tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14115423713345058472024-03-14T03:02:21.084-07:00Glorified WalkingArbitrary objectives regarding moving around places.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-255625316591991142018-07-09T14:28:00.001-07:002018-07-10T06:33:12.064-07:00Hunter's Creek Traverse<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/route/106473883/crescent-ridge" target="_blank">Crescent Ridge</a> caught my eye a few years ago while browsing Mountain Project for moderate routes in Rocky Mountain National Park. One catch is that it ascends Pagoda Mountain, which by any route is rather complicated and technical. The other catch is that as a very exposed 5.6 climb that is miles away from any help, one needs to be confidently up to the task. The </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">last</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> catch is that it is 7.5 miles and 3,500ft of gain (with half being off trail) just to get to the base, so bringing a rope and rack would be a soul crushing haul. All of this culminated in sculpting a <a href="https://caltopo.com/m/8B2T" target="_blank">route</a> where Crescent Ridge would be the focus, but I could take advantage of gear carried and nearby routes in the area. I loaded a pack with rock shoes, chalk and the usual necessary provisions and gear for a day up high in the mountains.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Starting from the Wild Basin Entrance Station, it is 4.3 miles and 2,000ft of gain to Sandbeach Lake. Most of the trail is runnable, but I never hesitate to hike if I feel like it when starting a big day -- no need to tire myself out in the first hour! I didn’t realize that Sandbeach Lake is, in fact, a lake where there is a beach composed of sand. It’s actually quite incredible. A father and his son are putzing around the shore, presumably having just risen from their nearby campsite. I find a vaguely cairned use trail around the north side of the lake and begin ascending Mt Orton.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Adding in the otherwise worthless Orton makes sense as it puts you just above treeline to avoid what would surely be an arduous bushwhack up Hunters Creek proper. From here, the majority of today's objectives are laid out: Pagoda, Longs, the Beaver, Meeker and Lookout. Mt Orton is actually just the broad tail-end of Chiefshead’s Southern slope, so after a bit of cross country I need to cross the drainage towards Pagoda's Crescent Ridge. Too excited to navigate properly, I cross too low and end up swimming through some willows before I’m on my way.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A beach in the Rockies!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Crescent Ridge with Longs, The Beaver and Meeker looming. I crossed the stream at bottom-middle of this picture, I'd actually recommend going around the barely visible lake higher up.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Crescent Ridge abruptly soars out of the center of the basin, beckoning you closer; still though, it’s a steep few pitches right out of the gate and it’s intimidating to look at. At the obvious base of the technical climbing I switch into my climbing shoes. The climbing isn’t so hard yet, but I’m nonetheless satisfied to have the added security of my rock slippers. I find generally obvious lines alternating between some cracks on the left and featured face climbing on the right. Eventually, I reach the 5.6 crux, the leftmost of three crack systems. I take my time and move upwards on secure holds and eventually stem out further left (massively exposed) to finish the sequence.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The initial buttress</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The start of the technical climbing goes up this flared crack</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Above the technical section lies about 1,000ft of 4th class slab with odd 5th class moves here or there, so I transition back to running shoes. On the march up I find some leftover hail from the night before and top off one my bottles that is running low. The summit of Pagoda is small, pointed and it offers some of the best views possible of both Wild Basin and Glacier Gorge. I eye my next objective just beyond the Keyboard of the Winds, the <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105757948/southwest-ridge" target="_blank">Southwest ridge of Longs Peak</a>, which ascends to the summit directly from the junction of the Trough and Narrows.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Looking back at the meandering</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">En route to Longs, I decided to spice things up by trending generally towards the ridge proper rather than the normal gully which deposits you far further up the Narrows. I only have to back track a bit before I find terrain which aligns with the guidebook description. The start was a bit awkward as I was foot-jamming with a <a href="https://www.boafit.com/" target="_blank">Boa</a> lacing system, but it works out fine enough. I cruise upwards until I hit the crux which prompts me to back-off and re-evaluate. I could downclimb all the way back to the Narrows from here if I had too, but I figure it’s worth at least changing into climbing shoes to see how that feels. Sure enough, with stickier rubber and a jam-able peg of a foot it goes no problem! I find another granite handcrack to parade along before mantling up onto the massive plateau that composes the Longs summit -- it was a long walk over to the high-point boulder!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Looking down the Southwest ridge to the Keyboard of the Winds' towers and the relatively dwarfed (but still proud) Spearhead.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The finale of the ridge was this sunny and cruiser handcrack at 14,000ft!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next, I had planned on <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/route/106487344/the-beaver" target="_blank">downclimbing the Stepladder and ascending the Beaver via Gorrell’s Traverse</a>. I hadn’t been on the Stepladder in about 3 years, so I dropped down the east face too early and had to climb back up before finding what I was sure was the right line. Thankfully, I found the sneaky ledge through the Notch without issue. Last time I had done Gorrell’s it was a complete disaster and I wasted almost an hour trying to onsight downclimb during an attempt at the Wild Basin Traverse. From an ascending perspective, it is much easier to identify: begin up a nasty looking gully, traverse on great ledges to the right and then ascend the cleaner and easier crack system. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Looking back at the true summit of Longs from the Beaver. The stepladder downclimb is -- I think -- out of sight in this mass of rock and Gorrell's travers is 200 sheer feet directly below where this photo was taken.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Moments later I’m on top of the Beaver trying to forecast the darkening clouds. I’ve got plenty of time, but none to waste. I dance off towards Meeker and feel surprisingly well ascending the gravel use trail, considering the energy expended to get there. Motivated by the incoming clouds, I scamper across the Meeker ridge. If only this ridge was a bit longer, the position and movement is amazing.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mt Meeker residing just beyond the expanse of talus composing the Loft</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, staring down 6,000ft to Wild Basin, I have a long tedious boulder hopping descent down Mt Meeker’s south ridge ahead of me followed by a requisite tag of the mushroom-cap summit of Lookout Mountain before finding my way back to the trail and finally the car. The boulder hopping feels eternal, I’m hungry, thirsty and getting a bit hangry. I find a well cairned path through the brush and up to Lookout’s summit. It’s a quaint little summit with a surprise 5th class finish. Last, is to bomb through the trees until I finally bump back into the Sandbeach Lake trail where I can trot the well maintained path back to the car.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A very long ridge.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lookout Mountain's mushroom cap summit</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Taking a breather atop of Lookout Mountain</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’ve never finished a day in Wild Basin that wasn’t fairly large. Everything worth doing involves a significant approach which despite being downhill, seems even harder on the way back. The expansiveness is intimidating but it keeps gems like today lurking in the shadows -- untouched, unpopular and pristine. I saw almost zero people the entire day, aside from the father and son at Sandbeach Lake, looking down on some hiker’s in the Trough (I had the Longs summit all to myself, actually for the 2nd time this week) and the first couple miles of the Sandbeach Lake trail. If this link was 6 miles and 3,000ft closer to a trailhead it would be as popular as the <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105745980/petit-grepon" target="_blank">Petit Grepon</a>, but the surrounding effort required for this adventure makes it all the more sweet to finish.</span></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since this traverse, I learned of a </span><a href="https://www.14ers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=54539&p=665689#p665689" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">missing hiker</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in the area who was reported the night before. This explains the SAR helicopter I saw buzzing around me all day. Unfortunately, I saw no sign of Brian or any abandoned gear throughout my loop. </span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-28492604243302325072018-05-26T14:13:00.000-07:002018-05-26T14:13:09.188-07:00Cruel Jewel 100<span id="docs-internal-guid-f81cfb7e-8a7a-89e2-842f-a31f8a0eca28"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I signed up for the Cruel Jewel 100 for a few reasons. First, it’s hard race mostly on singletrack with a ton of climbing. Second, it manages to evade the fluff that similar races seem to have such as lotteries, huge costs, required gear -- it’s just tough hundred mile race in the mountains, plain and simple. Third is that I’ve heard plenty about how the East is far gnarlier than us pretentious Coloradoans seem to give it credit for. As bonus, the race gives you UTMB points and qualifies you for the Hardrock 100 lottery too!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUiwRzu0b7i_9OCX9I7srKs_LtZoiC95PrT88N5ROt61NXs1gKcvDd6bMKBunbt6kBwxp9U1Q6g_IF4OhmyIO0sgZ1OE_OL3pMaTpi2zy82wOXI1VeM5fPkgCphktfQ3HfZ_4saHsmP0/s1600/30688589_1709165662462677_2256323353705837678_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="960" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUiwRzu0b7i_9OCX9I7srKs_LtZoiC95PrT88N5ROt61NXs1gKcvDd6bMKBunbt6kBwxp9U1Q6g_IF4OhmyIO0sgZ1OE_OL3pMaTpi2zy82wOXI1VeM5fPkgCphktfQ3HfZ_4saHsmP0/s640/30688589_1709165662462677_2256323353705837678_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Steampunk Dragon" was the art piece made for the race by a local artist <a href="https://www.grantsearcey.com/" target="_blank">Grant Searcey</a>. So yeah, the t-shirts were pretty cool!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">My training was a lot less volume intensive than I usually aim for. Having done (for myself) a lot of very long runs in the past couple months, I was confident that I didn't need to have crazy high mileage. I mostly just maintained myself as a runner and tossed in a few long days at high effort level. This mean that by race week, I was mechanically sound, physically rested and mentally ready for the challenge I signed up for.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abby and I made our flight to Atlanta by about 30 seconds. I made it first to the gate and breathed "one more behind me", to which the ticket-checker responded "she's got about 45 seconds". We were staying with her parents and some family friends at beautiful lake house in Blue Ridge. The house was luxurious, and a near comical reprieve from what 100 miles in the Blue Ridge mountains would be. Here we were able to prepare my gear, crew bags and food in peace and most importantly, with a fully </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">equipped</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> kitchen.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TuSRjvoe76ni2VP64TvzMfKdqO-EjY7IldyEtmbNTfzkGuyL2l1Ro-N7ooaiseuhwm4mqhKOT6tm1Tgdsk5atiOI0e_bMs79sECfuGq691YYtnF8cVpnZ5EEZvif3in_9z9IPcYUw74/s1600/IMG_2670.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TuSRjvoe76ni2VP64TvzMfKdqO-EjY7IldyEtmbNTfzkGuyL2l1Ro-N7ooaiseuhwm4mqhKOT6tm1Tgdsk5atiOI0e_bMs79sECfuGq691YYtnF8cVpnZ5EEZvif3in_9z9IPcYUw74/s640/IMG_2670.HEIC" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The joy of collapsible trekking poles before the start</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The race start was at noon; unique, but I think it makes a lot of sense. Starting at noon ensures that <i>everyone</i> has to suffer through the night out, even the lead male. I was somewhat on the fence to start with poles (clearly, I was confused), but I made the correct decision to use them the entire time. The gun went off (by that I mean the RD said "go") right at noon and we were off to the races. I held back, as it seemed who would finish well did, besides the leader Andy Pearson, who was on fire start to finish. After a forgettable section of road the climbing began as did the hiking for most, myself included. I don't much like a lot of chatting when I race so my patience was quickly exhausted hiking along in a large group. We rolled through the first water-only aid, I stopped in the bushes (accidentally in full view of some hikers, oops), and fell back further in place -- not that it remotely mattered at this point.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The foretold steepness was upon us. I moved up steadily between little pods of runners, not really chatting much besides with Gavin. When I first got into this silly running stuff, I, by chance, was on Mt Shavano when Gavin finished Nolans 14. I remember shaking his hand and thinking it was the coolest and most inspiring thing I had ever witnessed. He later asked "didn't you try Nolans a while back?", to which I responded "yes, it was glorious disaster. I learned a lot!". Funny how these sort of connections play out in a small community.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I moved up in the field steadily until I was in about 10th or so, as fast I was willing to run at this point. I met Abby at around the 20 mile mark at Skeenah Gap for the first time where I changed out of my 215 gram racers into a burlier shoe along with a fresh pair of socks (fear the humidity!). I was able to see her again at the Wilscot Gap as I followed the infamous Duncan Ridge trail (also known as the Dragon's Back) over endless mountains and knobs. I stayed by myself through this section, doing my best to keep the calories, electrolytes and water coming. It was super convenient that every aid had Tailwind; I probably drank 40 or so bottles total!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">At Old Dial Road, Abby prepped me for the coming night with a dry shirt and headlamp. A short descent off of Benton MacKaye Trail put me on the road itself. I've found that by running roads one or two times a week, that it was more than a lot of the other runners I spokes with. So on this next section of road, I was able to move up a couple positions then came into the aid station at Stanley Creek TH tied for 7th. Leaving the aid station, headlamp now on, I was able to build enough of a gap with a consistently strong hiking pace that I was alone for the meandering descent towards Deep Gap. I moved into 6th position just before entering the aid station. Despite feeling good, I made a point to spend some time at Deep Gap to eat my first of many potato floats (boiled potatoes in a cup covered with coke) and confirm the directions for the lollipop loop as I had read about prior confusion. I wasn't too concerned though, I was well prepared with the route on my Suunto should I get confused or miss a turn.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I left the aid alone and wouldn't see a soul along the whole lollipop loop. Despite being (allegedly) 5.4 miles, the distance really seemed to drag on. It felt like ages before I even made the cut across the river and began ascending back up. Staying vigilent for the reflective course marking flags, I just kept my head down and eventually popped out of the loop and back into the Deep Gap aid station. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next section consisted of a short bit of road running so I packed up my poles and opted for single bottle. I always know that on these road sections you just need to keep running all that you can, as they are the easiest miles you'll get the whole time and a great place to make some time. I moved into 5th place just before the Camp Morganton aid station where I met finally met Abby again. She tended to my feet (gross) while I tended to a burrito and a cold brew coffee. I left the aid in 6th, but quickly reclaimed 5th with my eyes on 4th (who <i>apparently</i> was actually in 2nd, but that's another story). </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Consumption as an art form, Abby lurks behind keeping the pipeline full. (Photo Matthew Farina)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had some more potato floats at Deep Gap and left in 5th place. Shortly after starting my second loop around the Flat Creek Trail the skies suddenly opened up with the fury that had been forecasted. I just barely able to get my coat out in time! I plodded along the now puddled and saturated trail with bullets of rain tickling my hood. There were plenty of folks out on their first lap which gave me some people to chase and keep the monotony at a minimum. I caught up to Gavin at the end of the lap and slowed to chat with him for a couple minutes before pushing on towards my fourth and final pit stop at Deep Gap.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rain wouldn't relent. Ahead was a moderate ascent and then what I thought would be a short bop over to Weaver Creek. I moved into 4th place on the climb. </span><i style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ouch</i><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">, should have checked the elevation profile here as it was actually 1500ft descent to the aid station. On this out and back spur, I measured 2nd and 3rd to be a bit under an hour ahead of me; but 5th, a guy I had passed hours ago had come out of nowhere to just five minutes behind me. I tried to put my head down on the ascent out of the lonely aid station both to catch and hold on. In hindsight, I let my calorie intake waver in this section trying to stay dry (which I failed at, anyways). I made it to Abby at Stanley Creek just as the sky was barely letting go of the darkness. I was getting a bit antsy about placing here, but Abby centered me and forced me to inhale the rest of a coffee, some coke and (homemade!) potato soup. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I dashed out onto the final road section with high hope of holding a steady run. My mentality wavered and my legs followed, my legs were definitely sore but I sort of gave myself a bit too much liberty as I turned up Old Dial Rd. I took a couple walk breaks, but per usual walking doesn't make you feel much better, you just go a lot slower. I plodded along towards Wilscott Gap, beginning to seriously feel some fatigue. I arrived at the aid station with Abby armed and ready to both continue crewing and pace the last 30 or so miles to the finish.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Early morning uphill grind, finally with Abby keeping me engaged (and photographed!)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">My pace was pathetic, but Abby got me moving a bit faster. It wasn't until we had moved a few miles to the next aid, Skeenah Gap, and saw 5th place Walter <i>flying</i> up behind me. Something clicked in my brain and I met his pace as best I could. We stayed relatively as a pack of three (myself, Abby and Walter) into Fish Gap. We left simultaneously from the aid, but I just couldn't hang with Walter's pace -- especially on the downhills, my quads just didn't have it anymore.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Grinding out what I could on the uphills just after dawn</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />I was now running scared, clinging to the back of the top five, I didn't know if 6th was just behind me or an hour back. White Oak Stomp was about a touch over an hour away on the out but Duncan Ridge had no mercy for those returning to it's ground. The ridge is truly natural work of art, masochistically speaking. Whatever you trained on, it's not as steep or barely as steep as this, it's glorious and it takes forever. I had to remember that it was a moment like this why I was here in the first place. Head down and legs churning on the uphills, shuffling what my trashed quads could on the downhills. We arrived at White Oak Stomp to find that I was just over an hour back of 4th (who Walter had already passed) I just needed to hold on a bit longer!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The final and near eternal-feeling mega climb to Coosa Bald</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A blurry eyed perspective of the trails winding down to Wolf Creek</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The final stretch as I suspected, had grown immensely since I had ran the other way. After a final grunt up Coosa Bald it was long descent to the unmanned Wolf Creek water station. The downhills remained a problem but the new problem was finding strength to run the scattered relative flats in this next section. I'm learning that at the end of these things, it requires seemingly herculean effort to accomplish near anything so you might as well run if it's remotely possible. This is observation made in hindsight as at the time I was less enthusiastic about my abilities. The trail wound up and around seemingly pointlessly to nowhere. I couldn't remember what the beginning (now end) of the course was like, but when we crossed pavement I knew we were close.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feet from the finish, relieved. (Photo by Matthew Farina)</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTpD62b0y5oTzn5S35jSpjarE1wvbgcBcQmMKId0M9Kqco5RKptsZhxukb3LmTeVuYe_rJTIJJKA3SvcsRPQBWkgpjNQBLysSNZxjIlDC63goHZLOv1nKXv4zFYj2MH4EaHlIH6CMcY8/s1600/IMG_2886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">My downward shuffle scooted me along the final wooded section until the glimmer of Vogel Lake peaked through the trees. Gaining pavement, I knew the end was less than a mile out. I looked behind me to see a woman moving extremely well, I did <i>not</i> want to have to sprint to the finish to stay in front of the lead woman! "I'm not in the race!" she belted out -- <i>thank goodness</i> -- she caught me a few seconds later, just a volunteer heading back to the finish. Still, you always need to finish strong, which in this case mean under 10min/mile pace. I thanked Abby for crewing and pacing as the roaring crowd of 20 spouses, parents and friends tricked into spending their weekend at a 100mi race greeted me into the finish, I could single out the cheers of Abby's parents as well as our Blue Ridge hosts. You really can't top these moments.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stupid and happy.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Promptly after crossing the line I found a chair, as instinct tends to help you out on these type of finishes. The belt buckle was colossal, you would need a separate belt system simply to hoist and suspend the Cruel Jewel buckle. There truthfully isn't a good way to describe why it's fun to do this, why these moments are unforgettable and practically life changing. It's like asking somebody why a food tastes good, it just does. Maybe someday I'll have a reason, but for now I know I just really like this stuff.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Abby kept me going for 28 hours all by herself! Having to both crew <i>and</i> pace (especially 30 miles of the Dragon's Back) is not to be underestimated!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We spent the rest of the weekend lounging on Blue Ridge Lake and at the lake house itself. It was such a privilege to meet new friends with such a beautiful place to stay while others had to retreat to their soggy tent in the state park. Amazingly, I came out of this thing completely injury free, just very, <i>very</i> sore with a couple blisters on my toes. I didn't know what Georgia was going to deliver with the Cruel Jewel, but I can't have imagined a better taste of the eastern ultra-running scene is all about.</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-65270200490595903982018-03-04T20:37:00.001-08:002018-03-04T20:40:57.968-08:00Transgrancanaria<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Transgrancanaria is really cool. The race crosses the island beach-to-summit-to-beach by a meandering route which dashes through unique sub-biomes and quaint Spanish towns. As far as destination races go, this one has got to be near the top -- I can’t think of a much better way to experience the island! So Abby and I scheduled a full 10-day getaway in order to take in all that Gran Canaria had to offer at a slower pace for a few days before we both took on the challenge.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Typical view on the island. In this case, looking up towards Roque Nublo from Artenara</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />Getting to Gran Canaria ended up being the first major obstacle. After our first flight, the next three flights would not allow us to check in until moments before and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">then </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">would not accept our boarding passes. We did, eventually after several stressful layovers (including wasting a sickening amount of money on an airport hotel) and renting a car, reach our quaint abode on the west coast of the island. Our bags joined us 36 hours later. We had wanted to run more before the race, but after days of travel which necessitated a few 10+ hour nights of sleep we opted not to push it. This may have actually saved us from the trap many Americans fall into when arriving at the massive playgrounds which host many European races.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrh1bL0q1c9vkpbS2MvKueQOQ8xoQPbxqMgB0YJpv0Uj3bHI__5MiO7khpxIV-pwKuOthI8_9xDvIHZnlimb_9JKsf0_tPyYMUE5YeF2bYKKHDkkn905ZmCiblojMWL4S2b22yFzHaeQ/s1600/00009IMG_00009_BURST20180220134210_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrh1bL0q1c9vkpbS2MvKueQOQ8xoQPbxqMgB0YJpv0Uj3bHI__5MiO7khpxIV-pwKuOthI8_9xDvIHZnlimb_9JKsf0_tPyYMUE5YeF2bYKKHDkkn905ZmCiblojMWL4S2b22yFzHaeQ/s640/00009IMG_00009_BURST20180220134210_COVER.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Abby doing her best to not get overzealous in the days before the race. Our little home in El Risco is below!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The island of Gran Canaria is pretty amazing. From our rental on the west coast, we were clear from the more typical beachfront resorts you can find at any tropical locale. Instead, we found small agricultural communities nestled into valleys and mountainsides. To our surprise and the, Americans’ presence is a rarity. We spent our days mostly hopping in our little car and driving the winding roads to whatever view or lunch spot seemed fit for the day -- for the most part, we put the race out of our minds.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpgZ3VZJCagnQ5wJag9ALkGbLvvLE3WVInjH1Fbb4i-s3ESfMFWy9-Ph4bGtA01gJm9NKFHnwEoHG8FH49stZxptbZRICQL85gSDo2czCVpW91lhT-pStjGyA2DB8upWHL2h_6bqMaXI/s1600/IMG_20180220_173658.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpgZ3VZJCagnQ5wJag9ALkGbLvvLE3WVInjH1Fbb4i-s3ESfMFWy9-Ph4bGtA01gJm9NKFHnwEoHG8FH49stZxptbZRICQL85gSDo2czCVpW91lhT-pStjGyA2DB8upWHL2h_6bqMaXI/s640/IMG_20180220_173658.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At an unbelievable cactus garden and cafe we stumbled upon in San Nicloas</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZM6Jjhyphenhyphen_gCD5X89rr3ygdSdCgnSFaiRUkPWgAMiHuaG7np2gT8uGB0rVelAIGS6pz2Qkay9NIvJbh3ICYPkFg0nVCEafJ5PbQ2s-U-K9KH0YS7JOQk57dwJxTzH9dzuM0Ss9730a0pw/s1600/IMG_20180221_152114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZM6Jjhyphenhyphen_gCD5X89rr3ygdSdCgnSFaiRUkPWgAMiHuaG7np2gT8uGB0rVelAIGS6pz2Qkay9NIvJbh3ICYPkFg0nVCEafJ5PbQ2s-U-K9KH0YS7JOQk57dwJxTzH9dzuM0Ss9730a0pw/s640/IMG_20180221_152114.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Snacking on what seemed to be a local favorite (potatoes in red "mojo" sauce) in Teror</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dslSapD6DS-Ngc8j2OvCiD_hw2uhEVbydHd6SaX0LfaBh-CNNVZvtjsFgf-QjSHAVlpJGkN7mIr0A2B8REe2B1jY6ecOktTslUzlKDZZeUfA6hFhjCJP2DqSSt4csBe90D0xrAB9qWs/s1600/IMG_20180221_133533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4dslSapD6DS-Ngc8j2OvCiD_hw2uhEVbydHd6SaX0LfaBh-CNNVZvtjsFgf-QjSHAVlpJGkN7mIr0A2B8REe2B1jY6ecOktTslUzlKDZZeUfA6hFhjCJP2DqSSt4csBe90D0xrAB9qWs/s640/IMG_20180221_133533.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have no problem being tourists walking the boardwalk in Agaete.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The race was at hand soon enough. On Thursday, we collected our bibs, submitted our drop bags, verified what aid station food was vegan (water only, it seemed) and confirmed that there was still no explicit list of required gear. The race is pretty big, there were about 4000 registered runners combined across the five categories ranging from 265km to 15km. Transgrancanaria is by far the most popular with 1200 (1100 men, 100 women) entered. Even more apparent from the get go was the sheer monopoly Salomon has on the trail running market -- especially in Europe -- but hey, they make some pretty nice stuff!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday morning we woke up to no power because I blew a fuse trying to charge my headlamp with a converter. We put our stuff together and ate our remaining food at home before beginning a motorized near-double circumnavigation of the island before the race even started! Abby and I ate dinner at </span><a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187472-d7356138-Reviews-La_Hierba_Luisa-Las_Palmas_de_Gran_Canaria_Gran_Canaria_Canary_Islands.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">La Hierba Luisa</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a fantastic vegan restaurant we found the night before to cram in as many delicious calories as we could, money no object. We parked the car about a quarter mile from the eventual finish line in Maspolamos and got in line for a bus that would take us to Las Palmas. In the 60 seconds before we boarded the bus, it poured rain so the ride north was spent mostly trying to dry our clothes and sneak in one last nap. In Las Palmas, a host of nervous spandex clad runners swarmed the proximal cafes to force down some final calories and sip on espressos -- Abby and I being true Americans, opted for Americanos and a family sized bag of potato chips.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvLKRtjSOJtqoV2Xixv8V91IlfDkLrZdTovaC2U9IfdqTcfnTKnw68UIytZhfFnpdt6SG4G6FMaWlOj2E20cvUHIurs3_daWCZboov27uIBlfmTDOBJMJZhwtfcFBoxJVmETu9WGxbVxM/s1600/IMG_20180222_180426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvLKRtjSOJtqoV2Xixv8V91IlfDkLrZdTovaC2U9IfdqTcfnTKnw68UIytZhfFnpdt6SG4G6FMaWlOj2E20cvUHIurs3_daWCZboov27uIBlfmTDOBJMJZhwtfcFBoxJVmETu9WGxbVxM/s640/IMG_20180222_180426.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ready.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The 11PM start was truly all that European racing was hyped up to be: a live band, announcers lauding the top runners (Abby included, myself excluded) and “fans” (tourists which happened to be out, locals with nothing better to do and spouses tricked into crewing, I’m guessing) lining the streets. As the corral proceeded forth, I made sure to start slow; I let Abby pass me right away, she’s certainly the better pure runner of the two of us. The leaders’ pace was ruthless at high-five-minute miles, contently I putzed along until I could find some hiking ascents and out-of-control descents -- that’s why I was here anyways!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The herd departed the sandy beach after a couple miles and began to thin as it climbed an eroding and poorly paved road. Rolling dirt trails and small city streets put me in the first aid station soon enough. I topped off my fluids (soft flasks vastly over-saturated with tailwind so each water refill would offer a progressively lesser concentration) and snacked on a couple bananas as I left the aid. Abby entered the aid right as I left. The field thinned more as we made a net ascent to the quaint city of Teror on similar terrain as which led us to the first aid. I can’t remember much interesting on this stretch.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtNR4ztzRx3jGBBs2ma9h0iiU3YgnzBFoBEq5M7ql17QDxaBVOv56Qct3DwErmhyphenhyphen7KqYQfQXLoOzNtu88GHxzJmfP4Zvl76zHCRvh9pbyl12-dETcaD-UJLnzrpFyEzyVxAxUJXH9n4Y/s1600/40528372582_bde5f11891_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtNR4ztzRx3jGBBs2ma9h0iiU3YgnzBFoBEq5M7ql17QDxaBVOv56Qct3DwErmhyphenhyphen7KqYQfQXLoOzNtu88GHxzJmfP4Zvl76zHCRvh9pbyl12-dETcaD-UJLnzrpFyEzyVxAxUJXH9n4Y/s640/40528372582_bde5f11891_o.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Abby and I in the bottom left corner</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLs-8NyEbUS85LD8DUzBOQDj5PdVNtXlzaZK_oDNzpq-ttEHw_C_aXCV7PQ_nhpVgPgAspETvNpng4y_3wuQNodayoPCxMEOHKviluQS4l-Q04T8ohbCKU44wWMEEK9_NyUkb705ULrNA/s1600/39676340185_6a56451001_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLs-8NyEbUS85LD8DUzBOQDj5PdVNtXlzaZK_oDNzpq-ttEHw_C_aXCV7PQ_nhpVgPgAspETvNpng4y_3wuQNodayoPCxMEOHKviluQS4l-Q04T8ohbCKU44wWMEEK9_NyUkb705ULrNA/s640/39676340185_6a56451001_o.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No starting gun, just fire works.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCe42xQ134K3_4eDGTD1l7yFr7jSrs9yz4BCh4RlO6Zd3tHx8ewVQGVqZ3PdtBbjNFB2maQ9qAMr8uUpSaupWwhXKD5PXCC3jRST69IqzMywuJ0vVZD0FWEBJeQO4FgzFhqHuJXtMhFvk/s1600/39676340275_9e967880e8_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCe42xQ134K3_4eDGTD1l7yFr7jSrs9yz4BCh4RlO6Zd3tHx8ewVQGVqZ3PdtBbjNFB2maQ9qAMr8uUpSaupWwhXKD5PXCC3jRST69IqzMywuJ0vVZD0FWEBJeQO4FgzFhqHuJXtMhFvk/s640/39676340275_9e967880e8_o.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The herd progresses forth</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At this point I found myself leap frogging with a man with fantastically strong looking hamstrings wearing Hokas -- let’s call him Ham-Hoka. The trail wound steeply uphill, narrowing to single track until it seemed we were on the edge of </span><a href="https://www.hellocanaryislands.com/nature-areas/gran-canaria/tamadaba-natural-park/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tamabada</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. After a short section of road, the trail abruptly dropped. Sensing my opportunity I was able to cut a short corner (Euro racing, am I right?) and was ripping the descent exactly as stupidly reckless as I hoped I would. With my headlamp as bright as it could be, I barely maintained traction on the wet dirt and rocky steps. Some sections of the trail were in a tunnel formed by sagging foliage only a few feet tall. Cackling in delight I was able to gap the entire pod I was running with, besides Ham-Hoka. A ~20 minute ascent immediately followed the drop. Looking across the canyon, I could see a solid stream of headlamps pouring down the mountainside.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUR0P_VGiFKFyIV-eY4DpypjquSAucPYOm5hFv8TiQb6OodnGjWDysq9nF_BfsVwmKJsTVn-H1A2-47bvcJMwnI9q9jWGakYD3ZR4VJEyNeOYMutybrTAEs30a_ceW3wETzfXGR9Tdssc/s1600/IMG_20180219_182305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUR0P_VGiFKFyIV-eY4DpypjquSAucPYOm5hFv8TiQb6OodnGjWDysq9nF_BfsVwmKJsTVn-H1A2-47bvcJMwnI9q9jWGakYD3ZR4VJEyNeOYMutybrTAEs30a_ceW3wETzfXGR9Tdssc/s640/IMG_20180219_182305.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Typical trail (may have actually been on the course) on this section before the huge descent.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ham-Hoka and I left the aid station at Presa de los Perez at the same time, I almost forgot to get some food for the road and had to double back for a handful of bananas and figs. We hiked steadily at the edge of the pace I thought I could hold. The climb went on for a long while, with my head down and hands on my knees. I really wished I had some poles -- my quads were going to pay for this sooner or later. The gradient eased and we jogged along rolling trails in the pine forest as the sky hinted at daylight. In Artenara I had to let Ham-Hoka go as I made use of the toilet facilities. Looking for food in the aid, an Englishman was already quite angry that there was no source of salt besides a colossal pan of paella. I choked down some more dry fruit (the taste of bananas now making me gag) along with a couple requisite cups of cola. Leaving the aid I couldn’t stomach much solid food so I filled my bottles with two-thirds cola and the rest with water. Calories are calories.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The sun rose as I focussed on maintaining a strong hike up to the ridge forming the uppermost caldera of the island. Finding myself next to a Scottish runner living in Chamonix, it was nice to speak in English for a bit. The sun was rising and a current of clouds were rumbling over the ridge opposite ours with the sun tickling the upper surface of the inversion into a pink mist. It was an incredible sight. We kept a steady pace until I had to pull into the trees for my usual morning business (bathroom breaks are a more than frequent occurrence both during and outside of running for me -- too much fiber, I suppose). Returning to the trail I suddenly found my mojo gone. I missed a turn and checking the route on my watch had to traverse cross country across a slight ridge and lost several minutes. It felt as if I hadn’t eaten enough over the past 7 hours; in retrospect,that’s probably exactly what was happening! I did my best to not let up on the descent to Tejeda.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXN5e5BjQ8VgNV1MqH_gdhBlLOrcvHKq-DTcYObhGUDQcABmYC8abRV1GnuFzA9X2XJYGyIWOc1zjG5ApLUXqJNCuWQeBKtGJOzeg1IbtyHqcJYC0UEJpTgyu-3BgRMESFW0dybLnmD0/s1600/28238770_1520873721372140_2158424395035760816_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXN5e5BjQ8VgNV1MqH_gdhBlLOrcvHKq-DTcYObhGUDQcABmYC8abRV1GnuFzA9X2XJYGyIWOc1zjG5ApLUXqJNCuWQeBKtGJOzeg1IbtyHqcJYC0UEJpTgyu-3BgRMESFW0dybLnmD0/s640/28238770_1520873721372140_2158424395035760816_o.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Smiling heading down from the Roque</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Tejeda I found some potatoes in red sauce. They were far too decadent for an aid station, I thought, but I plowed through as many as I could since they tasted salty and I hadn’t had any of that in a long while. I held myself strictly to a run, hoping to rebound from the doldrums I was in. Three runners trailed close behind: two men running together and a lone woman. I made a pact with myself to not let them pass on the pending climb to Roque Nublo. I beared down and gritted my teeth, but at certain point could no longer justify the aerobic debt I was putting myself into. Offering their encouragement, all three passed me before I could waddle up to the island’s summit. I felt terrible, but all things considered was doing just fine. Knowing my drop bag was minutes away I did my best to not slog like a miserable and sullen weakling. If I’m going to suffer, I’m going to be damn proud of it and march to my demise with a smile on my face!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In Garanon, a barrage of marathon runners cascaded around me as I took my time to gather my drop bag, eat a bowl of pasta, re-load my gels and of course stiffen up my legs as much as I possibly could. Leaving the aid I tried emptying a packet of tailwind into my bottle but instead tore it open and coated my already damp hands and clothes with powder. A volunteer took pity on me and did it for me. Sensing a serious lowpoint if I didn’t turn things around soon, I forced my stiff legs back to a run. It was a near 6,000ft net downhill to the finish “I came here to push, so let’s go for it”, I thought. Endless technical cobblestone trails flew underneath me, doing my best to keep up with -- or at least stay out of the way of -- marathon runners. I had five gels to take me to the finish, they wouldn’t last the whole way but I could figure that out later. Keeping the sugar coming I inflicted all my legs could bear and moved through the Bartolome aid station with a water top-off and a couple cups of cola.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioVFCojRC3G9NMy5-W7mdOsrsJL6NkYO9aExV7zIbkScpuTlqXw4yfP56yPwGub1-vIhmoLNwCaiN8qrTSPCph5cMn4L0B2VAUwYVLapJV3OgfN_ItWOTgXAnTiacEre-ZYZ6SeSrnmUg/s1600/transgrancanaria-hombres-18110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioVFCojRC3G9NMy5-W7mdOsrsJL6NkYO9aExV7zIbkScpuTlqXw4yfP56yPwGub1-vIhmoLNwCaiN8qrTSPCph5cMn4L0B2VAUwYVLapJV3OgfN_ItWOTgXAnTiacEre-ZYZ6SeSrnmUg/s640/transgrancanaria-hombres-18110.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay, two more climbs. Just keep </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">running</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, don’t you dare think it’s okay to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hike</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">! It </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">has</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to end eventually, right?”, I thought to myself. Well, I was hiking sooner than I had hoped. The climb was short and the following descent was a blast. Running in the women’s top ten, the competitiveness was tangible. Despite being far from the top ten myself, the atmosphere was contagious. We streamed into Ayagaures, the final real aid station and moved just as quickly out.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg6ulsvNMfOoklKgBb_bFVWZVKjDuv_FyOvA95tLmUQ1X7hnTAEnvJfhcJggy7m5n3A2_b2puTsACpREqt7Ujmvdzgp4cqY_2flQWSBmKXt_Pb5szeH3UhMdVdd0mXdY63MtXFa7YC6Qk/s1600/38747617170_bcc6060e1d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg6ulsvNMfOoklKgBb_bFVWZVKjDuv_FyOvA95tLmUQ1X7hnTAEnvJfhcJggy7m5n3A2_b2puTsACpREqt7Ujmvdzgp4cqY_2flQWSBmKXt_Pb5szeH3UhMdVdd0mXdY63MtXFa7YC6Qk/s640/38747617170_bcc6060e1d_o.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A lot of this.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The woman I had ran the majority of the previous ascent with shot off like a rocket. An impressive and highly decisive surge that the other women and myself couldn’t match. The final climb was larger than I thought. Eyes glazed uphill and gel- and cola-sticky hands pressed to my knees I marched on. I probably could see Maspalomas from the top, but I didn’t bother to get my hopes up quite yet. The horror stories about the end of the race were worse than true. After a short trail to the bottom of a canyon, the trail wound through a water polished boulder field drainage. “I </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">can’t</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> run this” I thought, and fell into a walk, “This feels just as bad but slower”. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And that’s about how it went. I resigned to let whomever pass me so long as I didn’t dare walk. Still, I would occasionally falter: a muscle would cramp, my foot would tweak or I would get down on myself and walk a couple steps. A water station greeted us at the end of the road, I quickly downed a cup and kept on. “Just don’t </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WALK</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">!” I screamed at my legs. Onwards, the gravel road turned into an “urban drainage” -- essentially a cobblestone Los Angeles river. One last aid station offered a reprieve from the pain, the allure of a chair in the shade was overwhelming. Two cups of coke and I was out of there before I had the chance to look for an open seat.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxd5sPfbwbzh5zSvYzZSzI9X527zpE08zgFkKwQC99ELK3Du4hAxbyol0-h0nxkQhuA5t4b-xBQhRSFAP2Ual7QyepWsXm5AXrjPg-HFHJdOZqmJGgPfdJfNojSoLPL-TOxi9I0Yy_5co/s1600/transgrancanaria2018-1816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxd5sPfbwbzh5zSvYzZSzI9X527zpE08zgFkKwQC99ELK3Du4hAxbyol0-h0nxkQhuA5t4b-xBQhRSFAP2Ual7QyepWsXm5AXrjPg-HFHJdOZqmJGgPfdJfNojSoLPL-TOxi9I0Yy_5co/s1600/transgrancanaria2018-1816.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I could taste the finish! Running alongside a marathon runner who appeared to be in a similarly damaged state, we pulled each other along; each demanded the other keep running whenever we even hinted at walking it again. Doing my best to hold the pace, I succumbed to letting my fellow runner with 50 fewer miles in his legs take the lead to the finish. Turning the corner I let the last of my efforts spill across the red carpet beneath the archway. Utterly exhausted, I sauntered out of the finish area. Apparently needing to be off my feet more than food and water, I plopped myself down in a patch of grass. Delighted, I cast my windbreaker over my face and fell asleep.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The highest resolution of my finish photo I could glean from the internet without paying.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After several hours consisting of:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> 1. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Being unable to get back on my feet and not knowing how to ask for help in Spanish</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> 2. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Falling asleep in the rental car</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 3. Weighing the effort needed to get to food, water or a bathroom and whether I </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">needed</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> it</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 4. Propping myself up against a palm tree watching finishers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abby darted around the corner, I could tell she was looking for me but stand up I could not. I made some sort of semi-audible chirp that resembled a cheer as I rolled around trying to get to my feet. We met outside the finish area. She had fallen around mile 14 and bore the beginnings of black eye to match her legs covered in dried blood and scabs. At 21 hours, she had just barely accomplished both of our real goals for the race: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">don’t get your headlamp out twice</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. There was too much to share, neither of us knew where to begin! The only thing we could settle on for sure, was that it was one of the greatest adventures of our lives.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Will we be back? Maybe.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-21584970588964943832017-09-04T11:07:00.000-07:002017-09-04T11:07:09.198-07:00Wild Basin Traverse<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1165430477" target="_blank">Strava</a></div>
<br />
Labor Day weather was looking phenomenal so I was also assuming that anywhere popular and accessible would be a swarm. Lately, I've been interested in the Middle St. Vrain which comprises a spectacular, overlooked and remote section of <a href="http://blog.ultimatedirection.com/la-freeway/" target="_blank">LA Freeway</a> which is feeling more and more possible the more I learn about the line. When I found out Jack would need a car shuttle to move his car back to Boulder while he and Kiri ran across RMNP to her cabin in her Grand Lake I realized I had a convenient car shuttle for the Wild Basin Traverse!<br />
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Only known to be <a href="https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=17194" target="_blank"><i>fully</i> completed by Peter Bakwin</a>, the full Wild Basin Traverse crosses 15 peaks in a 30 mile loop. Wild Basin is also a great destination on a busy weekend as the approaches are rather long and a few obstacles along the Continental Divide prevent easy access. Important for this day was that I would be dropped off at the Sandbeach Lake TH and finish at the Wild Basin ranger station 2 miles up the road where Jack would leave the car!<br />
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I slept through my alarm, woke up to a phone call and was picked up minutes later. Again, the weather looked perfect so sunscreen and a shell was all I needed for the day. For my pack I opted for a two-liter bladder over bottles since I wasn't going to be finding any running water and I would need to have more than two soft flasks would provide. I was then able to use upfront storage for food which prompted me to eat a lot more than I normally do. For shoes I wore the S-Lab Wings 8 Soft Ground, they run well, climb well, look rad and the 2017 model can seemingly take a huge beating and stay in fine condition!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMM-MQkiQiSAqeGvualfTz8agqU5qv_B8Z1sOIkJahFZ8VDMnVNRIlgcZqybYVF4Yr1HKPijAbuDWqRVmFBiVrSuoF6pyC5wxC_9pbaazmxk2OAh52XD-wBhzEsSlQ3drc1yTKQmayuxI/s1600/GOPR4862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMM-MQkiQiSAqeGvualfTz8agqU5qv_B8Z1sOIkJahFZ8VDMnVNRIlgcZqybYVF4Yr1HKPijAbuDWqRVmFBiVrSuoF6pyC5wxC_9pbaazmxk2OAh52XD-wBhzEsSlQ3drc1yTKQmayuxI/s640/GOPR4862.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking east from the slopes of Lookout Mountain</td></tr>
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I left the Sandbeach Lake TH at 6:10AM and walk-jogged the trail until Peter's GPS left the trail -- I would heavily rely on this handy file most of the day! Lookout Mountain is actually a cool little pinnacle on the south ridge of Mt Meeker though is utterly dwarfed by every other peak along the route. The summit is marked with a mushroom like tower with expansive views to the enormity of Wild Basin. I didn't waste time lingering here, after a short descent I began the giant 4,000ft climb to Mt Meeker. The final ridge traverse to Mt Meeker is a gem, an exposed knife edge with great secure holds the whole time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUMn2EXDVM5fF0fYwpgI58E_YJduI-6xOzigRMou30BWOwpXAo_jJGPxZXs9igSXVXfR2SJDQGV0bGKVvyeaifmdmJfAsUGN-qFSp21_rSMMTlcjpejc5R7kUx-rtKMPfaA748kJNXZs/s1600/GOPR4866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUMn2EXDVM5fF0fYwpgI58E_YJduI-6xOzigRMou30BWOwpXAo_jJGPxZXs9igSXVXfR2SJDQGV0bGKVvyeaifmdmJfAsUGN-qFSp21_rSMMTlcjpejc5R7kUx-rtKMPfaA748kJNXZs/s640/GOPR4866.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On top of the Lookout Mountain pinnacle</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDfnr9IzccdgD-bkJIiMpBIJhERoj2G4O7TLHcisd-nPAs0-UXIPL468GZ-Z6Vxi7v4nsrfsROdclR0H7oVcFbbyHOYdXLsC7BS6_frLk6wnP4wVuuv4ZXMx4QcgKZtBt0bxqfyVLm2Hs/s1600/GOPR4867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDfnr9IzccdgD-bkJIiMpBIJhERoj2G4O7TLHcisd-nPAs0-UXIPL468GZ-Z6Vxi7v4nsrfsROdclR0H7oVcFbbyHOYdXLsC7BS6_frLk6wnP4wVuuv4ZXMx4QcgKZtBt0bxqfyVLm2Hs/s640/GOPR4867.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mushroom cap to Lookout Mountain</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQT9X8GI6AeUDZ_OoAS38v1jHCUQ7D2YkScyYz3moBukmbU1MyzIZxuP9L3YpkgFwFolEQTUK1CCY-Ox9cRNUk-VrwYlHDwTfn-seIeoIaTOgupqB6kZrHkuOLNELhd9Zm3E0sDd0ht0/s1600/GOPR4869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQT9X8GI6AeUDZ_OoAS38v1jHCUQ7D2YkScyYz3moBukmbU1MyzIZxuP9L3YpkgFwFolEQTUK1CCY-Ox9cRNUk-VrwYlHDwTfn-seIeoIaTOgupqB6kZrHkuOLNELhd9Zm3E0sDd0ht0/s640/GOPR4869.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The knife edge ridge leading to Mt Meeker. "The Beaver" and Longs Peak on the right.</td></tr>
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From Meeker I was excited to make my first trip up "The Beaver" or "Southeast Longs", the opposite side of the Notch from the actual summit. From the Beaver, you could say hello to the crowds on the summit of Longs -- however, the Notch makes it rather difficult to get there. Using Peter's GPS, I identified a chimney that I believed to be Gorrell's, the 5.5 downclimb to reach the bottom of the palisades directly. It went well at first but I hit several dead ends and wasted a bunch of time before finally reaching the talus beneath. My struggles seemed to be well enjoyed by those ascending the standard Clark's Arrow route below -- though some were horrified asking if they had climb <i>up</i> that way (did you even look at the route or map before heading up!?). I wrapped around through the east side of the Notch and took the stepladder scramble to the summit. Longs was predictably crowded so I slapped the summit marker, bombed down the Homestretch (looking around unsuccessfully for my friend Joe who I knew was up there somewhere) and skirted off of the Narrows towards the Longs-Pagoda saddle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQW1iQ2n0hJzz6T_KwY38uN40_cJ1WafGLa1FtLp3Jg3Qf7YVyEqQOpvPFR62cmqMRJ4t1nzuY3mnIAyI06pQS-5_1wEdeWdh6lMvIve9njxI8mjeT6dcTupJyTpO-v2M0Pi_gIzLyHmk/s1600/GOPR4872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQW1iQ2n0hJzz6T_KwY38uN40_cJ1WafGLa1FtLp3Jg3Qf7YVyEqQOpvPFR62cmqMRJ4t1nzuY3mnIAyI06pQS-5_1wEdeWdh6lMvIve9njxI8mjeT6dcTupJyTpO-v2M0Pi_gIzLyHmk/s640/GOPR4872.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The prominent tower of the Keyboard of the Winds</td></tr>
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Getting to Pagoda I was able to get a close-up view of the Keyboard of the Winds; I noticed two climbers on top of Pagoda, when I saw them leave the summit to the West I suspected I would either know them or they would soon be retreating back over the summit, stymied by the complicated west side. I tagged the summit of Pagoda just over 30 minutes after leaving Longs. Getting off of Pagoda to the west is notoriously difficult: the ridge direct goes at a radically exposed 5.7 that I don't wish to solo -- down, no less -- in running shoes. Kyle and I found a line earlier this summer that went a little easier but today I was armed with Peter's 3rd class sneak route! As I began traversing back southeast towards the sneak the two climbers yelled out to me, it was Bill and Dereck just starting a multi-day attempt on the LA Freeway. They weren't exactly sure what line to take but after some trial and error we all found the wonderfully simple downclimb to the ledge that would safely transport us to the Pagoda-Chiefs Head saddle. Motoring away, the last I saw they were just a bit behind me heading to Chiefs Head.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPLNF5jrMrkQydCc7NEa9qOEFKGhyBvBEF3mJsduqXa4g_f7x9dbq8rZyHkz7vTeR21hVzVxPO2SBCzU9_LAEJTXZbcVMBprEFtszw4UMT5pjuvo7jSn17NmLVAFYVgNdL7trYG5QQQY/s1600/GOPR4873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPLNF5jrMrkQydCc7NEa9qOEFKGhyBvBEF3mJsduqXa4g_f7x9dbq8rZyHkz7vTeR21hVzVxPO2SBCzU9_LAEJTXZbcVMBprEFtszw4UMT5pjuvo7jSn17NmLVAFYVgNdL7trYG5QQQY/s640/GOPR4873.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look really closely and you can see Bill and Dereck following the ledges across to the downclimb off of Pagoda</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvAGbETwlKeXTxfHhDV3yKcp0q9u33IbBcBpGZ3V006u4W5eLyuJgJnofMbccUnKSTNZmBrYuw7tATCzmGqVOURPOuYbPcCZs_WUiA2mqJS_2Vbbm2NEMzrhHP9P1tEjz1ZbVQB2L6ffk/s1600/GOPR4876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvAGbETwlKeXTxfHhDV3yKcp0q9u33IbBcBpGZ3V006u4W5eLyuJgJnofMbccUnKSTNZmBrYuw7tATCzmGqVOURPOuYbPcCZs_WUiA2mqJS_2Vbbm2NEMzrhHP9P1tEjz1ZbVQB2L6ffk/s640/GOPR4876.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Broadway-esque ledge providing easy passage off of Pagoda</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKSumYShWOLxfsoyBmXzakBYkIzmUOLvsZWYMWlHywcVI1js8j2GEfKkbzSB4D6Rpul4CXkkuRijEyx7zb220G4a1SphqNcMOYhlqKNw_fS3s3UcECwZtuoAvSFG1woK8E9C5ST2hkTU/s1600/GOPR4878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKSumYShWOLxfsoyBmXzakBYkIzmUOLvsZWYMWlHywcVI1js8j2GEfKkbzSB4D6Rpul4CXkkuRijEyx7zb220G4a1SphqNcMOYhlqKNw_fS3s3UcECwZtuoAvSFG1woK8E9C5ST2hkTU/s640/GOPR4878.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill and Dereck dwarfed in Pagoda's Southwest face</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiah19ZOX4Aysi-Yybo6vUBj6BooFGYQjpUGVY9qEZE3xnVLszHrGpGJWM83vNZtAqxIAKfXC3J-KSDjCxxDyLXmpnPioEE5U4UUCuF-rd9_gbfb7D2xtCJqqvqy5ndhzuAVBa5XLQur2U/s1600/GOPR4879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1395" data-original-width="1600" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiah19ZOX4Aysi-Yybo6vUBj6BooFGYQjpUGVY9qEZE3xnVLszHrGpGJWM83vNZtAqxIAKfXC3J-KSDjCxxDyLXmpnPioEE5U4UUCuF-rd9_gbfb7D2xtCJqqvqy5ndhzuAVBa5XLQur2U/s640/GOPR4879.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back into Glacier Gorge from the summit of Chiefs Head</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjykqRKraPcbc0UOgqWPL1ayphQInlSZ-NVIbg_4t3_snu4aAL_Wmv6aqV0BKXZ6gtc4m0f3eBZOOEWwXZ_NCoAWrXZf_sVoTq-RbZfaCBbxJiYF6hIXZSj7oytF2AR1Z-Hj8sdWk92JXI/s1600/GOPR4880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjykqRKraPcbc0UOgqWPL1ayphQInlSZ-NVIbg_4t3_snu4aAL_Wmv6aqV0BKXZ6gtc4m0f3eBZOOEWwXZ_NCoAWrXZf_sVoTq-RbZfaCBbxJiYF6hIXZSj7oytF2AR1Z-Hj8sdWk92JXI/s640/GOPR4880.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking towards Alice (left) and McHenrys (right) from Chiefs Head</td></tr>
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Mt Alice is a big mountain, its separation from Chiefs Head consists of a talus descent followed by a long stretch of tundra and then a section of easy but steep hiking to the summit. I felt really tired here so I just put my head down and tried not to ever stop. The summit came soon after, marking just about the halfway point of the traverse after 7 hours. The next peak Tanima is perhaps the most annoying summit to tag as it sits on a peninsula 0.75 mile out from the general line of the divide. The summit is nevertheless worthy as a vantage point to the entire basin.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_66qNetEOlFrQNd9TlsdVd-gNGZFj-nYw74v89fNZo2Ytb4VE4eGkF43Jm8D_fxAaXq_m0tnpmeddG0oV4jL3W6wQm4jFhnU7ZqrLMSIsOMCEobUVk7C5t2Xbanv51-Z_V5QWKfRPPt0/s1600/GOPR4884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_66qNetEOlFrQNd9TlsdVd-gNGZFj-nYw74v89fNZo2Ytb4VE4eGkF43Jm8D_fxAaXq_m0tnpmeddG0oV4jL3W6wQm4jFhnU7ZqrLMSIsOMCEobUVk7C5t2Xbanv51-Z_V5QWKfRPPt0/s640/GOPR4884.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tanima (left) offers a long tundra jog between Alice and Isolation (big complicated looking peak in the distance)</td></tr>
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Moving from Tanima through the Cleaver to Isolation Peak was new terrain to me. Despite its profile and position, the Cleaver went at an exposed but simple 3rd class. The north ridge of Isolation looked like a great route but certainly requiring some careful route finding on steep 5th class terrain. Instead, I took Peter's advice and took ledge along the west face until a grassy gully opened above me. Although I added a 100ft or so of elevation change, this hiking route was surely faster and way safer than slowly moving up the true north face. Even after regaining the ridge, the summit of Isolation felt like a real slog. It was fun to look west at a new perspective of the <a href="http://cordisimo.blogspot.com/2017/07/pfiffner-traverse.html" target="_blank">Fast Pfiffner Traverse</a> route which climbs the west ridge of Isolation after descending to between Fourth Lake and Fifth Lake from the Alice/Andrew col.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6uA2vQ-7a6StKPDLAA6s_w7MSPAJYuEy87LL5c63KbCHcrJALFzxRIKBNLr0bANabNh0BUfkklZXPbEMFQJ31ziSETVAF5_zIE4RDs1kCf2Cc2_kWvwyz1iRjqyVOeTK1R0ErA5UwdD4/s1600/GOPR4885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1331" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6uA2vQ-7a6StKPDLAA6s_w7MSPAJYuEy87LL5c63KbCHcrJALFzxRIKBNLr0bANabNh0BUfkklZXPbEMFQJ31ziSETVAF5_zIE4RDs1kCf2Cc2_kWvwyz1iRjqyVOeTK1R0ErA5UwdD4/s640/GOPR4885.JPG" width="532" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The North Face of Isolation Peak, the west ridge sneak is visible on the right.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizaX875JL5W7lG1bAGFLjAPIHMIEdO7TXDwOI5Jn4z85mokMSVoPDeIAtvu1-0F5nGST_mtbi_EsBwinSBGNV6Sy9mToUN2REUxY_f3y8-6pjNiWrgHYvXQa1qEq0pgPInayg8F1SUXsI/s1600/GOPR4886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizaX875JL5W7lG1bAGFLjAPIHMIEdO7TXDwOI5Jn4z85mokMSVoPDeIAtvu1-0F5nGST_mtbi_EsBwinSBGNV6Sy9mToUN2REUxY_f3y8-6pjNiWrgHYvXQa1qEq0pgPInayg8F1SUXsI/s640/GOPR4886.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit of the Cleaver, Tanima behind</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkOa9q-00MgU9lycWREQr7hgFnbWkJkYjR4qcU8hiBW2oI-AJAV0suz4aR4eL1EKujwYuJBDHCE3zfYgDsEe12736d4O_LFOqRHyVfE1eQQoiLAw1fUw2Ui43YTh7qMl8xVPFhAS4mz8/s1600/GOPR4887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkOa9q-00MgU9lycWREQr7hgFnbWkJkYjR4qcU8hiBW2oI-AJAV0suz4aR4eL1EKujwYuJBDHCE3zfYgDsEe12736d4O_LFOqRHyVfE1eQQoiLAw1fUw2Ui43YTh7qMl8xVPFhAS4mz8/s640/GOPR4887.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The west face of Isolation, Fifth Lake and the East Inlet</td></tr>
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Descending Isolation I began to have a pity party and seriously considered bailing to Pipit Lake. The prospect of exploring the Ogalalla - Elk Tooth ridge re-engaged me though, and I found a well of energy that enabled me to actually run a good bit of even the uphill tundra. Ouzel and Ogalalla pass quickly, at 4:30PM, this is actually the <i>earliest</i> in the day I've ever found myself on Ogalalla Peak. By any route, Ogalalla is big day and today I was happy to not be so pressed for time as to not take in the beauty of the cirque of the Middle St. Vrain. These mountains are gentle on the west but fall sheerly to the glacier beneath on the east. The scale is so breathtaking I briefly consider hiking to Buchanan pass to fully experience the area.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvdpKVHWkjHNvmTAgNbsSUkj0So4jrJB6rV0n_idVfXbCohgg8MKHjHvyn-BRwBPYs6HWQ3qaUbBswKdeWXko2mshAMQdZ8TPWzC0E-wQ1g7nrFVZzl5emumRaUROCRMjg4vSNHCWqNI/s1600/GOPR4888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJvdpKVHWkjHNvmTAgNbsSUkj0So4jrJB6rV0n_idVfXbCohgg8MKHjHvyn-BRwBPYs6HWQ3qaUbBswKdeWXko2mshAMQdZ8TPWzC0E-wQ1g7nrFVZzl5emumRaUROCRMjg4vSNHCWqNI/s640/GOPR4888.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Descending Isolation's south ridge and looking towards Ouzel (bump on the left) and Ogalalla (distant high point)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinq_P2RoPnsRTSl0JVoiqRAgwDE7EKvnu55MlvlxbQjCPFz3LymWSRr7ZgC91sHNF7NS1oi-H8LrjahlyN5BeDnGYxbDkD9JQZohkjazWNIu1V78ZAPcGPabWV2qWUkQ-Yc07AIn0y584/s1600/GOPR4889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinq_P2RoPnsRTSl0JVoiqRAgwDE7EKvnu55MlvlxbQjCPFz3LymWSRr7ZgC91sHNF7NS1oi-H8LrjahlyN5BeDnGYxbDkD9JQZohkjazWNIu1V78ZAPcGPabWV2qWUkQ-Yc07AIn0y584/s640/GOPR4889.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shoes and tundra</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KsWe3vP83nUhQ-cpZ6EpJKfymqcv9PtbwUSoOYFVrdKvYJPahfxHRd5s-46ae3R4xZ9HRmwcQUGGLB7_sVyk-YPtdG-lj927hd7q2LG0-NLG3tdW5pc0eo7x0gp4NvGi2YwdVJRl_AE/s1600/GOPR4890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KsWe3vP83nUhQ-cpZ6EpJKfymqcv9PtbwUSoOYFVrdKvYJPahfxHRd5s-46ae3R4xZ9HRmwcQUGGLB7_sVyk-YPtdG-lj927hd7q2LG0-NLG3tdW5pc0eo7x0gp4NvGi2YwdVJRl_AE/s640/GOPR4890.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking towards Copeland (far left) the Elk Tooth (center, distant) and Ogalalla (right highpoint)</td></tr>
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I begin downclimbing the east ridge of Ogalalla towards the Elk Tooth. The rock is in poor quality so I engage bypasses whenever possible rather than traversing each tower. I found in general, the south side of the ridge to be the safer and easier option. Still, care must be taken and I get cliffed out a few times on ledges covered in sand and loose rock. Cautiously, I regain the ridge at the saddle and stay generally along the crest in my final scramble to the summit which seems to be the last pinnacle still basking in the evening light beaming through notch formed by Ouzel and Copeland.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLXqGnKnXGeLAbPk4lvJ92kISFpaQbLEBpX2n1hw6T6ALgCTQ4N8dbz6BItA53M2tgiTn2WyqNjbO6_UgPTizK3ELThuSFICT3-adCUtCJ9FsBMi4d5Eap5MIRmf4ReVYHtRTy_WbMlE/s1600/GOPR4891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLXqGnKnXGeLAbPk4lvJ92kISFpaQbLEBpX2n1hw6T6ALgCTQ4N8dbz6BItA53M2tgiTn2WyqNjbO6_UgPTizK3ELThuSFICT3-adCUtCJ9FsBMi4d5Eap5MIRmf4ReVYHtRTy_WbMlE/s640/GOPR4891.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4th class slab leading from Ogalalla to Elk Tooth. Wild Basin to the left (featuring Copeland) and Middle St. Vrain and the Indian Peaks to the right</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UhYGbv8wOg8tUkUjspx1oHO1ylAHtQVYDWtpVsCfFrIkAEj5wrqnV_N-XqIz7TS7rWJCYwjGZdKVwu9X5Gp8Y-5IyLS_FgGxZSjI5_UQVHYCXEyD1Jayxv3cyk4WiFchG8P2qlklk9g/s1600/GOPR4892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_UhYGbv8wOg8tUkUjspx1oHO1ylAHtQVYDWtpVsCfFrIkAEj5wrqnV_N-XqIz7TS7rWJCYwjGZdKVwu9X5Gp8Y-5IyLS_FgGxZSjI5_UQVHYCXEyD1Jayxv3cyk4WiFchG8P2qlklk9g/s640/GOPR4892.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same as above but with me</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEm5yFc9SdD7c5_Qz-B_fBC9BZ0mONVPJaI1OO_q9zUzokt5mFMsnB238ViF1c-JyjYSUGKmFtP9B4uxDF3t2XYNunVjb8x91THBCUheLqVRxFqECnUMB0uY5M3CmgtsQzRSeaHE36VRw/s1600/GOPR4893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEm5yFc9SdD7c5_Qz-B_fBC9BZ0mONVPJaI1OO_q9zUzokt5mFMsnB238ViF1c-JyjYSUGKmFtP9B4uxDF3t2XYNunVjb8x91THBCUheLqVRxFqECnUMB0uY5M3CmgtsQzRSeaHE36VRw/s640/GOPR4893.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Elk Tooth rising above Middle St. Vrain</td></tr>
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At 6:00PM I am tired and hopeful to get back to Boulder for some dinner. The final two peaks look to be grassy knolls on a map but in reality look quite ominous after 12 hours and 13 other summits. Armed with the entirety of trails in Wild Basin mapped on my watch I decide to descend to the Hutchinson Lakes trail which ends up being a bit more complicated than I had hoped. I skirt through some cliff bands and find the trail to be in obsolescent condition. Nearly impossible to follow without GPS, a cairn only every 400ft and overgrown willows and krumholtz make travel extremely slow. When I finally reach Pear Lake I know the ranger station is only about 4.5 miles away. Unfortunately, the trail takes me on an eight mile wandering with needless ascents, twists and turn. Exhausted, I resign to my headlamp at Finch Lake and continue pouting along the trail. As darkness fully takes over I somehow find even more motivation to be done and again dig into a well of energy to jog the final miles to the car. In the end, it probably wouldn't have added that much more time to just add on the last two summits.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcyFkjXq1WF8C-Aif0vGCfdDonK2Eg8t_0czauVyecpou-xLBZWy0CRh3NFCx4iSxIhxAmU-NC6KHpcgnyBq0LhEIWf8_2SjGAm4OvuQEAB54McOrUxzabokagcavWo1yfgL8AzjCsJ8/s1600/GOPR4894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcyFkjXq1WF8C-Aif0vGCfdDonK2Eg8t_0czauVyecpou-xLBZWy0CRh3NFCx4iSxIhxAmU-NC6KHpcgnyBq0LhEIWf8_2SjGAm4OvuQEAB54McOrUxzabokagcavWo1yfgL8AzjCsJ8/s640/GOPR4894.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copeland standing proud of the Hutchinson Lakes (lack of) trail</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEku_dSdxw_afryWrQi6j_9AT9NYj2P2_kejf-OMVGjVDMcQ061jFI2MaI2TW3g63fpIE004GscAhXbcpOAZaBP18OYP6FNH8cRd1YKwHpjfD8wyuWWkPlIET2tHcZiBJZl4SkprRGpoU/s1600/GOPR4895.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEku_dSdxw_afryWrQi6j_9AT9NYj2P2_kejf-OMVGjVDMcQ061jFI2MaI2TW3g63fpIE004GscAhXbcpOAZaBP18OYP6FNH8cRd1YKwHpjfD8wyuWWkPlIET2tHcZiBJZl4SkprRGpoU/s640/GOPR4895.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pear Lake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKF5GJmwb84jX8FoegLL_bELE607i4zREuGltnE6pZsZI_LdZB5VP7FV5u8CJM-y1vxGgJLyobkWnZ_5wxvLjvULZyQsBom2rsMXp38WLybZeXAeuE_xwWlkuLZ5cB8elrXJKBZjDp508/s1600/GOPR4896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKF5GJmwb84jX8FoegLL_bELE607i4zREuGltnE6pZsZI_LdZB5VP7FV5u8CJM-y1vxGgJLyobkWnZ_5wxvLjvULZyQsBom2rsMXp38WLybZeXAeuE_xwWlkuLZ5cB8elrXJKBZjDp508/s640/GOPR4896.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Benighted.</td></tr>
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It was a great day! I summitted 13 named peaks in just under 15 hours. I was alone the entire day aside from the crowds on Longs and seeing Bill and Derek on Pagoda. I was most happy to really come to understand the routes which sneak around the dangers and perils of the more unsafe sections of the LA Freeway. Peter also bailed at Elk Tooth the first time he tried to traverse Wild Basin, finishing in almost the exact same time. Hopefully, it doesn't take me that long to return! If I can learn Gorrell's traverse better and having already figured out Pagoda, Isolation and Elk Tooth, I know I'll be able to move much faster on my next go -- whenever that is.<br />
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With all of the hype on seemingly a few overly classic and iconic mountains and routes its reassuring to know that a route of this magnitude, remoteness and obscurity is only a short 45 minute drive away. If you want to have an adventure away from the crowds, you need to get far away from a trailhead, on something technical and on something committing -- so basically, Wild Basin.<br />
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<b><i>Summits</i></b>:<br />
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<i>Lookout Mountain - 10,715'</i><br />
<i>Mt Meeker - 13,911'</i><br />
<i>The Beaver - 14,060'</i><br />
<i>Longs Peak - 14,255'</i><br />
<i>Pagoda Mountain - 13,497'</i><br />
<i>Chiefs Head Peak - 13,579'</i><br />
<i>Mt Alice - 13,310'</i><br />
<i>Tanima Peak - 12,420'</i><br />
<i>The Cleaver - 12,200'</i><br />
<i>Isolation Peak - 13,118'</i><br />
<i>Ouzel Peak - 12,716'</i><br />
<i>Ogalalla peak - 13,198'</i><br />
<i>Elk Tooth - 12,848'</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-13793180152335278082017-07-17T17:50:00.003-07:002017-07-18T07:16:05.138-07:00Pfiffner TraverseLast year, Abby and I took on Mark Oveson's "fast" version of the Pfiffner Traverse, almost on a whim. While we completed the first 40 miles of the route, the final 15 miles were in complete darkness. The route is pretty unbelievable, it traverse peaks and basins weaving a glorious line from Milner Pass to Berthoud Pass.<br />
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I decided to sleep in my bed in Boulder rather than camp. Mainly, for the quality of sleep and ease of having a good breakfast; plus I enjoy the waking up process that the drive lends. We got held up behind a herd of elk on Trail Ridge road and I found out that the GoPro was out of batteries so I would have to deal with lower quality phone images. Ah well. Jack and Kiri were already at Milner Pass when we pulled in; I was a little stressed on the tardy start time so I pretty much got out of the car and started walking.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinH93JXjviqomWokfQVov6UpqUCEIHd1micR57bjeMNq8HP39PVc7QOxENGDTJmcBKPbUmV7FetSTVHhMnRvrTq5fbEzg2VK7aFM2zoUQt_wLmYgZm_O3n46lfPjfmfStwNySQIS4cMF4/s1600/IMG_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinH93JXjviqomWokfQVov6UpqUCEIHd1micR57bjeMNq8HP39PVc7QOxENGDTJmcBKPbUmV7FetSTVHhMnRvrTq5fbEzg2VK7aFM2zoUQt_wLmYgZm_O3n46lfPjfmfStwNySQIS4cMF4/s640/IMG_0234.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's actually quite a special moment now that I'm not in a rush (Photo: Abby)</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>If you actually plan on reading this whole thing, I might recommend following along via my Strava (<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1087039769" target="_blank">part one</a>, <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/1087009745" target="_blank">part two</a>) if you don't happen to have been studying this route for the past couple months and aren't sure where any of this stuff is.</i></div>
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The first peak, Mt. Ida has trail the entire way, obviously being the first I felt great, only stopping a couple times for the predictable morning bathroom needs. From Mt Ida to Flattop Mountain there are a handful non-unique grassy summits: Chief Cheley, UN12820, Cracktop, Eleanor (bypassed), Sprague, Knobtop and Ptarmigan point. The Eureka ditch, just south of Sprague was unfortunately dry aside from a few isolated pools. I elected to bring a lifestraw in addition to my bottles so I could comfortably drink out of any and all sources. At about 4 hours in, both of my bottles were empty so I was happy to not have to be picky about my source. Furthermore, I would be able to shed water weight from my pack by only drinking from streams for the next several miles.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjKIjm5lWqA6pOR0uLeirkT0d1HKrRd1_uldwUV0Wx9lRdBORuNVZb0IrXOowrf3pW6DQ1H6zlxZ6va2qFJbq5pJRxOgRhIpiSg_3vbexYpPnRIcn9He2cSKE7c_BNJjFT3Brn2_OfNc/s1600/IMG_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjKIjm5lWqA6pOR0uLeirkT0d1HKrRd1_uldwUV0Wx9lRdBORuNVZb0IrXOowrf3pW6DQ1H6zlxZ6va2qFJbq5pJRxOgRhIpiSg_3vbexYpPnRIcn9He2cSKE7c_BNJjFT3Brn2_OfNc/s640/IMG_0235.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaving Milner Pass TH (Photo: Abby)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuhFGozEObS64aND8oU7z0qNLutFvn7eeG9wLTeXTwozgcWl2_sawFKPGsFstLOL2byUWRxOrJneMvr0WzIrdldKMRFd3A6cvJRiSSp-PCAIxPSZO-eSfI5uuYKUH7xwER5khV47_NQw/s1600/IMG_0178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuhFGozEObS64aND8oU7z0qNLutFvn7eeG9wLTeXTwozgcWl2_sawFKPGsFstLOL2byUWRxOrJneMvr0WzIrdldKMRFd3A6cvJRiSSp-PCAIxPSZO-eSfI5uuYKUH7xwER5khV47_NQw/s640/IMG_0178.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A regal looking Longs Peak on the horizon from the summit of Sprague.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RKGRuRnJ54Ynk7od5QYSQaAZmRBdJlNYYwRFR7cGcOnKxbUr1QVrLXTjJd6yOtK2lBSvie6CMUftuJcyhagWhA2qn8u7eRwHY6csroLBLtY42lmrNIb5ZYb1gWQAWIwtLgkg2a3-GXE/s1600/IMG_0179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RKGRuRnJ54Ynk7od5QYSQaAZmRBdJlNYYwRFR7cGcOnKxbUr1QVrLXTjJd6yOtK2lBSvie6CMUftuJcyhagWhA2qn8u7eRwHY6csroLBLtY42lmrNIb5ZYb1gWQAWIwtLgkg2a3-GXE/s640/IMG_0179.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last year Abby and I found a flowing stream at the Eureka ditch, but here is just vaguely moist dirt. Just below Knobtop.</td></tr>
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Flattop mountain was predictably busy with people enjoying the summer alpine. I turned west and headed down the North Inlet trail. Soon thereafter I crossed paths with Abby just above treeline who was running the North Inlet/Tonahutu loop (plus an extra credit tag of Hallet), an often overlooked classic alpine marathon. I continued down the well traveled trail until I turned back uphill on a trail forking south towards a spectacular series of alpine lakes. The first stop was Lake Nokoni, I was feeling hungry and thirsty so I took some time to put down a bunch of food and drink a lot of water. Revitalized I continued to Lake Nanita where the trail fades away. I was moving well here, but the going is inherently slow when you are bushwhacking around a lake. Constant deadfall and stream crossings necessitate a meandering path through the trees. Above the lake, the Ptarmigan towers soar to the sky -- if it wasn't a 10 mile hike in I'm sure there would be classic climbs on each tower.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN463_9v9toWUno2HOuAj9NKLCRSxsjIChgNPi-XJusOLcQ1tTzbcs28FdF7Ip6PLUjPF0boUVYrF5jLMAAHnuIP4jR8nSPompQChUxDMocPwH2aznroCMyt-sUXLsTeLncTNKa8ZNf78/s1600/IMG_0245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN463_9v9toWUno2HOuAj9NKLCRSxsjIChgNPi-XJusOLcQ1tTzbcs28FdF7Ip6PLUjPF0boUVYrF5jLMAAHnuIP4jR8nSPompQChUxDMocPwH2aznroCMyt-sUXLsTeLncTNKa8ZNf78/s640/IMG_0245.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading down the North Inlet switchbacks (Photo: Abby) </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHNwpk6XgvsfV2InC57vq_OP_2te4cR2cT3Gb2Z-d_be642w6GA1N3O1MV6hpaVl2TnRH3Z01geAaYSV4hsxfOeWAiRM1l-SFlLqsiOPdOKy8ei6VQoiap9snoODAi3Dj-TOk1rGMC7c/s1600/IMG_0184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHNwpk6XgvsfV2InC57vq_OP_2te4cR2cT3Gb2Z-d_be642w6GA1N3O1MV6hpaVl2TnRH3Z01geAaYSV4hsxfOeWAiRM1l-SFlLqsiOPdOKy8ei6VQoiap9snoODAi3Dj-TOk1rGMC7c/s640/IMG_0184.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Nokoni Trail</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkkgDi9RnSIeBEnUA_RJr-ypptezYOpgt-zNAEMu9Hlk9uiS5gaTM1qWHHnkNWQHa66EBIJl3TY3RXfSeT9k6Qpj07MVcmdYwIjUdy96xE0Ewza6zxQY5XufK5S48FGMI38-XH_zzqSo/s1600/IMG_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkkgDi9RnSIeBEnUA_RJr-ypptezYOpgt-zNAEMu9Hlk9uiS5gaTM1qWHHnkNWQHa66EBIJl3TY3RXfSeT9k6Qpj07MVcmdYwIjUdy96xE0Ewza6zxQY5XufK5S48FGMI38-XH_zzqSo/s640/IMG_0189.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ptarmigan Towers</td></tr>
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The route past Lake Nanita is a small col on the northwestern shoulder of Andrews Peak. The hike to this point is quite pleasant as the forest is much thinner. The pass through the col just squeaks above treeline and the rocky drainage ahead looks quite snowy. The snow ends up being a nice change of pace, it is well consolidated and offers a rapid descent. The pass on the other side is the saddle between Mt Alice and Andrews Peak, I have to laboriously kick steps up a snowfield to reach the pass but on the bright side, I was able to take a straight line up. Unfortunately, I make a huge mistake atop this fantastic lookout -- I forget to look around! Another magnificent peak lies just to southwest, Aiguille de Fleur, which is similar in shape to the Spearhead but has a flat mesa like summit covered with grass and wildflowers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEzxsYCVTfyt4wEGFA1E_lJ_Bdi2Eaq78A2g9t2mwKNVgQY-83MajeGrzsEip2cWJXITo1u86gb5C-QoCATPF-jghHxRcAqlBX1hGkH1U9aFhd5Z5kdHsucPtFmd2C9hn9LakNcFd7IZw/s1600/IMG_0191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEzxsYCVTfyt4wEGFA1E_lJ_Bdi2Eaq78A2g9t2mwKNVgQY-83MajeGrzsEip2cWJXITo1u86gb5C-QoCATPF-jghHxRcAqlBX1hGkH1U9aFhd5Z5kdHsucPtFmd2C9hn9LakNcFd7IZw/s640/IMG_0191.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking towards Isolation from the Andrews col. Andrews peak has a magnificent east face, barely seen on the right.</td></tr>
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The descent from the Andrews-Alice saddle to the faint East Inlet trail is the nastiest bushwhacking of the route. It is steep and grungy but I manage to pick a line following a game trail for bits and pieces that takes me there in what felt like the most efficient line. The west face of Isolation and the Cleaver loom to east, another wall surely full of great climbing which would be frequented more if it weren't for the approach. Surprisingly, I bump into six people in this remote drainage -- two groups of three. The first was simply hiking to Fifth Lake, a long abut worthy objective; the second allegedly made an attempt at Isolation Peak. Last year, Abby and I (along with Mark in his route) bypassed Isolation by instead traversing along its southwestern slope on loose rock, this year I planned on summitting after reading Lisa Foster's guidebook claiming the ridge went at class 2. The group coming down said it got to be technical climbing, I later found there footprints turning around only 100ft above the lake on a snowfield, about 2,000ft below the summit. The remainder of the route went well at an exposed but obvious and easy class 2. From the summit is a fantastic view of Wild Basin and the west face of Longs Peak which is less seen but equally impressive.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrB7tklsmAdQy04Vs45fwnVPYoP_1c_aqkixJ0G2D0cRpIku1-S-fpu3kOIkifvo-aIna5GZHg6jPMTc3XpimCljMojMFcQPRLMDVrwxBnWU92IirJo1oWpYTKIwCyv4uS_N-O6z3GwSQ/s1600/IMG_0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrB7tklsmAdQy04Vs45fwnVPYoP_1c_aqkixJ0G2D0cRpIku1-S-fpu3kOIkifvo-aIna5GZHg6jPMTc3XpimCljMojMFcQPRLMDVrwxBnWU92IirJo1oWpYTKIwCyv4uS_N-O6z3GwSQ/s640/IMG_0196.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking up towards the Cleaver (somewhere in there, not sure where). The boulder in the foreground is where Abby and I waited out a thunderstorm last year!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGLtyMnC5xFvrkc6pEK8I6ejHeq-8VUtp-pWGX9VqSqWEScYsVPCPgLgGSztFBKbjhGJ7k_rndY1h7RV0D3fbJ4N1q5VJ5ePnYM6evjrkIUdMb6RG10uXF-1bg3Nm3POLwCY1ujCa0kU/s1600/IMG_0198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGLtyMnC5xFvrkc6pEK8I6ejHeq-8VUtp-pWGX9VqSqWEScYsVPCPgLgGSztFBKbjhGJ7k_rndY1h7RV0D3fbJ4N1q5VJ5ePnYM6evjrkIUdMb6RG10uXF-1bg3Nm3POLwCY1ujCa0kU/s640/IMG_0198.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ten Lake Park which composes a small portion of the much larger, unexplored and trail-less Paradise Park drainage. Mt Adams (?) in the distance.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NZvia77T5iMmV1i_DyCUL9sBid9gV7jvg0G9npq5nqHPYCAQP_m2Ws6p86cdWhKjI04lkJAiSCvg14xrBt46v_K-aG_yx0qwZCxrg4zsNxOEhhgGRijZcZdFwkoQ-yVF6oN3O20DbHo/s1600/IMG_0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NZvia77T5iMmV1i_DyCUL9sBid9gV7jvg0G9npq5nqHPYCAQP_m2Ws6p86cdWhKjI04lkJAiSCvg14xrBt46v_K-aG_yx0qwZCxrg4zsNxOEhhgGRijZcZdFwkoQ-yVF6oN3O20DbHo/s640/IMG_0200.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The west ridge of Isolation, there is more to go beyond what is seen in this photo, but the notches you encounter are easily navigable.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2PZRXjG4spnC6OG8-vaGhU-d0I-JhyphenhyphenNHqlXc-0AxeuDEWD_zNftJ7GCbwvceTYUnC1BKjE9Yc2SL1gcNXgel2NJJfJt8r7cPKcpNXhzOTPXhpNPl-pfzlgAFqzKjq1QV9uct74lz2ZjU/s1600/IMG_0206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2PZRXjG4spnC6OG8-vaGhU-d0I-JhyphenhyphenNHqlXc-0AxeuDEWD_zNftJ7GCbwvceTYUnC1BKjE9Yc2SL1gcNXgel2NJJfJt8r7cPKcpNXhzOTPXhpNPl-pfzlgAFqzKjq1QV9uct74lz2ZjU/s640/IMG_0206.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Embracing the wind on top of Isolation Peak</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvi8jUO2v57-f_BeKoLQ0cA_HJK0LIW5oeO8IS_fFB4-A8lTjreVIM0PnwWCgnHwYCcu4Gg_873ISR4Vk6BJFgUakLQMs7zegWy5MAvBSRj8hN42dNN1XvYFesI6ejYBo0HNWaFP9CyXI/s1600/IMG_0204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvi8jUO2v57-f_BeKoLQ0cA_HJK0LIW5oeO8IS_fFB4-A8lTjreVIM0PnwWCgnHwYCcu4Gg_873ISR4Vk6BJFgUakLQMs7zegWy5MAvBSRj8hN42dNN1XvYFesI6ejYBo0HNWaFP9CyXI/s640/IMG_0204.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My remaining traverse along the divide before dropping off, Ouzel (left, dark peak) and Ogalla (grassy high point just left of center).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYYO2pQpWu1fkTvTlIBIA1fB722Zfr_J6rU-4pMXGvbPs2QnyPSyIUiGknedOtYzsGLj_F87NkIarb-r9TV5NIlG4f8j0Dy4DL6uv5g5HodqBCNyUH3ZyNiO4EJn-z3NVP5RcHQ4_fU8/s1600/IMG_0210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYYO2pQpWu1fkTvTlIBIA1fB722Zfr_J6rU-4pMXGvbPs2QnyPSyIUiGknedOtYzsGLj_F87NkIarb-r9TV5NIlG4f8j0Dy4DL6uv5g5HodqBCNyUH3ZyNiO4EJn-z3NVP5RcHQ4_fU8/s640/IMG_0210.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back towards Andrews Peak (grassy, left of center) and the two passes used to traverse from the North Inlet drainage to the East Inlet drainage.</td></tr>
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Although storm clouds began swirling around nearby peaks there was no electrical activity, so I steadily moved along towards a group of three summits, Ouzel, Ogalalla and "Ooh la la!". Both Ouzel and Ogalalla lie just enough away from the direct line to be frustrating but the views from the top of each are worth the extra effort. The evening light cast wonderful light onto the nearby summits of Copeland and Elk Tooth. "Ooh La La!", a satellite peak of Ogalalla forms a mighty cirque around the St. Vrain Glacier, although a walk up from the west, approaching these peaks from the east seems impossible. From the summit, the light upon the central Indian Peaks is breathtaking. The perspective on Lone Eagle Peak and the Mohling Traverse is particularly striking.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJY9h8T6lB27drF0Lifut5yo3j3wgTpGfOk1Wim-pYTV8rvNkP_IS6El6msdp0KuBkAveQAuvirzwvc4-WCIyQFt7GuiZ4GkBusG6Q5RvARCVQD295kHaDAbmRW6CuBR5Pi9sBENvfwc/s1600/IMG_0213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJY9h8T6lB27drF0Lifut5yo3j3wgTpGfOk1Wim-pYTV8rvNkP_IS6El6msdp0KuBkAveQAuvirzwvc4-WCIyQFt7GuiZ4GkBusG6Q5RvARCVQD295kHaDAbmRW6CuBR5Pi9sBENvfwc/s640/IMG_0213.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back towards Alice, McHenrys, Chiefs Head, Pagoda, Longs, Meeker, Ouzel (left to right) from just beneath Ogalalla's summit</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg73uNufVONJOBjdIhXn9YAg0r_Hevc3WWIjQhkUtultfn2c8EDvdD21dPGwk4KqaMp4aW9B5ycgwYtWhzHY5Dv37uETfvT_x1a-Ff1CnTNxnqcJTOuXmeyJ9XpMHX2naJvQuzR1nUrjw/s1600/IMG_0231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg73uNufVONJOBjdIhXn9YAg0r_Hevc3WWIjQhkUtultfn2c8EDvdD21dPGwk4KqaMp4aW9B5ycgwYtWhzHY5Dv37uETfvT_x1a-Ff1CnTNxnqcJTOuXmeyJ9XpMHX2naJvQuzR1nUrjw/s640/IMG_0231.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The central Indian Peaks basking in the evening light, one of the best views of the entire traverse! If you know where to look for the Mohling Traverse, it is incredible from this perspective, Iroquois looks <i>very </i>proud.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjb_ZUq7YeNpklMRzjIky9n9h5QtkT6WSjgI_dP-Eu6Ld4RYVcvKpdn-QOVZzG9FaiOhqtc7TaxbDUOQF9nbkKO4uQxyqGL5TS2lZUGtvvKO2xqUtKVJKqrdHsrUIop2Y7hUDz6MxXmNw/s1600/IMG_0218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjb_ZUq7YeNpklMRzjIky9n9h5QtkT6WSjgI_dP-Eu6Ld4RYVcvKpdn-QOVZzG9FaiOhqtc7TaxbDUOQF9nbkKO4uQxyqGL5TS2lZUGtvvKO2xqUtKVJKqrdHsrUIop2Y7hUDz6MxXmNw/s640/IMG_0218.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down the Ooh La La! - Cooper - Martin ridge, Island Lake and subsequently Gourd Lake lay just beyond the grassy slope. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-uBUMG1Tpz_p6tfL2aSsKD5pHUvrsua5Ci2RMZ_K7xiXslcaQLjmBi_KA4Zfv9Pv7rZaoYq1idBt1bxkhOpOx2G_TVhamkr0gmcQqYOX7YQMts9aXcrpfaEYMo97-GNCwED0PWDpfRk/s1600/IMG_0219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-uBUMG1Tpz_p6tfL2aSsKD5pHUvrsua5Ci2RMZ_K7xiXslcaQLjmBi_KA4Zfv9Pv7rZaoYq1idBt1bxkhOpOx2G_TVhamkr0gmcQqYOX7YQMts9aXcrpfaEYMo97-GNCwED0PWDpfRk/s640/IMG_0219.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the summit of Ooh La La!, Ogalalla's East Ridge, Chiefs Head (barely!), Pagoda, Longs, Meeker, Copeland, Elk Tooth (looking very proud!)</td></tr>
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Last year, Abby and I summited "Ooh La La!" at about 11PM in complete darkness which was semi-terrifying as we really had barely any idea where we were. Thus, the following descent to Gourd Lake was executed by means of the most inefficient, tedious, thickly vegetated route which included short slabby friction downclimbs which often ended with a leap into the willows below. My rush to reach Gourd Lake this year was prompted by this. Armed with experience of where not to go, daylight and a promising GPS track plucked from the interwebs I descended with confidence. Reaching Cooper Pass involves a steep section of loose talus but culminated with a long, steep and unavoidable glissade that warranted some sharp rocks in hand, just in case. Island Lake in the evening light was everything I hoped it would be, the water was calm and vividly reflected the walls above glowing in the sunset. I proceeded with my new route which went perfectly to Gourd Lake. I made it from the summit of "Ooh La La!" to the Gourd Lake trail in 1:10, last year it took 2:45!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYkn2htCtsPlWRCVOMxNsEtk-4Exc-lU8Q7iW1siPbFnItqU58SMVQjHT5sDA5p2eunzFtNtIeWobQAidfH53B6MBAcYiUEquktIKmMueGZUmjYWzZiz6NZpcWpwKnYcj68ND3EMfOSc/s1600/IMG_0220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYkn2htCtsPlWRCVOMxNsEtk-4Exc-lU8Q7iW1siPbFnItqU58SMVQjHT5sDA5p2eunzFtNtIeWobQAidfH53B6MBAcYiUEquktIKmMueGZUmjYWzZiz6NZpcWpwKnYcj68ND3EMfOSc/s640/IMG_0220.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">A reflecting pool just above Island Lake, it would have been nice to take my time and photos here but I wanted to get every last drop of daylight on this tricky descent!</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxctstf7UgfMSvogvExGvUbj133mziSwRg0eSoMmz6kUoHqArvPHGxKTSjKfAnrC_dWBLxwomDQ7TnZ3nHvE6Zm1ZrgKLIqI2wjmoR_ZaJcgUKRAt0j3KnjNMDfAy4oH2Gb0kotMaWgnk/s1600/IMG_0221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxctstf7UgfMSvogvExGvUbj133mziSwRg0eSoMmz6kUoHqArvPHGxKTSjKfAnrC_dWBLxwomDQ7TnZ3nHvE6Zm1ZrgKLIqI2wjmoR_ZaJcgUKRAt0j3KnjNMDfAy4oH2Gb0kotMaWgnk/s640/IMG_0221.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Looking back at my glissade path, there wasn't really another option!</td></tr>
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Having rushed down and not bothered to change my layers from windy evening above treeline to calm air a couple thousand feet lower I paused to remove my wind pants and coat, eat and drink then fire up the headlamp. I now had one hundred percent descent on trail to the Arapaho Pass junction near Monarch Lake where I would meet Jack, Kiri, Kyle and Abby. I make a point to jog which feels better and better as I get lower. It is a deceptively long stretch of trail and I'm thankful to eventually see the light of friends having been essentially alone for the last 17 hours covering 40 miles.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO64akDTJZyMtBcWBcYxNAF-w3ifX0cYq5d1a_hZzA5mu17YR1kzuUysADsJ6bj5iggnLgxYEGwnX-8dq0A38XLnb4br0hq7Y7Ci6h8urLlO7FpEjNjPucjz6l6EAQplhbjbjXCO8I66I/s1600/IMG_0248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO64akDTJZyMtBcWBcYxNAF-w3ifX0cYq5d1a_hZzA5mu17YR1kzuUysADsJ6bj5iggnLgxYEGwnX-8dq0A38XLnb4br0hq7Y7Ci6h8urLlO7FpEjNjPucjz6l6EAQplhbjbjXCO8I66I/s640/IMG_0248.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Meanwhile down below... (Photo: Abby)</td></tr>
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Only Abby and Kiri are at the aid station as Jack and Kyle had rushed out to cell service to check my SPOT. I sit down and begin wolfing down cold soup, I'm in no particular rush to leave, if I were to end right here like Abby and I did last year I would be content, the route is a serious undertaking which is equally matched in the quality of the scenery. Continuing to eat and drink I relish the conversation with Kiri and Abby recounting the spoils of the journey. I eat almost 2 liters of soup along with a couple sliced of avocado bread while they tend to emptying my pack full of empty wrappers and filling it back with food (which weighs <i>a lot more</i> than wrappers). I change into three-quarter tights and a down layer and prepare to leave just as Jack emerges from the trees, happy to see him I stay just a touch longer before saying goodbye at around midnight.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChIktvbC7JrFgttt9lrHRtnlcdQ-wlQUAkQO2UXgb6ewvB-18KPpVjIE10QAHRhuXIRFSzYZM2CIhUXde9kGObFNxR84lRdu4yptKUEuexXfM_uclx2J7xOfiLNI6aJi057r2adEZsF0/s1600/IMG_0252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1201" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjChIktvbC7JrFgttt9lrHRtnlcdQ-wlQUAkQO2UXgb6ewvB-18KPpVjIE10QAHRhuXIRFSzYZM2CIhUXde9kGObFNxR84lRdu4yptKUEuexXfM_uclx2J7xOfiLNI6aJi057r2adEZsF0/s640/IMG_0252.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happily eating Abby's homemade potato and cashew soup! (Photo: Abby)</td></tr>
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Back to solitude, I am fully aware of the length of trail between me and Arapaho Pass. The trail is lush, almost overgrown in places. With two liters of soup, a freshly filled pack of food and full bottles my steps move slowly. I follow the tunnel of light before me losing track of time. Feeling sleepy I set a timer for 7 minutes and enjoy a quick nap; I wake alert and refreshed almost in disbelief in how effective the brief sleep was. I repeat my nap tactic 90 minutes later with similar results. The trail continues to steadily move through the forest barely gaining any elevation, meaning must be a steep grind to the pass at the end. At around 4AM, my headlamp flashes, meaning I'm about to run out of battery. I decide to push to treeline which takes another 40 minutes. Knowing first light should appear around 5AM, I take one last lonesome nap in a sheltered nook ensuring I won't be caught above treeline in the dark. I awake to just enough light to move confidently without a headlamp and to see the steep switchbacks ahead. My movement is slow, but eventually I crest the ridge with great views of the jagged ridge stretching from Cherokee to South Arapaho Peak which generally composes the grim finale of the LA Freeway.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLs9JVPSoA0-wfhz43SY59mCIZnyNYJfqm8AQ-m7r4bv4zIUph4TuhthT2WdjuQbwEqwSqvgB5VwvJLmmn_N1ag-ktVcIS5UzfcV7W2hHQeP0MSkCBtX3GmDSuAUhmj2ZAsBqJpeW8Pn0/s1600/IMG_0223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLs9JVPSoA0-wfhz43SY59mCIZnyNYJfqm8AQ-m7r4bv4zIUph4TuhthT2WdjuQbwEqwSqvgB5VwvJLmmn_N1ag-ktVcIS5UzfcV7W2hHQeP0MSkCBtX3GmDSuAUhmj2ZAsBqJpeW8Pn0/s640/IMG_0223.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The usual night time nap break view. Sidenote: the sense ride is phenomenal!</td></tr>
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The sun is welcomed but my effort and loneliness weigh heavily upon me. Staggering up the beginning of Neva's north ridge I doubt my intentions. Staying determined, though breathless, I launch onto the thinning 4th class ridge of Mt Neva barely able to balance. Scared of taking a stupid step off of a cliff I retreat back to safer a ground and take a seat on a rock. I remembered that there is great cell service on this ridge so I call Abby telling her I don't quite feel balanced enough to tackle Neva. After our conversation my retreat seemed as fueled by the effort required to continue as it was by my lack of coordination so I decide to try once more. Moving unbelievably slowly so as to maximize safety, I make my way along the ridge making sure to never get out of breath and potentially lose balance. It takes me actually double the amount of time it took me when I first did the ridge but two hours later I'm on the summit, out of water and staring down the continental divide as it stretches south.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUNOvUJ5FURnaqLvVbo_RjLnMtjcUR4MGhE-Jbnw-TRrjfDXEWGHqqdOLRiRvZRMn1BYnxXlM1LO0Xbuw9tSDyWujC9qJ5UioH9LFxBYg8H_fPy5KeM69lu8y98wGsEcPywtP11N0P5w/s1600/IMG_0227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUNOvUJ5FURnaqLvVbo_RjLnMtjcUR4MGhE-Jbnw-TRrjfDXEWGHqqdOLRiRvZRMn1BYnxXlM1LO0Xbuw9tSDyWujC9qJ5UioH9LFxBYg8H_fPy5KeM69lu8y98wGsEcPywtP11N0P5w/s640/IMG_0227.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neva's North Ridge</td></tr>
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Berthoud is for the first time visible, though even Rollins Pass alone seems an eternity away. The weight of all my food is useless without a drop of water to be able swallow. Expecting the divide to be a swamp as I've seemingly always found it in the past, today there is no sign of any water. I find a small snowfield below Neva's summit to scoop out of but waiting for it to melt in a bottle is no quick thing. Jasper, the next peak, is only a short 500ft climb a mile and half away but my dehydration and calorie deficit are taking form in severe shortness of breath. The mile and a half to Jasper's summit takes me an hour and half.<br />
<br />
I text Abby that I'm done at Rollins Pass. I feel totally satisfied with what Milner Pass to Rollins pass entails. She drives to Rollins Pass while I move painfully slow over UN12660 then down and up Devils Thumb Pass. On the final climb I am forced into a two steps to ten breaths tactic to maintain myself. I thankfully join the High Lonesome trail heading south to where my journey will end. I meet Abby two and a half miles from the pass. In no rush we lay in the grass, she brought me two bottles of water which I easily dispose of along a peanut butter sandwich.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweg8sMW2oNCk36uLKBx_y_Dkmy4Gl_5gOKzkZWdlKbMHPKslC50CtOFldIFZJtFQt_wyYjtMKhYAhcQPABTv-awmph24KJB-7rAtf2aTngQTawcwMWfb_f0T7n03HkMfHOgZH0pxUb30/s1600/IMG_0255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhweg8sMW2oNCk36uLKBx_y_Dkmy4Gl_5gOKzkZWdlKbMHPKslC50CtOFldIFZJtFQt_wyYjtMKhYAhcQPABTv-awmph24KJB-7rAtf2aTngQTawcwMWfb_f0T7n03HkMfHOgZH0pxUb30/s640/IMG_0255.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a bad place to lounge about. (Photo: Abby)</td></tr>
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Abby and I effectively began dating during our Pfiffner attempt last year. Now, happily laying besides one another in the alpine tundra I feel profoundly happy. The remaining traverse feels to be focussed far more on the slog factor and physical challenge than on the quality of the route. They're good peaks, but when the reference is The Park and the Indian Peaks, it is hard to compete. Certainly and validly, this can be interpreted as an excuse to quit, I'll take that. It should also be duly inserted here that what Mark did accomplish from Milner to Berthoud is an incredible accomplishment. What I wanted from this adventure was the splendor that comes from immersion in the wilderness, having accomplished that I felt no regrets with ending the route.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT_tAuriEBDb2xYNxJmDiP0RmJXwGh3reyRZ8Ii9K7bb0RFo6b0VU4jF76CrQCDYYauCByQzYM8kdsMBpdjUmVomYq2fccvHVcL3yvOynvIIaRG9gxdXhFqZw_LFgg_Vw2L-AuilFmp0/s1600/IMG_0260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT_tAuriEBDb2xYNxJmDiP0RmJXwGh3reyRZ8Ii9K7bb0RFo6b0VU4jF76CrQCDYYauCByQzYM8kdsMBpdjUmVomYq2fccvHVcL3yvOynvIIaRG9gxdXhFqZw_LFgg_Vw2L-AuilFmp0/s640/IMG_0260.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Done. (Photo: Abby)</td></tr>
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This is truly a classic route and I'm grateful to be following in Mark's footsteps. I think the Pfiffner Traverse can take many forms, it's a physical challenge, a mental challenge, an exercise in route finding and a scenic tour of RMNP and the Indian Peaks. The possible variations to this route are endless and intriguing. You could draw a line of truly least resistance, skipping all the peaks and staying on trail as much as possible or you could strictly stay on the divide embracing the challenges of the LA Freeway. The tradition that is blossoming out of Mark's initial conception (and I suppose Karl Pfiffner's and Gerry Roach's as well!) is one of creativity and personal satisfaction. In Gerry Roach's biography he describes Pfiffner as a visionary whose dreams reached beyond single peaks or routes but to encompass long and magical traverses. Unfortunately, Karl died in avalanche on La Plata at the age of 22 before he could ever see to these aspirations. When Gerry Roach tackled his commemorative traverse he spent 16 solitary days picking his own line and set of objectives, what Mark did was the same in that he chose the route therein which appealed to him the most. Although I failed to reach Berthoud Pass I got everything and more out of the traverse that I hoped I would. The experience of forging a path through a remote wilderness that is seemingly untapped and full of treasures inspires a lifetime of exploration and discovery.<br />
<br />
<u>Peaks Summitted</u>:<br />
<i>Mt Ida, 12,880'</i><br />
<i>Chief Cheley, 12,804'</i><br />
<i>UN12820, 12,820'</i><br />
<i>Cracktop, 12,780'</i><br />
<i>Mt Eleanor, 12,380'</i><br />
<i>Sprague Mtn, 12,713'</i><br />
<i>Knobtop, 12,331'</i><br />
<i>Ptarmigan Pt, 12,363'</i><br />
<i>Flattop Mtn, 12,324'</i><br />
<i>Isolation Pk, 13,118'</i><br />
<i>Ouzel Pk, 12,716'</i><br />
<i>Ogalalla Pk, 13,138'</i><br />
<i>Ooh La La!, 12,945'</i><br />
<i>Mt Neva, 12,814'</i><br />
<i>Mt Jasper, 12,923'</i><br />
<i>UN12660, 12,660'</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<u>Stats</u>:<br />
<i>57.4 miles</i><br />
<i>19,638ft</i><br />
<i>31h07m</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-88104488753485246192017-06-19T17:09:00.001-07:002017-06-19T17:09:32.554-07:00Asgard RidgeI'd imagine the Gore Range is on a lot of people's "list", its close to the front range and is as full of intrigue as it is vacant of 14ers. I also had something in the range on my "list" for a while and also like many had instead somehow forgotten to ever venture into the Gores. Well, I finally made plans to climb something in the range last weekend and in typical fashion I couldn't simply go recon the range with a fun, safe and easy jog up a pretty peak. No that would be far too much of a cop out when I could instead select a mysterious and technical ridge that had seen only two (I believe) prior ascents <i>and then</i> link it into another classic ridge traverse <i>and then</i> finally warm down on another moderate ridge to tag another arbitrary high point. If you're gonna do something, do it one-hundred percent -- or preferably, one-hundred-fifty percent.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8Jx5NpzrzpgC2Kw9eaCh2SnuvvQve89oPbHPg9F5IOIRa3022V0YVocm6AGpFXImG8PM7V4nS2t2VjlxWfFXUKW8Uo-xZ2asENWkGGrJC7WtHx7Ys-n7zmPLCIX03scgRljVuZZninc/s1600/PlannedRoute.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="951" height="513" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8Jx5NpzrzpgC2Kw9eaCh2SnuvvQve89oPbHPg9F5IOIRa3022V0YVocm6AGpFXImG8PM7V4nS2t2VjlxWfFXUKW8Uo-xZ2asENWkGGrJC7WtHx7Ys-n7zmPLCIX03scgRljVuZZninc/s640/PlannedRoute.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The overly ambitious planned route -- clockwise from the Boss Mine.</td></tr>
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So the plan was set to start at the Rock Creek TH, run to the Boss Mine then successively dispatch of Asgard Ridge (and of course a tag of Palomino and Valhalla), the Grand Traverse and the ridge walk to Keller then cruise back out on the trail back to my girlfriend, Abby, who I would drop off 20 miles south to run the Gore Range trail to the TH. Literally nothing about this plan could fail. Right?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1xkHPPUx3fSIArJzAaZb9PMHhfb1Vm5urehWn_bX7vsx2nlbeGho3PXjJ1S0Sa7uVvDNKpa0dXgL85rnZx7V7s-sR8v_WqFrWBp7lm4eqhhD-k0LK-nZ2TN91RZH2xq3ow9LOT5akc4/s1600/DSC01694.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif1xkHPPUx3fSIArJzAaZb9PMHhfb1Vm5urehWn_bX7vsx2nlbeGho3PXjJ1S0Sa7uVvDNKpa0dXgL85rnZx7V7s-sR8v_WqFrWBp7lm4eqhhD-k0LK-nZ2TN91RZH2xq3ow9LOT5akc4/s640/DSC01694.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first view of the basin on route to the Boss Mine.</td></tr>
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I left the parking lot around 7AM, later than I wanted but so it goes. I made it to the Boss Mine by 7:40 where I left the trail to contour to the southern side of the North Rock Creek drainage. The bushwhack was surprisingly straightforward, dry and thinly treed -- minus a small and grungy rock buttress that I stubbornly elected not to simply walk around. The snow began in the trees and was steep enough to warrant an axe but not crampons. The march continued upwards, crossing a few animal tracks then gaining the grassy meadows which compose the eastern end of Asgard Ridge. The route ahead looked complex, though without understanding what I was seeing the towers camouflaged themselves into the north aspect of Valhalla Pk.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKLMR7Y-4kr2of_dkR5le_eAK_GckfwzF1pCmHs4XBDHIrr3exmjc7r-5tMXDBWdDHJYnPCyqhmxVNYbujNXixZxDlwCd-TZpOXXsxruwvLdxS7m5JyqESZo1zjXk50wS2y9say8C8ng/s1600/DSC01705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAKLMR7Y-4kr2of_dkR5le_eAK_GckfwzF1pCmHs4XBDHIrr3exmjc7r-5tMXDBWdDHJYnPCyqhmxVNYbujNXixZxDlwCd-TZpOXXsxruwvLdxS7m5JyqESZo1zjXk50wS2y9say8C8ng/s640/DSC01705.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easy early going on the ridge.</td></tr>
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The ridge gradually morphed from a grassy runnable tundra to a narrowing spine of large blocky talus. What in retrospect was a benign knoll marked the first "challenge" of the day, fun 3rd class moves and what appeared to be just more talus walking ahead. Ha! The two reports of this ridge must have been full of it when they said "low 5th class" -- whatever that dangerously subjective term means! Figuring I would be finished with this minor obstacle of ridge I proceeded onward.<br />
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Things began to change. The ridge sharpened, towers grew more prominent and notches plummeted in sheer faces to thin cols. I reached the first of numerous notches and greeted an uninviting and exposed downclimb to the notch. I was able to leave the ridge and instead crabwalk down a dusty 4th class slab then traverse snow to the next tower. This next tower was almost comically imposing, Bypassing this tower was an easy decision but still involved a dirty traverse of the loose rock on its northern side. Okay, this traverse is getting pretty real!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFBMkDlyht-LLO86wIXO7CgwtSGCDyW1jDQG6AXeXH8YWucY_55-1xI9bhoknicUANVSqJeBuWp5WefYfzUvcVjbl9VwAlqA_k2uidgka9itnO5pKBMSGBoh2oVi5NsB-zhl_c53uhqM/s1600/DSC01718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFBMkDlyht-LLO86wIXO7CgwtSGCDyW1jDQG6AXeXH8YWucY_55-1xI9bhoknicUANVSqJeBuWp5WefYfzUvcVjbl9VwAlqA_k2uidgka9itnO5pKBMSGBoh2oVi5NsB-zhl_c53uhqM/s640/DSC01718.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The right most tower is clearly a technical challenge on its own!</td></tr>
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The remaining ridge left little to the imagination: hard, loose, treacherous, spicy, exciting and adventurous. I began ascending the knife edge ridge to the next tower carefully testing each hold before using it. I searched along the north side for a bypass again but found nothing. I was beginning to feel uneasy about the route -- specifically the rotten state of the rock. I returned to the crest and decided I would check the south side and if nothing jumped out immediately I would bail. I spied a route around to the next notch by spiralling around the south face on a series of ledges. After an extremely airy series of down-mantles I found a Broadway-esque ledge to maneuver myself into the next notch. This was the technical crux of the day for me -- it felt 5.6 -- it was thankfully on good (well, good enough) rock. I believe this went around "Point Odin", it would seem from the only other TR for this route (or that I could find) that up and over may have been the easier option, though more exposed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6R5as7RB3n382qjwtNDvwlEd_F40YZwCKoYlJ8Dr27nHUnvIuELj_moEVZT0CfkWWx_l3OoP2Z7jaUjzumuKqlo639sI8caL_xALHtWXPnxNENxZGrGdrGHCqTM1SzjNJt49hyphenhyphenDKRD6Q/s1600/DSC01719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6R5as7RB3n382qjwtNDvwlEd_F40YZwCKoYlJ8Dr27nHUnvIuELj_moEVZT0CfkWWx_l3OoP2Z7jaUjzumuKqlo639sI8caL_xALHtWXPnxNENxZGrGdrGHCqTM1SzjNJt49hyphenhyphenDKRD6Q/s640/DSC01719.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some proper exposure on these moves!</td></tr>
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Exasperated, I stared down the final tower standing between myself and Palomino Point. I climbed two thirds of the way to the top of the tower and then tried to find a similar south side traverse to what I found before. The ledge narrowed and then fell away in a startling drop. Reluctantly, I returned to the ridge crest to check the north side. Quickly scrambling back up I made biggest mistake of the day; reaching for a hold I blindly pulled and felt the bone chilling grind of the flake freeing itself. The rock was to heavy to push back but I was able to hold it in place for a second to set my feet, release it then dash out of its way as it thunderously cascaded down and into the air. Shaken, I collected myself. This could have happened at any point earlier, this terrain was no different than the previous two towers, but if you roll the dice enough times, things can happen. I wanted off the ridge immediately, turning around was certainly an option but there was less suspect rock above me then behind me so I elected to continue upwards. I found what I believe was the same "crabwalk traverse" mentioned in the beta TR. Despite strictly pushing not pulling on rocks and trying to evenly distribute my weight across all available holds I dislodged another block. Holding it in place, I again moved out of the way and then let it lose. The sound of crashing rock and the wind fluttering the hood of my coat paired with ominous feeling of being alone came to a peak. I nervously skirted the remainder of the tower to find a snow field softer than I'd prefer but a welcome change from the choss.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1GHPNOe_HsNEimBHpaIsSbPlArUH40J-ouQwi6x5KqeJc7aOJGxVvCE7BaxIbgY8XRsK4wyTcBOq645XTPhRBftbCehLtGRvBRgwVmiIh1dzrcLi5u4FRKgckxTSoub39BwhxnKxctw/s1600/DSC01712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1GHPNOe_HsNEimBHpaIsSbPlArUH40J-ouQwi6x5KqeJc7aOJGxVvCE7BaxIbgY8XRsK4wyTcBOq645XTPhRBftbCehLtGRvBRgwVmiIh1dzrcLi5u4FRKgckxTSoub39BwhxnKxctw/s640/DSC01712.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used the leftmost snowy ledge to reach safer ground before reaching Palomino (center skyline).</td></tr>
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I charged up to Palomino Point, slapped the summit, didn't bother signing a register, walked 100ft lower to a sheltered alcove from the wind, dropped my pack and sat down. I had never been so mentally exhausted. I had never felt fear like I had felt during the hour or so from the first rockfall to the summit. I had studied maps and knew I could bail down to Deluge Lake and find the trail down to Vail. I found cell service and texted Abby my change of plans, hoping she had yet to reach the TH where there was no service. She had unfortunately <i>just</i> reached the TH, having bailed on the Gore Range Trail due to snow covering the trail and instead ran 5 miles back to the N. Tenmile Creek TH and then ran the 15 miles of road, bikepath and highway to Rock Creek! Realizing my phone could potentially run out of battery (I had a SPOT as well), I messaged a couple other friends with my new descent route and location.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMwVGxOOELlkt_7YpJJXlZFFgW0NtI_knNI_sjy-Dnfg19XG3Na7opkJwEND0kJS5_mgWcIObjfJY2FJDko9BopBQjIdEibihjbK7g9mgETSwR0QHg1TddP0BiyeSmwJwItc0HfZIcHs/s1600/DSC01722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMwVGxOOELlkt_7YpJJXlZFFgW0NtI_knNI_sjy-Dnfg19XG3Na7opkJwEND0kJS5_mgWcIObjfJY2FJDko9BopBQjIdEibihjbK7g9mgETSwR0QHg1TddP0BiyeSmwJwItc0HfZIcHs/s640/DSC01722.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Holy Cross on the horizon, Deluge Lake below</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxR7312VwvfsTxPeKrNwFwFFj9oNmNwBLAeRKE4sBVV-5LFTt2uUpfU_PcYG0YXCj9tdHlvzatlf432Kl35BZeOvVD-AUaU7oDZZYvDiXtGtv5yevo5WpIR4NEqzTy32yo3wZ-T3aE8E/s1600/DSC01723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAxR7312VwvfsTxPeKrNwFwFFj9oNmNwBLAeRKE4sBVV-5LFTt2uUpfU_PcYG0YXCj9tdHlvzatlf432Kl35BZeOvVD-AUaU7oDZZYvDiXtGtv5yevo5WpIR4NEqzTy32yo3wZ-T3aE8E/s640/DSC01723.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A thrilling shoe ski was enjoyable consolation prize for the day.</td></tr>
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The descent to Deluge Lake was loose, but the fun non-exposed kind where you surf down then shoe-ski snow. After re-examining the topo and navigating to a contouring section of trail at a specific altitude I dropped beneath the snow line, found patchy sections of trail then eventually the trail itself which I happily -- and safely -- dashed down to the sanctuary of civilization and dare I say pavement! Unfortunately, with Abby out of cell service on the other side of the range, the only way for her to realize I was in Vail was to get really worried, go get cell service, get a bombardment of messages and then see my SPOT. My plan was to stay put and wait it out but a ride to Frisco was offered (can't thank them enough!) along with a phone charge. So, I was able to shorten her inevitable drive and get myself to the Next Page bookstore to continue waiting. Eventually and inevitably we reconnected driving straight to the Rio Grande for the biggest meals we could get!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVhqIkBu-vLF7E2UqrS2QXhrmY3WdsEsN7R0owYFZuD2FYk1ai0UKmgrupxKFTyzd-p114e25TrnigmoOEpRczp36p2Gh4Ho6VtFs4qwdWu5ycuDhG4SRkeITapbuLNbzVyHEDwjRhNw/s1600/DSC01729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVhqIkBu-vLF7E2UqrS2QXhrmY3WdsEsN7R0owYFZuD2FYk1ai0UKmgrupxKFTyzd-p114e25TrnigmoOEpRczp36p2Gh4Ho6VtFs4qwdWu5ycuDhG4SRkeITapbuLNbzVyHEDwjRhNw/s640/DSC01729.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This butterfly walked around my foot for about 15 minutes while I waited at Deluge Lake TH. He didn't seem afraid of me at all, this picture was taken without zoom and he didn't even flinch having the lens an inch from his body!</td></tr>
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This was a hard route and learning experience in many ways. I learned its sometimes best to turn your back on something that doesn't quite feel right than to test the waters and find out for sure. I learned that objective hazard above anything else is something I'm not okay with. I learned that having full knowledge of the area is critical. I learned that being able to communicate and share your location is paramount, especially alone. I think I made a poor judgement pursuing this ridge, especially solo -- and that I should have turned back earlier rather than finding out what was ahead. I also believe though, that upon reaching Palomino Pk, my bail strategy was well equipped and executed. I'm happy I didn't listen to music on my phone to save battery, that I contacted a few people my change of plans and that I had a SPOT if I needed it. Its easy to not care you don't have these things when you don't consider there usage but I never want to be in the situation where I'm ill-equipped wishing I had other options. I love the mountains, climbing, running and scrambling but not enough to play Russian Roulette with them. I want to continue to explore the unknown and push myself but I always need to remember to first evaluate the risks and furthermore, to remember that harder, more exposed and higher doesn't always mean I'll enjoy it more. The most fun I had this weekend was romping up the standard trail on Quandary with Abby the next day, certainly not fearing rockfall on Asgard Ridge.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-29464914004608477442017-05-10T10:43:00.001-07:002017-05-10T10:43:39.661-07:00May 1 - May 7<b><u>5/1, Monday - Off</u></b><br />
A bit tired from yesterday's run.<br />
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<b><u>5/2, Tuesday - Yellow Spur - 2000', 5:17</u></b><br />
Biked to Eldo to meet Anton to climb the Yellow Spur. We didn't move particularly quickly but that wasn't the goal of the day. He led to the Red Ledge which was all familiar terrain to me, I had always been turned towards Icarus here due to time restraints. I took the lead up the first pitch and was only held up by this awkward friction-y corner that I eventually solved by just toe jamming up to the big shelf. Tony then lead the final premier pitch to the finish. Its tough climbing but its basically just a sport route (minus the traverse) till the final 5.6 arete. Downclimbed the East Slabs back to our bikes and rode home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL7ZxK2ubXUpkEtJ21MYkRA3ridFHcu0-sP2rmaFGnbCIKjSWUNJ_Z7ZpLaiFsozVRPTJ9SzIjF0d6NVuIG54aK04uuZvEnriJbVEG3ZcTq5e1Ifgioh_biviomEXc2vDN7QvvcJQSt8/s1600/IMG_9056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL7ZxK2ubXUpkEtJ21MYkRA3ridFHcu0-sP2rmaFGnbCIKjSWUNJ_Z7ZpLaiFsozVRPTJ9SzIjF0d6NVuIG54aK04uuZvEnriJbVEG3ZcTq5e1Ifgioh_biviomEXc2vDN7QvvcJQSt8/s640/IMG_9056.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anton following the second to last pitch at lightning speed!</td></tr>
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<b><u>5/3, Wednesday - 6 miles, 250', 0:41</u></b><br />
Quick short run along the creek as the skies cleared of morning rain clouds.<br />
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<b><u>5/4, Thursday - 3 x Mile - 11 miles, 400', 1:15 || PM: First Flatiron - 3 miles, 1600, 3:13</u></b><br />
A mediocre workout. I wanted good rest between each interval (6 minutes) but still couldn't get my splits as low as I would have liked (5:17, 5:25, 5:27). Ah well, got the effort in -- the last quarter of each repeat was good if only as a mental workout for not giving in. In the evening I met Abby for her first time up the direct route on the 1st Flatiron. I soloed the rope up to belay her for the first 3 pitches to the party ledge, then we scrambled to the slot where I belayed her up to the arete. We then scrambled the remainder of the north arete as the sun fell behind the Indian Peaks in the distance. I'd never actually rappelled off the 1st -- always downclimbed -- but given the darkness it would be easier to just set up the rope than try to point out holds in the dark. Actually a really cool rappel, the bottom 30ft or so are free hanging and a 60m rope reaches the ground just fine.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZOmLlsekkSG6Rhxgzsu_x4KCORo-cjGpj8ZBa0PbhjGpU4kGXfrMYJmaoljaDAvMRrGH2tXZ_RbkfSL__OUVU9HZze0fPFTTLwbEX8u0GIP7sE_ZvNavenbN4VXM-UKvJGVFbg0PTStU/s1600/IMG_9060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZOmLlsekkSG6Rhxgzsu_x4KCORo-cjGpj8ZBa0PbhjGpU4kGXfrMYJmaoljaDAvMRrGH2tXZ_RbkfSL__OUVU9HZze0fPFTTLwbEX8u0GIP7sE_ZvNavenbN4VXM-UKvJGVFbg0PTStU/s640/IMG_9060.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby taking a lead up to the North Arete at sunset.</td></tr>
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<b><u>5/5, Friday - Eldo Scrambling - 2300', 2:41</u></b><br />
After gulping down a ton of water, I hopped on my bike for a splendid session in Eldo. I had to make a slight adjustment to my Wind Tower circuit as West Overhang was taken -- so I skipped that -- and Wind Ridge was taken so I explored to rock up Tigger than traversed back to the Wind Ridge route once above the party. I was making good time and the wind was calm so I hustled over to the West Chimney where I was able to get going right before a large party began up Rewritten. What an absolute pleasure it is to move freely over such a beautiful wall. I hadn't soloed Icarus in a long time, so I was reminded of just how phenomenal of a route and position it is -- the arete to the top of tower one has got to be one of the best in the state if not country!<br />
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<b><u>5/6, Saturday - Sooberb Lite & Blind Faith - 2500', 6:57</u></b><br />
Kyle and I biked down to Eldo with plans for long day of climbing. We first got to Long John Wall, which was taken so we went a bit further up the hill to <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/v/sooberb-lite/107068739" target="_blank">Sooberb Lite</a>. Right as we were about to lift off a guy down towards Washington Irving -- not sure what route exactly -- took a near a ground fall bouncing down slab and through trees. Or at least it sounded like that. We unroped and ran down to find him moving and talking but clearly concussion symptoms. He had plenty of friends there to help (one was a nurse) so they said they didn't need any more help and sent us on our way. Sooberb Lite was actually a fun really fun route, though overshadowed by everything else in the day. Kyle led the first two pitches -- the second being the good one, while I lead the final. We then ran down to Redgarden and literally everything under 5.11 was taken so we jogged to the Bastille. <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/v/blind-faith/105748639" target="_blank">Blind Faith</a> (which was first climbed free solo) was open and I'd been wanting to try it for ages. I took the lead and got up just fine to the crux. Oh but the crux! I tried several times never able to commit and taking a fall once -- my first fall leading on trad. I definitely need to get better at crack technique and do some more pull ups! Eventually, I just traversed around to set up an anchor for Kyle to give it a shot with a top rope (after the rope was severely stuck on an under-cling!). I think he made it further than I did but then had to hang -- you can't really rejoin the route after hanging once on TR -- he was then hanging on the upper portion of the right crack variation and finished up that. I started leading up the next pitch but we were both so pumped and mentally shaken by this point that I down-climbed while back-cleaning gear then we set an anchor to bail. Thankfully, some guys were heading up as were rapping (moving quickly). The leader undid our anchor and sent down all the gear we thought we were having to leave, lucky for us it was not as expensive of a bail as we expected. Not a huge day by the numbers but mentally one of the harder days I can remember.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BTxJ-lMliyB/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Kyle Richardson (@kylerichardson)</a> on <time datetime="2017-05-06T22:42:42+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">May 6, 2017 at 3:42pm PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>5/7, Sunday - Pine Tree Route - 1400', 3:35</u></b><br />
Fun day with my house mates. Mike broke his leg pretty severely 10 months ago and today was his first day back outside and he wanted to lead -- and suggested biking to the crag! We ended up on Pine Tree route waiting for another girl to lead it (who broke her jaw last year and was also getting her head back on!). Mike took the lead with the mental trauma still major obstacle. Physically, he could walk up this route and I'm sure he would have scoffed at it before his accident. Today wasn't about physical limits it was instead about mental limits. It took a while but it was important to give him that time and space to sort out his thoughts. My other house mate, Jorge, followed the route then I soloed it. Hoping to squeeze in one more route I rushed the rope over to East Slab on the Dome but the storm broke before I could even get ready, I met the guys back at our bikes for a soggy ride home.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BTzt0LyjZWd/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Michael Restivo (@mikeoffthemap)</a> on <time datetime="2017-05-07T22:34:20+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">May 7, 2017 at 3:34pm PDT</time></div>
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<u><i>Week Totals</i></u>:<i> Running</i><br />
20 miles<br />
2200'<br />
5:10<br />
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<i><u>Week Totals</u></i>: <i>Other bike-climb-scramble stuff</i><br />
112 miles (mostly biking)<br />
9700'<br />
21:30<br />
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Clearly, I didn't actually <i>run</i> that much this week. In fact I mostly just climbed, 5 days in fact -- time to retire my rope! -- which translates still to some good time on my feet and is frankly the most fun you can have! I also definitely needed to back off a bit of the volume to give my legs a chance to actively recover for race week. Quad Rock 25 next weekend, looking forwards to it!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-75381273074149457012017-04-30T16:36:00.001-07:002017-04-30T16:36:39.897-07:00April 25 - April 30<b><u>4/24, Monday - South Boulder Pk, Bear Pk, Green Mtn - 15 miles, 4500', 2:47</u></b><br />
Ran from home up the Bluestem trail to Shadow Canyon. I kept a moderate pace, hoping to catch the RMR group on Green Mtn. I put a good effort into my Green to Bear segment but came in just behind Sage's Strava CR on the traverse -- I lost most of my time on the highly runnable section of Green-Bear where his road legs are too quick to stay with! Hit the summit of Green just as the group was descending so I lumped onto the back to chat with friends rather than fight my way to the front with mindless competitiveness.<br />
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<b><u>4/25, Tuesday - AM: Eldorado Canyon - 1900', 2:54 || PM: Salomon Run - 3 miles, 600', 0:34</u></b><br />
Biked to Eldo in the morning and did my Wind Tower circuit (Boulder Direct, West Overhang, Calypso, Wind Ridge) then hiked to the col separating the Whale's Tale form the South Buttress. I started up Pseudo Sidetrack, a moderate 5.4 which I enjoyed to the halfway point then spied a fun looking section that appeared to be more fun. Heading up a steep face I joined a beautiful dihedral and handcrack, then some more face moves to top out on the East Slabs. I found out later the route I went up was PA's Variation, super cool! Salomon run in the evening.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBIFqQNTykVcbtD-yA892fmGUUqgverCE5qynDUCLehnDqeCBAb_oVyVvgj8pmEYGTSwFHJzbInCNRUlO7S1yDY4AI3KBDDzUWIFmWgaTjteUOXcC4W0iRQtYgXLPUo-dH2i_nLByiz7M/s1600/IMG_9044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBIFqQNTykVcbtD-yA892fmGUUqgverCE5qynDUCLehnDqeCBAb_oVyVvgj8pmEYGTSwFHJzbInCNRUlO7S1yDY4AI3KBDDzUWIFmWgaTjteUOXcC4W0iRQtYgXLPUo-dH2i_nLByiz7M/s640/IMG_9044.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back down PA's Variation</td></tr>
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<b><u>4/26, Wednesday - 6 x 3min - 12 miles, 1200', 1:24</u></b><br />
Warmed up to the Bluestem TH off of HW93 then started the intervals. Three minutes is a savage interval time, you can't really settle into anything sustained but its also long enough that the quick pace eats your soul for the final sixty seconds. I was motivated knowing that the faster I ran the intervals, the closer to the Mesa trail I would get which would inevitably be less sustained uphill! Since I still felt relatively alright after the sixth, I kept a steady effort back down the South Boulder Creek trail and through the Buffalo Ranch back home.<br />
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<b><u>4/27, Thursday - Betasso Preserve - 3 miles, 500', 0:32</u></b><br />
Kinda fun since it was a pretty morning but Abby and I both fell pretty hard over literally nothing on the trail! Given the carnage we called it early.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think I fell a few seconds after taking this picture, serves me right for not paying attention!</td></tr>
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<b><u>4/28, Friday - Green Mtn x 3 - 16 miles, 7100', 4:11</u></b><br />
Three ascents of Gregory-Ranger which is by far the most difficult since you have to actually run quite a bit -- not to say its not still steep! Not pretty, but got it done.<br />
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<b><u>4/29, Saturday - Green Mtn x 3 - 15 miles, 8200', 5:06</u></b><br />
A nuclear bomb of wet snow hit last night so today was properly slow. I kept the route to Amp-SR-GM but even with the most efficient line it was mentally trying to move along like a slug in such sloppy conditions. I was hoping to get to 10,000ft for the day but I had obligations for the evening so called it once it was after 2PM. I was able to get 1100ft more than yesterday by doing a bunch of little out and backs catching back up to Abby and Kyle (who joined for sections) at various points.<br />
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<b><u>4/30, Sunday - Gold Hill - 29 miles, 4000', 4:16</u></b><br />
It was rough getting going this morning for both Abby and I, so we were happy to let some snow melt (its now 60F after snowing 1ft yesterday!) while eating a proper breakfast. Without giving myself time to think of any of the great reasons to <i>not</i> do this today I left the house with two flasks of tailwind, a hotshot and a handful of gels. I took it pretty easy all the way up to Gold Hill. I stopped once at the bathroom at Sanitas then again up top where I bumped into Ryan on his bike. I still kept it easy heading back down Sunshine canyon until somewhere around the Poorman's Rd turnoff where I started a series of fartleks. I did a few intervals all the way home, the hardest being a relatively all out push from Eben G. Fine park to CU campus near Folsom street.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold Hill with Longs in the background.</td></tr>
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<i><u>Week Totals</u></i>:<br />
92 miles<br />
26,100ft<br />
18:40<br />
. . . . plus a bit of biking<br />
<br />
Good peak week of volume heading towards Quad Rock 25 in two weeks -- time to start easing off of the gas a bit.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-3858728287856179132017-04-26T10:30:00.003-07:002017-04-26T10:30:27.892-07:00April 17 - April 24<b><u>4/17, Monday - AM: Easy - 7 miles, 0:55 || PM: Green Mtn - 6 miles, 2500', 1:43</u></b><br />
Easy morning shakeout with Abby and Jackson with a mile or so by chance with Jack on Apache Rd followed by a Green summit with RMR in the evening<br />
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<b><u>4/18, Tuesday - 1st Flatiron, Green Mtn, 2nd Flatiron - 7 miles, 3700', 2:14</u></b><br />
My scrambling form is still properly terrible so it was another slow ramble up the 1st to tag Green. Downclimbed the 2nd Flatiron until I met Abby just at the main rib then turned around and finished the route with her. We then sprinted back down towards the Salomon Run but couldn't quite catch up.<br />
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<b><u>4/19, Wednesday - Bike: Eldorado Canyon</u></b><br />
I've been itching to get back into Eldo so despite the wind I hoped I could find something sheltered enough. The ride there took forever with the oppressive headwind putting me in my lowest gears just to get <i>down</i> hills. I made a few moves up Boulder Direct then surmised it was neither fun nor safe so I just rode back home.<br />
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<b><u>4/20, Thursday - Independence Monument - 7 miles, 1500', 6:09</u></b><br />
On the way out to the desert we stopped to check out Independence Monument, a proud tower of sandstone just outside of Grand Junction. I took the first lead but we accidentally started up "Geezer Highway" instead of "Otto's Route", the latter being much safer and easier. After carefully getting to an anchor of a fixed nut and an angle I had to leave a locking biner on the webbing to be lowered back to the ground. We then found the start of Otto's and started up. The first two pitches were straightforward, but the third really gave me hell. It was a tough move to make, especially with a backpack with an extra rope (for rappel) and a double rack (totally unnecessary). Eventually, I just tried harder and made it through. The next pitch was 4th class followed by a short section of bolts to a big ledge leading to the summit pitch. On lead, I got to within 5ft of the top but couldn't manage the last move. The combination of too much weight, really cold and strong winds and lack of strength was too much for me. Abby, freezing on the belay ledge was especially cold standing still in the wind. She lowered me back down then we made two rappels to the ground, the final a full 70 meters using both ropes! Super cool even if we didn't make the top.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Independence Monument</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby on the final rap back to the ground</td></tr>
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<b><u>4/21, Friday - Pothole Arch - 13 miles, 2700', 3:49</u></b><br />
After a late night of scavenging for one open campsite we were excited to get out for a run rather than drive around the city in the dark looking for vacant sites. I did this loop once before and really liked it. Starting from Kane Creek we ran along the Colorado River for a ways before angling straight up onto some slickrock to Pothole Arch. Next was a short section of trail before joining a 4x4 road which would loop us back to our car. Just as we were joining the road however, I noticed the car key had fallen out of my pocket! We turned back around and steadily searched our prior path. Having found nothing all the way back to Pothole Arch and knowing there wasn't cell service at the lot we used this blip of service to call AAA to send a tow truck so we could at least get back to town. By the grace of the heavens on the remainder of trail back to the car I spotted the key at the bottom of an especially steep hill I had ran down earlier. We should have expected it there, it was by far the most likely place it could have been!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qaq6EXEEIYU/WP1ge0iVaDI/AAAAAAAAY_8/Vesd616WDIUlXrm5HOLq2ZJ_ukAQriylQCPcB/s1600/DSC01525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qaq6EXEEIYU/WP1ge0iVaDI/AAAAAAAAY_8/Vesd616WDIUlXrm5HOLq2ZJ_ukAQriylQCPcB/s640/DSC01525.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On top of Pothole Arch</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby looking back towards where we started and the La Sal's</td></tr>
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<b><u>4/22, Saturday - Canyolands NP - 26 miles, 4300', 6:15</u></b><br />
This was the big one for the weekend. Last year I did a similar loop but had my knee lock up halfway and had to limp 9 miles back to the car without bending the joint. This time -- feeling generally healthy -- we planned a larger route to truly circumnavigate the park. Starting from Squaw Flat TH we first went around Lost Canyon for the long way to the Druid Arch out and back. Although a bit longer, this canyon is not to be missed; the whole route is in the depths of the lush canyon or up above on the slickrock bluffs with views of the Needles and La Sal Mountains. Getting to Druid Arch I remembered as a long sandy slog, but with a functioning ITB it wasn't too bad at all, and the views were tremendous! From Druid Arch we took the Joint Trail to Devil's Kitchen, a meadow between striking needles that is way more runnable than most of the trails -- but still quite sandy. Totally exposed to the desert sun, Abby began to feel pretty dehydrated. I've learned I really don't need that much water so I happily handed over the majority of my remaining water. The final section back to Squaw Flat is <i>much</i> longer than you'd think it is and can be difficult to truly appreciate while dehydrated and 5 hours into the day. Luckily, the parking lot sort of surprises you when you get close. Fantastic route that should be on everyone's list!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yYYpdiMn_20/WP1geyP2j5I/AAAAAAAAZFQ/TfzQbCzWdboS4XbUAw68CGU5qX1mIAU2QCPcB/s1600/DSC01557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yYYpdiMn_20/WP1geyP2j5I/AAAAAAAAZFQ/TfzQbCzWdboS4XbUAw68CGU5qX1mIAU2QCPcB/s640/DSC01557.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lost Canyon</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T7xMGexwK8g/WP1ge_EEfdI/AAAAAAAAZGY/Wa8n2y9uvBsAr2mQXVWbzTyVMUCkgvwbACPcB/s1600/DSC01592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T7xMGexwK8g/WP1ge_EEfdI/AAAAAAAAZGY/Wa8n2y9uvBsAr2mQXVWbzTyVMUCkgvwbACPcB/s640/DSC01592.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Druid Arch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rZJk1KNKgg0/WP1ge1n7M-I/AAAAAAAAY_8/nvE3rwVNVVU3Xm6xdQWyi4NtL_vS53meQCPcB/s1600/DSC01620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rZJk1KNKgg0/WP1ge1n7M-I/AAAAAAAAY_8/nvE3rwVNVVU3Xm6xdQWyi4NtL_vS53meQCPcB/s640/DSC01620.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devil's Kitchen</td></tr>
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<b><u>4/23, Sunday - Wall Street Climbing - 2:30</u></b><br />
For our final day in the desert we went down to Wall Street to clip some bolts before driving home. First we hopped on a random slab route that looked moderate so Abby could get back to leading. It turned out to be a rather slick 5.9, Stego Slab. We then traveled a bit further down the road and found the actual moderates to get Abby's head back into leading. She first lead "Chocolate Chunk", a 5.3 that she could easily solo but got could practice clipping on lead. Next she lead Yogini, a 5.7+, I was happy to see her moving confidently on the rock again! Last, I put the rope up on Banana Peel, 5.10a; after taking a few tries to get the starting moves I was able to clean the route. Abby, hesitant to start up the route found the start similarly difficult but was able to efficiently move through the rest of the route really well and was showing great trust in her feet (something I think has been holding her back). With a fine route under are belts we were happy to call the weekend in the desert to a close!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stego Slab</td></tr>
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<u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
65 miles<br />
18,000ft<br />
14:57Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-58069313162511120492017-04-17T07:41:00.001-07:002017-04-17T07:41:24.685-07:00April 10 - April 15<b><u>4/10, Monday - AM: 6 x mile - 11 miles, 500', 1:24 - PM: Streets - 6 miles, 200', 0:45</u></b><br />
Jackson met at my house early then after we both took full advantage of access to a flush toilet we warmed up over to Marshall Road. Jackson wanted to do some form drills first, which I was happy to do -- I should probably be doing this 3-4 times a week anyways, rather than zero. For the odd reps it was down and even were up, the miles were split 5:26, 5:41, 5:16, 5:51, 5:32, 5:52. The ups were really tough and I may have over extended my abilities on the third rep. Regardless, I was essentially just <i>trying </i>to stay on Jackson's tail the whole time! Went out for another cruise in the afternoon by doing two laps of the CU-XC course in opposite directions.<br />
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<b><u>4/11, Tuesday - AM: Flagstaff-Poormans - 13 miles, 2400', 1:58</u></b><br />
From Abby's starting at 5:40AM with a headlamp I jogged up Flagstaff Mountain to descend Chapman Drive. As I continued down Boulder Canyon then up Fourmile Canyon towards Poormans Dr it was pretty cold on the western aspects which were sheltered from the rising sun. I happily met the sun at the top of Poormans and jogged down Seven Hills Rd for a soft surface then joined the standard Sunset Canyon trail back to town. Easy Salomon Run Club in the evening.<br />
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<b><u>4/12, Wednesday - Flagstaff Loop - 9 miles, 1900', 1:40</u></b><br />
Felt pretty tired today so I kept it really easy. After running up Viewpoint and down to Gregory Canyon, I hiked basically the whole way up that then slowly jogged down Chapman Dr back home. The views of the full moon setting over the alpenglow of the Indian Peaks is pretty spectacular from Chapman Dr, which I have to believe why I gravitated towards it again today.<br />
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<b><u>4/13, Thursday - Bear Pk - 10 miles, 3900', 1:57</u></b><br />
I met Len at his place ~0.5 miles from the TH then we jogged to the Cragmoor trailhead. I could tell on the warm up that the workout we had planned of tempo-ing the ascent would be rough but committed myself to the effort even if my time was slow. The first 1.5 miles or so are on a super runnable and low graded path so you should be able to run pretty hard, but I couldn't quite get my legs to respond properly. I was relieved to get the base of fern, hastily shed my coat and start the power hiking. Len put a huge gap on me on the running section but I was able to close a bit to the summit. I summitted in 41:10 (Len in 40:56) -- a PR, but I <i>know</i> I can take literal minutes off of that time which encourages me to go for the sub-hour round trip (FKT of 0:55 by Dave Mackey). We took it real easy heading down but I realized I left my coat at the base of Fern Canyon so I had to jog all the way back up from the TH to retrieve that. Oh well, an extended warm down in that beautiful morning weather was nothing to complain about.<br />
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<b><u>4/14, Friday - Bear Pk x 3 - 9 miles, 6000', 2:54</u></b><br />
Started from Cragmoor with Nick with the heat beating down hard. We were excited to get off the long approach from Shanahan ridge which is far more exposed to the sun and into the cooler temps of Fern Canyon. I split each lap pretty evenly just under 30min with Nick a bit behind each time. Started to cramp up a bit in the heat on the way back to the TH; the bike cruise back downhill felt <i>amazing</i>!<br />
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<b><u>4/15, Saturday - Jurassic Park Climbing - 1000', 3:57</u></b><br />
Abby and I camped in the Park then realized a certain harness was forgotten so had to drive <i>all</i> the way back to Boulder and back to Lily Lake (which was otherwise ~15min from our campsite). First up, was the mega-classic "The Edge of Time" (pictured below) which we somehow got onto before a long queue formed behind us. Being a 5.9 sport climb I thought it would be total cake but it was put up in 1960-something by Layton Korr, so its a legit 9. Thin face climbing with a good bit of runnout climbing for a bolted line. Abby followed and we then went over to "Middle Toe" where I lead the route and set up the TR for Abby then in order to clean the route I TR'ed "Copradelite", a really cool, thin and balancy face climb. Once I cleaned that anchor and was lowered we hoofed it back to the car and Estes for some snacks!<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BS7iRRHgX4Z/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by abby mitchell (@abigail_km)</a> on <time datetime="2017-04-16T02:55:59+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 15, 2017 at 7:55pm PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>4/16, Sunday - Poormans/Betasso/Green Mtn - 22 miles, 4700', 3:13</u></b><br />
Got a leisurely start to Easter morning with a side by side comparison of a pour-over and an Aeropress coffee, I prefer the Aeropress. Kept a steady effort up Sunshine and down Poormans then dodged dozens of cyclists enjoying pristine weather in the Betasso Preserve. Technically foot traffic has the right of way, but its best to step out of the way -- you don't want to get hit by a bike. After a quick descent into Boulder Canyon I stared down the crucible of the day: Green via Chapman Dr. The ascent is 4 miles with 2300ft of gain; its not horrible but I wanted to run every step -- which is oddly slower than strategically hiking certain sections, and why I've never ran every step of Green before. I made it to the top without then turned right around to retake my CR down Long Canyon on the way back home. Pretty happy with the pace (8:45min/mi) on this longer effort over pretty hilly terrain.<br />
<br />
<u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
<br />
<i>Running</i>:<br />
85 miles<br />
21,000ft<br />
14:08<br />
<br />
<i>Biking</i>:<br />
45 miles<br />
2,100ft<br />
3:21<br />
<br />
I'm happy to have a high volume week heading into the last training block before Quad Rock 25. The weather is incredible right now too, which lead to the fantastic day of climbing on Saturday. Excited for racing, climbing and long days in the mountains!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-70240214418912505212017-04-09T15:23:00.000-07:002017-04-11T14:28:06.135-07:00April 3 - April 9<b><u>4/3, Monday - Easy - 5 miles, 0:41, 500'</u></b><br />
Easy jog with Jack around the XC course and along the streets.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>4/4, Tuesday - Off</u></b><br />
No time to run.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>4/5, Wednesday - Off</u></b><br />
Same as yesterday.<br />
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<b><u>4/6, Thursday - Mt Pennel - 5 miles, 4100', 2:18</u></b><br />
Elliot drove the dirt road until stopped by a fallen tree across the road where we continued upwards on foot. If I was driving we would have stopped a mile sooner -- I hate driving, especially on 4WD roads. Last time I attempted this peak in March, 2015 the road was a postholing nightmare laden with icy crust. So, this time I was determined to not only bag the summit but also avoid the miseries of the standard trail. The southeast ridge looked the most dry and accessible from our position so we trudged up the remarkably steep dirt for a ways. Having started after driving all the way from Boulder daylight wasn't guarenteed so 1,000ft below the summit Elliot turned around while I blitzed up to tag the summit. It was cold and very windy which made sense when the summit marker read 11,371ft. A vast pallete of colors extended into the distance; an expanse of red desert, dark brown canyons and the other isolated peaks of the southern Henry Range. The descent was a bit bumbly and uncoordinated at first -- really, just trying to get warm before I could enjoy anything. Eventually, I eyed a perfect looking gully filled with snow. I was even more delighted to see Elliot's footsteps shoe skiing all the way to the bottom where it met the road. The snow was perfect for glissading and soon I met Elliot back at the car with proper stoke in the dying evening light.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-64rXzXQo-YQ/WOnLEI1grXI/AAAAAAAAX7c/mACSZqj4vdkQltExhpIjqsnnL0O7OlApQCPcB/s1600/DSC01331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-64rXzXQo-YQ/WOnLEI1grXI/AAAAAAAAX7c/mACSZqj4vdkQltExhpIjqsnnL0O7OlApQCPcB/s640/DSC01331.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit Selfie.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zGd0oocpDpg/WOnLEK80O7I/AAAAAAAAX7c/P7unxTbAl0cCjktcilbDFs5WEYgCf196gCPcB/s1600/DSC01328.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zGd0oocpDpg/WOnLEK80O7I/AAAAAAAAX7c/P7unxTbAl0cCjktcilbDFs5WEYgCf196gCPcB/s640/DSC01328.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Views to the South</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aR-iRxAmUSA/WOnLEKHDzkI/AAAAAAAAX7c/zly4nZ1zr4cebU4tF9nqEJ2suyfg_ZgOACPcB/s1600/DSC01337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aR-iRxAmUSA/WOnLEKHDzkI/AAAAAAAAX7c/zly4nZ1zr4cebU4tF9nqEJ2suyfg_ZgOACPcB/s640/DSC01337.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Icy crust for the last ~700ft or so cuts the shins. Tis the season!</td></tr>
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<b><u><br />4/7, Friday - Bike: Blue Notch Rd - 35 miles, 4600', 4:56</u></b><br />
This was the big one for Elliot, and since he wonderfully and irrationally signed up for the Dirty 30 (his current longest run being 7 miles!) it was time to put him in the pain cave. First up is gaining the "notch" from the highway, a moderate 700ft climb. Elliot encountered some mechanical issues that we sorted out on top then enjoyed net downhill but rolling route through canyons and washes to the waters of Lake Powell. The water looked gross and it wasn't particularly warm so we opted not to take a dip. Now the fun starts: back up to the notch its a 2,000ft climb but the road winds and rolls so you really don't gain a whole lot of vert until the last couple miles. This was tough on Elliot. Tough for me too, though, the final climb had me out of the saddle just to get the wheels to move up the steep incline. Finally we crested back to the notch and enjoyed the final descent to the car.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4d4rBx8e_BU/WOnLEHWnbHI/AAAAAAAAX7c/rmf_MyaYo2Ak18htv2R-rX8D8lfX2OFygCPcB/s1600/DSC01354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4d4rBx8e_BU/WOnLEHWnbHI/AAAAAAAAX7c/rmf_MyaYo2Ak18htv2R-rX8D8lfX2OFygCPcB/s640/DSC01354.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical section of road.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r1MctByzUpU/WOnLEHyI6dI/AAAAAAAAX7c/WBBRJGWW614t8lisTV5fN1sIH4CBT2v7gCPcB/s1600/DSC01364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r1MctByzUpU/WOnLEHyI6dI/AAAAAAAAX7c/WBBRJGWW614t8lisTV5fN1sIH4CBT2v7gCPcB/s640/DSC01364.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elliot at Lake Powell</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lONoYyz46LY/WOnLEMU8k7I/AAAAAAAAX7c/picEtNXLwxg00U80DHOM9DzxDeOMwVYegCPcB/s1600/DSC01388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lONoYyz46LY/WOnLEMU8k7I/AAAAAAAAX7c/picEtNXLwxg00U80DHOM9DzxDeOMwVYegCPcB/s640/DSC01388.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stealtha laying down for a rest just below the notch.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aakDhUEB8NY/WOnLEB9BkGI/AAAAAAAAX7c/GkOgLvTalTUiqCMVjpPngAdNvSuzS_cjwCPcB/s1600/DSC01400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aakDhUEB8NY/WOnLEB9BkGI/AAAAAAAAX7c/GkOgLvTalTUiqCMVjpPngAdNvSuzS_cjwCPcB/s640/DSC01400.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elliot topping out on the homeward bound push!</td></tr>
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<b><u>4/8, Saturday - Navajo Knobs - 9 miles, 3500', 2:49</u></b><br />
For our final day in the desert we found ourselves conveniently proximal to Capitol Reef NP so we checked it out. In retrospect, we <i>should</i> have done Spring Canyon, stashing the bikes at the other end, but oh well. Instead we chose the Navajo Knobs purely as my executive decision as it was the longest and steepest route listed on the park trail map. The trail followed the canyon rim passing a viewpoint for the Hickman Bridge among other views until it topped out at a relative high point. The wind was really slamming up top so we turned right back around. Jogged some of the descent and evaded a light rain storm.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ncEvt-l_07U/WOnLEDytTzI/AAAAAAAAX7c/1U9GAMvHHhk-MJPwMLpvNNB8mr4j20H3QCPcB/s1600/DSC01422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ncEvt-l_07U/WOnLEDytTzI/AAAAAAAAX7c/1U9GAMvHHhk-MJPwMLpvNNB8mr4j20H3QCPcB/s640/DSC01422.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reefs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6kRO6bym00/WOnLEDYic3I/AAAAAAAAX7c/dLxx7pXc-8Um-4-K0R9_wHgFYMQEH3QuQCPcB/s1600/DSC01417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K6kRO6bym00/WOnLEDYic3I/AAAAAAAAX7c/dLxx7pXc-8Um-4-K0R9_wHgFYMQEH3QuQCPcB/s640/DSC01417.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Reefs</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NPO085TLJ-c/WOnLEMkjdOI/AAAAAAAAX7c/9-PxQMRS940vhpVA5XOtdHhOBrmxBOCUgCPcB/s1600/DSC01431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NPO085TLJ-c/WOnLEMkjdOI/AAAAAAAAX7c/9-PxQMRS940vhpVA5XOtdHhOBrmxBOCUgCPcB/s640/DSC01431.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Capitol Dome (I think?)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Tlv7_qb2sI/WOnLEA0-rNI/AAAAAAAAX7c/BmePUwfAcZoWS9EqaE08JlA7vo2kjm_7QCPcB/s640/DSC01415.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Views were great.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing back to the road.</td></tr>
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<b><u>4/9, Sunday - 1st Flatiron + Green Mtn - 5 miles, 2800', 1:25</u></b><br />
After arriving home very late I met Kyle at a belated start for an easy lap of <i>his</i> hill (he is now at 102 or so summits for 2017). I went annoyingly slow up the first as I elected to wear speedcross which are perfect for trail and off trail days but decidedly terrible for scrambling due to their lug pattern. Got a call from Abby at the Saddle Rock junction while descending that she finished 2nd in the Austin Rattler 66k (2nd only to Michele Yates) and is headed to Leadville! Super psyched.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSrN-gdFLrd/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Kyle Richardson (@kylerichardson)</a> on <time datetime="2017-04-09T18:50:49+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 9, 2017 at 11:50am PDT</time></div>
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<u><br /></u>
<u>Week Totals (running)</u>:<br />
25 miles<br />
11,000ft<br />
7:13<br />
<br />
<u>Week Totals (biking)</u>:<br />
59 miles<br />
6,000ft<br />
6:50<br />
<br />
A descent down-week of mixed activities and a fantastic little trip to the desert with Elliot to bag a couple peaks and enjoy some biking. Excited to get back in gear and running next week!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-50113679352073159072017-04-03T09:56:00.004-07:002017-04-03T09:56:54.241-07:00March 13 - April 2<b><u>3/13, Monday - Green Mountain - 6 miles, 3000', 1:12</u></b><br />
<i>34:31 up, 14:42 down, 49:43 round-trip</i><br />
Last year, Ryan Smith put up a time that I believe will stand as the fastest round-trip time for many years to come <i>and</i> he did it on an icy slick trail in microspikes. Ouch. I've never really been able to execute a proper Green lap of my own. My ascent time was lowly, my descent time was outdated, obselete and inferior and my sole round trip under an hour was logged within a bike ride on Strava so it basically never happened. Arriving at Chautauqua, Kyle was just locking up his bike heading off to scramble so my warm-up was jogging a bit with him until our paths diverged. With my body warm I started my watch and hastily scurried up the trail. I really couldn't believe I ran as much as I did on the ascent, I didn't hike a step until the ladder -- unusual for me! Above the Greenman junction I felt my effort and willingness to suffer fading and I hiked more than I should have but made sure to actually run the top switchbacks. I topped out in 34:31 and immediately began barreling back down. The physical abuse of the downhill (14:42 down) enabled me to sneak just under 50min (49:43).<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>3/14, Tuesday - Mt Sanitas - 4 miles, 1700', 0:59</u></b><br />
Warmed up from Abby's house over Red Rocks then started the tempo from the bottom at the shelter. I felt yesterday's effort but no too much, getting up in 19:04. I was confident I could push another quality downhill to equalize my round trip time. I was descending at a quality pace until I rolled my ankle quite severely only a bit from the TH. I had to sit down for a moment before limping back to the TH (10:40 down, 29:44 RT) then slowly back home. The worst part of this was that it ended my RMR "<a href="http://www.rockymountainrunners.org/2017/03/29/hell-week/" target="_blank">Hell Week</a>" prematurely. The goal was to time trial each of the 5 prominent peaks in 5 days, but I had to end at 2.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>3/15, Wednesday - Off</u></b><br />
Ankle very bad.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>3/16, Thursday - Bike: Sunset-Switz-Lefthand-Old Stage - 54 miles, 5300', 4:21</u></b><br />
With the ankle feeling good enough (<a href="http://www.boulderacusport.com/" target="_blank">thanks to Ginna</a>) I was able to get out on the bike. I tried heading towards Sawmill road via Sunset-Switzerland Trail but got a bit lost on the out-dated section of the Switzerland trail past Gold Hill Rd and ended up hike-a-biking a good bit over snow banks and back up to Sawmill Road up some miserably loose scree. Cruised back down Lefthand Canyon and over Old Stage to get back to Boulder.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWecpRfg9A-LFUsZ5Lyx4rvt0k_yxgkyD-PSfjbJNx75cpcOvPCS3_j1BbcNdVSjZsWpygZ1vwbmoZij7etzyNWPryUWTGw7okmDc6s9GFJUbrxyJ5is-00QXhWs4SYYMk8smWK-ezLM/s1600/IMG_8852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWecpRfg9A-LFUsZ5Lyx4rvt0k_yxgkyD-PSfjbJNx75cpcOvPCS3_j1BbcNdVSjZsWpygZ1vwbmoZij7etzyNWPryUWTGw7okmDc6s9GFJUbrxyJ5is-00QXhWs4SYYMk8smWK-ezLM/s640/IMG_8852.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sub-optimal biking conditions.</td></tr>
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<b><u><br />3/17, Friday - Off</u></b><br />
More ankle rest.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>3/18, Saturday - 1st, 2nd (x2), 1st Flatirons - 3 miles, 2200', 1:59</u></b><br />
I planned on getting in a run in the morning, but an inconvenient forest fire just down the street from Abby's apartment (where we were staying) changed those plans. We were on the very edge of the evacuation zone and were awoken around 4AM by the police. Luckily it was taken care of promptly and completely. Anyways, I then got out for a little thing in the evening instead. I held a descent effort up the first then downclimbed Free For All until I met Kyle and Jackson on the Freeway and headed up with them. Kyle then showed us Baker's Way on the 1st. Its a cool 5.4 route that basically skips the difficulties of the lower slab. Easy jogging back down for the ankle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzhklC2ZifZ9PD4rsZcngKJQ8_cXHvDqYFp84Pgt8ACaRSfsDHedmoBAP_EQyFCTxf9YURReKF17vf-53lvyE71aYI1PHH_l7GxJ6St_3Twi7fOdDukY1VpxDpMdtDpzy-2pjs-3GjO0/s1600/DSC01267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzhklC2ZifZ9PD4rsZcngKJQ8_cXHvDqYFp84Pgt8ACaRSfsDHedmoBAP_EQyFCTxf9YURReKF17vf-53lvyE71aYI1PHH_l7GxJ6St_3Twi7fOdDukY1VpxDpMdtDpzy-2pjs-3GjO0/s640/DSC01267.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fire from Abby's doorstep</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHfP6Y62xXWVFf_et3Yqs_GhdRnYXNfFiav_573IUysI4h8L2DeQbPjRCNupEt_B4R4rzXqaxSKzUqys5IQENyBwzCSQURLDR2NiN2i1qR07jMgOESp_pexUG2iFJygh9g7E3m81WXbI/s1600/IMG_8855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHfP6Y62xXWVFf_et3Yqs_GhdRnYXNfFiav_573IUysI4h8L2DeQbPjRCNupEt_B4R4rzXqaxSKzUqys5IQENyBwzCSQURLDR2NiN2i1qR07jMgOESp_pexUG2iFJygh9g7E3m81WXbI/s640/IMG_8855.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fire from Flagstaff Mtn</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHAGIjDKpYDDqFxhk72GAM4piHwz10QKNki6oAAfBEuQ-YweU5yR_41DDL8e0JQn5bnI4TD63zNl2yO1HlonP4Q5vjgzJzbtIG3hRQWfG6Fl4iI-xIaBOSMPQ2khz24c1-I_H8OZYvJ8/s1600/DSC01263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTHAGIjDKpYDDqFxhk72GAM4piHwz10QKNki6oAAfBEuQ-YweU5yR_41DDL8e0JQn5bnI4TD63zNl2yO1HlonP4Q5vjgzJzbtIG3hRQWfG6Fl4iI-xIaBOSMPQ2khz24c1-I_H8OZYvJ8/s640/DSC01263.jpg" width="608" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle on the 2nd</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUgrh56pF4pKp1hYHiqVcpHrCBUjZxx3qzZ9Z_QlGlIaLGfkWXHLzczmYSGEoH4BAN4NgJvvRhXfoGctVu-ka8pvcCKKpUUDbmdx_U-SJo3PWuZO7BXKgR86IUz8qz1729WuqSU73jEsA/s1600/DSC01264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUgrh56pF4pKp1hYHiqVcpHrCBUjZxx3qzZ9Z_QlGlIaLGfkWXHLzczmYSGEoH4BAN4NgJvvRhXfoGctVu-ka8pvcCKKpUUDbmdx_U-SJo3PWuZO7BXKgR86IUz8qz1729WuqSU73jEsA/s640/DSC01264.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson on the First</td></tr>
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<b><u>3/19, Sunday - 1st, 2nd (x2) Flatirons - 3 miles, 2100', 2:08</u></b><br />
Same as yesterday but met Abby on the Freeway and skipped out on Baker's Way. Starting to feel more efficient going down Free For All.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqixF50_fP-H9ugi2tCZXCAUorAKvOcA7wnpH3qV-Nx4_wXTd3KmRPH9Er03eJ1i3ZTMvVAo2PGP4ELJz0pBnAaW-RUfxV7IymIPI2LRIGb-5jCKZ0lJW-EO7m0U4wdmB9T1vYWy0yEo/s1600/DSC01273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqixF50_fP-H9ugi2tCZXCAUorAKvOcA7wnpH3qV-Nx4_wXTd3KmRPH9Er03eJ1i3ZTMvVAo2PGP4ELJz0pBnAaW-RUfxV7IymIPI2LRIGb-5jCKZ0lJW-EO7m0U4wdmB9T1vYWy0yEo/s640/DSC01273.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby back scrambling -- for the first time since like <i>October</i>!?</td></tr>
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Yegch, rough week. Started off great but the ankle roll clearly ruffled my feathers and prevented anything real for the rest of the week. Luckily, I was able to get in a good ride which didn't at all mess with my ankle and then Ginna was able to work on my ankle literal hours before she got on a plane to Europe for two weeks!<br />
<br />
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<b><u>3/20, Monday - AM: Streets - 4 miles, 0:32 || PM: Bastille Crack - 600', 1:59</u></b><br />
Easy morning jog then picked up Nick to take him to Eldo. This being his first time outside, I wanted to do Calypso-Reggae but it was taken. Instead we just moved over to the Bastille Crack for a fun moderate route -- probably my favorite route in Eldo.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoyab6yi1vjWQ-3TT_ksqUldkSD6gzwqyZgrxSGCB4l7Vcw6KsbTMfoAZXYeADC9QDV0JIlxxxP4RTxOj-KGlt7tcAnTyzNq10lkZ9TsFH3zf-ELCvHwFTEmBj1Pmp0vrEQ2znlBIlJQQ/s1600/DSC01275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoyab6yi1vjWQ-3TT_ksqUldkSD6gzwqyZgrxSGCB4l7Vcw6KsbTMfoAZXYeADC9QDV0JIlxxxP4RTxOj-KGlt7tcAnTyzNq10lkZ9TsFH3zf-ELCvHwFTEmBj1Pmp0vrEQ2znlBIlJQQ/s640/DSC01275.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick half way up the route</td></tr>
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<b><u></u></b><br /><b><u></u></b>
<b><u>3/21, Tuesday - Hair City & Outer Space - 800', 2:21</u></b><br />
Met Wade (who can climb about 4 or 5 times harder than I can) who lead everything. First up was <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/v/hair-city/105748627" target="_blank">Hair City</a> a 5.9R with rather large 5.6-7 runnouts but protect-able when you want it. I felt fine and only had to hang once to get the rope un-stuck from a crack when my arms couldn't quite get it (just flopped on the rope with my body weight). Next was the -- or <i>my</i>, rather -- goal for the day, <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/v/outer-space/105748612" target="_blank">Outer Space</a> is a 5.10b/c, just about my limit. Wade lead through the first two pitches of Bastille Crack only placing two pieces (draw on the bolted anchor then a draw on the old pin). We had to simul the lower bits but I was happy to have a proper belay for the try-hard first pitch of Outer Space. It was a tough stemming sequence that felt extremely steep; I was so happy to get it clean (barely) on my first time up, especially after still not cleaning Handcracker yet. We had to bail on the second pitch so he could catch a flight to Houston so we soloed the top 5.7 section of Hair City to top out quicker.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWoVHS2HeuPBsQn_i6c7s0X3r7zKR75sIkhyR_mGzqvEvHG6il9tItIAT8qBsN6Vgemc2E83pWEwjIEL8TGr6vhTIpedfxccRbNR3zqbhhKt6jkErgAsZmgN3GeSindcSUdYSiy7z9yw/s1600/IMG_8863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWoVHS2HeuPBsQn_i6c7s0X3r7zKR75sIkhyR_mGzqvEvHG6il9tItIAT8qBsN6Vgemc2E83pWEwjIEL8TGr6vhTIpedfxccRbNR3zqbhhKt6jkErgAsZmgN3GeSindcSUdYSiy7z9yw/s640/IMG_8863.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wade romping up the Bastille Crack</td></tr>
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<b><u><br />3/22, Wednesday - Boulder Direct, Calypso, Wind Ridge, Zot/Rewritten - 1900', 3:44</u></b><br />
Kyle got held up heading to Eldo so I did a fun scramble circuit before he arrived. We then headed for the Redgarden, a steep approach, I think. I lead up to the Red Ledge via the <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/v/the-great-zot/105748648" target="_blank">Great Zot</a> in one long pitch with some simul climbing then Kyle lead the money pitches of <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/v/rewritten/105750106" target="_blank">Rewritten </a>with again, some simul climbing. The main event took place jogging back down. Some Jerry looking fellows were off trail in the talus (its incredibly loose and steep), we asked them to stay on the trail then kept heading down. Not long after we heard rumblings and dove for cover; a rock the size of maybe a refrigerator was bouncing 20-30ft into the air going easily 30-40mph. With no warning shouts we were glad to have been out of harm's way but it was heading straight down switchbacks so we screamed out warnings. Thankfully no one was on the trail and it shot unimpeded into the creek like an artillery shell. Kyle shouted some "angry" words back at the guys who no doubt dislodged the ICBM of a rock then failed to say anything (not even sorry afterwards!), then we had to slowly walk back down since our legs were shaking!<br />
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<b><u>3/23, Thursday - Bastille Crack - 600', 2:00</u></b><br />
Another day in Eldo. Took Jackson up the Bastille for a wild ride. After leaving a cam he accidentally dropped his ATC at the belay of our second pitch. After some trials I figured out how to use the Munter-Hitch and was able to keep him safely still on belay to the top while he used my ATC.<br />
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<b><u>3/24, Friday - Green Mtn - 7 miles, 2900', 1:19</u></b><br />
Put in a tempo effort up the NE ridge of Green in 32:09, almost good enough to tie Kyle's PR up (but surely with 80 ascents thus far this <i>year</i> he should be good at it, right?). Jogged easy down the West Ridge-Long Canyon-Gregory Canyon route for more miles.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>3/25, Saturday - 1st Flatiron, Green Mtn, Bear Pk, Green Mtn - 12 miles, 5400', 3:05</u></b><br />
Started off with a casual ascent of the first -- lots of roped parties today -- then hiked up to Green. I continued straight over the top without stopping (the summit boulder has definitely become a hassle) and descended Bear Canyon to the drainage just NE of the Nebel Horn. The route up to the saddle is labeled "The Hardscrabble" in an old Boulder guidebook and I was excited to try it. It was a fantastically steep line, gaining 1800ft in just under a mile! I then had to endure the meandering route back over to Green with the Mesa Trail closure, which while annoying incurs a stronger running focus for the outing. Met Abby down at Chautauqua for a picnic dinner in the park!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRUmEMQYb8jmLRFVGgBxnh47T8q2HIWBu7ZXFq8bhV2sfT4PDNv7CIYHxmnQuK9XwpUkYRmADely_Y2Q96AGZeOZndhhmYhu4nHU0ZGY_gq4H4lfzN9pivpwa6BkG65m9D8JInEmuc3k/s1600/IMG_8869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRUmEMQYb8jmLRFVGgBxnh47T8q2HIWBu7ZXFq8bhV2sfT4PDNv7CIYHxmnQuK9XwpUkYRmADely_Y2Q96AGZeOZndhhmYhu4nHU0ZGY_gq4H4lfzN9pivpwa6BkG65m9D8JInEmuc3k/s640/IMG_8869.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The post-run scene at Chautauqua, preparing for the evening picnic at the park!</td></tr>
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<b><u>3/26, Sunday - Off</u></b><br />
Busy.<br />
<br />
<i><u>Week Totals</u></i>:<br />
59 miles<br />
16,000ft<br />
8:05<br />
<br />
A generally easier week after letting my ankle recuperate but I was able to get in some descent efforts at the end of the week as the injury lessened.<br />
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<br />
<b><u>3/27, Monday - Beark Pk, SoBo Pk, Walker Ranch, Green Mtn, Bear Pk - 17 miles, 7000', 4:12</u></b><br />
This was a cool route. I started from the Cragmoor TH to ascend Bear and SoBo then descended straight west down SoBo's ridge to Walker Ranch where I could then connect via assorted and annoyingly only semi-legal routes to Flagstaff Rd. The ridge off of SoBo was wet in the shade and quite slippery at first, but I eventually identified an old and overgrown logging road where I could move much quicker. I descended Long Canyon then started up EMG for extra running before falling into a hike up Greenman to the summit of Green. Opted again for the re-routed Green-Bear trail for more running over to Bear Pk where I descended Fern Canyon back to my bike at the TH.<br />
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<b><u>3/28, Tuesday - AM: Bobo - 7 miles, 300', 1:00 || PM: Streets - 8.5 miles, 400' 0:58</u></b><br />
Easy with Abby in the morning feeling tired in the gloomy weather. We ended up on a trail so muddy that we were easily collecting a couple pounds of mud on our shoes before we escaped to the sanctuary of pavement. In the afternoon with the rain in full force I headed out once more to find some proper life in my legs. The impromptu progression run left me with a healthy mileage for the day and happy to be healthy!<br />
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<b><u>3/29, Wednesday - Green Mtn - 8 miles, 2900', 1:44</u></b><br />
With Kory, we both felt quit tired and thus ascended slowly; though Kory much quicker than I. The mountain was rainy and misty down low with icy decorations adorning the pine needles above the clouds on top. This atmosphere made descending a long route through Long Canyon back down particularly pretty as well as a fantastic day to use my <a href="http://www.salomon.com/us/product/speedcross-4-gtx.html" target="_blank">Gore-Tex Speedcross 4</a>'s!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzb1XbPD3Q4yZZ_LQOvhG9gW7XsfZvQRg2j66hbReC_lweQZOGfsuPTdfgEdbIl5e7mgLzzXfxTzgVkYXySQiun9IW3b6qjQr83GUSE-1xSL3PtruengbLrhw3ATkUnGtuZcGMbtVTio/s1600/IMG_8872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzb1XbPD3Q4yZZ_LQOvhG9gW7XsfZvQRg2j66hbReC_lweQZOGfsuPTdfgEdbIl5e7mgLzzXfxTzgVkYXySQiun9IW3b6qjQr83GUSE-1xSL3PtruengbLrhw3ATkUnGtuZcGMbtVTio/s640/IMG_8872.jpg" width="546" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Low clouds along the canyons.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnsgwe7npK2VY-hCY88xps4411lTCrlnaN4pxwkQYl3Tgnke_IwvvBnwDmFsRA1a5BAl2PJ5XmDPuvPUfaNbk035rBf5tpZzRLnhpscxME_Z_U6QcGW5gY2SNql3qRD8wJKVScqwxBZw/s1600/IMG_8900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnsgwe7npK2VY-hCY88xps4411lTCrlnaN4pxwkQYl3Tgnke_IwvvBnwDmFsRA1a5BAl2PJ5XmDPuvPUfaNbk035rBf5tpZzRLnhpscxME_Z_U6QcGW5gY2SNql3qRD8wJKVScqwxBZw/s640/IMG_8900.jpg" width="608" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kory dropping back into the clouds at the top of Long Canyon.</td></tr>
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<b><u>3/30, Thursday - 3 x 2miles - 12 miles, 400', 1:26</u></b><br />
Met Len at the CU XC course for a good workout. We got in a 2.5 mile warmup and figured out that the loop was <i>exactly</i> 2 miles, which was properly convenient! I split 11:39, 11:44 and 11:48 repectively for the 2 mile intervals with a 5 minute jog between each. I felt pretty controlled at the 5:40 pace and hopefully will be able to execute a PR 5 mile tempo in the near future. Always good to push and suffer a bit.<br />
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<b><u>3/31, Friday - Mt Sanitas - 4 miles, 1600', 0:56</u></b><br />
Easy early lap of the youth sized hill. Being inside of a cloud with a headlamp really limits your visibility putting your head basically inside a light bulb of glowing mist. Easy effort up the ridge and down the valley.<br />
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<b><u>4/1, Saturday - 2 x Green Mtn - 8 miles, 4700', 1:49</u></b><br />
I wanted to do some repeats on Bear Pk from the saddle to the summit via Fern Canyon, but I forgot my bike lock key so instead I rode to the far less populated and visible Gregory Canyon TH then rolled the bike into the trees a ways to keep it hidden. Starting up the Amphitheater trail I felt descent and the cool temperatures combined with spectacular snow pack on the upper half of the mountain made me decide to go for a Green double in under 2 hours. I ended up splitting near identical splits for each lap -- 37min up, 17min down, 54min RT, twice -- letting me slip just under 1:50! Pretty psyched to blow away that goal.<br />
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<b><u>4/2, Sunday - Creek Path - 18 miles, 400', 2:01</u></b><br />
Got up real early so I could also have time for breakfast before work; thus, the first five or so miles were by headlamp. The goal was to get in a long run where I actually <i>ran</i> -- meaning that it wasn't some long mountain outing with a bunch of hiking and that I didn't just slowly trot out the miles. The morning was beautiful, a clear sky in the east gave a clear visual passage for the sunrise while low lying clouds along the frosted peaks to the west provided a mystical backdrop. I went out for an hour averaging 6:48min/mi and was determined to negative split my way back home. This was a pretty easy to gauge goal as it just meant getting back to the doorstep before the watch rolled over 2 hours. I made it back home in ~58:30 then did a short out and back up the street to round the run to 2 hours total, plus a minute, I suppose.<br />
<br />
<i><u>Week Totals</u></i>:<br />
84 miles<br />
17,900ft<br />
14:08<br />
<br />
Good week plus about 60 miles/2700ft/4:30 of total commuting time on my bike left me pretty tired, but I can feel the fitness gained. Going under 40min used to be really hard for me up Green, now I can manage it handily two times in a row. Such is the benefit of a lot practice! I've been using <a href="https://www.trainingpeaks.com/athletes.html" target="_blank">TrainingPeaks</a> annual training plan this year which has been generally prescribing the intensity, volume and timing of my workouts; next week however its saying to take a down week. Although this is something I don't usually take part in, I'm realizing the positive effects it can have physically and mentally, plus I'll be biking in the desert half of the next week so it'll make sense anyways. Five weeks till the Quad Rock 25 (B/C race goal) then three weeks after that the Dirty 30 (A. race goal)!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-75592907252421119372017-03-05T14:30:00.001-08:002017-03-05T14:30:06.175-08:00Longs Peak Winter DuathlonI finally got my bike up and running after a huge mess of converting to tubeless by various methods on February 17. After a brief trip to Moab, I haven't driven my car since -- for me at least, this is a long time to go car-less and I'm quite proud! So, it made sense that when I saw a weather window for Longs Peak that aligned with a day off from work that it would have to be a go at a winter duathlon.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVCZro9Nphbma6Bi3D60ppKvIAGHnHRS6_6GiE9F_3_JmTd7qZQOXRq4986itfy-f_30WmIbDJp2H-aeOhVLje250wrgY314FIr5_ldSavaS8zfz7Q3NfWZB3EDM7_NKVGVWxl3O2JmU/s1600/2015-08-29+10.59.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVCZro9Nphbma6Bi3D60ppKvIAGHnHRS6_6GiE9F_3_JmTd7qZQOXRq4986itfy-f_30WmIbDJp2H-aeOhVLje250wrgY314FIr5_ldSavaS8zfz7Q3NfWZB3EDM7_NKVGVWxl3O2JmU/s640/2015-08-29+10.59.33.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking haggard on Kieners during my previous/first/only LPT</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The summer duathlon which has seemingly become more and more popular is now being followed by the next logical step of doing the duathlon in winter. Thus far, 3 people have summitted Longs self-powered from Boulder: <a href="http://longranger.justinsimoni.com/2014/03/14/longs_peak_winter_solo_duathlon/" target="_blank">Justin Simoni</a> (19h46m), <a href="http://fastestknowntime.proboards.com/thread/44/longs-peak" target="_blank">Tina Lewis</a> (18h42m) and <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/513652951" target="_blank">Anton Krupicka</a> (8h51m). I had really hoped to get it done before Tony last year as I was certain I could go under 18 hours, but then Tony blew it out of the water on a beautiful day with a near untouchable time for me.<br />
<br />
All times are measured from the Bus Stop strip club -- I know right -- on the northern edge of town where Broadway joins HW36 (though most people have to add on some miles given they don't <i>live at a strip club</i>). Given Abby's apartment is about 2.5 miles closer to that intersection than my house, and she made a rash decision (which I'm sure she later regretted) to wake up with me at 3:30AM and make me oatmeal it made the most sense to start from there. I slimmed down my pack to bare essentials which was:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.salomon.com/us/product/s-lab-x-alp-20.html" target="_blank">Salomon X-ALP 20</a> backpack</li>
<li><a href="http://www.salomon.com/us/product/s-lab-xa-alpine.html" target="_blank">Salomon XA Alpine</a> running shoes</li>
<li>Bike shorts, insulating tight, windstopper tight</li>
<li>2 pairs of Swiftwick socks</li>
<li>Insulating layer, <a href="http://www.salomon.com/us/product/trail-runner-warm-mid-m.html?article=392581" target="_blank">Salomon Half-Zip</a>, down coat, wind/water-proof jacket</li>
<li>3 gels, 7 bars, 1 Hot Shot, 3 bottles of Tailwind (filled individually from creek as needed)</li>
<li>Balaclava, Salomon hat, buff, sunglasses</li>
<li>Suunto Ambit</li>
<li>Kyle's ice axe which is lighter and smaller than mine</li>
<li>Camp Stalker step-in crampons</li>
<li>"Holy-Hell-Its-Cold" caliber mittens, generally warm gloves</li>
<li>2 luxurious handwarmer packs</li>
<li>Buncha lights so as to not get hit by cars</li>
<li>Bike</li>
</ul>
<div>
Pedaling out of town in the darkness, the roads were nearly vacant, especially outbound from Boulder. I made sure to bundle up right away, knowing full well that staying warm was going to be key if I had any chance of completion. Handwarmers in the gloves from the start I cruised into Lyons, 12 miles into the day and was already behind schedule due to an excessively cozy breakfast for the impending misery as well as, well, biking slowly. I stashed my bike behind a gas station and used their facilities. Walking back outside my feet were a touch cold.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
The sky began to flicker with pinks and blues, the pedals kept turning and my feet kept getting colder. The climb up South St. Vrain is never particularly steep, but it is sustained and long. My mind felt drowsy, its normally asleep at that hour and my feet kept getting <i>colder</i>. At a certain point my feet didn't feel cold anymore, the sun had crept lower on the canyon walls with each bend of the road until I was just seeing my shadow along the shoulder of the road. I stopped briefly to grab a cliff bar; putting my feet on the ground, I didn't feel them at all. Well, that's sub-optimal. I had brought two small plastic bags (cheap Goretex, really) for the descent but figure the ascent wouldn't necessitate them. I pedaled on, reaching a moderately windy HW72, but the views into Wild Basin in the winter at sunrise are inspiring enough to forget about any petty incline or uncomfortable toes.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u83GOdW8j2o/WLnshD5vATI/AAAAAAAAWxQ/z2ZoDBdT-coNW1uAbz-FMrkA1-1-A25VgCPcB/s1600/DSC01237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u83GOdW8j2o/WLnshD5vATI/AAAAAAAAWxQ/z2ZoDBdT-coNW1uAbz-FMrkA1-1-A25VgCPcB/s640/DSC01237.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stealtha at the trailhead</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
Its longer than I think to the turn-off for the Longs Peak TH, but I expected that to be the case. I decide to jog my bike up the last couple turns to the TH to get some blood moving into my toes, they are numb to just above my ankle. There wasn't much of a transition to be had to hiking mode, so it went quickly -- pausing only to down a gel. I immediately hop over the creek on a packed down shortcut trail and carefully fill two soft flasks already loaded with Tailwind powder. My legs feel surprisingly good after the 4 hours of riding, so I try jogging. Okay, not <i>that </i>good. Further shortcuts weren't yet broken so I opted to keep a quicker cadence on a packed trail, my feet have basically regained total feeling at this point.</div>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0cvXrkw2gJo/WLnshKHnM6I/AAAAAAAAWxQ/CezyS_DzgNcxj847fdcDb3fxIyiBlILiwCPcB/s1600/DSC01240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0cvXrkw2gJo/WLnshKHnM6I/AAAAAAAAWxQ/CezyS_DzgNcxj847fdcDb3fxIyiBlILiwCPcB/s640/DSC01240.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice weather at timberline, summit in the background</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Emerging from treeline, the snow beneath my feet is rock hard wind slab. I rarely break through the crust on the slog through Jim's Grove, across the standard trail and around Mount Lady Washington's shoulder. My plan of ascent is via the North Face -- the most direct line to the summit. It looks snowy and I remind myself that its okay to turn around if my gut tells me its not safe. Below the Cables dihedral is a large wind slab, I opt to circumvent this by traversing higher left towards Chasm View which puts me right at the base of the technical climbing. I don my crampons and axe and begin climbing. </div>
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PIpWXTYsPts/WLnshCBXWiI/AAAAAAAAWxQ/Z-du2bOx_cUF7olsI-G_amD2OQI-C-7XACPcB/s1600/DSC01246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PIpWXTYsPts/WLnshCBXWiI/AAAAAAAAWxQ/Z-du2bOx_cUF7olsI-G_amD2OQI-C-7XACPcB/s640/DSC01246.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cables route ascends the far left of the North Face, just before it tranistions into the Diamond.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The opening moves of any climb can seem daunting, its an abrupt transition from mobbing up a snow slope. The moves engage me physically and mentally. I don't feel vulnerable or scared, I'm certain in each movement whether I move onto rock or snow. the dihedral itself is choked with ice, but plenty of holds surround the typical summer hand and foot jams to allow a pleasant climb. The final move traversing around the low-angled dihedral corner puts me on dry rock, an odd feeling in crampons and certainly my technical crux. Pulling around the edge I'm now beyond the short technicalities of the day.<br />
<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WcvcF93iZx8/WLnshF6gBDI/AAAAAAAAWxQ/76sAgJTlan0E8UMB_xrFlbNPg1_Lpg1nwCPcB/s1600/DSC01251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WcvcF93iZx8/WLnshF6gBDI/AAAAAAAAWxQ/76sAgJTlan0E8UMB_xrFlbNPg1_Lpg1nwCPcB/s640/DSC01251.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowfields on the upper North Face</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just below the summit, the snow dries up and I pause to remove my crampons but the feeling in my right hand prevents me from doing anything. I've heard of the "<a href="http://www.climbing.com/skills/ask-the-climbing-docs-the-screaming-barfies/" target="_blank">screaming barfies</a>" and I've felt a painful rewarming in hands before, but this sensation completely overcame me. I couldn't use my other hand or think about anything else besides tolerating the fire burning inside my hand! Of course, it was only temporary and I used this forced break in the place of my summit break. I had a drink of Tailwind and a cliff bar and briefly removed my crampons. On the summit I walk straight to the top of the keyhole route and put my crampons back on.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T0PJEKp6gp4/WLnshHObTkI/AAAAAAAAWxQ/aOV6x0Gb2gMn7gsh84fXKxrhEuXClDHMwCPcB/s1600/DSC01247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T0PJEKp6gp4/WLnshHObTkI/AAAAAAAAWxQ/aOV6x0Gb2gMn7gsh84fXKxrhEuXClDHMwCPcB/s640/DSC01247.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Keyhole is the peculiar rock feature on the right side of the ridge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I had hoped to feel confident enough going up Cables to also downclimb them, but it didn't feel like the safest option so I opted for the contrived yet easy keyhole route. With plenty of snow I was able to march down relatively quickly in crampons all the way to the keyhole where I stashed the crampons and axe for good and semi-jogged across the boulder field. I was home free in a sense -- all that was left was a short downhill hike and a bit of biking. With my feet already wet, I didn't hesitate to break through knee deep snow on the shortcuts through the tress that I know are lurking beneath the fresh coat of snow. This descent is unbelievably fun in winter. I pause at the creek before the trailhead to fill up some bottles for the ride home, I arrive back to my bike after a 6h51m climb of the peak.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6FFo6Y6lVwo/WLnshBTfwTI/AAAAAAAAWxQ/YigGFaFGLxIfuBmptxje6A2skNnaeBzHgCPcB/s1600/DSC01249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6FFo6Y6lVwo/WLnshBTfwTI/AAAAAAAAWxQ/YigGFaFGLxIfuBmptxje6A2skNnaeBzHgCPcB/s640/DSC01249.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mount Lady Washington from the Boulderfield</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was most scared of plummeting back through the cold canyon on my bike so I now broke out my secret weapons. First, I peeled off my soggy socks and replaced them with crisp clean ones, then inserted my feet into plastic bags before putting them back into my shoes. This makeshift wind barrier works surprisingly well. I then insert fresh handwarmers into my mittens. Fifteen minutes of transition and I'm ripping back down the road!<br />
<br />
The ride home is downhill, yes, but there are a few deadly little climbs before the <i>real</i> descent begins. I know these climbs are coming, I embrace them and they pass by quickly and efficiently spinning up in my lowest gear. The long winding descent to Lyons is a blast, somehow I don't get passed by any cars so I have the entire right lane to myself -- its quite a bit of real estate for bicycle -- so I can hug the turns tightly and safely. Nine-thousand feet below the summit of Longs Peak, Lyons is much warmer, so I take a brief pit-stop to shed layers before the annoyingly rolling highway back to Boulder. But the sun is setting, the sky is purple, and knowing its in the bag I'm too happy to mind whatever the ride home will hold.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMaF5LDrSDRhyV3tuGjVdXCgsS2M_FoHlEPd2rIuKJyIBnV_0zoI8Lh7PMeI53sLcfwe42tW4E8UKlvvY8HiFqxZKMTnlc0XB0ZAlqr3XAGDcG3vuHYJ3KCLMDaip6DXeKPDHfttT5Ayk/s1600/map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMaF5LDrSDRhyV3tuGjVdXCgsS2M_FoHlEPd2rIuKJyIBnV_0zoI8Lh7PMeI53sLcfwe42tW4E8UKlvvY8HiFqxZKMTnlc0XB0ZAlqr3XAGDcG3vuHYJ3KCLMDaip6DXeKPDHfttT5Ayk/s1600/map.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The route from Boulder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I roll into town just as the dark of night has set in. I reach the infamous strip club parking lot at 6:47PM, making my official round-trip time 13:39:54, but I still have 30 minutes of riding to get back to Abby's appartment. With my red. rear blinky light out of battery I coast along the sidewalks and less busy roads and before I know it my bike is locked right where it was 14 hours and 16 minutes ago and I'm trudging up the stairs to my girl and a hot meal.<br />
<br />
Fifty miles to the northwest, Longs is unchanged. My snowy tracks have vanished with the wind, I never signed the summit register and the monolith of granite does not care a bit. Recounting the day with Abby however, my excitement is tangible. I wasn't the fastest or the slowest but I moved myself from the doorstep to the summit of a mountain. I saw the sun rise and set, I was warm and cold, nervous and excited, and now only my own memories remain as evidence of the day's adventure.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/885672730" target="_blank">Strava</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-83211625672700145802017-03-01T16:15:00.000-08:002017-03-01T16:15:00.955-08:00February 20 - February 26<b><u>Monday, 2/20 - Hidden Valley - 7 miles, 1300', 1:24</u></b><br />
Joggin' around the best cruiser running trail in Moab with Abby. We found an unmarked spur of trail that led us to a <i>ton</i> of petroglyphs that were super cool!<br />
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<b><u>Tuesday, 2/21 - 1st & 2nd Flatirons + Salomon Group Run - 6 miles, 2200', 1:42</u></b><br />
Got to Chautauqua early and to scramble the 1st. I decided to downclimb all of Free For All (second time ever). I left the Pullman way to early which burned a ton of time but otherwise it went pretty smoothly. It definitely sounded like someone was yelling "help" but I jogged down the rest of the route and found no one in need of help. Back at the Salmon Run Club afterwards!<br />
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<b><u>Wednesday, 2/22 - Regarchifthist + Green Mtn + 2nd Flatiron - 5 miles, 3100', 2:17</u></b><br />
Declaring the linkup of Regency-Royal Arch-5th-Fist to be called "Regarchifthist", its such a good one and is especially convenient for scrambling on windy days (though today was calm) as its very sheltered by the mountain. I descended to the 2nd and downclimbed the plain old Freeway to save time.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Thursday, 2/23 - NCAR Tempo - 13 miles, 1000', 1:38</u></b><br />
Warmed up with Abby in a light snow that was melting on contact. We made a loop around the CU-XC course before she headed her own way and I launched into a tempo effort from the tunnel under Broadway at Table Mesa. With 2.5 miles up and down the NCAR road hill it made for a nice 5 mile tempo. The ascent was tough as the snow got heavier and began to accumulate but I manged, trying to run hard going down I unfortunately got a terrible side cramp that made me slow down a <i>ton</i>, but the uphill effort was the important part. Jogged around with a bathroom stop in a CU building for a longer warm down.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Friday, 2/24 - Green Mtn - 7 miles, 3000', 2:00</u></b><br />
Easy with Jack for the second tracks up the hill in slick, knee deep powder. Tired legs and slow conditions so we just chatted along at a conversational effort.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Saturday, 2/25 - Poorman Rd - 12 miles, 1700', 1:23</u></b><br />
Tempo effort from BRC up Sunshine Canyon down Poorman's Road and back the exact same way. I was hoping for Gold Hill but thought I wouldn't have time -- with the energy I felt I should have just gone for it, 8:30's going up and 5:30's going down should have been plenty fast enough for the full loop. Ah well, good run.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Sunday, 2/26 - 3 x Green Mtn - 13 miles, 7300', 3:51</u></b><br />
Good two laps with Kyle then one easy one on my lonesome. Happy my phone held onto 1% battery life for the entire third lap so I wouldn't quite be alone.<br />
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<u><i>Week Totals</i></u>:<br />
62 miles<br />
22,100'<br />
18:38<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-9036675902431881492017-02-22T12:21:00.001-08:002017-02-22T12:21:05.082-08:00February 13 - February 19<b><u>Monday, 2/13 - Animal World - 2:00</u></b><br />
<div>
Got up the crag in the fine February weather with Jack. I lead Joint Venture (5.11a) and almost got it clean except for I botched my feet at the bolt right before the arete. After his turn we moved over to Free Willy (5.11a); I took the lead and got it with two hangs. Man, I really could have gotten the onsite of this but got hung up on one sequence which alone made me have to take, but I still held on long enough to get pumped. Still, the final move and the bolt to clip is a doozy on lead.</div>
<div>
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<div>
<b><u>Tuesday, 2/14 - Boulder Valley Ranch - 7 miles, 500', 0:56</u></b></div>
<div>
Easy jog on flat North Boulder trails.Yoga in the evening.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Wednesday, 2/15 - Ruper - 1000', 3:02</u></b><br />
Met Tony in a cold Eldo parking lot and did an easy climb of Ruper. He was soloing this route last year but wanted a "rust buster" so we did it in "normal" style. Some heavy ropedrag while simuling pitches 4, 5 and 6 slowed us down (he thought I was sketched and I thought he was). The route was in the sun and we were plenty warm -- good to be in Eldo in February! Some bouldering and a yoga class in the evening, too.<br />
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<b><u>Thursday, 2/16 - Spyronette - 3 miles, 1700', 1:26</u></b><br />
Easy scrambling with Jackson. Today was his first time up the route (1st Flatironette, Spy, North Arete of the 1st) so we kept it nice and casual.<br />
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<b><u>Friday, 2/17 - Eldo Scrambling - 1200', 1:46</u></b><br />
With my bike <i>finally</i> fixed up with tubeless tires properly I was able to get back to Eldo for some scrambles on the Wind Tower before the drive to Moab. Boulder Direct, West Overhang, Calypso, Wind Ridge.<br />
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<b><u>Saturday, 2/18 - Moab Red Hot 33km - 21 miles, 3000', 2:42</u></b><br />
Mile and a half warm up. The race started off well enough, I think I was around 5th-8th for the first half which was mostly on jeep roads. It was a struggle to keep up with those around me but I was able to make up lost ground on the "technical" downhills. Thanks for keeping me ready for that Boulder! A few route finding errors (everyone got lost it seemed) in the slickrock shuffled up the positioning and I think I got passed by one or two guys during my relocation of the course. In no man's land for the third quarter of the race I fell off the try hard train and had to push the final road descent to not get passed before the finish. 8th place, good to see where I stand and what needs work.<br />
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<b><u>Sunday, 2/19 - AM: Delicate Arch - 3 miles, 800', 1:16 - PM; Negro Bill Canyon - 5 miles, 500', 0:47</u></b><br />
Easy hike in Arches NP with Abby (who got 6th in the 55km so had more so legs than I) then an easy jog up a canyon on my lonesome afterwards.<br />
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<i><u>Week Totals</u></i>:<br />
41 miles<br />
9,200'<br />
16:06 (total including bikes/climbs)<br />
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Lower volume week with the race, but progressing along.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-47771675845145423462017-02-12T13:46:00.003-08:002017-02-12T13:46:55.417-08:00January 30 - February 12Been through a variety of things since last post (failed 100 miler (again), failed attempt on the JMT, overuse injury (not a surprise) and in general, too many big days), I wrote some drafts of posts but never quite felt like writing the whole schpeal up, nor that it was particularly interesting from a reader's perspective. Hopefully, this post gets me back in the swing of things.<br />
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<b><u>Monday 1/30 - 3rd Flatiron, Green Mtn, Bear Pk - 12 miles, 4500', 3:10</u></b><br />
Commuted home from Pearl to Table Mesa via a final lap of the 3rd (rapotr closure Feb 1 - Aug 1) until August and a summit of both Green and Bear. Fun point to point.<br />
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<b><u>Tuesday, 1/31 - 2 x 5km - 13 miles, 400', 1:35</u></b><br />
30min warm up including 5min of stretching. The first 5km ended up being downhill with a tailwind so I flew through in 17:58. 8min of rest was enough, but it did nothing to lessen the gradient or headwind on the second 5km. Feeling like I was working way harder I labored to a 19:50 second interval. I should probably be at 18:40's for this workout on flat windless terrain, so the weird times make sense.<br />
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<b><u>Wednesday, 2/1 - 7 miles, 300', 0:56</u></b><br />
Easy with Jack around the XC course and back on Cherryvale Rd.<br />
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<b><u>Thursday, 2/2 - South Boulder Creek/Community Ditch/Cherryvale Rd - 13 miles, 800', 1:41</u></b><br />
Wanted to do a tempo run today but ice was covering everything so I ended up going a little longer than planned at slightly above normal pace. The last couple miles were on pavement so I was able to push more there. 45min of climbing and 1h15 of yin yoga in the evening.<br />
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<b><u>Friday, 2/3 - Green Mtn - 9 miles, 2900', 1:47</u></b><br />
Went up the hill with Kyle and Len. I was completely wrecked from the past few days so I basically just struggled to stay within visual range the whole time. Sweet inversion on top made it all worth it though.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQD5mNkAFTw/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2017-02-03T19:19:34+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Feb 3, 2017 at 11:19am PST</time></div>
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<b><u>Saturday, 2/4 - Walker Ranch - 10 miles, 3100', 1:46</u></b><br />
Easy jogging around Walker Ranch with Jackson. We really didn't have much of plan besides getting outside in the beautiful weather and not slipping on ice. Good times.<br />
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<b><u>Sunday, 2/5 - Mount Lady Washington - 8 miles, 4000', 6:45</u></b><br />
Fun hike with Elliot up a proud satellite peak of Longs. Windy above treeline, but really got pummeled on the top with the increased exposure. Always a pleasure to be around Longs.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQLm2oilFgI/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Elliot Whitehead (@elliot.whitehead)</a> on <time datetime="2017-02-06T19:09:42+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Feb 6, 2017 at 11:09am PST</time></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b><u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
72 miles<br />
16,200ft<br />
17:40<br />
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<b><u>Monday - Regency, Royal Arch, 5th, Green Mtn - 8 miles, 3200', 2:11</u></b><br />
Wanted to scramble, but didn't quite feel like doing the 1st (hoping to branch out more this year). So I took the central route of scrambling up the East side of the mountain. The 5th ended up having a healthy amount of snow at the base, so that took some extra time and convinced me to forgo the Fist (which usually ends this linkup). From the topout on Green I felt like running quick so I put in a little extra effort descending West Ridge-Long Canyon-Gregory Canyon.<br />
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<b><u>Tuesday - Mt Sanitas - 6 miles, 1900', 1:10</u></b><br />
Set out to do a tempo of the South ridge, with a warm up up Sunshine Canyon. I ended up PR'ing (somehow, I felt terrible), but I should be able to go a couple minutes faster. Descended down the valley.<br />
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<b><u>Wednesday - Green Mtn, Bear Pk, SoBo Pk, SoBo Pk, Bear Pk, Bear Pk, Green Mtn - 18 miles, 10,500', 6:16</u></b><br />
Wanted to focus on vert and mountains this week so the long run reflected that. Started by headlamp up the Northeast ridge of Green, a descent of Bear Canyon lead me to an expedition up the North ridge of Bear which I will not be doing again, particularly with the presence of snow or wind -- still happy to have investigated it though. Bopped over to SoBo then down and up Shadow Canyon. Returning to Bear I then did a down and up of Fern Canyon. Opted for not tagging SoBo a third time and went straight into the descent of the West ridge to link back up to Green for my seventh summit of the day. Descended down to the 1st/2nd trail and meandered about just a tad to ensure I would get over 10k climbing for the day. Wasn't particularly fast -- okay, given the bushwhacking and horrendous ice in certain locales -- but not particularly slow either. Progress.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQQ1VtHgBWW/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2017-02-08T19:52:29+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Feb 8, 2017 at 11:52am PST</time></div>
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<b><u>Thursday - 1st Flatiron, 2nd Flatiron, 4th Flatiron, GMP, Challenger, Green Mtn - 7 miles, 4300', 3:03</u></b><br />
Didn't push the pace too hard today but the legs felt pretty good considering yesterday. My scrambling form is still lacking so slow splits, (18:30 up the 1st, 14:xx down the 2nd) but that'll come with persistence. A bunch of snow in the hanging garden on the 4th made things interesting there before leaving the worst of the numbered flatiron for the absolute gems alongside it (Green Mountain Pinnacle and Challenger, so good). Finished to Green and descended Ranger-EM Greenman-Saddle Rock for some extra miles and vert.
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A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo) on <time datetime="2017-02-09T19:38:40+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Feb 9, 2017 at 11:38am PST</time></div>
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<b><u>2/10, Friday - Give Up - 3 miles, 200', 0:22</u></b><br />
Set out to run out on the dirt on the plains but the ridiculous wind putting dirt tornadoes in my eyes and mouth convinced me to turn around almost immediately.<br />
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<b><u>2/11, Saturday - Bear Peak & SoBo Peak - 7 miles, 3400', 1:47</u></b><br />
From Cragmoor TH with Jack and Jackson we made good time to the summit of Bear (0:41 for me, followed by Jackson then Jack who is still recovering from a marathon last weekend). Jack, under a time crunch headed back down Fern while Jackson and I tagged South Boulder Peak before ripping the descent of Shadow for the hell of it. Mesa trail back to the TH.<br />
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<b><u>2/12, Sunday - Creek Path - 12 miles, 400', 1:15</u></b><br />
Set out for a moderate 10 miles around town but fell into a nice groove at 6:15 pace. Feeling strong, I went with it and was able to PR for 10 miles (1:04:17). At the 10 mile mark I felt it prudent to ease off of the accelerator a tad for the last mile point five home.<br />
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<u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
61 miles<br />
24,000'<br />
16:05<br />
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Signed up for Red Hot 33k at 11:30PM Saturday night -- 30 minutes before it closed -- since I knew I was going to be there anyways. Excited to see how that pans out as I feel surprisingly ready and fit for the time of year.<br />
<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-83195221423238882562016-09-07T12:58:00.001-07:002016-09-07T12:58:39.479-07:00Nolan's 14Nolan's 14 is a linkup of fourteen 14,000ft+ mountains in the Sawatch Range -- its about 90 miles with around 45,000ft of climbing and the challenge is to finish in under 60 hours. There are some alleged "rules" to Nolans such as no pacers, no gps, no mechanical aid (besides poles) as well as some gray area as to whether the clock stops at the last summit or the final trail-head. The "rules" are completely arbitrary and it seems like no one actually cares that much the style you choose -- even if you drove between every peak's trailhead its still really hard! The style I would pursue would be to have a supported and paced attempt going south to north but with no GPS guidance. Just the style that appealed to me the most.<br />
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The weekend started terribly with the expected Labor Day traffic. The night was salvaged with my absolute favorite pizza at Amica's in Salida with Jack, Kyle, Derek and Abby. We camped for the night at the Shavano TH; I slept about as well as you can the night before something like this. Lying awake I could here intermitent rain showers which remained when the alarm went off at 4:00AM. I had already chosen exactly the gear given the conditions while I was supposed to be sleeping. By the time I was dressed, Abby had a burrito which had an average temperature of warm, though in reality one end was burnt and the other was cold. Its hard to heat a burrito in a pot with a camp stove!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gearing up in the rain at 4AM (Photo by Elliot)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading out. (Photo by Elliot)</td></tr>
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I set off with Derek into the darkness at 4:32AM. I was a bit warm in the trees but was thankful to be "waterproofed" when we popped out of the trees an hour later. Thick clouds obscured the summit as glimmers of light poked over the horizon. The final several hundred feet to Shavano the sun lit up the surrounding clouds, the flakes in the air as well as the snow on the ground. It was magical.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summitting Shavano (Photo by Derek)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit of Tabaguache (Photo by Derek)</td></tr>
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We paused for a few seconds on the summit for a quick picture and then began the short traverse to Tabaguache (which we renamed Taba-Gucci). Another quick tag and we were on the descent. On my scouting run of this section I descended a truly miserable section of talus but noted what appeared to be much better way. We suffered only a few feet talus on route to the trees which naturally guide you in the right direction. I fell once on a wet rock, landing on and bending my right pole. Oh well, now they're both bent! I made one minor mistake here trying to shortcut a turn which lead to some willow whacking but we didn't lose much time at all grunting up the relatively short climb to Antero from Brown's Creek.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit of Antero. Luckily the fashion police weren't present to arrest me for this atrocious look. (Photo by Derek)</td></tr>
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With a wall of clouds closing in we didn't waste time starting down the North ridge. A couple rumbles of thunder accompanied by hail and I picked up the pace. I have never been on the North side of Antero before, I chose an arbitrary point to drop off the ridge. The talus was quite large, quite loose and now quite wet. I stashed my poles and slipped down the rocks leaving Derek who wasn't felling comfortable on the wet loose rock. I got pretty soaked in the rain jogging down the Antero road which I joined around 10,000ft. Abby drove up right as I was getting to Alpine: I changed into dry clothes, chugged some water and ate some food.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Refueling in Alpine (Photo by Abby)</td></tr>
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A experienced friend who shall remain nameless got a message to me saying "keep it steady, slow the f*** down!", so I took it down a notch heading up Grouse Canyon. This segment is quite enjoyable, especially considering the beast you're climbing. I marched alone to making a couple rounds through all of the Infected Mushroom songs I had on my iPod. I stopped on the summit of Princeton only to stash my poles. I tried a slightly different route down to Maxwell Gulch than I had scouted, it was a bit better but not great. I'd guess there is some gully that you could cruise down with either stable rock or unstable but smaller rock, but I never found one and my route isn't <i>that</i> bad. I joined the Colorado Trail, hiking anything remotely up and jogging the downs. I crossed paths with Megan Hicks and had a brief introductory conversation. I nailed one last shortcut then hopped onto the Cottonwood Pass road to find Kyle and Abby waiting for me. At Avalanche Gulch I could tell I had about 10,000ft of climbing in my legs but felt ready for more.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marching up the road with Yale (the peak on the right) looming in the distance (Photo Abby)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating some soup in the parking lot. The man on the left (who was crewing for Julian Smith) made it to Harvard before quitting a couple days later, we decided we earned a "team finish"! (Photo by Abby)</td></tr>
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I readied for the coming night and began the march up the Colorado Trail with Abby and Derek. We maintained a proper pace to where we left the trail to join the East ridge of Yale. Abby turned back here and hustled back to the trailhead -- she had no headlamp and darkness was coming soon! Derek and I marched on into the night. This climb is about 5,500ft and coupled with the darkness, cold and numerous false summits was really tough. I sat in the cold behind some rocks for a bit on the summit and then remembered I was about to do the descent alone. Crap. Derek headed back the way we came and I began down my own route. I put my music back on and stayed on the East side of the ridge to stay out of the cold wind. This descent is easy when done right, but is very easy to mess up. I did the best I could from memory but confused one ridge for another and ended up veering very far off course. I swam through willows and some very dense deadfall before finding Silver Creek. At the time I had no idea where I was; I guessed somewhere East. I yelled for Abby and Jack only accidentally wake some campers (it was maybe 3AM?). They informed me I was on the Colorado Trail and that if I hiked downhill I could get to the North Cottonwood trail. Sucks, but watchya-gonna-do. It was a long while before I joined the road, well out of water and stubbornly unwilling to eat without liquids I slowly hiked the mile and a half towards the Harvard & Columbia Trailhead.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhMm4s5qcmu0kSCWSgv1rWfgCFdXBrPsm9ycd5GsnwA7nrms7FxGcUQCys9v0-9OHRE0txtlo9XwXjMx_L-azhjRJTUZqj_dMTF4VzOgtJ80oqCaiBWZuYICrNLiMTbirM-HRyShbBUk/s1600/IMG_20160903_183010421+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhMm4s5qcmu0kSCWSgv1rWfgCFdXBrPsm9ycd5GsnwA7nrms7FxGcUQCys9v0-9OHRE0txtlo9XwXjMx_L-azhjRJTUZqj_dMTF4VzOgtJ80oqCaiBWZuYICrNLiMTbirM-HRyShbBUk/s640/IMG_20160903_183010421+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading up with Abby and Derek (behind the camera)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Food pause on the Colorado Trail (Photo by Abby)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to warm up my hands on Yale's summit (Photo by Derek)</td></tr>
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Shortly before the trailhead I saw headlights coming down the road, it was Eric. He guessed pretty quickly what happened to me then got me some food and water. I feared the journey was over here but he quickly got that idea out of my head. I was on a good pace before and was still well capable of finishing under 60 hours. I took a 20 minute nap in the back of his car while he ran back up to alert my slightly worried crew that I was alright and to bring some stuff down to me. I woke up and started hiking up the road and met Kyle, Jack and Abby a few feet into the trail. The nap did wonders, I felt strong on the next couple miles to where I <i>should</i> have met them. To my surprise I found a whole party primarily fueled by Clare, Ginna and Dan who drowned out all others. An overwhelming amount of support sent me back out onto the trail with Jack heading for Columbia.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overwhelming support. Truly, it was almost too much. Only because Clare was trying to put socks on my feet and check "check my pits" to see if I needed a dry shirt.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading off with Jack</td></tr>
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I had some trouble breathing on the upper reaches of Yale but didn't think much of it. Now however, as we got higher and higher my breathing was short and increasingly inefficient. I couldn't inhale fully without a massive coughing fit and even then it felt like no oxygen was even getting processed. I tried sleeping one more time under my emergency blanket, I woke feeling better but it was short lived. Another mistake was not bringing more warm clothes, I was absolutely freezing head to toe and sleeping didn't help that. It was one step, five breathes for another hour. Even at the pace of a snail I was putting out an effor that felt like an all out sprint. I tried sleeping again, but woke up feeling the same. Sunrise came, my mind felt refreshed, I tried to stay positive but I still could neither breathe nor move uphill. Writing it now, it feels like such a give up, but I know Jack wouldn't have let me bail if he thought I could keep going. We made the decision to turn around 800ft below the summit, my condition was worsening severely and the next segment was very remote, getting help back there would probably require a helicopter. It was long sad walk back to the car. My decision to drop was reassured when I had to sit down and catch my breathe after an 8ft uphill roller on the way down.</div>
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I'm not sure how exactly it happened but I had most of the symptoms of HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema), essentially fluid in the lungs. Maybe I got too cold, or worked too hard or wasn't acclimated enough or didn't drink enough water. Whatever the cause, its serious thing and I'm confident I made the medically correct decision. I knew Nolan's was big, ambitious and hard but I have even more respect for it now. Its a journey that can take years to finish and that's the beautiful thing about it. Its hard and you'll probably fail. Failure feels even worse when even to not succeed you can do so much. I made it to 5 summits, was outside for 28 hours, covered 52 miles and ascended 23,000ft -- that's not even halfway. I learned so much and experienced more than I imagined I could. I'm so thankful for everyone who so selflessly gave their weekend to help me chase a distant dream, it really is a team effort to get a human being through this whole thing.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwEdmKkxv2bzFilo0-tXSyQ0jqA27ycgUhQxJgyPSLiEMnTdf5EWktDgHU0fFSOQStWm-qGE0-_pgmMfOyx_hXwq3ZUEIu5hHSbMCH1KD7qyXyYuU4vM_ZR6WOI-7SWZWQAUZFXGzP04/s1600/2016-09-05+11.19.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwEdmKkxv2bzFilo0-tXSyQ0jqA27ycgUhQxJgyPSLiEMnTdf5EWktDgHU0fFSOQStWm-qGE0-_pgmMfOyx_hXwq3ZUEIu5hHSbMCH1KD7qyXyYuU4vM_ZR6WOI-7SWZWQAUZFXGzP04/s640/2016-09-05+11.19.34.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful moment descending Tabaguache (Photo by Derek)</td></tr>
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Can't wait till next year.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-59684048031053264252016-08-08T15:35:00.002-07:002016-08-08T15:35:17.041-07:00July 25 - August 7<b><u>7/25, Monday - Green Mtn - 6 miles, 2500', 1:46</u></b><br />
Easy with RMR, everyone seemed to be tired (even Smith and Sage) so it was a casual chatty run/hike to the top. Knee and hip were still pretty sore on the downhill.<br />
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<b><u>7/26, Tuesday - Buff Course - 5 miles, 0:37</u></b><br />
Easy around the CU XC course that I now live right next too, heavy legs.<br />
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<b><u>7/27, Wednesday - Climbing: Bastille Crack & Ruper - 3:15</u></b><br />
Met Anton dark and early (5:15) before work for an intro to Eldo. First we did the Bastille Crack, an ultra-classic line right off of the road, I was nervous going in (Eldorado Canyon grades are way harder than Boulder Canyon) but it felt super secure and the first pitch was fantastic. I had heard horror stories about sprinting up talus fields on the approach from Kyle; we went at a good clip but never uncomfortably fast, over to Ruper. Ruper is a 6 pitch, 5.8 line that felt like a Boulder Canyon 5.9. Tony shot up the route barely placing any protection for himself. I found the wide crack on the 2nd pitch to be the crux for me, just need to stick your entire arm into it to find a hold. By simul-climbing we were able to do the whole route in just 2 pitches, the second being very long. Awesome first day in Eldo!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Ff86pmq6FP3EwUbspcjWvAGfFzCymFH19MwPoNmPxQAwg1vvAORj9fLNNdvRPvIPNTE9_qczufmBpIrmuh1d8M5VwlM3h9Jca84mr8d238RcU_lz8yDh_TId4-LDKLB0ul3inyd6nek/s1600/Ruper.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Ff86pmq6FP3EwUbspcjWvAGfFzCymFH19MwPoNmPxQAwg1vvAORj9fLNNdvRPvIPNTE9_qczufmBpIrmuh1d8M5VwlM3h9Jca84mr8d238RcU_lz8yDh_TId4-LDKLB0ul3inyd6nek/s640/Ruper.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing off the last moves. Photo: Anton</td></tr>
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<b><u>5/28, Thursday - Climbing: Cascade Crag - 4:50</u></b><br />
First with Jack, I lead Smallville (5.10b), with several hangs at the tough roof where I had to use almost a shoulder deep jam. We then moved the anchor and did two laps on Thunderhead (5.10a) to get it dialed. I then dropped off Jack and picked up Abby and went back to Cascade. I lead up Erika, she followed then we both top roped Thunderhead.<br />
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<b><u>7/29, Friday - Bike: NCAR, Flagstaff, Boulder Creek, Finkel & Garf - 52 miles, 3700', 4:00</u></b><br />
Warm-up climb on NCAR before biking up Flagstaff Road to the amphitheater turn-off. On the descent I stashed the bike and did a few pumpy climbs up the Beer Barrel boulder which is an easy V0 50ft from the road. Then I descended the rest of Flagstaff and up a bit of Boulder Canyon to the dome for 3 quick laps. In the evening I then biked to meet Abby, then to Finkel & Garf Brewery with her, and back, and back to my place. Bike commuting is fun!<br />
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<b><u>7</u></b><b><u>/30, Saturday - Off</u></b><br />
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<b><u>7/31, Sunday - Climbing: Eldorado Canyon - 2:15</u></b><br />
Kyle led Long John Wall which we stretched to 2 pitches then we ditched rope and romped up Boulder Direct, an easy scramble. We then went ropeless for Wind Ridge, the start I guess is a 5.8 but its 4ft off the ground and very secure, the second crux would be really tricky if you didn't know to use your bum and sit against this flake, but with Kyle feeding me the beta it went fine. Can't wait to link these into my Boulder bike/climb circuit!<br />
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<b><u>8/1, Monday - Bike/Climb: Eldorado/Flatirons/Flagstaff/Boulder Canyon - 48 miles, 6100', 6:40</u></b><br />
Met Kyle at 5:30 on the bik for the ride to Eldo. We went through Boulder Direct and Wind Ridge then made the long hike over to Icarus. Icarus is a 6 pitch route with sustained moderate climbing and finished with an outrageous arete. Absolutely phenomenal. We then biked to NCAR and jogged over to the Backporch for a scramble in rock shoes and we were happy to have them, it was a tough route that you also have to downclimb (gross). Kyle then had to split for his own obligations, so I ventured up Flagstaff Mountain by myself (with a stop at Chautauqua to chug some water). I turned around at the amphitheater itself and did 3 reps on the Beer Barrel before descending to Eben G. Fine park for more water. I then biked up the canyon a bit further, climbed the Dome 3 times by East Slab then took a slightly circuitous route back home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQmWpf6WHUUVobpGRFfrR06cQQBPOxD_6djjIv5-JOR1Gxq8RIR1TPtLO0JSQ6WYqR-FPKfYMUfjMDy_Zd6X6a7ObGr_BwAZQQjpGIKqpEBhYZreZjBTltRZ-ARbboLsqIcV3zgJysd8/s1600/DSC00095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQmWpf6WHUUVobpGRFfrR06cQQBPOxD_6djjIv5-JOR1Gxq8RIR1TPtLO0JSQ6WYqR-FPKfYMUfjMDy_Zd6X6a7ObGr_BwAZQQjpGIKqpEBhYZreZjBTltRZ-ARbboLsqIcV3zgJysd8/s640/DSC00095.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle downclimbing near the top of Tower One</td></tr>
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<b><u>8/2, Tuesday - Bastille Crack, Boulder Direct, Wind Ridge - 4:00</u></b><br />
Jack lead the first two pitches and I the second of Bastille, it was my first ever trad lead and I definitely did not extend the pro enough. You needed an amount of force to alter the earth's orbit to overcome the rope drag, but with the help of Jason who simuled over us the pieces in question were removed and the slack was pulled through. Great strength workout! Hiked back down and saw Tony's shoes at the base with him soloing up, that's bold. Put away the rope and went up Boulder Direct with Jack then he elected to not scramble Wind Ridge, but I did and we hiked down together once I was done.<br />
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<b><u>8/3, Wednesday - AM: Sharkstooth - 9 miles, 3200', 3:34 || PM: South La Plata Scout - 5 miles, 900', 0:48</u></b><br />
Kyle and I got a relatively late start so we ended up having to park in the Bear Lake parking area rather than the Glacier Gorge, it only added a half mile though. The approach is pretty straightforward and after some boulder crawling we were changing into climbing shoes at the base of the Northeast Ridge. The route up was sustained with great exposure; the crux is about halfway up getting through a stemming to handcrack move, easy once the holds and sequence was found. The summit was Longs-esque, beautiful route to a relatively boring summit. The best views of the Sharkstooth are from Andrew's Tarn. The downclimb was a bit grungy but its well worth it for the route up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHtanWV9_A0GzDW08t08TnFPwTJyjywRl7m8g2zrBQrt7nzMZSw8G3NLLVeR6UAGxEOk2tHR18PxyY-kyLMB-cbpCcRAoSG9WvCf5k5JBqdOqEguencxfKBPJDs8psJXiUEA9xMm9LEB4/s1600/DSC00108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHtanWV9_A0GzDW08t08TnFPwTJyjywRl7m8g2zrBQrt7nzMZSw8G3NLLVeR6UAGxEOk2tHR18PxyY-kyLMB-cbpCcRAoSG9WvCf5k5JBqdOqEguencxfKBPJDs8psJXiUEA9xMm9LEB4/s640/DSC00108.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle working up the boulderfield on the approach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0yHSd9czZxqiec2VsIKdHFhGoddNijRiEQMYI5usqOF9K7Xw88brSyGXwm4C8GDlYm4U78Kz5AKS_S0PRoZhS2MX3YbKFW6qC8k5jc92scpV_ixtNpkqN-vjFAFLkbKMgRB74Z1PuOs/s1600/DSC00110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0yHSd9czZxqiec2VsIKdHFhGoddNijRiEQMYI5usqOF9K7Xw88brSyGXwm4C8GDlYm4U78Kz5AKS_S0PRoZhS2MX3YbKFW6qC8k5jc92scpV_ixtNpkqN-vjFAFLkbKMgRB74Z1PuOs/s640/DSC00110.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle enjoying the spectacular position two-thirds up the tooth.</td></tr>
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<b><u>8/4, Thursday - Belford, Missouri, Huron - 16 miles, 8600', 6:27</u></b><br />
Slept in the car at Winfield then rode my bike down the road to the Missouri Gulch TH. Already on Belford I was wearing everything I brought for warmth minus the poles I forgot with the bike start. Missouri's East Ridge was once a grim prospect, but is now my favorite line in the Sawatch with the line totally memorized. I descended to a saddle with Iowa Pk and surfed down prime scree to a grassy basin, but it felt a bit slow, I think the standard trail would be faster/easier (especially at night). I found a great trail on the west side of Clohesy Lake that took me to treeline but then I made the mistake of taking ridge listed as "class 2+", the plus in this case meaning 2-3 more classes. So, that wasted a ton of time and got me pretty cold. I descended the standard trail to Winfield and bailed on La Plata with the weather and my available gear.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHu3OnEqZ_KWWTPqekgXaSp4fwcVrd3NLel-ZqndgET3Zvh4vmdjQkvDFQtxGNsJn__xX5Cpo-yIjCYlB6LPWlAuH_XFkwX0cEes0bHC9xdo6wkh5FGHQrkXZufUjuvqtpkMS9Zm0fYW4/s1600/DSC00133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHu3OnEqZ_KWWTPqekgXaSp4fwcVrd3NLel-ZqndgET3Zvh4vmdjQkvDFQtxGNsJn__xX5Cpo-yIjCYlB6LPWlAuH_XFkwX0cEes0bHC9xdo6wkh5FGHQrkXZufUjuvqtpkMS9Zm0fYW4/s640/DSC00133.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rotten rock band on Missouri's East Ridge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwd119achYNzh_QjkF2eqNWNF7tb9kJXiJ6VNAzu1ayGs6mUSYm97SIKqlN6qligBU-de6qq9hrcr02CtPW6k3L8n0KONYLADlJS4DxgafXEEKu2baLXbwRiXPVxa7o41bSVSSijdrGE/s1600/DSC00139+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwd119achYNzh_QjkF2eqNWNF7tb9kJXiJ6VNAzu1ayGs6mUSYm97SIKqlN6qligBU-de6qq9hrcr02CtPW6k3L8n0KONYLADlJS4DxgafXEEKu2baLXbwRiXPVxa7o41bSVSSijdrGE/s640/DSC00139+%25281%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back towards the Clohesy Lake drainage ascending Huron. Moody.</td></tr>
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<b><u>8/5, Friday - Bike & Eldo - 19 miles, 2900, 3:07</u></b><br />
Biked to Eldo and tried to buy an annual pass but they wouldn't let me because I didn't have my car to put the sticker on and they thought I would just pass around the sticker to my friends. Come on, lame! So since I was already talking with the ranger I couldn't even sneak in, so I had to pay the three dollars for a day pass. So dumb! Warmed up with Boulder Direct then went through the motions on Wind Ridge. I can almost do the enitre route in one flow aside from the mega-flake you sit on I have to briefly pause for. After some surveilance I found the West Chimney and scrambled that to the Red Ledge and finished to the top of Tower One with Icarus. wove my way down the East Slabs and biked home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BdhRat7uUzs8X4fYCdn-Z1xpNrl_8IAUa31U9ST14JejxiQmkGm8FwAq3RNfW3AR_yy3XrTc5F26DGfhSIYKtgZKQDvlMZ_1NwG780f5B6cNZuw1E0Q4H7epkyc06nhkewd3x2zSXgI/s1600/DSC00152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BdhRat7uUzs8X4fYCdn-Z1xpNrl_8IAUa31U9ST14JejxiQmkGm8FwAq3RNfW3AR_yy3XrTc5F26DGfhSIYKtgZKQDvlMZ_1NwG780f5B6cNZuw1E0Q4H7epkyc06nhkewd3x2zSXgI/s640/DSC00152.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Icarus.</td></tr>
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<b><u>8/6, Saturday - Bastille + Calypso x 3</u></b><br />
Early in Eldo with Kyle before work. We pitched out Bastille awkwardly in 3 pitches, I lead the second and felt solid. We then took turns on Calypso getting the moves dialed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpaJFs7EpL-LpHg-f5M2aLeVe4OULnKj6OWOKfYZdqzEo6K_z0yc8cPtYhHqE-sSaxzUPP9A17wve0YkeKAPyJ57RfIOB6NDCw45czR6E1WorctzErEE3E8IH6QzDbUTZdOo2qI9mI1zI/s1600/DSC00162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpaJFs7EpL-LpHg-f5M2aLeVe4OULnKj6OWOKfYZdqzEo6K_z0yc8cPtYhHqE-sSaxzUPP9A17wve0YkeKAPyJ57RfIOB6NDCw45czR6E1WorctzErEE3E8IH6QzDbUTZdOo2qI9mI1zI/s640/DSC00162.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle leading Calypso.</td></tr>
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<b><u>8/7, Sunday - Off</u></b><br />
Felt like death last night and despite waking up feeling miles better I took the safe route with an off day.<br />
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With widespread activities I can't even judge weeks on numbers anymore. I was pretty tired by the end of the week though, so success.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-368573576776995842016-07-25T10:41:00.002-07:002016-07-25T10:41:42.491-07:00"Fast Pfiffner" TraverseThe Pfiffner Traverse is described in Gerry Roach's guide to the Indian Peaks Wilderness, although it includes a bit more than just the Indian Peaks. The start is at Milner Pass in Rocky Mountain National Park and traverses 70 miles south along the continental divide to the next paved road, Berthoud Pass. Along the way awaits numerable summits, peaceful meadows, ridge scrambles and very few people. There a few notorious sections along the divide where the tundra morphs into steep and jagged knife edges, the "Fast Pfiffner" avoids these sections by dropping into basins to the West then returns to the divide once the coast is relatively clear.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZg1nWtLkiO70e2tin-g7M2l0Zj5RBT81STep4ycyP_yI8ZbIeouyUsb8j3BRBfrAm4ppVNwuNjcfsA2c5Nw6T4f7BLRrgNlX3vRJLdAY4dC9uhcKNyq8HH39eeHDnE30OZ8glp8TfqSs/s1600/2T37.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZg1nWtLkiO70e2tin-g7M2l0Zj5RBT81STep4ycyP_yI8ZbIeouyUsb8j3BRBfrAm4ppVNwuNjcfsA2c5Nw6T4f7BLRrgNlX3vRJLdAY4dC9uhcKNyq8HH39eeHDnE30OZ8glp8TfqSs/s640/2T37.jpeg" width="482" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The route.</td></tr>
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We weighed our options quite a bit on whether or not we would plan for sleep. Its a long ways, but carrying extra gear for just a couple hours of what would likely be sub-par sleep seemed silly -- you can sleep when you're dead. There is only one other completion of a single push on this route (that I'm aware of), and thankfully, I know the man! <a href="http://pbakwin.altervista.org/fkt/OvensonPfiffner2011.pdf" target="_blank">Mark Oveson completed the route in 37 hours in 2011</a> and graciously responded to a bombardment of questions promptly. He said the route for him was an experiment pre-Hardrock, and hey what-do-ya-know Abby and I both need that same sort of experiment -- no sleep it is! He also volunteered to meet us at Monarch Lake, roughly the halfway point, at what would likely be a very dark hour of night.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxJINSVNmAYMsLWpqbk1A0InBc-P9Qncvetipshxz6roJ5QL_Ofan8FoCvxcSK_jfRgpFCLlV1vetZ6usvEdiBFf1x7TpGlFA1C1GKjHM393CSjg9afnJ9gmZVXDwaa7_WwnZoauJ7yc/s1600/IMG_6594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxJINSVNmAYMsLWpqbk1A0InBc-P9Qncvetipshxz6roJ5QL_Ofan8FoCvxcSK_jfRgpFCLlV1vetZ6usvEdiBFf1x7TpGlFA1C1GKjHM393CSjg9afnJ9gmZVXDwaa7_WwnZoauJ7yc/s640/IMG_6594.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inspirational words at the Pearl Dragon restaurant the night before in Granby</td></tr>
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We dropped one car at Berthoud Pass Friday night then attempted to get some sleep in the car at a trailhead parking lot only to be kicked out around midnight. The ranger was nice and recommended us another place to sleep outside the park. The impact though was that with the commute to location number two we got maybe 2 cumulative hours of sleep, maximum.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTT3WXUuYTUSkjbH4LccLdXWAbAJ5Hn6IzMbj04ms6Eo3BCOIdQqBtTqUyGoE_JOCjbwxbnet-rxNweHBNjClgHboeTuHEN0uKgILYUmaX9wwoBUNeXRmN9UtDORiWAV9DaiveLMiiX_E/s1600/IMG_6603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTT3WXUuYTUSkjbH4LccLdXWAbAJ5Hn6IzMbj04ms6Eo3BCOIdQqBtTqUyGoE_JOCjbwxbnet-rxNweHBNjClgHboeTuHEN0uKgILYUmaX9wwoBUNeXRmN9UtDORiWAV9DaiveLMiiX_E/s640/IMG_6603.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The highly official permit the ranger told us to right down and leave on our windshield. Ranger 421 for the win!</td></tr>
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We began our journey just after 5AM Saturday morning by headlamp followed by sunrise up to the first peak, Mt Ida. It was a very moderate gradient which would be the theme for the next several peaks. As the sun rose in the sky further, we made our way across 7 more gentle summits, passing through a massive heard of elk and trekking through bountiful wildflowers. Hallet Peak, our 8th summit, marked the end of the first section of the continental divide.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby nearing the summit of Mt Ida</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbDL3e4oEQufzjrvZP95YFGrYCfwtl1jc-_KJtHa9yfWxPXVkoY-c4RrFNl82WmhFyx7J6OiguVsYDs9VpzIn7S3moqS1fbZUAqzmcQu1REMsuVaw52LL2xWWx31M4gN1RC_EyEJ9ChI/s1600/DSC00056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbDL3e4oEQufzjrvZP95YFGrYCfwtl1jc-_KJtHa9yfWxPXVkoY-c4RrFNl82WmhFyx7J6OiguVsYDs9VpzIn7S3moqS1fbZUAqzmcQu1REMsuVaw52LL2xWWx31M4gN1RC_EyEJ9ChI/s640/DSC00056.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rather large herd of Elk on the way towards Flattop Mountain</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Refilling water from some snowmelt along the divide.</td></tr>
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We descended on good trail west for a couple miles toward the North Inlet before turning south -- our last segment of trail for many miles -- to Lake Nokoni and Lake Nanita. On this section I felt very tired; heavy eyelids and cloudy mind. I found my rescue from the doldrums to be singing to myself out-loud for a bit -- a bit weird I suppose, but it worked. Abby was feeling the same way here, but I figured she would be fine pulling herself out of it as I had. Nokoni and Nanita were stunning to say the least. We made our way over a small saddle just northeast of Andrews Peak, through a small basin and then down a rather nasty bushwhack to the East Inlet drainage.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1r_F6kge7ydt2mgLVJtlrWKfTZxgMTp5d7-3UA9fzBBhqbXFsOHq1fgKnLqUyG1Uj2RZyMZ8d2xiJ3N4LJ4ubTLc5sz0jf7IvKypfXNJbSKMomfUb0BOHvsS2BZt3pcpQ5faS1-B8BE/s1600/DSC00061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1r_F6kge7ydt2mgLVJtlrWKfTZxgMTp5d7-3UA9fzBBhqbXFsOHq1fgKnLqUyG1Uj2RZyMZ8d2xiJ3N4LJ4ubTLc5sz0jf7IvKypfXNJbSKMomfUb0BOHvsS2BZt3pcpQ5faS1-B8BE/s640/DSC00061.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just above Lake Nokoni</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ptarmigan Mountain from Lake Nanita</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeA1kGxan9dgxceXKjWXCZchHGwOZFyvu_zRXkGFpqTlMfMDumPtyI4XlvJyugGO1o2y2Hb1jOGU82FX3Nw7459K229m9Y-wXahOwyQh3w-s-bF2DAY4_xpZwUKwrnqZ47mLxy_v5VL8/s1600/DSC00063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeA1kGxan9dgxceXKjWXCZchHGwOZFyvu_zRXkGFpqTlMfMDumPtyI4XlvJyugGO1o2y2Hb1jOGU82FX3Nw7459K229m9Y-wXahOwyQh3w-s-bF2DAY4_xpZwUKwrnqZ47mLxy_v5VL8/s640/DSC00063.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unnamed drainge northwest of Andrews Peak</td></tr>
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Upon finally reaching Fourth Lake, Abby's condition hadn't improved much but she remained far more upbeat and optimistic than I could have expected. Maximum stoke. We found a very faint social trail which lead us to treeline, but here the weather turned a bit sour. With a long climb ahead of us and rumblings of thunder we elected to play it safe and wait out a short storm under an overhanging boulder. The scenery was still unbelievable and despite the setbacks the journey thus far had been phenomenal. It wasn't long before the clouds parted for us to continue on. We had lost even more time here though and I was beginning to get apprehensive about how late in the day it was, we still had many miles ahead before we even got back to a trail, and then several more miles of trail to Monarch Lake. I voiced my concerns and began trying to accelerate our pace.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The southern geology of the East Inlet drainage. The prominent arête just right of center is Aiguille de Fleur, a promising looking alpine scramble I'd love to check out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T0knbB5QTrDQ3GlbayQFj7diuC4OSdNbfVGAEkXU9UoAtla3QJIasMQsOcUzWrJbFTEUeiyXShq0ZwfUm0tVy8VBpUa4yiDU62XW7v7y3AVYk1gBH359siGHkcQZWCZYmRmV4F2rQRI/s1600/DSC00074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T0knbB5QTrDQ3GlbayQFj7diuC4OSdNbfVGAEkXU9UoAtla3QJIasMQsOcUzWrJbFTEUeiyXShq0ZwfUm0tVy8VBpUa4yiDU62XW7v7y3AVYk1gBH359siGHkcQZWCZYmRmV4F2rQRI/s640/DSC00074.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A distant Abby climbing out of the Andrews-Alice col</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Refilling water and while waiting for Abby to finish the climb to Isolation's west ridge. (Sponsor Plug:) Loved the gear choice for the day: X-Alp 20 pack was perfect, I used the dedicated crampon pocket as a dedicated food pocket! Would never attempt something like this without my trusty wizard sticks either!</td></tr>
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We slowly made our way around the loose southwest slopes of Isolation Peak. The sky adopted a tint of orange as we rejoined the divide and after weighing our options I decided to start making executive decisions. Abby was only getting deeper into mega-bonk-land, the primary goal now was to get her moving as fast as possible and dig her out of the hole. We stopped briefly on the divide: I made her drink as much water and eat as much food as she could stomach then took her pack to carry myself. I told her to just keep hiking south on the divide and I would catch up in a few minutes. I changed into my warmer clothes in preparation for night and prepared her warm clothes. I then caught back up to her so she could gear up for night. I had been very thoughtful about my nutrition and maintaining a positive mental state and was glad to be feeling almost the same as I had 15 hours earlier.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyr0FYTjX1tRLdmvGm6TaPFMdKQVG1JrdfPZBQ1RJPE1u25KN8RkJLd7Sf-ZMliFf6CPpm1s20AbGfsT_rV_Z25Gd4Dy19kM-Sc_W9vPg00QrNWBsXqzAP9n0x44W4vTko5Gbf8woi6s/s1600/DSC00084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyr0FYTjX1tRLdmvGm6TaPFMdKQVG1JrdfPZBQ1RJPE1u25KN8RkJLd7Sf-ZMliFf6CPpm1s20AbGfsT_rV_Z25Gd4Dy19kM-Sc_W9vPg00QrNWBsXqzAP9n0x44W4vTko5Gbf8woi6s/s640/DSC00084.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shadows getting longer heading further up Isolation Peak. Longs looms tall in the background.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk503aydv6AsD7mDHZzts0MdVhb4OifCjW4kyV1ZZCyycB3NkslqdI-QtPhgnpPLrjEci_7vvjYkKbf9k0B9z9ChqGL2QPPiRsQN0s65b-USoyrFPKp9ZRDVCdBz_divg9_L9pJseqTTg/s1600/IMG_6598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk503aydv6AsD7mDHZzts0MdVhb4OifCjW4kyV1ZZCyycB3NkslqdI-QtPhgnpPLrjEci_7vvjYkKbf9k0B9z9ChqGL2QPPiRsQN0s65b-USoyrFPKp9ZRDVCdBz_divg9_L9pJseqTTg/s640/IMG_6598.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Longs poking out from the beautiful west face of Isolation Peak.</td></tr>
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We had to bop over two more mountains before we could start the long descent, they are very moderate inclines but forward progress remained slow. We reached the (almost) summit of Ogalalla in complete darkness. Abby was barely awake, we had one short climb left and then we could descend significant elevation which I hoped would help immensely. I stood on the summit of "Ooh La La!" a little after 10PM and took in the moment. It was both surreal and intimidating. Miles to the east and nearly 8,000ft below the city lights of the front range twinkled; to the west I could see Abby's light traversing just below the summit (uphills were on the edge of impossible, so she skipped the true summit), what appeared to be a lone campfire in the distance and very far away, the few lights of Frasier Valley marking our eventual endpoint.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyO7KUYRcX8D6xvaa6gHDs-sjiKSMp-fQhFuFPYz6jdnmElehrIdtKkUnmlrV2ctH4d_D5sL_DGDbiGVwKN8FONuixnaW0OBcMXFrhTWSj7W-2NikOPfvehRAhvHZoTo4JKM7WwxfZJ-M/s1600/IMG_6601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyO7KUYRcX8D6xvaa6gHDs-sjiKSMp-fQhFuFPYz6jdnmElehrIdtKkUnmlrV2ctH4d_D5sL_DGDbiGVwKN8FONuixnaW0OBcMXFrhTWSj7W-2NikOPfvehRAhvHZoTo4JKM7WwxfZJ-M/s640/IMG_6601.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final rays of light behind the Never Summer mountains to the northwest from the south ridge of Isolation.</td></tr>
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The next section was terrible. Completely off trail, we needed to descend to a saddle east of Cooper Peak, contour around a small tarn, then around Island Lake, over a small rib then down to Gourd Lake where we would rejoin trail. Some remaining snowfields were a godsend to shoe ski down with ease but the final half mile wound its way around short slabby dropoffs and painfully healthy fields of willows scattered among trees. I had the route well committed to memory on a macro scale as well as the navigational operations on my watch, but the nuances of hiking through the complicated terrain was immensely time consuming trial and error without the ability see more than 20ft in front of me. I'm not sure I've ever been so frustrated! It was very mentally taxing to be so focused on route finding, making sure Abby was moving well and safely and trying to remember to keep my own self in good condition.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGCYpgSSRbfRxTSgxezoxqQHvjpv-6Dwlvz8Es4mjRoyhqHudmavhR5jInGGQ_BnDgxk0kXGjiHW3sN0H-igUfRMhjDrGwGnYiBHy0CO3tCTINKxLFJS82atmVVz4jWtP_24uR_8uVSU/s1600/772515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGCYpgSSRbfRxTSgxezoxqQHvjpv-6Dwlvz8Es4mjRoyhqHudmavhR5jInGGQ_BnDgxk0kXGjiHW3sN0H-igUfRMhjDrGwGnYiBHy0CO3tCTINKxLFJS82atmVVz4jWtP_24uR_8uVSU/s640/772515.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A daylight picture taken from <a href="http://www.summitpost.org/cooper-peak-south-buttress/772515" target="_blank">SummitPost </a>of the complicated terrain below Cooper Peak (there is even more not pictured above too!), many curses were said.</td></tr>
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After what felt like a year we finally rejoined the trail, it was the homestretch, Abby's condition was starting to improve and the overall mood was drastically more positive. Still, we had a long 10 mile hike out to Monarch Lake to meet Mark who we had been in radio contact with intermittently throughout the journey. By following our SPOT he had been able to keep track of us all day long. It would have been nice to jog back out, but running wasn't quite in the cards so we marched along as quick as walking allows. At the Cascade Creek (Pawnee Pass trail, essentially) I was happy to see Abby moving much easier and complaining less of of "almost falling asleep every 5 seconds" and "seeing less faces in trees and rocks". Stellar, but we weren't done yet. The remaining 4 miles were easier flatter trail and we were able to jog a few sections. My watch started beeping, I looked down and realized the time was 4AM, it was my wake-up alarm from 24 hours earlier. We passed the Arapaho Pass junction, went around Monarch Lake and after 23 hours and 31 minutes were finished.<br />
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Despite the horrible time of day, Mark was patiently alone in the parking lot on a fold out cot with water boiling and a pot of hot soup. I can't express how thankful I am for his immutable generosity and support. I wolfed down the soup and tripped over my now untied shoe lace and took an actually very hard fall in the parking lot, spilling a cup of hot chocolate and cutting my knee and elbow. An ironic and fitting conclusion.<br />
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Well, we didn't finish the whole traverse, Monarch Lake was 45 miles into the ~70ish mile route and is the same place Mark bailed the first time he tried the route. The vert was only around 11,000ft but Mark agrees that on paper the route looks a lot easier than it feels in real life. Out of two Hardrock 100 finishes in two attempts, the Pfiffner took Mark one DNF and a time longer than both Hardrocks when he did finish it. I can't wait to get in the ring with this traverse for a rematch next summer! The overall experience was amazing, the scenery far exceeded expectations, the company was great and I was able to gain tons of experience and confidence going forwards.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04o3XDde6Fti31xaB-fPOpc1cdSbUkyLzZzTcz2R1JfQ3AJuDLPJEp9JgPZIfGVS5WoYEyloVMs9lDRCpmw_yxWzbeuZz_ylcAS1lpMIDHX-lrkOJaXmbC63lV577dhft9U_bOkEpK6k/s1600/IMG_6597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04o3XDde6Fti31xaB-fPOpc1cdSbUkyLzZzTcz2R1JfQ3AJuDLPJEp9JgPZIfGVS5WoYEyloVMs9lDRCpmw_yxWzbeuZz_ylcAS1lpMIDHX-lrkOJaXmbC63lV577dhft9U_bOkEpK6k/s640/IMG_6597.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back north from Hallet Peak</td></tr>
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We summited 10 peaks : Mt Ida, Chief Cheley Pk, Cracktop, Sprague Mtn, Knobtop Mtn, Ptarmigan Pt, Flattop Mtn, Hallet Pk, Ogalalla Pk, (well, apparently we just missed the summit of Ogalalla in the dark, but pretty close) and Ooh La La!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-34547125753288189062016-07-17T23:56:00.000-07:002016-07-17T23:56:35.184-07:00June 27 - July 17<b><u>6/27, Monday - Chiefs Head Pk, Mt Alice, Tanima Pk - 21 miles, 6800', 6:52</u></b><br />
From the Wild Basin TH its a long 7 mile approach to the start of the climb up Chiefs Head and this morning my grogginess almost made me turn around. Luckily when I got out of the trees and could see the peaks I felt more alive. Getting up Chiefs Head was a simple talus march with great view of the Longs massif. I was excited for the 3rd class hourglass ridge on Alice, but I didn't find any 3rd, all 2nd -- still, a cool peak. Tanima is about a thousand feet lower than Alice so it was a fairly easy traverse over. The one problem of the day was my premature descent down the north face of Tanima's east ridge. It got fairly tricky in several places so I ended up traversing back and forth along the face looking for a line that wouldn't cliff out. Long run back in on progressively more crowded trail the closer I got (its technically in RMNP so it gets mobbed).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfe4LklfCZv9DPYMh6r7py82p6LKFQNBbNkl83Pj3wIDkbshvI9RmnteLWFXSxC6Q3EwIuyDndMzjpPfCgWv2fD5UE5YX4-sK5Pti7KFWFz0g5WEzorrtEyt-nf84QMKuiERqUNUjqx7w/s1600/2016-06-27+10.55.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfe4LklfCZv9DPYMh6r7py82p6LKFQNBbNkl83Pj3wIDkbshvI9RmnteLWFXSxC6Q3EwIuyDndMzjpPfCgWv2fD5UE5YX4-sK5Pti7KFWFz0g5WEzorrtEyt-nf84QMKuiERqUNUjqx7w/s640/2016-06-27+10.55.44.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Timer-shot on Alice, Longs is the high point on the left with Meeker just between my legs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslJAnVqCKJulg6hiCnNOuczJ9WI3v5B_CrUk1XIa29PKe6kcvhrFVrlgQ-MEuFGqH8h92t2Tl_CfDgMqTieXjirNtOjb_UuxSqr9llH-l4hr0iV6AsXRJdLMmmJDLtEDCFfQ0FMTXjro/s1600/2016-06-27+11.55.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslJAnVqCKJulg6hiCnNOuczJ9WI3v5B_CrUk1XIa29PKe6kcvhrFVrlgQ-MEuFGqH8h92t2Tl_CfDgMqTieXjirNtOjb_UuxSqr9llH-l4hr0iV6AsXRJdLMmmJDLtEDCFfQ0FMTXjro/s640/2016-06-27+11.55.57.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The terrible downclimb choice.</td></tr>
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<b><u>6/28, Tuesday - AM: High Lonesome - 15 miles, 3000', 3:01 || PM: Salomon Group - 4 miles, 800', 0:52</u></b><br />
Morning trip to the high country with Jack and Ford until his shoe catastrophically tore. He walked backed to the car while Jack and I finished up the classic loop. Salomon run in the evening.<br />
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<b><u>6/29, Wednesday - Bike - 14 miles</u></b><br />
Feet hurt from the miles the past two days so I kept it easy and rolled around the creek path on my commuter bike.<br />
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<b><u>6/30. Thursday - Eagles Nest - 8 miles, 1300', 1:08</u></b><br />
Took a recommendation from Jack to get in a run on my way to the Sawatch, awesome trail. Perfect "California" smooth single-track winding into the alpine that was 100% running, which was good to do.<br />
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<b><u>6/31, Friday - AM: Mt Belford, Missouri Mtn - 12 miles, 6000', 4:13 || PM: The Dome</u></b><br />
Jack and I made it up to Belford in a cold snow/sleet/rain storm at a casual pace. Jack was in shorts and a light coat so he turned around while I in slightly warmer garb continued on to Missouri. Well, I actually got a tad disoriented in the clouds which socked in the summit and by mistake ran towards Oxford. I realized my mistake when the clouds parted and turned around. Once actually at Elkhead pass I elected to scope out the rather notoriously precarious East Ridge. I certainly found some loose rock but nothing to out of the ordinary for alpine scrambling, in fact I found a nice line with one 4th class dihedral then a traverse across gully to a ledge system that took me to the summit no problem. It took some time and trials to find but to climb this in the rain inside a cloud gives me plenty of confidence in this route for the future (which potentially will be at night). Easy jog back down to Missouri Gulch TH. In the evening the rain never arrived so Kyle and I went over to East Slab on the Dome. Kyle led it once (placing 2 pieces the whole time) then I followed. We then each solo'ed the route twice feeling confident on the bomber jams and jugs.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BHVpwmwDZMI/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Kyle Richardson (@kylerichardson)</a> on <time datetime="2016-07-02T00:04:57+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jul 1, 2016 at 5:04pm PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>7/1, Saturday - Green Mtn & Dome - 13 miles, 2300' 2:15 || PM: Dome - 1:17</u></b><br />
Raining when I got up so I killed some time waiting for the rain to stop and the rock to dry by doing a quick lap on Green. I decided I felt good enough to put out a moderate effort and made the round trip Gregory-to-Gregory in 0:57 (up in 37min, a PR). By the time I was done things had dried out so I biked to Boulder Canyon and found Kyle up on the rock already. I did two laps on the East Slab before biking back home. I couldn't help myself and rode back up in the evening, I only did one lap, but on the approach I carelessly slipped on some wet dirt on a rock (this is on a completely flat official trail...), I fell and smacked my elbow and hip pretty good on another rock. Extremely stiff in the evening, hoping it resolves quickly by morning.<br />
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<b><u>7/3, Sunday - Off</u></b><br />
Hip hurt too much to really even consider getting out.<br />
<br />
<u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
70 miles<br />
31,100'<br />
22:52<br />
<br />
Still managed a reasonable volume week despite being forced to take a day off.<br />
<br />
<b><u>7/4, Monday - Dome Tonerre Tower, 1st Flatiron, 1st Pinnacle</u></b><br />
Biked to the dome for one lap on East Slab with Kyle then was picked up by Jack to head further up the canyon for sport climbing. We did 3 pitches of fun climbing before I had to get to work. After work I biked straight to Chautauqua to scramble the 1st Flatiron via Red Slab and 1st Pinnacle via the SE Face with Kyle. Lots of biking in between everything.<br />
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<b><u>7/5, Tuesday - Dome, Salomon Run</u></b><br />
Same old bike to East Slab for 3 laps then up to Chautauqua for the Salomon group run. Since I can't move too well yet I was sweeping at the back. I'm really not a patient person when it comes to running so it was mentally testing to have to move so much slower than I wanted to. Biking between everything.<br />
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<b><u>7/6, Wednesday - Dome, 2nd Flatiron</u></b><br />
I snuck in front of two parties gearing up at the base and was thus limited to only one lap on East Slab. I felt incredibly efficient today though, going bike-to-bike in 18min. I had a good bit of time to kill so I did hill repeats on the bike below Chautauqua for 25 minutes. I then met Abby to pace her to the women's strava CR (a couple ladies not on strava <i>might</i> have fast times on this) on the freeway car-to-car time. Anyways, she shattered it but could take off 10 minutes once she learns that her Sportiva Mutants will stick to everything.<br />
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<b><u>7/7, Thursday - Bike: 4 x NCAR - 22 miles, 2400', 1:31</u></b><br />
Four repeats up and down the NCAR hill. Can't wait to be back on my feet.<br />
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<b><u>7/8, Friday - Tonnerre Tower + Hygeine Loop - 35 miles, 1000', 1:50</u></b><br />
Climbed in Boulder Canyon with Kyle before an easy spin around the plains. I was happy to lead Stayin' Alive without issue and then we took turns getting Before the Deluge dialed in.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-AIJQ6TWNc4sjzAhyo5NQuyKWAJkpTo9f8M2Z-bBs0GQsX9VB7HsT4kQzA0Y157jzHSlO-6Kum2ckLCT2zfTgNwzsZTDev79CzpouC7s_8CFGKOsGGKU4weShyNuxDzd80jrhgqOpdE/s1600/2016-07-08+19.49.10-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-AIJQ6TWNc4sjzAhyo5NQuyKWAJkpTo9f8M2Z-bBs0GQsX9VB7HsT4kQzA0Y157jzHSlO-6Kum2ckLCT2zfTgNwzsZTDev79CzpouC7s_8CFGKOsGGKU4weShyNuxDzd80jrhgqOpdE/s640/2016-07-08+19.49.10-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sun beams on the plains.</td></tr>
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<b><u>7/9, Saturday - AM: 3 x East Slab || PM: Longs Peak 13 miles, 5100', 6:46</u></b><br />
Made a trip up to the Dome with Kyle in the morning before work. After work Abby and I set out for Longs, leaving the trailhead around 5PM. The ranger on duty looked very worried until I told him this would be my tenth or so time on the route, then he laughed and wished us well. I had never brought this much stuff in summer: crampons, axe, rope, harness, belay device, headlamp, water, food, an extra layer and gloves. We climbed the snow all the way up Lambs Slide rather than scrambling the loose rock rib to the left, this was way more enjoyable. Broadway was fully a-bloomin' with flowers and the sunset was going off in similar fashion so we took our time with a long stop on Table Ledge. We made the summit at around 9PM when it got fully dark, but were able to faintly see the trail of smoke billowing out of the fire at Caribou Ranch. Since she had never been on Cables at all, I had hauled a 30 meter, 8mm rope up. She would have been able to figure it out just fine down-soloing, I think, but it was nice to not worry about doing that in pitch darkness. My headlamp was definitely on the tail end of its batteries so I poached light from the sun Abby seemed to have on her forehead on the way back down. Hip felt great!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbr8Cs-EtuG892tWGerLN1hu8ycYiL8nAjhSXAdVohRTlHLDKSgBzZAPZBIjFdzF-afBqD4FOTW5-tvXqltwaRVq7222yjqbRtfBdMnnxWUDecxzktnV4TubJc7L2MKOT1PK2TflXCW6I/s1600/2016-07-09+18.55.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbr8Cs-EtuG892tWGerLN1hu8ycYiL8nAjhSXAdVohRTlHLDKSgBzZAPZBIjFdzF-afBqD4FOTW5-tvXqltwaRVq7222yjqbRtfBdMnnxWUDecxzktnV4TubJc7L2MKOT1PK2TflXCW6I/s640/2016-07-09+18.55.27.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ascending Lambs Slide</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLBuj7XTyOSDpVxOYUApwnWJOEIcmyK-DWFypNR-KJl5MHrcdxBfRkrqAJmnwqHh6j5dKgQJKRXWJ2Nwv2p2FMbSz3xcq7A32QTOLZoWSJGplYJ8LPMf0Kca1-E88ZlGfpiwgURp9O9-4/s1600/2016-07-09+19.34.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLBuj7XTyOSDpVxOYUApwnWJOEIcmyK-DWFypNR-KJl5MHrcdxBfRkrqAJmnwqHh6j5dKgQJKRXWJ2Nwv2p2FMbSz3xcq7A32QTOLZoWSJGplYJ8LPMf0Kca1-E88ZlGfpiwgURp9O9-4/s640/2016-07-09+19.34.54.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few wildflowers on the Broadway at the step-around boulder!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURzTDlVHRPN3ev19x3bhE_S82wA1AUpGoSBoR6b1GPsK5iNgQlSO4t9PkJDCFisvkhbP76nyesw0yLqQRV5X7BmCckVM9LCKpGWU6FBrIx_aLQ5iwuJGpyQZFD_dyID5JAA9ZqJ8FNHg/s1600/2016-07-09+19.44.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURzTDlVHRPN3ev19x3bhE_S82wA1AUpGoSBoR6b1GPsK5iNgQlSO4t9PkJDCFisvkhbP76nyesw0yLqQRV5X7BmCckVM9LCKpGWU6FBrIx_aLQ5iwuJGpyQZFD_dyID5JAA9ZqJ8FNHg/s640/2016-07-09+19.44.57.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good exposure on lower Kieners</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsbdF-N6HkuhO_iJMEep-7wQXzDiDutKjAImsg9MdyK4YaynViWxb1vnzU-o95yCSgQKyeBUdT89QOAOOhyzfVp9N5dOmuS_WCkRk99vDtJb4B9BCkmBxHyEldhXY15LBB1_p6T5xYNk/s1600/2016-07-09+20.21.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsbdF-N6HkuhO_iJMEep-7wQXzDiDutKjAImsg9MdyK4YaynViWxb1vnzU-o95yCSgQKyeBUdT89QOAOOhyzfVp9N5dOmuS_WCkRk99vDtJb4B9BCkmBxHyEldhXY15LBB1_p6T5xYNk/s640/2016-07-09+20.21.15.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a break to watch the sunset on Table Ledge</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL415KNtwmDvbVjvg6UkIRa0NNcaPf2Mwbui1EbRu93Gotg62qq2uruoxasBVOxIP7UiEdmoPzi45IJHjUQak3ISihY1ElwYB5DPC_uTzXPL8MrNQzWzwHJwu7C3CiK0PeZzdQVEPkJx4/s1600/2016-07-09+20.49.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL415KNtwmDvbVjvg6UkIRa0NNcaPf2Mwbui1EbRu93Gotg62qq2uruoxasBVOxIP7UiEdmoPzi45IJHjUQak3ISihY1ElwYB5DPC_uTzXPL8MrNQzWzwHJwu7C3CiK0PeZzdQVEPkJx4/s640/2016-07-09+20.49.23.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final light from the summit.</td></tr>
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<b><u>7/10, Sunday - Off</u></b><br />
Work and then left for the Sawatch.<br />
<br />
<u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
25 miles<br />
13,000'<br />
16:30<br />
<br />
Injuries....At least it healed up quick.<br />
<br />
<b><u>7/11, Monday - Mt Yale, Mt Columbia, Mt Havard, Mt Oxford, Mt Belford, Missouri Mtn, Huron Pk - 28 miles, 15400' 14:59</u></b><br />
Whooof, long day. Set out at 3AM heading towards a planned pickup at Missouri Gulch at 6PM, meaning I had a few options on how I would finish. I took the Avalanche Gulch route to Yale for the first time, didn't seem that different from Denny Creek but it would cut off road, so its a winner. My planned descent was thwarted by hellacious winds on the NW aspects so I just took a scree gully straight down, which actually worked quite well and I found the old airplane wreckage! I found the long plugging climb up Columbia wonderful but my experience on Rabbit Ridge was miserable. Its really quite terrible on loose and unstable rock, I backtracked and went around when I wasn't comfortable and wound up annoyingly wasting about 2 hours here. Once on Harvard by conventional means I didn't really try to find a nice route down besides just aiming for the avy chute on Oxford, which meant a bit of willow thrash but it was over quick. The climb up to Oxford feels <i>sooo</i> long, despite being the shortest of the day's big climbs. I suppose its just very steep (2,000ft in under a mile). Anyways, I was running low on calories here and the day was winding up so I had a 5 hour energy to power me through the rest. Unfortunately, I didn't quite have enough calories in me for it to work well. Instead I felt the mental stimulus, burnt up all my energy sprinting down to Elkhead Pass and then slowly meandered up Missouri. Even had I not lost all that time on Rabbit Ridge I don't think I would have had time to finish my plan to Huron. I had to push the downhill to keep my car shuttle from waiting -- and also sneak under 15 hours, by 20 seconds. Ended feeling very tired but as much due to the caffeine snafu, with more consistent fueling and a couple tweaks in the route I'm getting really excited!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmuOsDWyQKZRGIfbzBdKtY2flWDMjOa4LXhTmmYwgFF-6ouFEesHMqtoooVriFsVTUMHyjPN2ZFKmYD4tozCDymDHS7SUMQFcUKuYvJe4ONq8XJBW6uO9FEFD40O2RHq0bD7_hghnpPU/s1600/2016-07-11+05.49.11-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzmuOsDWyQKZRGIfbzBdKtY2flWDMjOa4LXhTmmYwgFF-6ouFEesHMqtoooVriFsVTUMHyjPN2ZFKmYD4tozCDymDHS7SUMQFcUKuYvJe4ONq8XJBW6uO9FEFD40O2RHq0bD7_hghnpPU/s640/2016-07-11+05.49.11-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise heading down Yale, un-picture-able is the death wind which was ripping over the ridge to the left. I strayed a bit from my plan so as to not be literally blown away.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7v_PjzVYEwSdvQDzkbHyKqnr7GCn26Rs9e5_SElXbo_14P4tdg3A2OKljz2Z2y9s4d9aLQyuIoBKw8lUqBq6bDP10vx9c2CKPDGyM2qLTukKf1lghNYqoUOBqsj8XB0Dlw7QsurOw6E/s1600/2016-07-11+11.56.07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7v_PjzVYEwSdvQDzkbHyKqnr7GCn26Rs9e5_SElXbo_14P4tdg3A2OKljz2Z2y9s4d9aLQyuIoBKw8lUqBq6bDP10vx9c2CKPDGyM2qLTukKf1lghNYqoUOBqsj8XB0Dlw7QsurOw6E/s640/2016-07-11+11.56.07.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A nice flowered spot to empty my shoes, time for some gaiters! Nice maiden voyage for these <a href="http://www.salomon.com/us/product/s-lab-wings-sg.html" target="_blank">new kicks</a>!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxOFD2XT0Xph5ImplkNXoCZpaeggHfE2HbmtPJDVE5eMuTGNK7WtoEDgYoYSgt5ztU1RNJDQ76sfY5rCNtXiP0cLE4Wjy6k9EdgSpRRKcOR-HF7OyUxEsa_upWEYAfkh2cYayvLgtYlA/s1600/2016-07-11+15.18.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxOFD2XT0Xph5ImplkNXoCZpaeggHfE2HbmtPJDVE5eMuTGNK7WtoEDgYoYSgt5ztU1RNJDQ76sfY5rCNtXiP0cLE4Wjy6k9EdgSpRRKcOR-HF7OyUxEsa_upWEYAfkh2cYayvLgtYlA/s640/2016-07-11+15.18.52.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On top of Belford, Harvard is the high point on the left, Yale is the distant highpoint in the center with snowfield just below the summit. Missouri is just out of the frame to the right, as well as Oxford out of frame left.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><u>7/12, Tuesday - Royal Arch - 4 miles, 1200', 1:00</u></b><br />
Easy with the Salomon Group and my trusty poles. The left was is being a diva and refuses to collapse without the force of the earth pulling it apart.<br />
<br />
<b><u>7/13, Wednesday - Tonnerre Tower Climbiing</u></b><br />
I finally took the packaging off of my rope! Abby and I went to Tonnerre Tower since it was already dark and I knew exactly where to go. I lead the first route then set up a top rope. I was able to use my mega-bright bike light to flood the rock so it was actually quite lit up. Across the canyon moonlight was bathing Dream Canyon and Boulder Falls, pretty cool evening!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmssXuw3CsWZ0faJAe8KWgE5neaUKCy2xy6jAv-5OqahwDXrxcC5RXrFIMG9zcAEP-Ike5Kd31BgeyqPGWB5Jn497aH60J-y1yxvOccnsVLC0akgNbteUEOdaOamoRvQ8taLJ-pjcc1Vs/s1600/2016-07-13+22.36.14-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmssXuw3CsWZ0faJAe8KWgE5neaUKCy2xy6jAv-5OqahwDXrxcC5RXrFIMG9zcAEP-Ike5Kd31BgeyqPGWB5Jn497aH60J-y1yxvOccnsVLC0akgNbteUEOdaOamoRvQ8taLJ-pjcc1Vs/s640/2016-07-13+22.36.14-2.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beware of the evil doctor pineapple-head shadow</td></tr>
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<b><u>7/14, Thursday - Ypsilon Mtn & Fairchild Mtn - 18 miles, 6800', 6:05</u></b><br />
Started from Lawn Lake and ran up to Ypsilon lake -- with a black bear sighting on the way! -- where I shortly thereafter identified the thin but easy to follow approach trail to the beautiful Spectacle Lakes. From Spectacle I hiked up a gully to mount Blitzen Ridge. The scramble was phenomenal in rock quality, sustained technicality and exposure. Its the best alpine scramble I've ever been on. I felt pretty tired on the final push up to Ypsilon but found some energy to climb strongly up to Fairchild. From Fairchild it was a short jog down to the saddle and join the Lawn Lake trail.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MdPVNlC05IKYJaqqH7LArVOMrqtaHUKUogRZ3OSHSuRNrckifevN05E-kt8Z1XCiw_KSe57knkGuBRABuVdMHJdrdINOVgiCbZl7zALosLWzYRMKDYw1Psg9W_x6c8TvIHsXNCFVCpk/s1600/2016-07-14+09.25.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MdPVNlC05IKYJaqqH7LArVOMrqtaHUKUogRZ3OSHSuRNrckifevN05E-kt8Z1XCiw_KSe57knkGuBRABuVdMHJdrdINOVgiCbZl7zALosLWzYRMKDYw1Psg9W_x6c8TvIHsXNCFVCpk/s640/2016-07-14+09.25.23.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ypsilon's imposing east face from Spectacle Lake. Blitzen Ridge ascends the right side.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7Htxu8nwAkibh-uItEFM683RmX8c42_Ft2YKPwtc_wXBDzbQANoh11yIMuTn2HqVxlia1nLbo9cqqlCz5kimOd8YLKw2L-jgdG3tsbWp-KKSDQ3raeiBg7bThcG0NfZpnE91YNaCp_w/s1600/2016-07-14+11.07.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7Htxu8nwAkibh-uItEFM683RmX8c42_Ft2YKPwtc_wXBDzbQANoh11yIMuTn2HqVxlia1nLbo9cqqlCz5kimOd8YLKw2L-jgdG3tsbWp-KKSDQ3raeiBg7bThcG0NfZpnE91YNaCp_w/s640/2016-07-14+11.07.02.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back down the ridge from near the top.</td></tr>
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<b><u>7/15, Friday - 3 x Dome + Green Mtn - 7 miles, 3000', 1:59</u></b><br />
Bike to the Dome for 3 snappy laps, I'd like to learn Cozyhang or the Owl on ropes so I can add that to the circuit up there; maybe something on Elephant Buttress too. Then I biked to Chautauqua for a moderately paced lap in 56:44 (38:22 up, 18:22 down). Pushed the bike home hard to go under 2 hours for the outing -- barely, 1:59:55. Pretty cool to be able to pack rock climbing, cycling, running and hiking all into a 2 hour excursion from my doorstep! Oh, Boulder I love you so.<br />
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<b><u>7/16, Saturday - 2 x East Slab - 6 miles, 600', 0:57</u></b><br />
Two easy laps by bike. Would have done at least one more but a roped party had begun on my second time down.<br />
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<b><u>7/17, Sunday - Longs Pk - 9 miles, 5000', 2:26</u></b><br />
Tempo effort after work. Up in 1:35 and down at just enough effort to break 2:30. Felt very flat on the climb, just didn't have a high gear to work uphill on -- tough workout to end a tough week.<br />
<br />
<u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
63 miles<br />
33,500'<br />
30:14<br />
<br />
Lots of time on my feet this week. Looking for a generally easy next few days before a nice experiment next weekend!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-81621181555462277732016-06-27T15:28:00.001-07:002016-06-27T15:28:14.524-07:00June 13 - June 26<b><u>6/13, Monday - Green Mtn - 6 miles, 2500', 1:48</u></b><br />
Standard RMR.<br />
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<b><u>6/14, Tuesday - 1st Flatiron Tempo + Salomon - 5 miles, 3000', 1:38</u></b><br />
Met Kendrick before the group run to hammer out a tempo lap of the 1st. I felt really good on the approach running strong until the final 3 or 4 switchbacks before the rock, just to get my heart rate down a bit. I felt like molasses on the scramble and was more than a bit frusterated to see a roped party right in the thick of the slot shortcut. I hadn't been the other way in months so I lost a bit of time there. I was then surprised/stoked to see my split on the face of 11:09, definitely could have broken 11min had the slot been open. Descended to Chautauqua for a round trip time of 34:32. Salomon group run and gelato afterwards.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>6/15, Wednesday - Satan's Slab, Fist, Green Mtn - 6 miles, 2600', 2:01</u></b><br />
Skunk Canyon was opened early (it is closed half the year for raptor nesting), so I finally got back in there. Today was supposed to be somewhat relaxed though so I limited myself to Satan's Slab, which was just as thin or thinner than I remember before hiking over to the Fist and then Green.<br />
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<b><u>6/16, Thursday - Longs Peak - 11 miles, 5700', 5:25</u></b><br />
The goal was to take Kyle up the Cables route, which we kind of succeeded in doing. We made great time to the base of the route but found the dihedral absolutely soaking and chocked with ice. I climbed up as far as I felt comfortable and tried punching the ice off to avail. We then downclimbed a bit and ascended a smooth slab of granite up to another ledge which traversed right to easier terrain. We ran into Peter on top (him ascending Kieners, saying it was perfect), he was headed down to Cables. He brought a rappel line and we should have just asked to borrow that as you will read. We definitely weren't downclimbing Cables so we thought the NW gully would shortcut the keyhole route well. Unfortunately, this too was full of ice so we humped back over the summit for a long descent of the standard keyhole. Having expected a much shorter day we were pretty beat and elated to finally reach running water in the boulder field.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGulsMjNjuq/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Kyle Richardson (@kylerichardson)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-16T19:59:01+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 16, 2016 at 12:59pm PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>6/17, Friday - Grays & Torreys - 7 miles, 3600', 2:21</u></b><br />
With Jason and Doug. Tempo'ed up to Torreys hoping to break an hour but it wasn't in the cards today, 1:04:59. Waited to regroup on top before tagging Grays and running back down.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGw_cu1oIhv/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Jason Antin (@jasonantin)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-17T18:22:35+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 17, 2016 at 11:22am PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>6/18, Saturday - 2nd, 1st, Morning After, Challenger, Takin' Care of Business, Hammerhead, Achean Pronouncement, Primal Rib - 8 miles, 4000', 3:30</u></b><br />
Started stupid early to squeeze a bunch in before work which meant it was still basically dark for most of the 1st scramble. After I was heading down from Challenger I randomly decided I could do the chimney of Takin' Care of Business and it ended up going quite smoothly. Getting over to south skunk canyon was a bit heinous but soon enough I was enjoying the crack on Achean Pronouncement. I completely forgot how to downclimb off of that so I ended up doing some horrible zig zag down the west face then bailed halfway up Primal Rib to be able to get some breakfast before work.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGzEzUVhja6/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-18T13:47:50+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 18, 2016 at 6:47am PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>6/19, Sunday - Longs Pk - 11 miles, 5100', 3:55</u></b><br />
Boulder was far too hot run when I finished work so I drove straight to Longs. After getting some good beta I thought Kieners was worth a shot, I could always turn around. Well, I got to Lambs Slide and found the snow to be absolutely perfect, didn't even need rocks for hand traction (I still brought them just in case the snow changed though). Broadway was essentially clear and aside from a couple very wet (basically raining) spots the climb was nice and dry. Descending Cables felt very casual given the last few times its either been in winter with numb hands and crampons or earlier this week with 4 inches of ice on everything. Easy jog back down to the car with several stops to turn around and watch the sunset.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BG3G4jHBjd6/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-20T03:22:59+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 19, 2016 at 8:22pm PDT</time></div>
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<u><br /></u>
<u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
55 miles<br />
27,500ft<br />
21:51<br />
<br />
Good high volume week with quality time up high and at high intensity. I also spent most of the outings hanging out with good friends so that was even better.<br />
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<b><u>6/20, Monday - Longs Pk - 11 miles, 5100', 4:01</u></b><br />
After only being home for 9 hours I was back heading for Longs, this time with Kyle for his virgin trip up Kieners. We were able to follow all the steps I had kicked across the snow last night needing zero traction at all. Its always a priviledge to see someone on Broadway for the first time, so special. Cables was even more of a waterfall than yesterday but we got down just fine. This route is also perfect as there is running water every 10 minutes after you make it to Chasm Lake, so with a few snacks in my pocket I hardly need to bring anything!<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BG43cmLhjaf/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-20T19:46:35+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 20, 2016 at 12:46pm PDT</time></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BG5SeS2tjnh/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Kyle Richardson (@kylerichardson)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-20T23:42:45+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 20, 2016 at 4:42pm PDT</time></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BG48qvVNjg1/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Kyle Richardson (@kylerichardson)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-20T20:32:12+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 20, 2016 at 1:32pm PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>6/21, Tuesday - Freeway & Salomon Group - 5 miles, 2300', 1:06</u></b><br />
Easy 2nd with Kory then the usual group run.<br />
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<b><u>6/22, Wednesday - Shavano, Tabaguache, Antero - 21 miles, 9200', 7:13</u></b><br />
Started from Blanks cabin and after a few switchbacks took the east ridge all the way to Shavano's summit. I feel like the trail is probably just as fast here as the jumbled talus sort of messes with my hiking cadence and rhythm. I was on Tabaguache 30 minutes later ready to figure out my descent to Browns Creek. I decided to take a rib of talus which ended up being the most loose pile of rock I've ever been on, I had so many rocks tumble into my ankles I started getting really frusterated! Thankfully, I was able to traverse over to some snow and glissaded to just below treeline. I found a nice line along the marsh then waded through Brown's creek to take a line directly over Mt White's shoulder which contoured into Antero's south ridge. From Antero I ran east along a ridge then descended another miserable pile of talus until I found a very long stretch of snow which was fantastic for glissading. The trail down to the Colorado trail was great but I didn't quite realize how much running I had left to get back to the car, all with no calories or water.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKdA3ha6O-a0X6dKEtyqD1O5DbzXbS1fSae0LQrxcQmecGaXlm6YiJW_VUE2eoisRn2APdd5qDz9ZJV-jchw5yNOJa_TO5bLOVi2f_gvR7tOHqSrmwvOK7T_YiRkqUBySeFo0ZybDP3A/s1600/2016-06-22+08.54.06-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKdA3ha6O-a0X6dKEtyqD1O5DbzXbS1fSae0LQrxcQmecGaXlm6YiJW_VUE2eoisRn2APdd5qDz9ZJV-jchw5yNOJa_TO5bLOVi2f_gvR7tOHqSrmwvOK7T_YiRkqUBySeFo0ZybDP3A/s640/2016-06-22+08.54.06-1.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On top of Tabaguache looking at Antero in the distance.</td></tr>
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<b><u>6/23, Thursday - South & North Arapaho - 6 miles, 3600', 2:16</u></b><br />
Kyle and I wanted to Audubon to Navajo but we both had almost no cash and were $4 short of the $10 needed to get to the trailhead. After learning that the nearest ATM was in Nederland it just made more sense to go do the Arapaho traverse. I hadn't been on the fun 3rd class traverse in a while and it may have been the better choice as the clouds situation suggested we'd probably have had to bail off the traverse anyways.<br />
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<b><u>6/24, Friday - Longs Peak - 11 miles, 5100', 4:10</u></b><br />
Up Kieners, down Cables with Kyle and Logan. Hadn't seen Logan in far too long (sometime early last fall), so I was stoked to show him up Kieners for his first time. We went quite casually for a slightly longer round trip time, but the weather was nice and we able to watch Tony and Jed work their way up the Diamond from various vantages on Kieners. Cables was less of cascading waterfall than it was, but there is still a few snow crossings on the upper north face.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgil3t3PTksU0g8R1AeSq2zTTptZFz_uwXlhArn17xsptSonu-5CVZcXdsQWjg_qUMsdJLtp2dpzJ2Wh0NejA0OC4X-Tl2HvrOPszu52iTkuXjlQYxzT6LbuZ4VEftk25V037r7Wxye_Fc/s1600/2016-06-24+09.57.35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgil3t3PTksU0g8R1AeSq2zTTptZFz_uwXlhArn17xsptSonu-5CVZcXdsQWjg_qUMsdJLtp2dpzJ2Wh0NejA0OC4X-Tl2HvrOPszu52iTkuXjlQYxzT6LbuZ4VEftk25V037r7Wxye_Fc/s640/2016-06-24+09.57.35.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you look really, really close you can see Tony on the Diamond</td></tr>
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<b><u>6/25, Saturday - Longs Peak - 9 miles, 5000', 3:07</u></b><br />
Up and down Cables in the evening with Jack, who hadn't ever been on anything remotely technical or above 8,000ft in about 2 months. Not including a few stops for pictures I think we were under 3 hours, an especially good time for a first time up high in months!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzv9lbyn8BNFZuiTF1BR1q2totMAD6I7a8qSJNwjlLe9AB0aLJpq_mJncHLKtikd77Tl4XR7h-a7nRTRIbJ-hfT7DyMDeYKHmeDQrspbarMgolDeh2W5Ug9rGAW6zRipmK_eiSCAKvPBA/s1600/2016-06-25+18.59.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzv9lbyn8BNFZuiTF1BR1q2totMAD6I7a8qSJNwjlLe9AB0aLJpq_mJncHLKtikd77Tl4XR7h-a7nRTRIbJ-hfT7DyMDeYKHmeDQrspbarMgolDeh2W5Ug9rGAW6zRipmK_eiSCAKvPBA/s640/2016-06-25+18.59.06.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still a good glissade below the North Face</td></tr>
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<b><u>6/26, Sunday - Creek Path - 5 miles, 0:36</u></b><br />
Long way to the grocery store.<br />
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<u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
70 miles<br />
31,100ft<br />
22:52Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-69757431944778595572016-06-12T16:32:00.001-07:002016-06-12T16:32:06.800-07:00May 30 - June 12<b><u>5/30, Monday - AM: Climbing || PM: Green Mtn - 6 miles, 2500', 1:33</u></b><br />
Easy climbing with Jack and his brothers on Treasure Wall in the morning to avoid Bolder Boulder congestion. Green in the evening with a tiny (6 maybe) RMR group, we made great time though!<br />
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<b><u>5/31, Tuesday - AM: Jamestown Peaks Duathlon - <i>Bike</i>: 30 miles, 3600', 2:08; <i>Run</i>: 8 miles, 2800', 2:09 || PM: Salomon Run - 4 miles, 1700', 0:43</u></b><br />
Biked up to Jamestown which (un)fortunately includes Lee Hill with the Lefthand construction so I got two doses of that beast. There are three ranked peaks just north of Jamestown, Bald Mountain, Porphyry Mountain and Golden Age Mountain. None have trails and a few have a bit of private property to skirt around. Fun little outing in the hills. Salomon group run to Royal Arch in the evening.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGGKdjcBjVi/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-01T03:11:28+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">May 31, 2016 at 8:11pm PDT</time></div>
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6/1, Wednesday - Off</u></b><br />
It may have been national running day but I was beat from yesterday so I rested.<br />
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<b><u>6/2, Thursday - Tomato Rock, Regency, Royal Arch, 5th Flatiron, Fist, Green Mtn - 6 miles, 3200', 1:57</u></b><br />
Quick-ish lap on a linkup that I should probably frequent more often. In the case where I go from the 5th to the Fist it would probably make more sense to do use the "hole" descent rather than the south side ledge.<br />
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<b><u>6/3, Friday - 1st Flatiron, Chase the Sun, 1st Pinnacle, Slot - 4 miles, 2100', 1:17</u></b><br />
Out late last night so I just got out for an easy scramble with Kyle in the evening. Met him at the base of the 1st before running through the list. I hadn't been down into the Amphitheater in ages and had only ascended the 1st Pinnacle by its Southeast Face once so it was fun to get up that once more. After downclimbing the west bench dihedral I was feeling good so I went for the Slot which I had only once ascended (and had to use climbing shoes). This time I felt very comfortable though still had to suss things out quite a bit for the exit move from the slot to the face. The whole Amphitheater has really great routes I should do more often, a lot more honest climbing too.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGNoad9hja7/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-04T00:47:53+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 3, 2016 at 5:47pm PDT</time></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGNs3J1tjny/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Kyle Richardson (@kylerichardson)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-04T01:26:45+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 3, 2016 at 6:26pm PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>6/4, Saturday - Golden Gate Canyon - 14 miles, 2100', 4:43</u></b><br />
Managed to get completely lost on the approach to the aid station we were volunteering at (luckily we left several hours early) so we ended up taking a rather large tour hike around the park. Then I was running up the hill to grab bottles from runners, bombing down the hill to get ahead of them, then filling up their bottles so they wouldn't have to wait around for that. So that gave me about eighty 8ft hill repeats before hiking back out (on the correct course).<br />
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<b><u>6/5, Sunday - Free For All, Butterfly/Fandango, Red Slab, T-Zero, 1st Pinnacle, Slot - 5 miles, 3100', 3:37</u></b><br />
Fairly tired from being on my feet all yesterday so I took it pretty easy effort-wise. Started with practice lap of Free For All then randomly decided I needed to check out Butterfly. I'm not sure if I ended up on the correct route (may have been on Yellow Brick Road), but I started at the base of the 1st and stemmed along the Witch's Cabin boulder until I hiked up a bit of dirt to a large slab which I climbed up into a series of strenuous roofs. There were several places where had I had a rope to catch a fall I would have made very fun moves but alas, without that safety net I limited the risk taking and took generally safe lines. Rather than rejoining the Direct route I branched farther over again and climbed the Fandango dihedral which was pretty fun. For a second lap of the 1st I worked on Red Slab before descending to the Amphitheater. There I went through a counter clockwise circuit ending with the Slot. My hands were sweaty at this point I could barely lock them into the jams to pull out of the chimney, certainly a tough route for me which is at the limit of what I'll solo.<br />
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<u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
10 unicorns<br />
4 goblins<br />
0 wizards<br />
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<b><u>6/6, Monday - Longs Peak - 12 miles, 5100', 5:56</u></b><br />
A proper day of alpine scrambling! Kyle and I made good time to the Keyhole where we donned crampons to ascend the class 2/3 ramp to the False Keyhole and join the sort of technical <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/v/keyhole-ridge/105750526" target="_blank">Keyhole Ridge</a>. The ramp up was all snow so we used crampons and axes. After we finished the ramp Kyle said he wanted to dry off his shoes, I informed him then that it was futile and he could expect to be climbing on wet rock for the next hour or so. We managed our way up to the first tower finishing with some precarious sloping ledges and a vertical flake with enormous exposure. The second tower didn't seem quite as hard but the exposure was consistently huge. The final notch to gain the last piece of ridge to the summit proved to be the biggest time-suck, we ended up downclimbing almost all the way to the Northwest Gully. We finally gained the summit in about 3:30 elapsed and I decided on the Loft as our descent route. variable snow conditions from dry to icy crust to soft led us to Clark's Arrow before glissading some 800ft down to Chasm Lake, probably the highlight of the day. Ran most of the way back down at a good clip -- setting the bar high for good times in the alpine already this summer!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle working his way up early on.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We weren't sure this part was "on-route" but it provided the most exciting move of the day: a layback to mantle with only smears for feet!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big exposure but easier moves on the second tower. The Dove snowfield lurks a few hundred feet under Kyle's heels!</td></tr>
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<b><u>6/7, Tuesday - Freeway + Salomon Group Run - 6 miles, 2100', 1:23</u></b><br />
Went for a quick lap up and down Freeway and ended up PR-ing by a good margin on the round trip (27:41 car-to-car). Salomon group run afterwards.<br />
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<b><u>6/8, Wednesday - Bike: Brainard Lake - 52 miles, 6400', 4:03</u></b><br />
Wanted to duathlon my way up Queens Way to Apache peak but I arrived far to late to be climbing up warm and soft snow. I tried to salvage things by heading to Mt Audubon but the approach was solid with about 3ft of snow, so I just turned back around. I was feeling dreadfully tired most of the time so I stopped in Ward for a cheap espresso and a couple cookies before coasting back to Boulder.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGZtcy2hjZ2/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-08T17:22:46+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 8, 2016 at 10:22am PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>6/9, Thursday - Kelso Mtn, Torreys Pk, Grays Pk - 9 miles, 4800', 3:34</u></b><br />
Parked at the decrepit old cabin with Kyle and Barkley'ed up some obscenely steep terrain (2,000ft in a mile), of which half was postholing in the trees. The ridge from Kelso Mtn to the saddle had some painful ice crust but thankfully the final couple hundred feet of 3rd class downhill was dry enough to enjoy. Kelso Ridge was in way better shape than I thought, which is good because I only brought poles. Tagged Grays and decided the ridge over to McClellan/Edwards/Ganley looked too snowy to enjoy so we dropped back down and postholed back to the car.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGcOUvGBjQI/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-09T16:48:31+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 9, 2016 at 9:48am PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>6/10, Friday - Tomato Rock, Regency, Royal Arch, 5th, Fist, Green. T-Zero, 1st Pinnacle - 7 miles, 2900', 2:40</u></b><br />
Kendrick had been fixin' to get up a couple new scrambles lately so today I aimed to take him up the Fist. Of course, getting to the Fist is an arduous enough task so we made sure to take the line of most excitement beforehand. Our first detour was to Tomato Rock when I learned he had never done it. Made it through the Regency and passed Nick on the arch. As expected, the downclimb off the Fist took a bit longer than usual as Kendrick had never seen the thin crimps before. Tagged Green (as bushwhacking back down would probably take longer than up and over), and descended to the Amphitheater to tag T-Zero and the First Pinnacle.
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGf5QjCFd75/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Kendrick Callaway (@kendrickcallaway)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-11T03:01:24+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 10, 2016 at 8:01pm PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>6/11, Saturday - Grays Pk & Torreys Pk - 8 miles, 3800', 2:29</u></b><br />
Guy and I were meeting friends to camp in Leadville and figured a sunset ascent was in order. I felt great on the ascent and PR'ed big on the climb up Kelso Ridge. I jogged back down to Guy and we made our way over to Grays to enjoy a truly unbelievable sunset. Pushed the descent just enough to not need to turn on my headlamp.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGinntRI3da/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Guy Love (@glovevt)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-12T04:25:00+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 11, 2016 at 9:25pm PDT</time></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGkUlQ2o3bi/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Guy Love (@glovevt)</a> on <time datetime="2016-06-12T20:17:07+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 12, 2016 at 1:17pm PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>6/12, Sunday - South Massive & Mt Massive - 14 miles, 4900', 4:10</u></b><br />
Started with a big group that eventually broke up to some running on the Colorado Trail and myself, Clare and Guy heading up to Massive. I managed to find myself a good distance in front of the pack so I pushed ahead to tag South Massive. Jogged back down to regroup then finished to the top together.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghcsO6HcLFZhN2KJ_79GYyACNiP9u8AFnmam1jyYCd_HZRkMqHtpoobOrGkxbGs_d8wDbkHalEcj25WYkiG_qBwjzvo7tCbyxQhPgmy_hOm4ZyNy9fTPACE8IbjOGGx4kezTsO1SkqyQg/s1600/IMG_6145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghcsO6HcLFZhN2KJ_79GYyACNiP9u8AFnmam1jyYCd_HZRkMqHtpoobOrGkxbGs_d8wDbkHalEcj25WYkiG_qBwjzvo7tCbyxQhPgmy_hOm4ZyNy9fTPACE8IbjOGGx4kezTsO1SkqyQg/s640/IMG_6145.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guy and Clare heading back down the ridge.</td></tr>
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Ah, the summer alpine, can't beat it...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-79328106719509117442016-05-29T19:55:00.002-07:002016-05-29T19:55:14.143-07:00May 16 - May 29<b><u>5/16, Monday - Bouldering</u></b><br />
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<b><u>5/17, Tuesday - AM: Bouldering || PM: Salomon Group Run - 3 miles, 1400', 0:46</u></b><br />
Run up the 1st/2nd trail with the Salomon group.<br />
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<b><u>5/18, Wednesday - Bouldering</u></b><br />
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<b><u>5/19, Thursday - Bouldering</u></b><br />
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<b><u>5/20, Friday - 7 x Green Mtn - 29 miles, 16,400', 10:22</u></b><br />
In an effort to repent for my lackluster Quadrock performance I went out in hopes of racking up a handful of Green laps. I went through the first 4.9 alone which made caused an odd sense of confusion and delirium. While mindlessly descending on the 5th lap Ryan caught me, finished the descent with me then hopped on for the next 2 laps. I was super dehydrated (very dark urine) and was quite aware I didn't have enough water so I opted to stop at 7 rather than push a couple more without water. Still, managed a okay day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mxbLqEL3NUGx5d_cuL9VOy-b7RdRMhQRgWX2EPHXai_SreCszC8KpjshDt1cdLSSxVMUokbf9CdCoFX-q_UeSiD3P_C3cniPoEiIf3jgBufEBxBUBXheA5NHbVqP9q8uEQvUgFfZido/s1600/13243841_10102068346409312_6460328461997402643_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mxbLqEL3NUGx5d_cuL9VOy-b7RdRMhQRgWX2EPHXai_SreCszC8KpjshDt1cdLSSxVMUokbf9CdCoFX-q_UeSiD3P_C3cniPoEiIf3jgBufEBxBUBXheA5NHbVqP9q8uEQvUgFfZido/s640/13243841_10102068346409312_6460328461997402643_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit #7, photo by Ryan.</td></tr>
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<b><u>5/21, Saturday - 2nd Flatiron - 2 miles, 1300', 0:56</u></b><br />
Recovery jaunt taking Andrew up the Freeway for his first time. Thankfully, he was a total natural, never asked about a move and never freaked out. That isn't always the case for someone's first round scrambling, it makes my life as the "guide" a whole lot nicer too.<br />
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<b><u>5/22, Sunday - Bike: Jamestown - 37 miles, 2900', 2:30</u></b><br />
Fun ride around the hills and then the flats with Dan. Started off with Lee Hill to get the legs working before descending what turned out to be a heinous gravel road in Lefthand Canyon to connect with the short climb to Jamestown. Dan flatted 2/3 up, so I turned around at the fire station before looping back down. We then finished the rest of the gravel road descent before taking turns drafting around the reservoir. Never drafted like that before, taking 5 minute turns we able to absolutely hammer!<br />
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<u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
Blah<br />
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<b><u>5/23, Monday - AM: 2nd Flatiron - 2 miles, 1400', 0:55 || PM: Freeway & Green Mtn - 5 miles, 2600', 1:57</u></b><br />
Met Kory at Chat and went through the typical struggle to keep up on the approach. We scrambled the first half of the rock then I branched over to Free For All (after 133 ascents of Freeway it gets a bit dull). I jogged around the back of the rock to meet him and we ran down together. RMR Green in the evening; I brought poles then decided to scramble, so I ended up seeing how poles work on the rock.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5VCyiORydDG3gIOcM-Ox8i8aCZClkFohdvctITabRq7DzUUxnjTEfaKTypn12OMyrc_4etjrq9N0A5ic29C4Lv-NjWdtkD275qJiUwEsElPlVpHCqDWJrdunva1PDUhXh0gOxsZr7zo/s1600/2016-05-23+22.04.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5VCyiORydDG3gIOcM-Ox8i8aCZClkFohdvctITabRq7DzUUxnjTEfaKTypn12OMyrc_4etjrq9N0A5ic29C4Lv-NjWdtkD275qJiUwEsElPlVpHCqDWJrdunva1PDUhXh0gOxsZr7zo/s640/2016-05-23+22.04.55.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poles. Yes, the one in my left hand is bent.</td></tr>
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<b><u>5/24, Tuesday - Coal Creek Pk & Crescent Pk - <i>Bike</i>: 29 miles, 1700', 1:42 - <i>Run</i>: 7 miles, 2900', 2:31</u></b><br />
Got back over to Coal Creek Canyon on the bike to tag a couple obscure peaks right off the road, this time I made sure to memorize where to stop. I carefully maneuvered over some barbed wire in short shorts and hiked up some steep n' cheap to Coal Creek. The final several hundred feet ended up being a fun 4th class scramble. Crescent is a short ridge-line away but plenty of hidden gendarmes in the trees and undergrowth, thankfully there was no snow to deal with even though Crescent is just a few feet shy of 9,000ft. Getting back to my bike did involve about 3 miles of downhill pavement on the highway, but it wasn't too bad.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQdxO2dw0DngxzPTMkyAk79xB1FGcihYD4qoQ4EHOUaCoGt2DI2QE_EC9-Am-BPc7dBpZFLfBTe6aOyVHvfMDW-aV_ZQKeIl8UCHJp2cMLWNsbH-xDQ_HXV8Pd5Dfqxvhr2vgvEwC5Sw/s1600/2016-05-24+10.06.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQdxO2dw0DngxzPTMkyAk79xB1FGcihYD4qoQ4EHOUaCoGt2DI2QE_EC9-Am-BPc7dBpZFLfBTe6aOyVHvfMDW-aV_ZQKeIl8UCHJp2cMLWNsbH-xDQ_HXV8Pd5Dfqxvhr2vgvEwC5Sw/s640/2016-05-24+10.06.46.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A taste of Coal Creek's rocky ridge.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgPZpaMK0b0gtYlwAgC8Try1_QFWdDVM8bt6PzZq_Rvzh_OFt5tgl52N7aE_VCEBS5fX6QvtuPR1CvYmlGy5BBtVnHFCMBlu_c5QWfqeMaxSu5dJI5F0ke2KY9xye8NAnPiZ8fzdU6YM/s1600/2016-05-24+11.22.14-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgPZpaMK0b0gtYlwAgC8Try1_QFWdDVM8bt6PzZq_Rvzh_OFt5tgl52N7aE_VCEBS5fX6QvtuPR1CvYmlGy5BBtVnHFCMBlu_c5QWfqeMaxSu5dJI5F0ke2KY9xye8NAnPiZ8fzdU6YM/s640/2016-05-24+11.22.14-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the top of Crescent Mountain</td></tr>
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<b><u>5/25, Wednesday - 1st Flatiron, Green Mtn, Bear Pk - 9 miles, 4100', 2:10</u></b><br />
Normal route up the 1st (rather than the <a href="https://www.mountainproject.com/v/red-slab-variation/105761397" target="_blank">Red Slab Variation</a> I've been working on) to Green then over to Bear by the west ridge. Legs felt good, so I let it out a bit more than I planned, might have had a shot at breaking 2hrs on the Green and Bear combo without scrambling, someday I'll try and resist scrambling to get that time.<br />
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<b><u>5/26, Thursday - Bike: Lefthand Canyon + Boulder Canyon - 49 miles, 5900', 3:33</u></b><br />
A bit cold and some drizzles this morning but it was nice to get up high if only on the bike. Over Lee Hill to Lefthand to Ward then across Peak to Peak to Nederalnd and back down Boulder Canyon. Brief stop in Ward for a much needed cinnamon roll during which I had a nice chat with a dude I met last year at Brainard Lake (who was on a bike with skis strapped to his back at the ripe age of 60ish), he's super rad and gave me a bunch of new ideas.<br />
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<b><u>5/27, Friday - 1st Flatiron, Green Mtn - 6 miles, 2700', 1:40</u></b><br />
My quads felt pretty dead from biking so I meandered slowly up the 1st and up to Green. I crossed paths with Tony on the way and he confirmed that when he went all in on biking last year he had sore quads for 6 weeks, guess that's just how goes and I'll just have to embrace it. Slowly jogged down the backside to complete the easy day.<br />
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<b><u>5/28, Saturday - "Old Baldy" & South Arapaho Pks - 7 miles, 4200', 3:32</u></b><br />
I was surprised to find the road completely snow free all the way to the trailhead (though it had clearly been plowed). I left the trail almost immediately and hiked up some dry grass ribs into a cloud where I immediately got disoriented after accidentally summitting Old Baldy instead of heading to its saddle with South Arapaho. I used the compass on my phone to reorient myself and get up some icy snow to South Arapaho. The traverse would have been awesome with the right gear (crampons, axe, pants) but sadly I was expecting a more dry ridge and only brought a light pair of gloves, microspikes and shorts. I made it half way across until I reached a tower that I couldn't find a comfortable way around with the gear I had. On the bright side, I was able to glissade for ~600ft on the way down.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL8cpmhlpFxCfRmjAXykEvNqV64h892W4wRw0-1iB3pV1OOuhz6LRAZP7FRkmrioJL2p_T-ppePBRPUL-EFxWDBijWwIzOxezXrEcf9gIgtkQGffNWDnrnyZoPKr6PL_VVGkpbcHABBfE/s1600/2016-05-28+10.43.40-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL8cpmhlpFxCfRmjAXykEvNqV64h892W4wRw0-1iB3pV1OOuhz6LRAZP7FRkmrioJL2p_T-ppePBRPUL-EFxWDBijWwIzOxezXrEcf9gIgtkQGffNWDnrnyZoPKr6PL_VVGkpbcHABBfE/s640/2016-05-28+10.43.40-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ice covered ridge. I did climb over this part, no pic of what turned me around.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijE_tN2zITw30yZh8iP3MS_-5roBqpp4FsAFAbGsgVQTdv1-89pfztMQhuRjiUqaceFPFryhaFwg18P4cLb6XBxt-YqpnhyphenhyphenG8bnbGaiyu1-F6JcsKCnUAgk_sjRaTndGeiriq_Ob1ktB0/s1600/2016-05-28+11.14.20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijE_tN2zITw30yZh8iP3MS_-5roBqpp4FsAFAbGsgVQTdv1-89pfztMQhuRjiUqaceFPFryhaFwg18P4cLb6XBxt-YqpnhyphenhyphenG8bnbGaiyu1-F6JcsKCnUAgk_sjRaTndGeiriq_Ob1ktB0/s640/2016-05-28+11.14.20.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South Arapaho from its saddle with Old Baldy</td></tr>
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<b><u>5/29, Sunday - Bike: Lefthand/Boulder Loop - 51 miles, 5900', 3:13</u></b><br />
Same exact ride as Thursday (aside from dodging the creek festival on the way home) but I felt much better this time around. Stopped in Nederland for cinnamon roll following a recommendation that New Moon's are far better than the general store in Ward. All despite, being chastised for breaking the rule of "No food on rides under four hours", which is dumb. Especially, in this case when the cinnamon roll is chocolate walnut, maybe the best I've ever had!<br />
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Good week of mixed activity, 37miles/17,900ft on foot and 142miles/14,700ft on the bike for a total of 22h10m.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-70974572442712177542016-05-15T22:58:00.000-07:002016-05-15T22:58:10.500-07:00Failure, quitting and what even matters.I attempted to race the Quad Rock 50 last weekend, to keep it short, I failed. I trained well and was physically ready to perform what I thought would be a good race. I quit after 25 miles because frankly I didn't care, I didn't feel like running mattered and I didn't want to be there at all. I haven't felt like that ever before. During Mississippi I was stoked from mile 1 to 50 but by mile 18 at Quad Rock while I ran through some of the (honestly) coolest trail racing terrain I've been on I wanted more than anything else to not be running. I ran it into the turnaround point and withdrew myself. The volunteers were quite taken aback because I was clearly (or at least I felt like I was) running fine in a descent position. I'm pretty sure I even ran back out of the turnaround area even while quitting simply to get away.<br />
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I'm not saying at all that those 25 miles were too easy for me and I was above the course. I was pushing for 18-20 miles pacing off of fast dudes, its a very difficult course and finishing itself would have been no small feat. Rather, I'm more trying to contrast how you can feel fine physically but not mentally. I've felt the opposite of this many times -- destroyed physically but still with a burning desire -- so it was weird to feel the reverse. A couple days removed and I still have zero desire to go for run, I think an extended break would do me well.<br />
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But honestly, how much does running even matter? It doesn't matter any more than any other hobby whether that be video games, art, reading or music. I no longer believe any activity is inherently better in its actions than any other, though I certainly have my own subjective preferences as do we all. Just so long as someone derives joy from the activity and it doesn't harm anyone else I can't find reason to object. So what has made what I choose to do resonate so powerfully with me and why all of a sudden does it feel so vacuous and worthless? I think it comes down to connections and relationships. They can be interpersonal or between you and a broader concept such as the beauty of a painting, the delicate strategy of a game or the grandeur of nature. I think I felt at Quad Rock what I feared so much about in racing versus what I enjoy about running, a cold (in this case quite literally, given the temperatures) battle of unknown competitors competing for some arbitrary abstraction of running in the mountains. Maybe not everyone felt like that, but I think I did.<br />
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I wonder how I coped mentally with other objectives then? In Mississippi my friendship with Jack and our mutual desire for both our own successes and one another's felt completely different from a traditional race. During the Boulder Badass (which is a good example of an entirely physical pain induced drop on my part) the passion and drive to finish was shared amongst everyone involved; it was a group effort. In a sort of weird analogy it felt like holding someone's hand versus trying climb over or around them. For 10 laps of Green I was motivated by a connection to a trail and mountain which I had been on so many times.<br />
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My conclusion then, is that the reason I couldn't bear to finish Quad Rock was a result of the absence of anything remotely like what I had felt before. The simple act of running doesn't matter at all and measuring oneself based off of times and accomplishments sets a dangerous precedent for egotistical narcissism. I only hope I haven't fallen too far away from what I love in running. I'll try starting things up in a week or two again. It's not a bad time to take off either, weather in May has become rather dreadful and the high country is simply not ready for quick and easy travel. Once I can get the fire started again I'll have a lot to prepare for.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1411542371334505847.post-17656380868612341482016-04-24T13:39:00.001-07:002016-04-24T13:39:34.856-07:00April 19 - April 24<b><u>4/18, Monday - Timber Trail - 7 miles, 1300', 1:19</u></b><br />
With Hillary at a horribly early hour in For Collins. Muddy initially but got to be punchy snow up higher. This was my first time on the Quad Rock 50 trails, looks like a lot of runnable climbs, yikes. Finished up by cycling ~20 miles back to Boulder from her work.<br />
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<b><u>4/19, Tuesday - AM: Mesa Trail - 6 miles, 1600', 1:16 || PM: Royal Arch - 4 miles, 2200', 0:55</u></b><br />
Had a nice ride by headlight up to NCAR (900' in 5 miles) before suffering through a miserable excursion on the Mesa trail. Terrible snow. Luckily, the high temps turned most of it to slush or water for a muddy Salomon group run to Royal Arch in the evening. Managed to sneak in a loop of scrambling up the East Face and down the West while waiting to regroup.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BEYgiTwhjUK/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2016-04-19T13:07:54+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 19, 2016 at 6:07am PDT</time></div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BEaCf2IhjU-/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2016-04-20T03:23:54+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 19, 2016 at 8:23pm PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>4/20, Wednesday - AM: 30min Tempo - 9 miles, 1:00 || PM: Mt Sanitas - 12 miles, 2000', 1:50</u></b><br />
In the morning I got towed by Kory on a hard 30 minute effort on the creek path. The goal was to hold 6:00 min/mi and the result was 5:55 min/mi, so I was quite pleased. Plus, I finally broke 18:00 in the 5km with a 17:53 in the first half (before I slowed down)! At night, I went out for a casual jog up and down the swoop on Sanitas under the full moon.<br />
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<b><u>4/21, Thursday - AM: Poorman & Mt Sanitas - 14 miles, 1900', 2:03</u></b><br />
Really stiff legs so I wore compression on my calves. Went easy up Boulder Canyon - Fourmile - Poorman's before heading up the swoop to Sanitas and down the East Ridge. Descending felt like a chore on my legs but the energy was good.<br />
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<b><u>4/22, Friday - AM: 1st & 2nd Flatirons - 3 miles, 1600', 1:03 || PM: Green Mtn & Flagstaff Mtn - 9 miles, 2800', 1:48</u></b><br />
Really tired. Up the 1st down the 2nd in the morning then failed to keep up with Hillary up Green and Flagstaff in the evening.<br />
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<b><u>4/23, Saturday - 1st Flatiron, Green Mtn, SoBo Pk, Bear Pk - 19 miles, 5800', 4:05</u></b><br />
Had a fun time trying out a twist on the more popular backside loop. After going through the motions of the usual backside route (well, the way I do it, 1st>Green>Flagstaff Rd>Myers Gulch>Walker Ranch) I left the Walker Ranch trail and hiked up a fine ridge to South Boulder Pk's summit. I stopped for a long while on the summit then tagged Bear before trotting down Bear Canyon and Enchated Mesa to add a bit more mileage.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BEjkga7hjck/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2016-04-23T20:14:14+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 23, 2016 at 1:14pm PDT</time></div>
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<b><u>4/24, Sunday - Jack's Peak (8,826) - <i>Running: 4</i> miles, 1500', 1:14 - <i>Biking</i>: 35 miles, 2600', 2:05</u></b><br />
I biked from home into Coal Creek Canyon but then realized I had barely studied at all where I should start hiking up. Eventually, I pulled over at "Chapel in the Hills" church where I hid my bike in the trees and changed into running shoes and shorts. Initially I found a fantastic trail but it petered out and soon I bushwhacking up in punchy snow. I didn't realize that I would be nearing 9k' but it makes sense now why I encountered the snow I did. Clearly, I only vaguely knew where I was but my goal was Crescent Peak. I ended up being too far west and didn't feel like dealing with the snow I could see to its summit. So, I settled on a nearby sub-peak whose name I only learned from the summit register. I descended the southeast slope off of Jack's and found a dirt road (which I will certainly use later to bag Crescent and Coal Creek Peaks) which I ran down to the road. The wind jerked me around on the ride home but at least this time it was downhill. Duathlons are fun!<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BEl-BFghjYO/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo)</a> on <time datetime="2016-04-24T18:35:38+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Apr 24, 2016 at 11:35am PDT</time></div>
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<u>Week Totals</u>:<br />
91 miles<br />
20,900ft<br />
16:34<br />
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Happy about the high volume week, I felt fantastic until Friday but I expected that given the days prior. I've heard somewhere that volume should peak 3 weeks out for optimal performance which (if true) will have me in a good position for Quadrock. I used salted white rice for my solid fuels this week and they worked just like gels, so there is a bunch of money I can save!<br />
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As an aside I read a couple related articles this week that I found especially relevant. They each offer somewhat differing opinions of which I agree and disagree with some of each.<br />
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<a href="http://www.outsideonline.com/2070866/social-media-screwing-over-explorers-iceland-coldest-crossing" target="_blank">Is Social Media Screwing Over Explorers?</a><br />
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<a href="https://medium.com/@georgieabel/confessions-of-a-spray-queen-87c7abc5d8e0#.rfj9bacdz" target="_blank">Confessions of a Spray Queen</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17615464585004526887noreply@blogger.com0