March 13 - April 2

3/13, Monday - Green Mountain - 6 miles, 3000', 1:12
34:31 up, 14:42 down, 49:43 round-trip
Last year, Ryan Smith put up a time that I believe will stand as the fastest round-trip time for many years to come and 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 My ascent time was lowly, my descent time was outdated, obselete and inferior and my sole round trip under an hour was logged within a bike ride on Strava so it basically never happened.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).

3/14, Tuesday - Mt Sanitas - 4 miles, 1700', 0:59
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 "Hell Week" prematurely. The goal was to time trial each of the 5 prominent peaks in 5 days, but I had to end at 2.

3/15, Wednesday - Off
Ankle very bad.

3/16, Thursday - Bike: Sunset-Switz-Lefthand-Old Stage - 54 miles, 5300', 4:21
With the ankle feeling good enough (thanks to Ginna) 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.

Sub-optimal biking conditions.

3/17, Friday - Off
More ankle rest.

3/18, Saturday - 1st, 2nd (x2), 1st Flatirons - 3 miles, 2200', 1:59
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.

The fire from Abby's doorstep

The fire from Flagstaff Mtn

Kyle on the 2nd

Jackson on the First

3/19, Sunday - 1st, 2nd (x2) Flatirons - 3 miles, 2100', 2:08
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.

Abby back scrambling -- for the first time since like October!?

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!

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3/20, Monday - AM: Streets - 4 miles, 0:32 || PM: Bastille Crack - 600', 1:59
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.

Nick half way up the route

3/21, Tuesday - Hair City & Outer Space - 800', 2:21
Met Wade (who can climb about 4 or 5 times harder than I can) who lead everything. First up was Hair City 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 my, rather -- goal for the day, Outer Space 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.

Wade romping up the Bastille Crack

3/22, Wednesday - Boulder Direct, Calypso, Wind Ridge, Zot/Rewritten - 1900', 3:44
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 Great Zot in one long pitch with some simul climbing then Kyle lead the money pitches of Rewritten 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!

A post shared by Kyle Richardson (@kylerichardson) on Mar 22, 2017 at 6:14pm

3/23, Thursday - Bastille Crack - 600', 2:00
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.

3/24, Friday - Green Mtn - 7 miles, 2900', 1:19
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 year he should be good at it, right?). Jogged easy down the West Ridge-Long Canyon-Gregory Canyon route for more miles.

3/25, Saturday - 1st Flatiron, Green Mtn, Bear Pk, Green Mtn - 12 miles, 5400', 3:05
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!

The post-run scene at Chautauqua, preparing for the evening picnic at the park!

3/26, Sunday - Off
Busy.

Week Totals:
59 miles
16,000ft
8:05

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.

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3/27, Monday - Beark Pk, SoBo Pk, Walker Ranch, Green Mtn, Bear Pk - 17 miles, 7000', 4:12
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.

3/28, Tuesday - AM: Bobo - 7 miles, 300', 1:00 || PM: Streets - 8.5 miles, 400' 0:58
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!

3/29, Wednesday - Green Mtn - 8 miles, 2900', 1:44
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 Gore-Tex Speedcross 4's!

Low clouds along the canyons.

Kory dropping back into the clouds at the top of Long Canyon.

3/30, Thursday - 3 x 2miles - 12 miles, 400', 1:26
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 exactly 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.

3/31, Friday - Mt Sanitas - 4 miles, 1600', 0:56
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.

4/1, Saturday - 2 x Green Mtn - 8 miles, 4700', 1:49
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.

4/2, Sunday - Creek Path - 18 miles, 400', 2:01
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 ran -- 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.

Week Totals:
84 miles
17,900ft
14:08

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 TrainingPeaks 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)!

Longs Peak Winter Duathlon

I 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.

Looking haggard on Kieners during my previous/first/only LPT

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: Justin Simoni (19h46m), Tina Lewis (18h42m) and Anton Krupicka (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.

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 live at a strip club). 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:

• Salomon X-ALP 20 backpack
• Salomon XA Alpine running shoes
• Bike shorts, insulating tight, windstopper tight
• 2 pairs of Swiftwick socks
• Insulating layer, Salomon Half-Zip, down coat, wind/water-proof jacket
• 3 gels, 7 bars, 1 Hot Shot, 3 bottles of Tailwind (filled individually from creek as needed)
• Balaclava, Salomon hat, buff, sunglasses
• Suunto Ambit
• Kyle's ice axe which is lighter and smaller than mine
• Camp Stalker step-in crampons
• "Holy-Hell-Its-Cold" caliber mittens, generally warm gloves
• 2 luxurious handwarmer packs
• Buncha lights so as to not get hit by cars
• Bike

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.

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 colder. 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.

Stealtha at the trailhead

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 that 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.

Nice weather at timberline, summit in the background

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. 

The cables route ascends the far left of the North Face, just before it tranistions into the Diamond.

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.

Snowfields on the upper North Face

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 "screaming barfies" 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.

The Keyhole is the peculiar rock feature on the right side of the ridge.

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.

Mount Lady Washington from the Boulderfield

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!

The ride home is downhill, yes, but there are a few deadly little climbs before the real 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.

The route from Boulder

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.

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.

Strava

February 20 - February 26

Monday, 2/20 - Hidden Valley - 7 miles, 1300', 1:24
Joggin' around the best cruiser running trail in Moab with Abby. We found an unmarked spur of trail that led us to a ton of petroglyphs that were super cool!

Tuesday, 2/21 - 1st & 2nd Flatirons + Salomon Group Run - 6 miles, 2200', 1:42
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!

Wednesday, 2/22 - Regarchifthist + Green Mtn + 2nd Flatiron - 5 miles, 3100', 2:17
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.

Thursday, 2/23 - NCAR Tempo - 13 miles, 1000', 1:38
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 ton, but the uphill effort was the important part. Jogged around with a bathroom stop in a CU building for a longer warm down.

Friday, 2/24 - Green Mtn - 7 miles, 3000', 2:00
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.

Saturday, 2/25 - Poorman Rd - 12 miles, 1700', 1:23
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.

Sunday, 2/26 - 3 x Green Mtn - 13 miles, 7300', 3:51
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.

Week Totals:
62 miles
22,100'
18:38

February 13 - February 19

Monday, 2/13 - Animal World - 2:00

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.

Tuesday, 2/14 - Boulder Valley Ranch - 7 miles, 500', 0:56

Easy jog on flat North Boulder trails.Yoga in the evening.

Wednesday, 2/15 - Ruper - 1000', 3:02
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.

Thursday, 2/16 - Spyronette - 3 miles, 1700', 1:26
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.

Friday, 2/17 - Eldo Scrambling - 1200', 1:46
With my bike finally 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.

Saturday, 2/18 - Moab Red Hot 33km - 21 miles, 3000', 2:42
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.

Sunday, 2/19 - AM: Delicate Arch - 3 miles, 800', 1:16 - PM; Negro Bill Canyon - 5 miles, 500', 0:47
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.

Week Totals:
41 miles
9,200'
16:06 (total including bikes/climbs)

Lower volume week with the race, but progressing along.

January 30 - February 12

Been 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.

Monday 1/30 - 3rd Flatiron, Green Mtn, Bear Pk - 12 miles, 4500', 3:10
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.

A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo) on Jan 30, 2017 at 12:09pm PST

Tuesday, 1/31 - 2 x 5km - 13 miles, 400', 1:35
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.

Wednesday, 2/1 - 7 miles, 300', 0:56
Easy with Jack around the XC course and back on Cherryvale Rd.

Thursday, 2/2 - South Boulder Creek/Community Ditch/Cherryvale Rd - 13 miles, 800', 1:41
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.

Friday, 2/3 - Green Mtn - 9 miles, 2900', 1:47
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.

A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo) on Feb 3, 2017 at 11:19am PST

Saturday, 2/4 - Walker Ranch - 10 miles, 3100', 1:46
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.

Sunday, 2/5 - Mount Lady Washington - 8 miles, 4000', 6:45
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.

A photo posted by Elliot Whitehead (@elliot.whitehead) on Feb 6, 2017 at 11:09am PST

Week Totals:
72 miles
16,200ft
17:40

Monday - Regency, Royal Arch, 5th, Green Mtn - 8 miles, 3200', 2:11
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.

Tuesday - Mt Sanitas - 6 miles, 1900', 1:10
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.

Wednesday - Green Mtn, Bear Pk, SoBo Pk, SoBo Pk, Bear Pk, Bear Pk, Green Mtn - 18 miles, 10,500', 6:16
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.

A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo) on Feb 8, 2017 at 11:52am PST

Thursday - 1st Flatiron, 2nd Flatiron, 4th Flatiron, GMP, Challenger, Green Mtn - 7 miles, 4300', 3:03
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.

A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo) on Feb 9, 2017 at 11:38am PST

2/10, Friday - Give Up - 3 miles, 200', 0:22
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.

2/11, Saturday - Bear Peak & SoBo Peak - 7 miles, 3400', 1:47
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.

A photo posted by Cordis Hall (@cordisimo) on Feb 11, 2017 at 3:15pm PST

2/12, Sunday - Creek Path - 12 miles, 400', 1:15
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.

Week Totals:
61 miles
24,000'
16:05

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.

Nolan's 14

Nolan'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.

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!

Gearing up in the rain at 4AM (Photo by Elliot)

Heading out. (Photo by Elliot)

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.

Summitting Shavano (Photo by Derek)

Summit of Tabaguache (Photo by Derek)

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.

Summit of Antero. Luckily the fashion police weren't present to arrest me for this atrocious look. (Photo by Derek)

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.

Refueling in Alpine (Photo by Abby)

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 that 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.

Marching up the road with Yale (the peak on the right) looming in the distance (Photo Abby)

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)

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.

Heading up with Abby and Derek (behind the camera)

Food pause on the Colorado Trail (Photo by Abby)

Trying to warm up my hands on Yale's summit (Photo by Derek)

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 should 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.

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.

Heading off with Jack

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.

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.

A beautiful moment descending Tabaguache (Photo by Derek)

Can't wait till next year.

July 25 - August 7

7/25, Monday - Green Mtn - 6 miles, 2500', 1:46
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.

7/26, Tuesday - Buff Course - 5 miles, 0:37
Easy around the CU XC course that I now live right next too, heavy legs.

7/27, Wednesday - Climbing: Bastille Crack & Ruper - 3:15
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!

Finishing off the last moves. Photo: Anton

5/28, Thursday - Climbing: Cascade Crag - 4:50
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.

7/29, Friday - Bike: NCAR, Flagstaff, Boulder Creek, Finkel & Garf - 52 miles, 3700', 4:00
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!

7/30, Saturday - Off

7/31, Sunday - Climbing: Eldorado Canyon - 2:15
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!

8/1, Monday - Bike/Climb: Eldorado/Flatirons/Flagstaff/Boulder Canyon - 48 miles, 6100', 6:40
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.

Kyle downclimbing near the top of Tower One

8/2, Tuesday - Bastille Crack, Boulder Direct, Wind Ridge - 4:00
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.

8/3, Wednesday - AM: Sharkstooth - 9 miles, 3200', 3:34 || PM: South La Plata Scout - 5 miles, 900', 0:48
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.

Kyle working up the boulderfield on the approach

Kyle enjoying the spectacular position two-thirds up the tooth.

8/4, Thursday - Belford, Missouri, Huron - 16 miles, 8600', 6:27
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.

The rotten rock band on Missouri's East Ridge

Looking back towards the Clohesy Lake drainage ascending Huron. Moody.

8/5, Friday - Bike & Eldo - 19 miles, 2900, 3:07
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.

Icarus.

8/6, Saturday - Bastille + Calypso x 3
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.

Kyle leading Calypso.

8/7, Sunday - Off
Felt like death last night and despite waking up feeling miles better I took the safe route with an off day.

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.