Neal jokingly referred to it as the "Outward Bound Course in a Day" loop. I'm not exactly sure how long it is, but our estimates put it in the 40-mile range. It had 11,000+ vertical feet climbed over five passes and it took all day (about 12 hours with stops). (more…)
In the days that follow this enormous undertaking, I'm usually so drained-- mentally, physically, and emotionally-- that I struggle to assimilate all that took place. I recall it in bits and pieces-- mental images of the course, fragments of conversations with crew and pacers, or memories of thoughts as to how I was feeling or what was happening. To look back on it can almost take on a Hollywood-esque "life...
Totally psyched and somewhat surprised to have actually pulled it off, Neal Beidleman and I sat on Pyramid’s narrow summit in the afternoon sun and processed it all. It wasn’t that we thought it couldn’t be done. Through the years there have been scattered reports of groups completing different sections of this traverse. Our concern had to do with the time and weather. The horseshoe-like ridge is so long, with...
"Thirty-seven." That was his answer to my question as to when he thought he had reached his top form, and after which he first noticed his speed, stamina and general physical condition begin to deteriorate-- in other words, when things started going downhill. At the time, I didn't think it to be an inconsiderate question, I was genuinely curious. But I later realized that to ask a guy 13 years...
The 2010 Hardrock 100 is done and now, a week later, I'm still trying to put it all together. In the days that followed, as I embraced my "recovery", mostly in the form of sitting on the couch and watching repeats of the days Tour de France leg, I fought the urge to procrastinate and attempted to post something about the event. But as I sat with my laptop open,...
So Christy pulled it off, she's the first woman to ski the 54 Colorado 14ers. And what a finish it was, not simply due to the fact that her final peak was Capitol, considered by my many to be the most committing ski descent of all the 14ers, but in the various challenges that presented themselves this past season. It may have appeared as though it all fell right into...
I've seen it before, during extended dry periods of past winters, people can become a little jaded and skeptical of storm predictions. Whether the forecasts are incorrect or simply not calling for any big dumps, after long stretches of winter that lack significant snowfall, some just refuse to believe it's really coming when it finally does. So when I got an email from Christy in regards to Joel Gratz's big...
Hang out at Aspen Highlands enough and you'll eventually overhear conversations rehashing the days exploits up in the Bowl using proper bowling terms, and in a style more commonly reserved for the 10 pin, Budweiser sponsored, indoor "sport." Basically, this type of ski slang/ Bowl-speak works like this-- to ski the Bowl from the top is considered a strike, and to ski any line short of the summit, i.e. any...
There's snow up high, yet the mountain doesn't open until Thanksgiving and because we don't like waiting-- sometimes we're downright impatient-- four of us decided to go get a sneak peek. Neal Beidleman, Pete Anzalone, Christy and I made up the eager foursome and found things to be pretty good if not downright awesome by pre-opening day standards. One run in particular might be worth a second visit though I...
The race was awesome. Reflecting on it briefly here, a few things stick out-- I improved on my prior 2007 time, cutting off 1:16, with a good amount of credit due to meeting my goal of getting through aids stops faster. A crash in the early parts slowed me down for a bit, a simplified strategy for food and fluids worked better than my mixed menu last time and the...
We met in Aspen in 2000 and have been happily stuck in the rockies ever since, getting out in the mountains every day we can, in every season and by all means possible. Read More
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