on wind hammered Sustrugi snow, I found myself drifting into a tail spin.

‘What the hell is going on,’ I thought, ‘I am a solid downhill skier, this cannot be happening.’

I yelled across the slope to Mike and told him to keep going as I picked myself up off the piste. I watched the second place team from Aspen pass by as I gathered my wind-milled effects to continue the descent. That is when I noticed the crack behind the heel piece on my right ski. Not a small crack either. It would for sure deteriorate to the realm of unusable if I kept pushing it. Frustrated, annoyed (the two worst emotions for an ambitious person to feel), I am ready to give up. It is my partner who puts my will back into position. He says nothing, simply stares, waits, understanding, driving. In his eyes I see the mutual chord about to be struck. It is enough to simply think back to the epic battles in the field of adventure racing where the teams and racers who manage diversity the best, win. This is an area where Mike is the master. When the going gets tough they say. An adage I have known Mike to embody since the day I met him.

The goal becomes clear. Punch it with reckless abandon until the ski breaks completely. This means a total disregard for pacing and strategy. It is balls to the wall as long as we can keep it up or until the ski snaps. In the back of my mind, I am sure the second possibility will occur first and this is part of the driving force behind this new strategy. The pain can only last so long before the ski grinds us to a halt.

With this new strategy, I was surprised to see us swapping leads with the Aspen team. They would obviously pull away in dramatic fashion on the descents. In a similar fashion we would claw our way back to them on the climbs. But, sadly, the writing was on the wall. Without being competitive on the descents we had no hope of ultimate victory as the course finished with a long, technical descent off Peak 6.

Second place is losing no matter how you slice it. But we are flying high in morale. These are the kinds of epic mishaps that lead to breakthroughs in our understanding of what is possible. I learned two things from this race. First, Kloser is a killer partner. Second, short of an act of god or turbo challengers from overseas, no one will be able to stand in our way if we have the opportunity to team up again in 2012. No one!

Team Breck comes over to CB to Ski Pow

2011-11-20T20:05:00.001-08:00

The CB back country is piling up and folks from Breckenridge came in to town for some powder fever. Two days of fast and light touring and over 8,000ft of pow had them planning their next trip back to CB.

If you know where to look out there you'll find some amazing early season conditions!

Gore Tex Elk Mountains Grand Traverse- New Website

2011-11-09T13:02:00.000-08:00

www.elkmountainstraverse.com website is updated and live!

This is THE race that started "it" more many of us on Team Crested Butte. Its "our" local back country race traveling from CB to Aspen....15 years later its become THE iconic back country ski race in North America. Modeled after the Patrol de Glacier its got the draw of many top back country skiers across the US.

The race was recently purchased by the Crested Butte Nordic Center with the thought of adding some much needed "energy" to the raced management team, as the old crew has been tapped out. This race is a monster to put on, but trust me the new crew is up to the task. Several new, fresh changes are on tap...the most notable is the new website and logo going forward.


Sully & Wick at the finish in Aspen in 2004

I believe Jari has won the Women's & Co-ed category once each, Smith & Jon won it once, and Wick & Smith won it two years ago during the second ever "Grand Reverse". We all train to get our names back on the trophy as its got huge "local bragging rights". Feel free to hit us with questions on the race....just be sure to sign up on December 1, 2011.

Ski Fast!

Day Five

2011-10-31T11:20:00.001-07:00

Kind of hit and miss out there....but if you know where to look, it's out there!

Ski pow in October!

Crested Butte Mountain Athletes - You Bet! Many Thank You's!

2011-10-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Crested Butte Mountain Resort for supporting Team Crested Butte since 2003! We are once again proud to represent CBMR as Mountain Athletes. We live, train and play in the mountains...and no better mountain for our training needs than Mt. Crested Butte. This year CBMR will host the most important ski mountaineering ski race in North America, so we are psyched to have "home field" advantage. Get out and train! Come ski with us in Crested Butte.

Wick's Picks for Skimo Season 2011/2012

2011-10-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Rando racing is about getting out, skiing hard and having fun. NO SPECIALIZED GEAR IS REQUIRED!!!! That’s right, you can race on your normal backcountry setup – both Tele and AT gear will get you by. That said, Rando specific gear is HIGHLY specialized AND offer’s an enormous benefit. So if you really want to compete, specific rando race gear is CRITICAL! Let me repeat that – the rando specific gear is SO GOOD, that it offers an insurmountable advantage over traditional backcountry gear. Here are some specific suggestions that the team will be on this Winter:

1. Boot:

a. SCARPA, Alien 1.0: http://www.scarpa.com/scarpa/products/SKI/SKI-RANDO_RACE/p_12160-500 Super light for the up’s, and with a carbon upper cuff it hangs it out there with any four buckle boot on the downhill! It’s on every elite, light & fast athlete! It not just about the up’s with this boot.

b. SCARPA Alien: http://www.scarpa.com/scarpa/products/SKI/SKI-RANDO_RACE/p_12161-500

Just getting into the light & fast scene? This one does the trick at a price conscious point.

2. Bindings:

Ski Trab TR-Race http://www.scarpa.com/scarpa/products/SKI/SKI-TRAB/p_ST40220

Super light, durable and will release you when its time to “pull the E-Brake”

3. Ski

a. Ski Trab Duo Race Aero World Cup: http://www.scarpa.com/scarpa/products/SKI/SKI-TRAB/p_ST13084 The best race ski period, durable and light...think 29'er Carbon Hartail

b. Ski Trab Tour Rando: http://www.scarpa.com/scarpa/products/SKI/SKI-TRAB/p_ST13090 A great alternative to a pure race ski. It’s at home in the back country pow and on the race course...think steel 29'er hardtail

4. Skins:

a. CAMP Mohair: http://camp-usa.com/products/backcountry-ski/skins-100.asp

b. Ski Trab Duo Race Mohair 60mm : http://www.scarpa.com/scarpa/products/SKI/SKI-TRAB/p_ST21024K

Either Euro brand works great. Just make sure they are 100% mohair. Get some Gold Label glue and make sure your metal edges are still showing. Get two pair!

5. Pole: a. Ski Trab: http://www.scarpa.com/scarpa/products/SKI/SKI-TRAB/p_ST41031

Carbon with a race basket and a great grip/strap

b. Ski Trab: http://www.scarpa.com/scarpa/products/SKI/SKI-TRAB/p_ST41032

a great price conscious alternative. Get them slightly longer as the race basket will sink through the soft snow.

6. Pack:

a. CAMP Rapid 260 http://camp-usa.com/products/packs/rapid-260-1893.asp

At 260 gr. use this one for all your race day & dawn patrol missions 18L

b. CAMP X3 600: http://camp-usa.com/products/packs/x3-600.asp

use this 600gr. pack for the Elk Mountains Grand Traverse or longer day outings 30L

c. Ski Trab: http://www.scarpa.com/scarpa/products/SKI/SKI-TRAB/p_ST23039 another great race day pack & and for your light & fast dawn patrols…gotta get to work!

7. Suit:

CAMP Ski Mountaineer Suit: http://www.camp-usa.com/products/categories/ski-apparel.asp

Laugh at it now, but once you get it, you’ll see its function before fashion. Use it on race day, and then use it again as a complimentary base layer under your shell for back country powder missions. Designed for those that know how to travel light and fast in the mountains!

8. Helmet:

a. CAMP Starlight: http://camp-usa.com/products/helmets/starlight-carbon-188C.asp

b. CAMP Pulse: http://www.camp-usa.com/products/helmets/pulse-white-with-winter-kit.asp

c. CAMP Speed: http://camp-usa.com/products/helmets/speed-green-239.asp

9. Probe:

a. CAMP Carbon Light: http://camp-usa.com/products/backcountry-ski/carbon-fiber-avy-probe.asp

Lightest 2.4M probe in the world! 133 grams!

b. CAMP: http://camp-usa.com/products/backcountry-ski/light-avy-probe.asp

130gr. heavier than the Carbon probe, gets the job done

10. Shovel:

a. CAMP Crest: http://camp-usa.com/products/backcountry-ski/crest-1894.asp

The only ISMF certified real shovel, when weight matters in competitions

b. CAMP AT Fix: http://www.camp-usa.com/products/snow/at-fix.asp

Your Aluminum version, heavier and more well round use in the back country

11. Gloves:

a. CAMP G Comp Wind : http://camp-usa.com/products/winter-gloves-hats/g-comp-wind-1786.asp This glove is a must, totally rocks. I use it nearly every sunny day, back country or race day. Works down to 5F for me. The external shell that pulls out of the wrist, gives this glove a very broad temperature range for its minimal appearance.

b. CAMP G Hot Dry: http://camp-usa.com/products/winter-gloves-hats/g-hot-dry-1823.asp

My go to glove when temps on my ski tour will be in single digits or less, or stormy.

b. CAMP Wind Mit’N:

http://camp-usa.com/products/winter-gloves-hats/windmitn-1787.asp Add this 15gr overmit to your quiver. It’s like putting a wind layer over your core. Adds a huge temperature range to your glove you already wear. Perfect for those that love to play up high!

12. Harnesses:

a. CAMP XLH 95: http://camp-usa.com/products/harnesses/alp-95.asp

Lightest skimountaineering harness in the world. You don’t even know

its on! 95gr.

b. CAMP CORAL: http://www.camp-usa.com/products/harnesses/coral.asp

Great lightweight alternative.

13. Other Misc.

a. Ice Axe: CAMP Corsa: http://www.camp-usa.com/products/ice-axes/corsa.asp

Lightest ice axe in the world! 205gr.

b. Crampons: CAMP XLC390: http://www.camp-usa.com/products/crampons/xlc-390.asp

Lightest 12 pt crampon in the world 390gr.

c. Shell Jacket:

CAMP Flash Anorak: http://camp-usa.com/products/apparel/flash-anorak-1446.asp

Put this jacket on at tree line and say good bye to your competitors, it

goes on in a flash!

d. Puff Ball Jacket

CAMP ED Micro Jacket: http://camp-usa.com/products/apparel/ed-micro-jacket-1884.asp under 350 gr. Down filled with a hood!

e. Shell Pant: CAMP Flash Pant:

http://camp-usa.com/products/apparel/flash-competition-pants-1892.asp

When you need them you’re psyched you have them. At 111gr. there is no need to EVER leave them behind on your ski adventure!

Pray for snow, and make your wish list for Santa!

Pete Swenson - A breif Interview ont he Vision on Backcountry Skiing in the US

2011-10-25T09:33:00.000-07:00


Pete Swenson on right showing off his calves at the Powder Keg in 2007

Pete sits down with Backcountry Coalition to discuss all things Dynafit...and apparently the interviewer has some bias towards Pittsburgh sports....

Didn't the Packers beat the Steelers in the most recent Superbowl?

Go Pack! Go Dynafit, Go SCARPA, Go Ski Trab....but most importantly

Go light & Ski Pow!

COSMIC/CS Irwin Skimo Race

2011-10-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

With Winter right around the corner, Team Crested Butte is proud to announce the opening race of the COSMIC season, right in our back yard. If you did last year's race, it was awesome. The location is totally off-piste and the snow that day was sick! If you missed it, you heard about the hype, get signed up!

Details below....

2011 CS Irwin Race

Total Number of Competitors: 65

Number of seats available in CS Irwin’s three snow cats: 36

Number of racer that must provide their own Transportation (i.e. A snowmobile): 29

Mandatory Racer Meeting: CS Irwin office in Crested Butte 330 Belleview – 7:30pm. Due to logistics and unique setting we require you to be at this meeting or you don’t race! At the meeting we will go over transportation, snow safety, the course, weather and awards party.

Mandatory gear: Working beacon, probe, shovel, helmet (bike helmet can work) and back pack that can carry your skis. Absolutely no Nordic, NNN, SNS or similar “Nordic Touring” gear.

Cost Per Racer: With a snow cat ride (round trip) - $100.00

Providing your own transportation - $60.00

Registration website should open up tomorrow 10.13.11

Awards Party: down town Crested Butte at The Brick Oven 3:30-5:30

Pizza and Upslope beer will be provided. www.brickovencb.com We anticipate cash prizes for top three men/women in Race Division, “soft goods” items for top three men/women in Recreation Division and a raffle for all!

Race Course Details:

Race Division – Will do approximately 5000ft of elevation gain/loss

Recreation Division – Will do approximately 3500 ft of elevation gain/loss.

Anticipate a course route that was similar to the first year.

Both divisions should anticipate a boot pack section on the course (snow/weather condition dependent). It is mandatory for you to have your skis on your pack. We may have a hand line in place for this section. You will want a free hand to grab the rope/rocks as it will be “sporty” …and fun!...so NO hand carrying your skis!

Race Start: 10AM on Saturday, December 10^th, 2011

Race Course Closed: At 2:00PM…you will be told by course marshals to go down from where ever you are on course. Racers should be headed out for their last lap by 1 PM and could get stopped and escorted down if not finished by 2 PM

Transportation To/From Race Venue: If you are snowmobiling to the race, please take the standard road up to towards the Lake Irwin Campground (FS Road 826 AKA Irwin Lake Road) up to CS Irwin. DO NOT GO THROUGH THE IRWIN TOWNSITE. Additionally, do not stress the organization or fellow racers by joy riding before the race and getting stuck. Be on time, and sled neck around AFTER the race. Its about a 25 minute ride up to the Start line from the Kebler parking lot/trailhead.

****If you are getting towed behind a snowmobile, have plenty of warm clothes…with no exposed skin on your face.

Weather Links: Check out the Snow report on the CS Irwin Website:

http://www.csirwin.com/winter/#/snow-report/summary

Geek out at a weather station plot right at the Start/Finish line http://www.wxstns.net/wxstns/grandnet/CS_IRWIN.html OR more user friendly info at

http://www.cbavalanchecenter.org

Base Area Facilities: this is truly a backcountry ski race. There is no big base ski lodge or cafeteria for you to buy food. We will have several small shelters and two porta-potties for you to use. Be prepared with lots of EXTRA warm clothes, especially if the weather turns cold/snowy.

Food/Water: We will have www.acli-mate.com beverages at the Start/Finish and at the bottom of all three skin transitions. Bring some pre/post race food and (hot/cold) as well.

Ski Fast!

Any questions please contact:

Bryan Wickenhauser Jake Jones

wick@teamcrestedbutte.com jakejones808@gmail.com

970-209-5803 970-209-6742

Check out Kevin Krill's race photos from last year.

Opening Day Around Crested Butte

2011-10-09T08:14:00.001-07:00

With Wolf Creek opening this Saturday, the tribe had to go and see what we could find for human POW-ered skiing around the CB back country area.

It's why we have rock skis right! We were happily surprised to find 12-15" of pow on top of mother earth. Sure we hit a few rocks and kept our speed in check...but the smiles on our faces told the story.

Powder Fever had hit the tribe! The only medication is...more pow!

First snow of the year!

2011-10-07T13:57:00.001-07:00

A quick tour up near Irwin Lake this AM....

It may not stick around next week as the are calling for mild temps to return....but at least we "got a taste" of what's to come!

Pray for snow....and a new Skimo boot from Crispi

2011-10-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the beginning of ski season! How do we quantify this?

1) First real mensurable snow is forecasted for late this week...and you can usually expect even more in the mountains around Crested Butte.

2) New gear is being released/hyped daily by the ski companies. We are making our wish lists up right now!

Joel Gratz at Colorado Powder Forecast is calling for upwards of 10"+ by the weekend so I know there will be a few of us getting our first tracks of the year!

Additionally, Crispi (an Italian boot manufacturer best know for tele boots) has seen the "light" and is now making an entrance into tech fitting boots. Its appears to be a three buckle light weight rando boot. I'm not sure we will see much of this boot in the US this year, but always encouraging to us when we see another boot manufacturer embrace AT.

A new lightweight skimo boot from Crispi is coming out this Winter....check it out. A mix of carbon and plastic, held together on your foot by three buckles. Crispi (an Italian boot manufacturer best know for tele boots) has seen the "light" and is now making an entrance into tech fitting boots. I'm not sure we will see much of this boot in the US this year, but always encouraging to us when we see another boot manufacturer embrace AT.

Do your snow dance!

Vasque Golden Leaf and Hydration

2011-09-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

I run only to stay in shape for ski touring....but yet I've grown to like the sport, as long as its on a beautiful trail. It really does mimic the stride of ski touring, and its requirements (vs. mtn biking, my other go to sport in the Summer) is very minimal. Plus I kind of have to run .... as I have the best wife ...and coach!

The Vasque Golden Leaf Half Marathon was this past weekend, and it wound up being a gathering of a few skimo racers from the Colorado area....so it was worth the effort to get on the start line. The race was really well run, the leaves were going off and the point to point trail was amazing....technical enough to keep your attention, yet very runable.

I like to get a few Fall trail running races in to get the body used to race pace again, after a Summer of base miles and recovery, so this was a perfect event.

Interesting report on hydration and being athletic....
I saw this study and thought it was interesting as I have my own views, and ultimately everybody's bodies are different. Certainly you have to take in consideration the climate you live and train/race in, but I tend to maybe over hydrate if I truly believe this study.....

Happy Trails. Pray for Snow!

North American Championships Coming to CBMR

2011-09-23T09:24:00.001-07:00

More details to follow in the coming months....but plan on being in CB January 28 & 29th for this event.

The course for the Race Division will put "mountaineering" back in "Ski Mountaineering" with the addition of the "Guide Ridge".

An exploratory mission with "heavies" from Ski Patrol and CB Mountain Guides went successfully yesterday as we plan for Winter!

Off to Aspen today for the Vasquez Half Trail Marathon tomorrow...

Cheers


Part of the lower Guide Ridge


Lots of Sharks...but there is a line!

Tom doing "due diligence" on the route. Town of CB in the background

Reload for Winter 2012

2011-09-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

Looking North towards Irwin from Gunnison....a light dusting up high!

After a hiatus over the Summer (from blogging about skiing), its time to regain some focus and start doing the snow dance. The proverbial "switch" has gone on...the leaves are changing, our first light dusting of snow has blanketed the peaks above 11,000 feet, and Fall is in the air!

The Summer was a time to have some necessary down time after an intense Winter of racing from December - April. Over the Summer the team has been building some base with trail/mountain running, mountain biking, along with an Iron Man and a few Adventure races for Jari....

The Pro Tour Challenge was one of the highlights for our community with two stages taking place near us....getting to see some of our heroes on the road bike was a great jolt for this Valley, as we really embrace "the bike" in the Summer around here. We had the top three podium finishers from this years TdF in the peloton.


The Finish line on the first Stage from Salida to Mt. CB

Last Winter was a great year for snowfall around Crested Butte....and with early indications showing La Nina being forecasted again for this year I've got "my tips crossed" for this year.

Nothing would bring a greater smile to our faces than another banner year for snow fall. Lots skimo races on tap for the Winter....for now its time to stay healthy, keep training and have fun! More soon....

Pray for snow!

A-Basin Race Report - Year of the Gear Failure

2011-05-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

"What can go wrong, will go wrong"....this year has been a challenge for me in several ways but nothing as depressing as the gear failure I've experienced/been a part of. The first four years of my skimo racing experience had gone well with steady improvements and zero gear failures till this year...so I guess I was due.

The gear is inherently light and uses cutting edge materials like carbon fiber, and fiberglass. Durability is often sacrificed in the name of weight savings, because this game is often won on the uphills as racers ask the manufacturer to make their (boots, bindings, skis, etc) lighter & lighter. At some point something has to give and this year it was my turn. I can at least thank god that it was not my body that broke, instead it was the year of gear failures for me. I can't emphasize enough to myself that I still have my health, because coming back from a knee/back/hip/head injury (or worse) can be a long battle mentally & physically.

My F1 buckle with one screw back on. I still need to get the other screw back in. These two screw were the culprit for my DNF. They even had blue threadlocker on em....hmmmm

The last race of the COSMIC series had $500 on the line and certainly grabbed the attention of all the usual suspects on the men's side. Max Taam, Mike Kloser, Marshall Thompson, Chris Kroger and myself figured to be competing for the big pay day. The weather was awesome as the snow gods blessed us with 12"+ of new,clod snow on the course, which caused a half hour delay and a shortening of the course (no boot pack up East Wall and the last descent were all canceled). Due to the new snow I figured it would be a more tactical race with some trail breaking required by the leader and keeping a tight lead group consequently. The biggest issue was expected to be the wind chill up high with an air temp of 21F and winds of 10-20MPH, it was going to create some cold late April conditions!


Powder day at A-Basin


Yup....April 30th...STILL Winter!

The LeMans style start saw Marshall out in front followed closely by Kroger, Max, myself and Kloser. The base elevation of A-Basin is close to 10,700ft (3,286M) so going anaerobic of the start can lead to trouble as the opening slope is quite pitched off the start. I resisted the urge to match Marshall's tempo and settled in behind Max and let him to the "comfortable" pace making.
The first climb took us up about 1800 ft to the top of the Pallavicini lift. Due to some unfortunate beta from a course worker, Marshall Thompson had been allowed to go through the transition area (top of the Palli Lift) and continued climbing instead of ripping his skins for the first descent. Max & I topped out about 15 seconds behind Marshall and quickly yelled to him to get back down here to the correct transition....needless to say Marshall was pissed! All three of us quickly ripped our skins, and descended down below the Palli lift on a bumped run, filled in with nearly knee deep pow, what a joy in late April!

That joy quickly ended......My second turn it was all over....UGH! I'm still pissed as I type! My F1 Carbon boot's two screws some how backed out and the buckle was rendered useless for downhill skiing. All I could do was throw in the towel as there was no way I could keep up with anyone, let alone Max Taam and the crew....my chance at $500 was done.

I limped down the powder field, turned in my bib and headed back home. On the way back down in the car it was a line of cars coming up Loveland Pass all trying to get to A-Basin and get one last lift served powder day in.....and all I could do was try and think about CS Irwin this December 10th....next year, clean slate.

Poor fella...kind of put my day in perspective...could always be worse!

My year had gone (nearly) just like this race....uncharacteristically skewed by gear failures.

The limited race report I got was that Sari Anderson won the women's field, with Stevie Kramer in 2nd. In the men's field Max Taam won ($500), with Mike Kloser in 2nd ($250), and Marshall Thompson taking 3rd ($100) and Chris Kroger 4th.....Wick-DNF!

Kevin Krill at Crested Butte Photography has some great photos here from the race....check em out! Thanks K2 for capturing all the races this year!

Go ski May pow and get over it! One race (season) doesn't define a person.

See you in Irwin next December. Go ski, bike, run (yes, in the same day.... while you can!)

Final COSMIC race of the season, A-Basin

2011-04-29T10:01:00.000-07:00


Start of the 2008 Race at A-Basin

A-Basin is the last stop on the COSMIC tour of the 2011 season and for the fourth year in a row I'll toe the line. I've been fortunate to win it the last two years....and with $500 for first place, its all the motivation I need to show up. With Winter hanging on it does one of two things for most skiers....

1) Makes you crave the desert (warm weather, mtn. biking, trail running, climbing, kayaking) more
2) Gives you an excuse to keep skiing

I fall into the second category above...I grew up skiing as my first love of sports, moved to CO to ski and to this day its the still my favorite activity. I've had some great Winter snow descents just this week, so it helps to keep the motivation high!


Wick winning the 1st place title in 2009

So hopefully I can summon the ski gods to pull of another top result to end the season....and as I've come to expect Uller (the god of Winter) is calling for Winter like conditions tomorrow, go figure. I certainly prefer racing in cold powder vs. hardpack, so hopefully this draws other racers to toe the line for one last effort!

Its a typical skimo race with about 5000ft of elevation gain/loss with one boot pack on the last climb for about 200 vertical feet. The only serious terrain is on the last two descents which I would describe as "off piste" 40 degree + descents...they could be fun in the new pow!

Ski Fast!
Wick

5 Peaks Video, COSMIC Series, Smithy & Jari

2011-04-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago I raced with Mike Kloser in The 5 Peaks race in Breckenridge and Daniel Dunn was there to capture all the action. You'll get to see my broken ski at the end of the video...

5 Peaks Breckenridge race video

In looking back on my racing year with regards to teams races, I only reached our team's goal once ( Power of Four- Aspen) as equipment failures hindered my teams performance...

1) World Championships in Italy - Chris Kroger's binding broke in the first 200M of the race. DNF
2) Elk Mountain Grand Traverse - Multiple skin issues on one of my skis, due to high fluoro wax -10th
3) Power of Four -no gear issues - 1st place (the goal!)
4) The 5 Peaks - broken ski -2nd place (not bad but still disappointed)

The last race of the COSMIC Series is this Saturday at A-Basin. Last week's Molas Pass race was cancelled due to weather/low visibility. Unfortunate, as this course has some great terrain, and last year it didn't even happen as permits were not put together in time. Two years ago I raced it in 12" of new snow and had a great time...at the time, it was the only course to be 100% off a ski area (now CS Irwin is as well).

The A-Basin race is of course (as the name suggests) completely on a ski area but has a great "off-piste feel" for the second half of the race as we get away from the groomed slopes. I have won this race the last two years (if I recall correctly....) and am looking to take the title again.

Winter is STILL holding on strong so I'm still skiing in the back country several days a week, but inserting a lot more trail running into to my schedule as its just more convenient at times...but certainly not as fun!

Brian Smith is off today to Spain for the ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships . He is pretty focused on racing in the Xterra off road tri Series, and will be representing the USA at this championship event.

Meanwhile Jari is off to China for a 4 day adventure "stage race". She is the female on a Swedish team that is of course hoping to place well.

Its that time of the year when you can ski in the morning and bike, kayak, trail run in the afternoon, and repeat it all again the next day!

Enjoy your Winter/Spring/Summer day !

Ledgendary Powcorn on Gothic

2011-04-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

With an unsettled weather pattern showing no signs of slowing down in April around the Central Rockies its been tough to find what you're looking for...but I guess that just means we need craft our expectations accordingly! This past Saturday JB, Smithy & I got one of Crested Butte's prizes....the South face of Mt Gothic (12,625ft, 3,848m). Its a fairly straight forward ski at about 38-43 degrees. We found it with some pow up high, heavy transformed pow in the middle and beautiful corn down low. 2:25 car to car on our lightweight rando gear. The gear skated great out on the approach to the base. Skinned and booted up near the top ...soaked up some rays...waited for the sun to hit (as it was in/out all morning) and nailed the DH!

JB booting up the ridge (look hard, he's just a dot in the photo) on Gothic...just back from Italy

Smithy enjoying his first summit of Gothic

Looking South towards CBMR


Smithy enjoying the views of the Slate River Valley

JB with the prize in the background

JB had just gotten back from Southern Italy the night before and was noticeably tired from the jet lag and vino, but killed it. We'll make him a ski mountaineering before his day is done!
Sunday was a trail run around Gunnison....no pics please! Unfortunately its that time of the year when multiple disciplines can happen on either end of Gunnison County....but I still prefer to ski!

The 5 Peaks Race Report -Don't Ever Give Up!

2011-04-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

The 2nd addition of The 5 Peaks race in Breckenridge went off rather well, all things considered....the seventh stop of nine races on the COSMIC tour this year saw a revamped course with racers going South to North across the Ten Mile Range above the resort of Breckenridge.


This year's race course...last year we did Peak 10 as well

Last year Jon Brown & I teamed up, but this year I couldn't find a soul from the Gunnison Valley to race with as everyone else had "something else" going on. As luck would have it Mike Kloser needed a partner and I was game! I have always been a competitor of Mike's whether it was adventure racing or skimo racing...he was the "enemy", so it was great to finally team up! His racing prowless is certainly well documented, so needless to say we signed up to win! The race course effectively took us across Peaks 9,8 & 7 . This "partners style" of racing is an attempt to mirror what actually happens in back country skiing...always skiing with a partner, so team chemistry in this race (much like the Elk Mtn Grand Traverse and Aspen's Power of Four) is critical...."you are only as strong as your weakest link".

Unfortunately due to me breaking a ski.....I was the weak link....Grrrrrrrrrrr!

The race start was at 6am and took us up to the top of the resort and through a back country gate, heading up the South side Peak 9. As we left the gate, we got out above tree line and got our first taste of the winds out of the South/South West. Mike and I were leading the charge with eventual winners Max Taam/Pete Gaston right on our heels. The resort skiing was fairly benign, and got ramped up as we hit the wind hammered sastrugi snow which challenged your technical climbing abilities.

The first descent down Peak 9 saw us and Taam/Gaston descending together on firm, refrozen crust/sustrugi. We all charged it and about half way down I put a ski through the stiff sustrugi and snapped my ski just behind the heel of the binding screws....Ugh! I screamed to Kloser that I broke my ski and I limped down to the transition to asses the damages. The rest of the way down was super frustrating and challenging physically and mentally....Would we drop out?....Was winning now out of the question?....Would the ski even hold together to finish a race like this?...

At the skin up transition I saw Taam/Gaston already heading out of the transition, having nuked the descent...they are stellar down hill skiers so I knew I had my work cut out with this broken ski. Mike Kloser kept his cool and encouraged me to keep going until it totally broke, so I skinned up and we began to chase 1st place back up the North side of Peak 9.

The ski was skinning OK so Kloser & I pressed on and slowly began to real them back in. Due to a lack of snow on the North side of Peak 9 all teams encountered a 25 minute boot pack to gain the summit. The winds were oppressive at times but all the while Kloser and I widdled away at the gap and actually topped out with Taam/Gaston on the summit....this is how the rest of the race would unfold...they would pull away on the downhills and we would put in big efforts to shut the gap down by the summits.

The second descent followed the first descent, so it was familiar territory back to the transition. The third climb took us up the South side of Peak 8 with a boot pack up the Lake Chutes, just like last year. With the 3rd place team still not in site we figured we could certainly hang on to a top two position...unless my ski really blew up!

Most of the time in these skimo races you never think twice about the mandatory gear, especially a helmet. This year I almost had to use it. Taam/Gaston had a 10 meter gap on my self and Kloser as I led Mike up the booter, when all of a sudden I heard screaming above me....at first I thought (with all the loud wind) that it was some folks cheering on the top team ahead, when in fact they were all yelling at Mike & I...ROCK!!!....I looked up only to see a 50-80lb chunk of earth flashing right towards me....direct line of fire, ugh! No I didn't take it on the helmet, but Mike and I did certainly got out of the the way...it reinforced why we wear helmets in these races!


Me & Mike at the finish with my broken ski

We once again closed the gap and topped out with Taam/Gaston on the top of Peak 8. As we approached the transition on the summit we all were psyched we had winds from the South as the gusts of 40-60MPH gave us an aided boost up to the summit and nearly over the top....the winds were down right ridiculous at times!...it made folding your skins an origami experiment...that's why we carry a minimum of two sets!

The third descent of the race took us down the NW face of Peak 8 on the Whales Tale and into the last skin transition. Kloser actually arrived 1st, followed closely by Taam/Gaston...I arrived about 30-40 seconds behind the group and consequently got out of the transition in last amongst the three. I made an effort to regain them up Peak 7, but to no avail. Gaston/Taam

Taam/Gaston had it in the bag. Luckily for me my ski never completely disintegrated and allowed me to get down to the finish only a couple minutes behind the 1st place team, and never got caught by the team of Simmons/Kroger who finished in third.

Top co-ed team Jan Koles & Sari Anderson

The race results can be found here ...long story short....never give up! With a great partner like Mike Kloser, I really had no choice! My Suunto had 8720ft of climbing and 8291ft of descending....

So how was it to race with Mike Kloser?? I'd say everything I expected it to be...he is super strong, confident, and encouraging (when the chips are down.....or you broke a ski!), a pro!

Congratulations to Max Taam/Pete Gaston for giving us a great fight and taking the victory!

5th place men's team William Laird & Brian Johnson

In case you were wondering what racing through 50mph winds looked like....Kevin Krill captured it all!

day after shot of the broken ski

right behind the heel piece

What's the inside of your ski look like?

Wenger Presentation, French Guests and The 5 Peaks

2011-04-05T15:17:00.000-07:00


Jari & Wick talk Skimo & Adventure Racing at The Wenger Flagship store

Post Elk Mountain Grand Traverse and life continues.....Jari and I spoke this past Thursday at the US flagship store for Wenger. Jari spoke about her experience at the the Wenger Patagonia expedition race, while I spoke about my Ski Mo racing experiences around the world and in my back yard. Folks really seemed to be inquisitive about the skis, boots & bindings as it seems the gear has yet to hit the Boulder area hard. Boulder is a town that seems to have many sides to it with in its athletic community...but has yet to add the truly mountain sport of Ski Mo racing to its quiver. CAMP, Dynafit & SCARPA all have North American head quarters in the Boulder area, so why hasn't the word spread to the surrounding community? Hhhmmmm...we are trying!


Seb & Billy throwing down after some late March pow turns!

I love showing off the Crested Butte backcountry to folks and this past Tuesday I got the pleasure of skiing it with a French friend of mine Sebastien Sxay. We have known each other for 7+ years of Adventure racing, as he has been the navigator of Team Wilsa Sport/Helly Hanson and a member of the Dauphine Skimo Team out of the Grenoble area....needless to say he was stoked to make some turns in the soft snow we got blessed with on Red Lady bowl.

The Red Lady ski was just a warm up for am as this past Friday I took Sebastien and his girlfriend Anne up to a cabin in the Anthracite Range for a "American style hut experience". Also sharing that experience was my 8 month old daughter Gianna...a father/daughter experience without mom! She did great! ...also joining us for the fun was Eric Sullivan who is getting a late taste of Winter.

Seb & Sully on top of the Anthracite Range


One of those weekends...you know the French are in town when you see the PG boots!

This Saturday will also be The Five Peaks race in Breckenridge. Its a teams race that I competed in last year with Jon Brown as we won the Men's Title.


Wick & JB booting up Imperial Bowl

This year I exhausted all Crested Butte area skimo athletes and for one reason or another....couldn't come up with a partner. Monique Merrill was going to do it with Mike Kloser but is really more interested in helping to put on the race sooooo....I & Mike will be teaming up to go for the Men's title. It should be a lot of fun as Mike and I have always been competitors in Skimo & Adventure Racing but now will find each other on the "same team"! The weather forecast calls for Winter to return so it should be extra tough in Breck this weekend!

Ski Fast!

Jari & Wick Present at Wenger's Flagship Store in Boulder 3/31/11

2011-03-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

If you live near the Boulder area and want to hear some fun stories and see some great slides of Ski Mountaineering racing and Adventure Racing in Patagonia please come say "hi" !

Here is a link to the event. We would love to see you!

Cheers
Wick & Jari

2011 Elk Mountain Grand Traverse - The Year of the "Social"

2011-03-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

The EMGT has had a lot of stories come out of it over its 14 years of its existence….

-The slide for life year

-The frost bite year

-The garbage bag years

-The first AT victory

-The Lost years

…now after this year we have "The Social”.

This years pre-race build up was great as weather forecasters had a volley of small to medium sized storms lined up across the West…so would we even ski over to Aspen??? Would it be TWO Grand Reverses in a row…ugh! As if everyone was stressed enough with their gear preparations!

Jon Brown and I were pretty focused on winning this thing and comfortable with our gear so…the only thing that had our attention was the weather, but the savvy snow forecasters out on course gave us the “GO” at about 6pm Friday night….we were going to make it to Aspen via this “window “ between these storms!

Driving up to the midnight start I had to nearly come to a stop on the roads outside CB as winds were blowing snow all over, making driving nearly impossible…all I could think of was “The Lost Years” all over again…ugh! …after seeing this we threw in an extra Gore-Tex jacket into our packs!

About 10 minutes before the start there was all the “normal tension” amongst the 130 teams on the line, the calming factor this year was that there was 3-4” of new snow on the Nordic track which would slow the tops teams and make this race a more “social scene” all the way to the Friends Hut ….and beyond.

My first “mini epic” happened as we left the Nordic trail to climb up to the resort. We all stopped to put our skins on and before heading up hill. No more than two steps into the climb, I had lost a skin ugh! I didn’t panic and told Jon to keep going. I quickly cleaned the base of the ski with my glove and put another new skin on and took off to catch up….why is “this” happening to me already?!!

Individuals took turns breaking trail up to the ski resort as a train of lights tip to tail, followed the broken ski trail. At the entrance of the resort Jon & I were comfortably tied for 2^nd place, right where we wanted to be. Next to us were some young Collegiate nordic skiers Scot Krankala and Reid Pletcher. I knew Scott as he goes to WSC and has borrowed my light weight AT gear over the last two Winters. I jumped into their conversation and asked if they heard about the collegiate skier who just won the NCAA 20km Classic race ….he was only the 3^rd US born skier to win that title!....”yup, that’s me!” replied Jeff…..I pretty much got down on my hands & knees and worshiped the ground he skied on! Wow!...I was embarrassed needless to say, but very impressed. Apparently they both grew up in Sun Valley and now were doing the EMGT together….pretty impressive.

At the top of Crested Butte Mountain Resort, we ripped our skins off and headed down off the ski area to the East River Valley. Ethan Passant was breaking trail as we skate skied across the vast Summer ranch land in 4” of new snow. I relieved Ethan of the breaking duties and took us to our next skin transition as we began our march up Brush Creek. The breaking duties were shared by many folks and because so much energy was exerted by the lead skier …the pace was reasonable beign and quite the banter & laughter could be heard from the 20+ teams behind…all tip to tail in unison.

I had my second skin issue about an hour before the Friends Hut as we were “just marching along”….ugh! Once again, because the pace was so slow I was able to put on a fresh skin and regain the lead pack and ultimately move my way up to the front of the pack. I had started the race with four skins and now used three of them...not good. The temperatures at this point were very good for racing and the winds were light as we were protected in the trees.

About 20 minutes from the Friends Hut, Jon & I pulled to the front and took over trail breaking duties leading the procession of teams to the first check point. We refueled quickly, threw on a wind breaker and began the climb up to Starr Pass in 1^st place with Sari Anderson & Pete Gaston in 2^nd just behind us. As we topped out on the exposed ridge the moon was out and there were no winds to be had…amazing!

We entered the Starr Pass descent still in the lead and enjoyed 8-10” of new snow on a supportable crust for the 1400ft downhill, in the dark…heading towards the large bon fire maintained by CBMR ski patroller John Mortimer. This marked the start of Summer trail 440 and the climb up to Taylor Pass. All the top teams were still close together and we put our skins on for the climb. No more than two strides into the climb and I blew my third skin…Grrrrrrrrrrrr! I grab a ski strap and tried to force the skin to stick by wrapping the strap tightly around the skin/ski...but this didn’t work either….so I limped onward on one ski/skin combo and one ski with nothing. This worked reasonably well but was not efficient and left me struggling and wondering mentally, why this skin problem was happening to me …my skins & glue have been “dialed” all season! I caught up to Jon and he said he had one fresh skin left and gave me it, as we now struggled to maintain 7^th place.

We saw day break at the Taylor Pass aid station …still no wind…I love this race! We skied right through the aid station and began the climb up the first “bump”. Upon topping out we caught a beautiful sun rise and descended down in wind swept “sustrugi pow”. I didn’t want to risk not having my skins stick at the next transition so I left my skins on for the short downhill….as luck would have it, the same ski that was giving me fits all race, now shed Jon’s borrowed skin! Luckily Jon was behind me and found the skin in the snow! …That’s the best luck I had all day, ugh! At the bottom with two more climbs to go before the Barnard Hut I had no fresh skins left and decided to put on Extra Blue kick wax on this troublesome ski, and keep the skin on the “good” ski. It worked reasonably well in the newly fallen snow, but mentally I was super disappointed in my efforts. My hydration and nutrition were going well, but this skin issue had me mentally. Jon was feeling good as well….so I struggled mentally…. wondering “what the out come of the race would look like if we were right there battling for the lead!”.

We pulled into the Barnard Hut aid station for the mandatory 10 minute stop, ate some Romen noodles, watched my frozen Red Bull explode and applied Extra Blue kick wax to our skis for the last section to the Aspen Sun Deck. With the 4-6” of new snow on course through this section it worked great…but all Jon & I could think about was this skin issue that cursed me…and what could have been.

As we pulled into the finish line on this gorgeous, sun drenched day, we were psyched to finish still in the top 10, but our goals were much bigger this day.

This day was to be the race where we saw two new names on the trophy…and rightfully so as they have finished 2^nd twice in prior years, Ethan Passant & Travis Scheefer…Congratulations boys and way to keep the trophy in the Valley for another year!! Just as impressive as the overall victory for the top men’s team…was the performance by Stevie Kramer & Marshall Thompson, who placed 2^nd and Sari Anderson & Pete Gaston who placed 3^rd , overall! Never before have co-ed teams placed this high in the race’s history

….raise a drink for the “social”.

***so why the skin issue for me??

1) Don’t EVER, EVER put Fluoro wax on your bases…the glue will not adhere well to the Fluorocarbons.

2) Keep your waxes organized! (I knew of the golden rule above, as I had learned this lesson the hard way at a ski mountaineering race in Silverton 4 years ago). When waxing my skis Thursday before the race I didn’t have my blue waxes labeled and in hind sight grab a Fluoro wax for one of the skis…the ski that shed 4 skins!

Elk Mountain Grand Traverse - What Does Your Pack Weigh?

2011-03-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

Over the last several years my pack has gotten lighter and lighter due in part to one lone manufacturer C.A.M.P. They make THE lightest gear in every single ski mountaineering category...and a lot of those items happen to be mandatory gear in this race.

This week is probably the most stressful time of the year for those that signed up for the race as its time to "lay the cards on the table". Has the training paid off? Have you given an honest effort to getting in your race boots/skis throughout the Winter (and avoiding blisters!)....has your partner giving the same effort towards training for this race?

With these and other questions looming over our heads as competitors in this race....I thought I'd show you what's in mine & Jon Brown's packs....(we obviously are sponsored athletes of C.A.M.P for full disclosure)

Mandatory Gear In Our Packs
-Pack - CAMP X3 600 (30L 600g)
-Probe-CAMP Carbon Fiber probe (132g) (240cm)
-Shovel- CAMP Crest (253g)
-Wind Shells - CAMP Flash Anorak top with hood - (112g), CAMP Magic Pants (86g)
-Down Jacket - CAMP ED ED 105 Micro Jacket with hood (337g)
-Spare Gloves - CAMP G Hot Dry Glove (110g)
-Base Layers -Patagonia silk long sleeve top & bottoms
-Fleece Pants - IBEX fleece pant
-Sleeping Pad - 3/4 Thermorest and bike tube patch kit
-Mylar space bag
-Extra socks
-Extra hat
-Equipment repair kit (including an extra Dynafit binding shared between JB & I)
-First Aid & Blister kit
-Stove & cooking container(JB will carry the stove & fuel)
-Map
-Two new C.A.M.P water bottles (22oz of water in each) that will go in the C.A.M.P water bottle holders attached to the shoulder straps of our packs
-COSAR hiking permit
-Googels & sunglasses, sunscreen

Factory made water bottles with hose


C.A.M.P. X3 600 pack loaded with mandatory gear listed above

Pack weight "dry" - No water or food

Mandatory Gear "On Our Body"
-Skis - Goode Carbon Fiber ski 164cm (810g) with leashes
-Skins - C.A.M.P. 100% Mohair skinsr - 2 Pair
-Beacon - Pieps 457 Opti-Finder (for racing only...transmits & receives)
-Extra Mittens - C.A.M.P G Comp Windmit'N - (15g)
-One Piece Race Suit - C.A.M.P. designed skimo suit with hood, skin pocket and two deep pockets for food and beacon
-100oz hydration blatter
-Bindings - Ski Trab TR Race Toe & TR Race Heel(141g per Toe & heel)
-Boots - SCARPA F1 Carbon bootsS.C.A.R.P.A F1 Carbons
-Headlamp - NiteRider MiNewt with spare battery and head mounted strap
-Poles - LEKI adjustable aluminum
-C.A.M.P G Comp Wind gloves (90g)
-C.A.M.P. Alp 95 Harness (not required but good for towing purposes) (95g) & bungee cord

I think that's about it for gear that JB & I will be carrying over to Aspen....not let's just hope the weather forecast cooperates....hold a ski race, and expect a snow storm is how it usually goes!

Thank you to all the volunteers who have made this race the iconic event that it is today!

There are several new events out there that have tried to up the ante but this one is STILL THE ONLY SKI EVENT THAT TRULY TRAVELS THROUGH THE BACKCOUNTRY FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME! The Breck 5 Peaks & Aspen's Power of Four are close...but let's be honest....they are great new races to the COSMIC scene but they are on or near a ski area at all times. Don't complain that you have to carry all this gear....just pray you never need to use it ALL!

See you in ASPEN....Ski Fast, Be Safe, Have Fun...Its Skiing After All!

Mt. Axtell & EMGT Recon Weekend

2011-03-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

With the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse on 3/26/11 and a Spring snow pack starting to take shape in our mountains we went for some fun lines on Saturday and skied the course up to the Friends Hut on Sunday.

Two of the boys bottn' up above the "Blarney Stone" Col.


Smithy skiing off the top of Mt Axtell

Supportable Winter Pow!


Looking back up at Axtell summit and back down the N facing ridge...skied nearly all of it


looking across at the 'Blarney Col"

Saturday's mission was above Green Lake on Mt Axtell (12,050ft) as we skied of one of its summits and then hit some aesthetic coliours and found some descent North facing Winter pow! ...expectations were low as we have been having some really mild temps during the day so this was a treat for sure!

On Sunday, with the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse looming on our minds....Jon Brown & I set out for a Friends Hut recon. We've done this tour over 40 times each in the last 14 years so nothing to surprise us right?? Wrong!....with four avalanches crossing the regular route and several more threatening the path (all wet slides). Death Pass had three slides rip across the 'goat path' and made it a "techie" ski...add a few degrees of difficulty during the actual race, when you factor in darkness and the "gitters" of racing.

The first two lower stream crossings were in tacked yet but are loosing "girth"....so long story short...its always a surprise to see what kind of condition the snowpack is in come Spring time....no matter how many times you've done the exact tour!

See ya on the start line!

First stream crossing (West Brush Cr.)..firm & fast snow all the way til about 10.600ft+


Death Pass..."techie" three west slides have ripped the trail apart!

Death Pass...made extra techie with folks punching threw in mid day warmth


Middle Brush (2nd water crossing) Cr. looking firm and techie as well.......


Climb above the Friends Hut

Wicks Top 10 Skin "Tricks"

2011-03-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

In preparation for the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse and other Spring Touring and racing I have compiled a list of things you can do to help improve your overall skinning experience. During these races we spend the most amount of time skinning (Vs. skiing downhill without skins on), so any improved efficiencies you can gain while on the skins will result in a faster, more enjoyable experience!

Skin to Win!

Top 10 Skin Tricks

1) Coat a thin layer of Black Diamond Gold Label glue on them immediately after purchasing. For cold, dawn patrol Colorado starts....the "Euro" glue just doesn't cut it!

2)Don't screw around with the tip applicators they give you at the store. Just buy the skins straight off the roll and make your own "bungee tip with plastic tip washer" for easy on/off (see pictures)

buy a small bungee cord and a nylon washer at the hardware store

This is a Dynafit skin that happens to come with a good tip application, "straight out of the box"

3) For racing purposes....end the skin about 6-8" before the actual end of the ski. No tail fix needed! This aides in glide, and you will still climb just fine!

4) Cut the skin with a skin tool cutter, leaving the skin "straight cut"...ie. don't make the skin fatter in the tip/tail where the ski gets fatter. For example if the race ski is 63mm under foot, run with a straight cut 63mm skin

5) When in doubt ALWAYS go Mohair...and Euro Mohair! Its lighter weight when compared to its heavier USA made mohair brothers

6) Iron in 2 or 3 layers of cold/hard wax into your skins for Winter skiing on traditional North facing pow …..(slightly warmer wax for Spring conditions). This will make them more water resistant, and help with glide.

7) Ski the hell out of them (via DH skiing) to wear them down....they only get faster the longer you use them! ...and yes they will still grip just fine! Dare I say...improve your skinning technique….its not the skins…ITS YOU!

8) For racing....get two pair immediately!! You will always need a second pair during normal racing conditions.

9) Whether racing or dawn patrols....always carry them against your body to help keep the glue sticky!

10) Belt Sander technology....to only be used under adult rando supervision...contact Wick & Sully for more details. This really helps when you know the ski tour is fairly mellow (i.e. Elk Mountain Grand Traverse). Start with an old pair of skins that you don't really care about to learn on first.

C.A.M.P. XLP 290 Pack

2011-03-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

Light is right….if you follow this credo and live in the mountains, you need this pack in the quiver. Its best use is in the Winter, for traveling fast & light through the mountains ski touring & racing. The weight of the pack is disguised in the name at….you guessed it, 290 grams….basically a half a pound with nothing in it. THE lightest pack on the market that caries 20L or less!


Brian Smith showing off the XLP 290's ski carry system while booting up Purple Pk in the Ruby Range

It’s 18-20 L capacity is just big enough when paired with your probe, crampons, shovel, wind layer and down jacket. I personally like to travel with an accessory mounted, water bottle holder on the chest strap but it does have capabilities to carry your water bladder in the pack with internal hose routing.

The pack contains a crampon pouch on the bottom of the pack with a Velcro closure. This placement allows for easy on/off access to your crampons without taking your pack off AND on, allowing you the freedom to keep moving while getting through technical boot pack sections. When I'm not carrying crampons I will use this pouch for my goggles. I have easy access to them when I need to switch from sun glasses for the up and goggles for the down....all without taking my pack of once again!

Another key feature to this pack that many athletes like is the ski carry system. This ski carry system is a staple amongst the entire Winter CAMP pack line up, it allows the skier to come into a boot pack section and place the skis on the pack without taking the pack off! Super slick, it will blow your friends away and give your remarkable efficiency….when seconds count! This pack in particular also allows for a second pair of skis to be attached to the pack via an identical system but on the right side of the pack….for those times when you’re racing with a teammate and they are bonking and need to conserve every bit of energy to keep up. Trust me, this happens more times than I care to admit….and when don’t you travel in the mountains without a partner!

The pack has no frame to it, bare bones waits belt, and a sternum strap….basic necessities but don’t expect any additional frills. It has a mesh outer pocket for items you may need easy access to during the ski. Team Crested Butte uses this pack as our go to pack during ski mountaineering races, and it always finds the podium! We tend to also use this pack for dawn patrols in the Winter, when time is of the essence…and the 8:30am work bell is calling.

It’s a one size fits all pack, with lots of adjustability to make even the longest or shortest torso fit comfortably.

Ski fast!

Dawn Patrol on the Axtel Pencil

2011-03-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

Sunrise from near the top of Axtel looking east of course towards Mt. CB

Got out this morning for a ski with some light & fast "heavies" (Billy & Josh, Janelle Smiley, and Peter Gaston, in from Aspen) as we all converged at the Kebler Pass trail head for a 5:30am snowmobile tow. Three people on tow and two on the sled made for a funny scene...thank god it was dark out so no one could see this junk show! Ha!

At the top of the Axtel pencil looking North-ish towards Mt Emmons (Red Lady bowl light up at sunrise)

Looking down the pencil as Billy Laird showed us the way.

With the mild temps and lack of recent snow, its was surprisingly soft still....isn't that the beauty of a "protected" spot like this!

Looking back up the pencil from the apron

This was my third early start of the week (leaving Gunnison at 4:50AM)...well worth it but I think for the sake of sanity (and my wife) I should sleep in tomorrow. Snow is in the forecast, but they are already wavering on how much we will actually see come Friday as the storm blows out.....we'll take what we can get.

The Elk Mountain Grand Traverse is coming up in about 10 days, so folks are really starting to finish off any last bit of hard training efforts and dial in gear. Jon Brown and I will be racing together and going for the title! Jari & Smithy are working on "other endeavors" so they won't be racing it this year....putting all the weight on our shoulders to bring a title to Team Crested Butte!
Ski Fast
Wick

CAMP G-Comp Wind Glove

2011-03-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

G Comp Wind with Orange nylon mitten over the top of the the glove. The orange mitten tucks in to a pouch in the wrist, when not in use.

I was introduced to the glove last season before the Grand Traverse backcountry ski race. I love the wind mitten cover that easily tucks into the wrist with a fixed snap closure. I like to have the mitten out for race starts in the early morning cold (down to about 0F) and when exposed on unprotected peaks. The glove itself is the perfect weight for randonee racing and has good rubberized grip on the fingers and palm. The extra grip is especially helpful when ripping skins and changing modes of the AT bindings in transition.

Wick & Smithy using the G Comp Wind glove at Power of Four

One draw-back to this glove is the delicate nylon used for the wind mitten. You will want to be sure to tuck the nylon mitten away prior to changing bindings/skins as the fabric will tear easily. As long as you take care to avoid damage to the mitten, it provides great wind protection with quick and easy access.

Wick using the G Comp Wind on Ruby Pk above tree line this Fall

Due to the glove's great versatility I have even used the glove for nordic racing and road cycling. The glove runs a little small so order up a size for sure! Order the glove here.

Team Crested Butte -
Brian Smith

Flash Anorak - Sweet idea from C.A.M.P

2011-03-10T09:27:00.000-08:00


	Flash Anorak as seen completely "on" from the back/side.

The Flash Anorak by C.A.M.P is mandatory gear! Its one of those "why didn't I think of this" pieces of gear! Its an ultra light weight wind shell with no back on it. It fits into a stuff sack that is held around your waist by a tiny waist strap.....you never know its on you until you need it. No need for a back on this shell because it fits right around your pack and has a Velcro closure on the back of the shell right underneath where the back pack would be, ensuring a tight fit....ts also got a hood on it too!

Its not much bigger than a pair of sunglasses, stuffed in its own pouch.

It weighs in at 112grams and has its own pouch to stow it away until you need it. I have personally had it for three months now and take it out on every back country ski I've done. Usually I "whip it out" every time I get at tree line when heading towards a peak, as I know it will be breezy/windy and need another layer to retain warmth. On my ski descent back down I almost always tuck it away back in it's pouch at tree line again.....Its made of lightweight nylon like material so its not tear resistant so be sure not to brush up against rocks and trees as it will tear! The on/off process can easily be done in 10-15 seconds while moving slowly, so you never "lose a step" in a race setting.

I have used it in several COSMIC races this Winter...most recently Brian Smith & I won the Aspen, Power of Four skimo race and I used it on Highlands Bowl as we booted above tree line to the peak. The beauty of this shell is that you can add a wind layer WITHOUT STOPPING or REMOVING YOUR PACK! So often racers battle between stopping and losing a few minutes (as you dig into your pack) to put on a layer Vs. keep moving and freeze to death (only to lose more time because your freezing and can't think straight....I've been there!)

If look close at me on the left of the photo, you can see the orange Flash Anorak on my right hip.Thanks Beth Willie for the photo!

This shell has so many applications besides skimo racing, I envision using it during Summer mountain runs, biking into head winds and nordic skiing. Of special note, if you're doing the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse this is the shell to have on once you approach the Friends Hut and over Starr Pass! Buy it here!

Team CB Owns the Podium at Power of Four - Aspen

2011-03-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

Wow! Pretty drained right now but feeling the positive energy from a great race over in Aspen yesterday. Jari Kirkland & Eva Hagen took the top spot in the Female Category and I and Smithy took the top spot in the Men's Category. JB teamed up with Jan Koles and nearly took second, but finished 4th. I said "nearly" because after 6 1/3 hours of racing, at the top of Aspen mountain they topped out in 2nd place with "only" the technical DH in front of them ....unfortunately they got caught by the two teams right on their tails, ugh!

One of the tougher sections of the race was at the two hour mark for Brian and I. We were skinning up Highlands from the base and had 4100ft of climbing to do.... so we "roped up" and stayed together to keep good 'team unity". Racing is just as much mental as it is physical.

All in all a great result for all of Team CB!

Smithy & Wick crossing the Finish line 6:13.30

The race was billed as 11,000 ft of climbing over all four of Aspen's ski resorts, with 25 miles of distance traveled. The race organizers expected the top mens team to come in, in around five hours and fifteen minutes.....but the course actually had over 12,500ft of climbing so our winning time of six hours and thirteen minutes was longer than anyone expected, ugh!

To that end only 27 of the 50 men's teams, and two of the four women's teams even finished the race,...lots of suffering out there.

The goal for Smithy and I was to splinter the field on the first climb up Snowmass and then just maintain our gap...difficult to do as the risk is to not blow yourself up in the process, but in the end it worked as we won by about 18 minutes!

Race results are one click away right here

The course was sweet with 7-10" of new snow for all the descents, plus the views of the Elk Mountains were out of hand! The recreational skiers on the mountains were blown away at the speed of some of the racers and very encouraging at the same time. I find it very exciting that we get to do this race amongst the general public as they too boot pack up Highlands Bowl for example...

Crested Butte Photography was out on course capturing all the drool, sweat and pain of the race. Nice work Kevin Krill!

Some great photos can be found here

Here is a great link by one of the top females in the sport Sari Anderson's Garmin watch with GPS stats

More press on the event here

Crested Butte News race coverage here

Aspen Times article here

The Ski Channel race coverage here

Next race is the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse! Train hard & smart till then! Ski fast!

The new SCARPA Alien & The Power of Four Race

2011-03-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

Back from Europe and can't wait for the next race this weekend at the Aspen Power of Four skimo race. It will be a pairs race with about 10,000 ft of vertical gained/lossed. Wick & Smithy will be racing together, and JB & Jan Koles will be another pair. In the women's category Jari will be racing with Eva Hagan, going for the women's title.

The forecast calls for snow today and tomorrow and sunny skies on Saturday during the race! With views of the Elk Mountains this weather forecast should be sweet for racing.

In other gear related news......The SCARPA Alien 1.0 will finally be released to the North American market next Fall. We have seen these boots at the last two Skimo World Championships....with even more exposure in Claut, Italy last week ....as SCARPA had this boot on a lot of Euros feet...no coincidence that SCARPA HQ is only about 1.5 hr drive from Claut....so they had a good presence on all the top athletes. We will all be on this boot next season....and can't wait!
Ski Fast!

More pics from the World Champs in Claut Italy.

2011-02-28T13:50:00.000-08:00

Winter Quadrathlon 2011-Grants, NM

2011-02-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

Well, a week has gone by and I am still not quite recovered from the punishment of the Quad. This year was my 4 trip to Grants, an 8 hour drive from Gunnison Colorado. A big drive and a huge effort for the 5,000 foot ascent/descent. A road ride up 1500ft over 13 miles, off-road gravel road run 5mile that turns to mud/ice/snow on the 1200ft ascent, switch to skis with skins (rando race kit) up 1200ft over 2 miles, then peak out on snowshoes you carry in your pack for the ski up the remaining 600ft in 3/4 of a mile. You must then return back to the start via the same modes minus skins and no drafting on the downhill bike. Many people choose to team up for this greweling event but this year there were more soloist than ever with nearly 250 racers.

The start was honest as there were some fast cyclist in the soloist race. I made a solid minute effort on the first steep climb and established a gap but had Josiah Middaugh on my wheel still. We did manage to put space between us and the Travis Macy (the winner of the last two years). Once on the run I had to ditch my chamois as I felt like I was running in a diaper. I was hoping to get some time on Josiah during the uphill run but he kept me in check the whole way. At the run/ski transition I was passed but I closed up by half way up the skin ski. The SCARPA carbon boots and heel lifts on the Low Tech bindings helped with stability and saved my calves with the steep climbing. Josiah was jogging the whole first third and I had to go full gas the whole uphill ski! Again I was gapped on the transition to snowshoe but kept in contact at about 15-20 seconds back. On the downhill ski I was able to make up lots of time on the steep downhill and caught Josiah after his second crash. By the time we got to the last 300 meters of flat skiing Josiah had managed to close it up again and pass me out to the run down. Sitting about a minute back I still had hopes of making contact again until my groin seized up. I needed to stop and shake my leg as it wouldn't move. I pulled through for the end of the run, grabbing my chamois in the ditch on the way. I was only 1 minute down still and was very hopeful that I could do it then both groins seized up and I had to coast the whole first descent. On the second and final descent both calves seized and I was looking over my shoulder for the first time. Up the road I saw a police car leading Josiah to the finish about 3/4 of a mile ahead. Ugh! I finished 1 minute 50 seconds down and I took nearly 15 minutes off my fastest full-quad time and was seven minutes ahead of the winner from the last two years. One serious effort. Looking forward to the next COSMIC race-The Power of 4 with Wick. Thanks for reading.

click here for a link to a video interview of Brian Smith and the other top two athletes

Smithy

Ski Mountaineering World Championships - Individual Day

2011-02-24T04:26:00.000-08:00

The individual day is the typical race most Ameicans think of (and the most widely popular discipline around the world). The Mens course profile is above...with the women doing about 500ft less (before the last summit) Four men and three women for today's race...the most you are allowed to filed at the start line per Nation is 4, so Luke, Pete, Scott and Travis. For the women its was Jari, Nina and Janelle.

The start was at 10AM for the men and 10:10am for the women

Jari above tree line on the second of four climbs looking solid. The four star performance of the day was from Janelle from Crested Butee as she placed 9th today!! Very impressive finish for her first ever World Championships!

At the end of the day, unfortunately Chris Kroeger snapped his ski on the way down...so that lost us 100pts towards the "team score"...so he's buying beers tonight!

Tomorrow is the last day with the Teams Relay....should be sunny again! Balisimo!!!!

Sprint Races at World Championships

2011-02-23T07:40:00.000-08:00

Today (Wednesday) was the first ever Sprint races held at the World Championships. They are a new discipline for Skimo racing as the sport figures out how to get more "spectator friendly" for an Olympic effort in 2018.

It consists of a skin up, to a few switchbacks, to a boot pack, to a skin, to a skin rip for the final DH through some GS panels and the finish. Total vert. today was 300 ft over about a 4 minute course. All the action (due to a lack of snow in Claut) was once again held at Piancavalle ski resort.

The US Men & Women (except for Nina who live in Chaminoux, France) racing today have never seen a Sprint race as they have all been limited to Europe this year.

To give you some feel for what the action looked like today here is a video of Pete Swenson and Luke Nelson in action today going from a boot pack to a skin.... (check back later as the internet is getting swarmed by 22 countries athletes...super slow uploads)

The only American to advance to the Quarter final round (after each athlete got to post their individual time) was Nina. She ultimately made it to the Semi finals before getting outed.

This could have some good appeal for Town series style races as the action can all happen right at the base area...and ultimately really hones your skills for the sport....it demand proficient transition skill!

TheVertical Race- Day 2 of Racing

2011-02-22T12:34:00.000-08:00

Day 2 (only) of racing….with the Teams race behind us, the next competition today was the Vertical. In past World Championships the Vertical race has meant a “drag race” up a groomed slope for about 2400-3000ft. This year we are in Italy so they make the rules….1650ft up a technical slope with kick turns, and a boot pack…sweet!

I personally enjoyed the change as I am not a “horse power” athlete but instead do well with added technical elements..but this was still going to be a 30 minute race…not my “forte”.

The day race was held at Piancavalle about 35 minutes from our hotel straight up a narrow, curvy road…typical Euro pass. We got to the resort and it was totally “socked in” with weather, which precluded us from great views but didn’t really effect the racing as we weren’t going downhill at speed.

The women went off first with Janelle Smiley posting the best result for North American women….staring out in 5^th and fading just slightly back to finish in 7^th!!! A great result and one of the best for American women ever at a World Championship! Jari Kirkalnd, was in about 16^th and Jessica in 25^th-ish. The top female was a 22yr old from Spain named Mariale, finishing in just over 27 minutes!! Ugh!

The men started about a half hour behind the women on the same course. The race was fast & furious with a mellow skin to several switch backs, to a mellow skin, to a boot pack, to a mellow skin, to the finish. You could never see more than 70 feet in front of you…but that was always enough to see several racers ion front and ultimately know where you were going. The top North American was reg Ruckman in 14^th! He is a former Olympic rower now living in Breckenridge, having learned to just ski about 5 yrs ago…he can go up like all get up…but is still a student of the downhill turn…so this was his race, and he did us proud!

Next up was Max Taam finishing one spot ahead of me in just over 30 minutes, followed by Chris Kroger. Not super psyched with my effort but I try to keep it in perspective as this format is not suited for me…but ultimately will make me faster back in the States for the rest of the ski season.

Next up tomorrow is the Sprints which will be at Piancavalle again. I won’t be racing as I am sitting this one out. Its only a 6 minute race with heats to determine the top racers and narrowing down the field with further heats until they produce a winner. More updates and photos tomorrow night. Go USA!!

The Story Behind the Teams Race

2011-02-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (Sunday) was the first day of racing after the reschedule of the Sprint Race to Wednesday. The teams were laid out as follows:

Females:
Jari/Jessica
Nina/Janelle

Men:
Pete/Luke
Wick/Chris
Max/Travis
Scott/Greg
The conditions would best be described as thin and firm at or below tree line and slightly deeper and softer above tree line with foggy/poor visibility...very challenging basically. Since there are no ski lifts in the area for 20Km, the race started right out of town...they were actually trucking in snow to town with LOTS of course workers with shovels all over the place down low. The finish was going to take us through the lower valley crossing through multiple cow pastures, over stone walls & bridges back into to town....basically the Alley Loop course with 2-4" of snow coming back from Gunsight Pass back onto the Nordic Center trails (but very thin and poor snow conditions....).

I was paired with 3X US Ski Team member Chris Kroger (a ski patroller at Jackson Hole). We had a great start and with in the first minute he walked right out of his "toe piece" on his Merrilli ski binding....I kept going thinking he would jump back in and be right on my tail....needless to say I never say him for 4 minutes. The route up turned to a a boot hike through the woods as the snow was THIN!

They wouldn't let me start the boot pack until he arrived...unfortunately Chis gave me the news that he had walked out of his tow piece 5-7 more times...obviously something was wrong with his binding.
At the top of the boot hike we jumped into our skis and began skinning for another 8-12 mins where he proceeded to walk out of his bindings 8-10 more times...at the top where we ripped our skins we decided that this was a total equipment failure and "threw in the towel"....

Last year unfortunately my partner had a similar issue with his carbon fiber boot blowing up and having to "limp through the rest of the race".......I'm really beginning to feel like the teams event has hexed me! I feel unfotunate as this is always one of my best chances, everything being equal...

The gear that is coming from all these new manufacturers like Merrilli and Pierre Gigounoux (amongst others) is very delicate (....and some might say unproven) gets stressed and tested at the mercy of top athletes only to have equipment failures during high profile races is too common in my mind....but thats the price we pay for being "guinea pigs"...

The Mens race was won by the Italian in 1st & 2nd and 3rd were the French who were relagated to 3rd via a protest by the Italians (who won the protest). The top English speaking team was the Canadians who took 16th, followed by Pete/Luke in 19th and Max/Travis in 20th, and Scott & Greg in 22nd.

The women's race will be written in better detail by Jari soon but....Nina/Janelle in 8th and Jari/Jessica in 11th...more equipment failure there for Jari....I'm sure she'll give you the details.

The team was generally excited but "worked over" from the racing...very warm and humid caused many of the team members to found that they required a lot more in the way of fluids compared to back home....and one or two more "Gu's" for energy.

Today (Monday) was a rest day for the "Elites" as the Juniors were under way all day with their Individual Race.

where's the snow?

Finish Line for the Juniors today

Me with some hiking signs to who knows where in the background

a nice hut as a junior Italian racers makes his way down

Chris Kroeger having some fun cheering on our Junior racer

Our Junior racer Mat, who lives and trains at his boarding school in Switerland

Some of the team at the Finish of the Junior race

Pete Swenson, Tim (our ski tech) and Chris Kroeger checking out the failed Merrilli binding piece

The food is not too bad....eat pasta, ski fasta!

Day 2 In Pictures

2011-02-21T04:59:00.000-08:00

I will try and give some more commentary to these photos and a race up date tomorrow....last night were the opening ceremonies and today was the Team's race....Chris Kroger my partner for today....blew up his bindings today so not so good for us....

Always a helcopter

top mens team France

Pete & Luke

Pete & Luke with the LaSortiva Mrg

suffer!!!!

Scott & Greg

suffer to beat your opponent!

Recovery

Women's Podium

Didn't race much today so checked out the sights....

Jari's blown F1 Carbon....sh got another pair....forgetaboutit!

Ski Mountaineering World Championships - Day 1

2011-02-19T05:58:00.000-08:00

Jari & I made it to Claut, Italy! After leaving the Gunnison airport mid day Thursday, we arrived into Venice on Friday midday. We met up with race organizers who shuttled us and our gear for 2 additional hours up to the town of Claut. Claut is best described as the Crested Butte of Italy...minus a ski area. I say that because its at the end of a long valley, tough to get to...but once you are here, you are psyched!

We jumped through the "registration hoops" along with 22 other countries from around the world last night, met up with the rest of our teammates, got dinner and went to bed....lots of jet lag to say the least.

Most of the team got in Wednesday and Thursday and had a day to go recon the pairs course which will be Sunday. Above is a photo of the team loading up this morning from our hotel in Barcis...about 9km from Claut.

The big news so far is the lack of snow, which has forced a reschedule of the Sprint race that was scheduled for Saturday (Day 1). It has now been rescheduled for Wednesday....and because of some new snow they got yesterday (about 20-30cm) the organizers did not allow any one to go preview the Pairs race course, which will be Sunday.

With that option disallowed by the race organizers, the team set out to a ski resort, Piancavallo which will be hosting the Vertical race on Tuesday. The conditions we good, but warm. Above is a few of the team members leisurely ripping skins at the top of the course. We were only out for about 1.5 hours as we want to remain fresh for tomorrow and ofcourse needed to make it back for the lunch in Claut.

We end up spending lots of time shuttling around in the team vans as everywhere is a bit of a drive. The scenery is beautiful and the roads are very tight and curvy, so with a loaded car full of gear and people, its makes things interesting....no one has gotten "car sick"...yet!

Above is the team at lunch today, enjoying a typical Northern Italian meal...getting ready for the Pairs Race tomorrow. Eat past ski fasta!

Blogging from the Skimo World Championships Starting Saturday 2/19

2011-02-17T07:48:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update that most of the US Skimo Team is in route to Claut, Italy for the Ski Mountaineering World Championships. Jari & I will be updating almost daily on the events by the US Team, so check back starting this Saturday. 21 Nations and over 250 athletes from around the world will be competing.

The US Team is comprised of the following athletes:

Women's Team                                      Men's Team
Janelle Smiley (CB, CO)                         Brandon French (Whitefish, MT)**
Sari Anderson (Carbondale, CO)***        Luke Nelson ( Idaho Falls, ID)
Monique Merrill (Breck, CO)***              Pete Swenson (Breck, CO)
Jari Kirkland (CB, CO)                           Travis Scheefer (CB, CO)
Amy Fulwyler (Jackson Hole, WY)***     Bryan Wickenhauser(Gunnison, CO)

Jessica Phillips (Aspen, CO) Max Taam (Aspen, CO)

Nina Silitch (Chamoniox, France) Greg Ruckman (Breckenridge, CO)

Lyndsey Meyer*** Scott Simmons (Durango, CO)

Chris Kroger (Jackson Hole, WY)

*** indicates they qualified but are unable to go to the World Champs.

Chris Kroger was first alternate for the team and gets to go because Brandon French can't go....

Unfortunately, only four women are going.

Ski Fast!

It's been a great snow year here........

2011-02-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

...but when you get official press releases like this from the Race Organization

you know the skiing won't be the same as we have here in the Rockies. Although I have to admit I was out this AM and its firm snow on anything facing South & West. We still found some soft snow but that was in the trees.

Extend forecasts for the Italian region we are competing in, do call for snow....go figure. As the saying goes...organize a big ski race and you are sure to get too much snow.

COSMIC - Race The Divide, Race Report

2011-02-14T09:04:00.000-08:00

The fifth stop on the Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup was held today at Monarch Ski Resort. Its only about a 45-70 minute drive for most folks from the Gunnison Valley so there is always some good camaraderie as most of our friends make the effort. I have to say Gunnison/Crested Butte really is a driving force behind skimo racing in the US...and why not we boast some of the best back country skiing, so its no wonder "we" are nearly always on the podium!

Monarch sits literally on the Continental Divide, and with a start elevation of 10,790ft you can go into oxygen debt just getting out of your car....poor tourists! Luckily most of us live and breathe at 8,000- 9,000ft so we are used to it, but it still hurts when the gun goes off.

With an 8AM start and temps in the mid teens and sunny skies the lead pack flew up a groomed run to for about 12 - 15 minutes. At this point we left the groomed terrain and headed up another 300 vertical feet topping out at Mirkwood Basin. This would then serve as the same descent for all four downhills on today's course (see map below).

Reaching the top first for the men was Marshall Thompson, Pete Swenson, Travis Scheefer, Bryan Wickenhauser and Brian Riepe. The skin rip each time at the top was made extra difficult due to the 20-30 mph sustained winds on the exposed ridge. To fold your skins properly you really had to pay attention and "play the wind" correctly. The top women were also from Crested Butte with Janelle Smiley topping out first followed by Stevie Kramer.

The descent down Mirkwood was fast & furious with supportable, wind hammered crust up top off the cornice, and soft chunky pow down low....it took most elite racers about 35-60 seconds to get down the 600 vertical feet to the transition.

The climb up followed an off piste skin track that had a good back country feel to it. The skin track was soft so some finesse was necessary to negotiate it. Race division did this climb three times and each time as you neared the ridge it was a reacquaintance with the winds, as they were relentless!!

The men's podium wound up being Travis Scheefer 1st, Pete Swenson 2nd and Bryan Wickenhauser 3rd. Marshall Thompson & Greg Ruckman, unfortunately got lost on course or they could have figured in on the results.

The women's podium was Janelle Smiley 1st, Steve Kramer 2nd, and Jamie Falcon 3rd. Jari Kirkaland sat this one out due to a mid week crash and was giving her shoulder some time to heal or she certainly would have been in there too!

3000 vertical in just over an hour ten minutes for the winners

Once again Thanks to Kevin Krill for the great photos! ....and Nate at Salida Mtn Sports for making the event happen.

The COSMIC Series takes a break for the Skimo World Championships which start this Saturday in Claut, Italy. We will be blogging daily starting this Friday so stay tuned.

Skinning uphill is not a crimb, but skiing on waxless skis is!

2011-02-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

When I grow "old" I hope I still have the gumption to take on archaic rules like this Austrian did! We race at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort each year....hell its the US Ski Mountaineering Championships....yet they don't allow folks to tour up the mountain in the mornings or evenings after the resort is closed. Thank god we have the friendly confines of CBMR to train on when we want to go fast! They get it here and totally embrace it!

I hope this begins further debate for the Jackson Hole community and the resort so that ultimately they can be allowed to skin up the mountain!

In further developments in Gunnison County......local ripper Brian Smith was caught out Classic skiing (which is not a crime), on waxless skis (which should be a crime!).

Why is this note worthy? If you know the kid and have seen his results recently....he NEVER goes slow, so when I dropped him on waxable classic skis, I had to ask him....with the talent you have, why would you ever use waxless skis? ....too lazy to put on kick wax I guess!

Ride the glide Brian.....and never quite fighting for your rights!

Hope you enjoyed the powder day yesterday....-21F on the ski area this morning for "hot laps". CBMR Rules!

Brian Smith Wins 42Km Alley Loop! ...and Pomoca is sold to Salewa..Go Packers!

2011-02-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

New team member Brian Smith was first overall in the pinnacle race of the Nordic season in Crested Butte. Skiing on a Fast Wax combo of Extreme White & HSF-10 Green Brian was able to hold off some outstanding athletes and win his first ever 42K Alley Loop. Hopefully he can keep this great form up for when he travels over to Europe for the Winter World Tri Champs in Finland March 26th.

In other skiing news .....Pomoca was sold to Salewa/Dynafit. The Swiss skin manufacturer Pomoca was recently purchased by the parent company of Dynafit....Salewa. The Salewa brand is not big at all in the US but has a solid mountaineering presence in Europe. Under the Salewa corporate umbrella is Dyanfit, a brand most backcountry skiers know of here in North America.

A lot of top racers in Europe have been on this brand of skin for many years, and now that Dynafit will have access to this product, expect to see more access to these skins for our market. Rumor has it that they are quite fast...ask Brian Smith...he's on pair of private labeled Dynafit skins that are made by Pomoca. The team has done numerous downhill glide tests and these Pomocas always win in our snow conditions here.

A by the way....The Green Bay Packers are Super Bowl Champions! The Powder wasn't too bad before the Super Bowl!

REI Boulder Backcountry Ski Talk by Bryan Wickenhauser

2011-02-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

I'm doing a Light and Fast Ski Touring talk tomorrow night at the Boulder REI

If you are in the area and need a "cup of motivation" I'll have some great slides by local CB photographer Xavi Fane. Come out and check out the revolution in backcountry skiing (and no I'm not referring to ABS style air bags)....but lighter weight touring gear! Leave your ski area skis and boots for the ski area and "slack country"...get on the light weight stuff and get more vertical.

SIA COSMIC Race 2011

2011-02-01T11:07:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was an eye-opener for myself as the newest member of Team Crested Butte. Two Ski Mountaineering COSMIC races in 3 days, 400+ miles of travel with teammates Wick and Jari, SIA show in downtown Denver & SIA on-snow demo at Winter Park and personal visits with current and prospective sponsors. Whew!

The Crested Butte Mountain Resort event on January 29th went very well with a solid victory in the Men's Race category. Wick posted details on that event below, so I won't go into detail there. The following day of travel to SIA was a bit rough but the experience was worth the trip. Meeting the great folks at SCARA/Ski-Trab and catching up with Dave and Dawn Goode was priceless. A nice night and catch-up with Jesse who runs the Italian brand CAMP in the US, then sleep before stage 3.

We woke to frozen crust on everything Monday morning and needed a sand blaster to clear Jari's windshield, for the drive to Boulder. Every 5 miles on the trip to Boulder was another accident creating a drive of 2 1/2 hours from Denver to Boulder! We all had a great meet and greet with Wenger in Boulder. What an amazing store they've created on Pearl street. The artistic atmosphere is vibrant with outdoor adventure in all directions. We all had a positive outlook on a future relationship with the brand.

We hit the road again that morning, for the climb back into the mountains for the 4th COSMIC event at Winter Park. This was also the host mountain for the on-snow demo for the SIA conclusion. Somehow we managed to make it to the event on time. By this I mean we had 20 minutes to get to the start after arriving in in the parking lot! Wick won the transition award for being ready the fastest. I think he wore his suit to bed again. We somehow all managed to skin-up on the gondola ride from the parking lot to the base area. Wish we got that on tape!

I had enough time to hit the restroom and be at the start line with 30 seconds before the parade loop started through the vendor expo. Once we hit the first climb I put a solid minute effort in to try and split the group up. Once I was settled in I heard skins coming up from behind. Greg Ruckman was climbing fast and put 10 seconds on me immediately. I held on with about 20 seconds at the top of the first skin rip transition. Marshall Thompson was climbing well at 20 seconds in the rears of me. After a grueling 3-5 minute top to bottom bump run on Outhouse, I was matched with Greg out of transition and Peter Gaston and Marshall were rolling in. I skied the second climb a bit more aggressively and held Greg to about 5 seconds until the last traverse. On the flats my Pomoca's were running hot and I was quickly on Greg and pulling away on the uphill to transition. The last mogul run and gate descent was rough with tired legs but it came together well. I won and cracked 50 minutes for 49:57, second was Peter Gaston who blazed down the last descent for a 50:36, Greg held on for 3rd in 51:04. Marshall Thompson and Max Tamm rounded out top five and Wick was sixth. I think Wick's diesel engine was just getting warmed up at the finish. Longer events should suit his style of racing. Jari was second in the women's race with disco dress and hot pink hair to boot. Thanks for reading. As alwaysCrested Butte Photography has some great photos of the action! Thanks Kevin!

Brian Smith

CAMP/Crested Butte Rando Race Report

2011-01-29T17:27:00.000-08:00

Amazing photos can be viewed by at Crested Butte Photography....Thanks for being out there K2! You will see photos from the course set yesterday as well as the race today....all in mild, blue bird conditions.

With CBMR having an amazing season open wall to wall, the race course was in great shape.....firm snow and tricky climbing were the battles of the day. The 8AM start time provide sunny skies with temps around 9F. Lots of race suits and a "LeMans style" start and racers were off towards the top of the High lift. With the firm refrozen snow from yesterday's balmy January weather, left the snow pack in the early AM "locked up" and tricky to get good purchase with your skins.

At the top of the first climb it was Brian Smith 1st opening up a solid 1 minute lead, Wick 2nd with Pete Swenson & Travis Scheefer right in line. Down the first descent off of Headwall saw the leaders all hold their positions...with Smith, gone off the front!

A short skin and transition at the top of the North Face, and it was blazing, high speed bumps down Hawk's Nest to another climb up into Phoenix/Spellbound (CBMR's legendary Extreme terrain). With the top skier's all maintaining their respective gaps, no one was giving up any ground.

Topping out of Spellbound and taking a left down Schoefield Road (Al Johnson route) it was another skin rip as athletes raced down to the bottom of Teocalli Bowl for the last climb. This last climb culminated with a (500-700ft) boot pack up to the top of the peak on Mt. CB (12,162ft). The boot pack only took about what seemed like 5-7 minutes.

Topping out first was Brian Smith with a huge 2+ minute lead, followed by Wick, and then Aspen ski patroller Max Taam....who made a move to over take Pete Swenson prior to the boot pack. The descent off the peak was typical "ski mountaineering" snow, leading to some challenging conditions down. Max Taam was able to over take Wick for 2nd with some great skills charging down through the refrozen bump fields of Peel & Forrest. Wick 3rd, and Pete Swenson holding off Travis Scheefer, who finished 5th.

In the women's field, its was Sari Anderson taking 1st over US National Champion, Janelle Smiley, followed by Monique Merrill and Jari Kirkland.

Thank you to the CBMR Ski Patrol & Event Staff who were super helpful in set up and tear down of the race course...and keeping us safe!

Next up? SIA Sunday to meet with sponsors, and Monday is on snow demo and a COSMIC race at Winter Park to show case the sport during the event. Pray for snow!

Sign Up for CAMP Crested Butte Skimo Race

2011-01-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

This Saturday will be the 11th Annual skimo race at Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Its now one of the "classics" on the USSMA tour having been stated by Life-Link back in the day when they first started importing Dynafit bindings.

With Life-Link now out of the picture for the last several years, the race is now part of the COSMIC Series (5th year). Click here to take you to the registration page

The race category typically has about 5000 ft of vertical gain/loss and with the resort open 100% and the weather forecast looking good I'm, sure we will be running the full course, including skiing off the Mt. Crested Butte peak at 12,162ft.

This race always attracts a lot of the fastest athletes in the West, along with lots of "local bragging rights"...so buckle your chin straps on tightly! See ya at the start line.

Next Season's SCARPA Carbon Race Boot

2011-01-26T13:22:00.000-08:00

The Alien ski boot by SCARPA was spied by myself and the rest of the US Ski Mountaineering Team last Winter at the World Championships in Andorra.

Several National team SCARPA athletes were test out apparent prototypes ....the biggest difference for next year will be the removal of the now famous bellows, stolen from the telemark world. With the removal of this feature you can bet the boot will ski down hill with even great confidence for the racer. I really don't see much if any, loss for the touring side.

The carbon cuff will be there, along with a "shoe lace" style ratcheting system to crank down the fit for the fore foot Vs. the traditional buckle across the top of the arch.

Plus they are calling it the Alien and possibly losing the F1 Carbon name....more to come on this boot after we get back from SIA, where we will visit with SCARPA and found out more!

So What's your Race Schedule...below is Team CB's

2011-01-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

2010/2011 Race & Clinic Schedule

CBMR Town Rando Series 11/25/10

Light & Fast Slide Show – Salida Mountain Sports, Salida, CO December 7^th, 2010

CS Irwin Lodge Rando Race 12/11/2010 CS Irwin Lodge COSMIC Race

CBMR Town Rando Series 12/16/10

Light & Fast Slide Show – Rock N Roll Sports, Gunnison, CO December 17^th, 2010

US Ski Mountaineering National Championship 01/08/2011 Jackson Hole, WY Race

Grand Targhee Ski Mountaineering Classic 01/09/2011 Grand Targhee, WY Race

The Heathen Challenge 01/15/2011 Sunlight Mountain, CO COSMIC Race

Light & Fast Slide Show – Ute Mountaineering, Aspen CO January 18^th, 2011

CBMR Town Rando Series 1/20/11

Light & Fast Slide Show – Telluride Gravity Works, Telluride, CO January, 20^th, 2011

CAMP Ski Mountaineering Race at Crested Butte 01/29/2011 Crested Butte, CO COSMIC Race

COSMIC Sprint Race and SIA Uphill/Downhill Challenge 01/31/2011 Winter Park Ski Resort /SIA On-Snow Demo COSMIC Race

Light & Fast Slide Show – REI Boulder, Boulder CO 2/3/2011

CBMR Town Rando Series 2/10/11

Race the Divide 02/13/2011 Monarch Mountain, CO COSMIC Race

The Ski Mountaineering World Championships 2/18/11 – 2/25/11 Claut, Italy

CBMR Town Rando Series 3/3/11

The Power of Four Ski Mountaineering Race 03/05/2011 Aspen/Snowmass COSMIC Race

Light & Fast Slide Show – REI Denver, Denver, CO 3/8/2011

Wasatch Powder Keg 03/12/2011 Wasatch Powder Keg Race

Elk Mountain Grand Traverse – CB/Aspen 3/25/2011

The Five Peaks 04/09/2011 Breckenridge, CO COSMIC Race

San Juans Rando 04/23/2011 San Juans Mts, CO COSMIC Race

Marmot Grind 04/30/2011 Arapahoe Basin, CO COSMIC Race

Training!!!

2011-01-23T15:12:00.000-08:00

When it snows all night and all day I can convince myself that skiing the mountain is still 'training'.
But.... One of these is not like the others!!!!

New Binding on the Block....that may save your knee!

2011-01-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

Some hype on the new Plum Binding from France that will supposedly be the first ISO Certified Tech binding that will have certified DIN release range...ie. just like your Alpine binding. Follow this link below to Pistehors.com to read about it. I've been hearing rumors that in the next year or two all ski mountaineering competitions will require a DIN releasable race binding....so I'm sure we will see more progress here....

New DIN Releasable Tech Binding

You know the Sport is going "Mainstream" when....

2011-01-17T09:31:00.000-08:00

One last report on the US Nationals. I only post it because the sport is starting to see some press from the "bigger guys" in the outdoor publishing arena....

Outside Magazine's US National's Race Report

Photos from the 2nd COSMIC Race - Sunlight

2011-01-16T18:43:00.000-08:00

Check out the link below from Kevin Krill at Crested Butte Photography...great images from the Sunlight race. It was also the last of three qualifier for the US Ski Mountaineering Team.

Photos from the Sunlight Race by Crested Butte Photography

Last US Ski Mountaineering Team Qualifier & Winter Tri National Championships

2011-01-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

This is the last weekend for qualifying for the 2011 US Ski Mountaineering Team. The final qualifier will be at
Sunlight tomorrow. Jon Brown is going for one of three remaining spots, he's got a great chance....ski fast!!

It would be great to have three members of Team Crested Butte (Wick & Jari have already qualified) going to Worlds. This will also be the second stop on the COSMIC Series, with the first one being the CS Irwin race earlier in December.

The final member of Team Crested Butte (replacing Sully who is now chasing down Ironman Competitions) is Brian Smith. He is going for a third US title at....

USA Winter Triathlon Championships

...and then hoping to represent the USA at the Winter World Tri Champs in Finland March 26 & 27th. he promises to do more ski mountaineering races NEXT Winter....one can only hope, cause running on the snow and and snow biking..... just "isn't our bag baby"!

Race reports to follow next week....pray for snow, AND ski fast, take chances!

Grand Targhee Ski Mountaineering Classic - 2nd of 3 Qualifiers for US Team

2011-01-12T15:20:00.000-08:00

On the heels of the US National Championships yesterday at Jackson Hole, I think most competitors were a weeeeeeee bit tired from nearly 8,000ft of racing! Rest, recover & reload was on every competitors mind....and everybodys body is different. Some take ice baths, some drink beers and some just eat and sleep. Team Crested Butte is comprised of four great endurance athletes and are used to multi-day racing from our Adventure Racing days of past....so this scenario was "no problem". Speaking for myself and Jon, we headed back to our hotel after awards ate a big meal, drank copious amounts of Acli-mate, and generally put our feet up & napped. Dinner was another big grazing feast, stuffing ourselves with calories and got to bed by 9PM....(I know boring....)

Race day on Sunday meant driving an hour from Jackson Hole over to Grand Targhee on the Eastern slope of the Tetons. Luckily the race didn't start til 10:30AM!! Love that!

The resort had seen 3-5" of new snow and a low of about 12F, with good visibility....so the racing was nearly perfect! The men's field spread out after the first few minutes and everyone settled in for an approximately 40 minute climb to the top of the resort. Traction was good with the new, cold snow....I think JB & I topped out around 8th & 10th-ish. The first descent wasn't terribly long, yet I manged to catch two racers and had a blast in the new snow!!

The second climb finished with a boot pack topping out once again on another peak. The front four guys were right in front only a minute up on the boot pack, so I was charged to catch some folks on the descent, which was reasonably long this time.

Having some visuals of the guys in front of me (they might as well of had targets on their backs!) helps a ton as you can key off of their lines, helped immensely ...I reeled in two more racers and found myself in 3rd place, and most importantly....sitting in a qualifying spot for the US Team!!

The last climb was long...about 1800ft up in soft snow. I had pressure from 4th & 5th as Luke Nelson (already a qualifier from yesterday) & Travis Scheefer (DNF'd yesterday so he was looking to qualify today) were hot on my tails. Ten minutes into the climb they got around me and held a STRONG pace to the top ...nearly catching Brandon French and Reiner in front of me! At this point with 20-25 minutes left of climbing I got down some sugar (energy) and held off some surges from behind to top out with a 20-30 second gap on the next skier.

Boot, binding, skin rip .....and I was out of there and on down one last hairy descent to the finish! 1hr 44minutes and 5400ft of climbing later and I was on the US Team along with fellow Crested Buttian, Travis Scheefer! Goal accomplished!

Sticking around the finish area to watch the women come in and it was Sari Anderson -1st, Janelle Smiley-2nd, Monique Merrill - 3rd (all having Qualified from the previous day), ....and capturing the final two qualifying sports on the US Team for the day were Jari Kirkland -4th and Amy Fulwyler -5th.....

...Now its time to drink a beer and recover!! Got back to CB at 3AM Monday morning....and the Packers Won!!

Ski Mountaineering World Championships Website is Up

2011-01-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

Click here to take you to the World Championships site

The Ski Mountaineering World Championships will be held in Claut, Italy from February 18-25th 2011. With one more qualifier remaining (Sunlight 1/15/10) five of the eight spots have been filled for the respective men's & women's teams.....

Women's Team (so far)                                     Men's Team (so far)
Janelle Smiley (CB, CO)                           Brandon French (Whitefish, MT)
Sari Anderson (Carbondale, CO)              Luke Nelson ( Idaho Falls, ID)
Monique Merrill (Breck, CO)                   Pete Swenson (Breck, CO)
Jari Kirkland (CB, CO)                               Travis Scheefer (CB, CO)
Amy Fulwyler (Jackson Hole, WY)              Bryan Wickenhauser (CB, CO)

See a trend here?? Come ski in Crested Butte, CO!!

Check out some sweet photos by Kevin Krill from Jackson

2011-01-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

Click here for a link to Crested Butte Photography's Photos of the racing

Nice work K2! Always great to see you out on course! You capture the essence of the race so well!

US Nationals Race Video

2011-01-11T15:46:00.000-08:00

Click here for Video of 2011 US Ski Mountaineering Championships

Note how the winds are just nuking climbing up out of Corbets Col!!!

As Team SCARPA Athletes for the last five years, we appreciate their support ...you guys make the best boots!!

How These Saved my (fingers) life

2011-01-11T08:25:00.001-08:00

Just one of many times......this glove has saved my life.

Racing can be life or death if you are serious about your goals....(no we're not going to kill ourselves if we don't win) but....

Facts going into this segment of the race situation I describe below....

Temp: 26F at start....18F top of Mtn
Wind Speed: 25-45MPH
Wind Chill: ~ minus 10-30F
2 hours and 5000ft of skinning into the race, I've been seating

Take this past weekend,the US Ski Mountaineering Nationals Jackson Hole. We topped out of booting up Corbet's Col and the winds were NUKING!! out and we had to skin up the ridge to the patrol shack for an additional 5 minutes. This was enough to make most people stop and break out more layers...and when you stop in a race you are losing ground! ....me? I broke out my nylon shells from these CAMP G Comp Wind gloves and kept moving, fingers were fine! The nylon shell is removed from a small pouch on the back of the wrist and easily slipped over all your fingers to protect them from the elements and retain some heat! At the patrol shack I had dexterity in my fingers for the skin rip, and got down as fast as I can....making up time on my competitors! Buy em! They are life savers!

So Why the Increased Depth in the Field?

2011-01-10T18:31:00.000-08:00

For one its got to be the gear...and two....its got to be the gear! Since WWI and WWII when European countries were battling over the high alpine real estate....alpine ski travel has been refined. Its been a trickle down process to get the gear in the US since then. Finally US mountain communities are seeing a rise in back country travel (and fun!) due to the prevalance of Dynafit/SCARPA products becoming available over the last 10 years....yeah telemark gear has been available but just not light or efficient as the new AT gear.

So now that the gear is available and a 2nd hand market is established for an easy of entry ($$$), the poor athlete who is super fast at other sports, can now get into the sport! This has now recently (last 2-3 years) developed an increase in COSMIC/USSMA attendance ....and battles for the top 8 spots to make the US Ski Mountaineering Team at the US Nationals. Its exciting times for Ski Mo racing in the US!...think NORBA 1983.....O' yeah, its kind of fun too!

2011 US National Championships

2011-01-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

Click on the Corbet's Col photo to take you to more of Kevin Krills photos..

There is a new Sheriff in town! While the depth of field is getting stronger for both the men & women's fields, local Crested Butte athlete Janelle Smiley took home the Women's National title ...a stunning upset over favorites Sari Anderson (2nd) and Monique Merrill....with Team CB's own Jari Kirkland in 5th.

On the Men's side it was Canadian Reiner Thoni taking the victory, with the US National Champion coming in 2nd, Brandon French....followed by Luke Nelson, and Pete Swenson. Team CB's Bryan Wickenhauser finished 5th and Jon Brown 19th.

Jari & Wick just missed out on qualifying for the US National Team as the top three men/women on the day auto qualified.
The racing was super tough with the standard boot pack up Corbet's Col. and nearly 8000ft of elevation gain. Flat light compounded things on the downhills as it was tough to "take chances" when you couldn't get a great visual on the tricky descents.

The field was with out a doubt the deepest field ever assembled for US Nationals in its 11 year history, with 91 registered athletes.

Day two of qualifying was on the other side of the Tetons at Grand Targhee...stay tuned

2011-01-04T14:58:00.000-08:00

The first COSMIC event of the season was an all-backcountry, sold-out (limited to 50 entrants) success at CS Irwin Lodge outside of Crested Butte; Bryan Wickenhauser and Jake Jones promoted an "instant classic". A foot of overnight snow made for last-minute trail breaking and some nice powder turns and straight-lining on the descents. Brian Smith of Gunnison took the men's race followed by Jan Koles from Czech Republic. On the women's side Sari Anderson of Carbondale (who snowmobiled to the event) got the win ahead of Breckenridge's Monique Merrill. We were privileged to have Xavier Fane and Kevin Krill shooting the event - their pictures tell the story and are here:

Xavier Fane Photo Gallery http://www.xavierfane.com/Sports/Irwin-Cosmic-Rando-Race/15036100_UmvCt#1123091293_iK9Kz

Kevin Krill Photography http://crestedbuttephotography.com/blog/2010/12/11/first-cosmic-race/

Thanks to all of you for your part in supporting the COSMIC series - we're growing significantly this year and the turn-out, quality of the equipment and depth of the field is encouraging for the series and the growth of skimo racing in America. Up next on January 15th is The Heathen Challenge (also a US SkiMo Team qualifying race) at Sunlight Mt. Resort. Hope to see you there.

Team Crested Butte 2.0

2011-01-01T13:15:00.000-08:00

We're back- New Year and a new focus!

The team is reorganizing and will have some posts up in the very near future.

Check back soon as we will have a report from the USSMA National Championship in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.