As most of you know, I got a bit of a late start on skimo training this season but have been committed to it since. The form has come around nicely. The one disagreeable aspect of the sport is that, outside of Colorado, races are few and far between. We are lucky to have two here near Jackson but then the next closest is a three hour drive and it just goes up from there. This fact leads to less testing of my training than I would like. At the same time, when I do get to race, a lot tends to be riding on it.
This past weekend was no exception. I traveled with my race partner, Jared Inouye, to Aspen, Colorado for the inaugural Power of Four Ski Mountaineering Race. The idea was to traverse all four ski mountains in the area in a logical link-up, gaining what was reported to be, about 11,000 vertical feet in an estimated winning time of 5 hours. Well, we got all that plus about twenty percent more. This turned out to be one of the hardest physical tests many of us have faced on skis.
The Route
The order of business was: ascend Snowmass, hit a quick descent within the area and then climb again to the boundary gate that leads to Buttermilk along a beautiful ridge. Hit the groomer to the bottom of Buttermilk, pop out onto the dry bike path and run/walk the half mile to Aspen Highlands (very Euro!). Don skis again and ascend groomers to the base of the famous Highlands Bowl boot pack. Ascend the booter to the summit, rip the 2,500 foot descent, skin the gradual uphill traverse to mid-mountain and descend the Congo Trail to the road. From there begins the demoralizing 6 mile ascent up the mine road leading to the top of Aspen Mountain. The finish is at the bottom and we skied 3,000 feet of sometimes gnarly moguls to get there.
Full route description here.
Coming up with a plan
Carpooling from Vernal, Utah, Jared and I had a chance to discuss strategy for this trip into relatively unknown competitive territory. This was a uniquely long event and pacing would be crucial. Skimo races tend to start out furiously fast and most competitors simply survive to the finish hoping energy stores hold out for the typical 2 hour event. This race was quite different, I reasoned, and should be approached as such.
I solicited much advice from smarter people than me and they all agreed that restraint was in order. For savage competitors like Jared, letting the leaders ski away just isn't part of their athletic DNA. Still, I insisted that we be smart and try something novel like intelligent pacing. Although it would be hard emotionally to slip back during the first climb, the reward of moving back up through the field as the day wore on would be incredibly satisfying. Jared reluctantly agreed to the plan.
The thing about adopting such a strategy with a faster partner like Jared is that reigning him in early is like putting money in the bank if things go sideways later in the day. Participants in these longer events always experience ebb and flow of motivation and energy. "Bad patches" are typical and one must persevere through them to continue racing. You always have to be cognizant of your fluid and fuel intake, as well.
Being the weaker teammate, I was responsible for the pacing. As most of you know, I've obsessed about my output during training and racing for several months now. Employing my Suunto T6 along with the Movescount web-based software has provided me a good grasp of what's going on in my engine. Physiologic testing with Dr. Max Testa down in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago also facilitated increased accuracy in my quest for pacing precision.
Team events also allow for towing a partner if things get grim. We employed a 4mm bungee cord between us on a couple of occasions to brilliant effect. Other teams without one ultimately suffered for it. It's not like you are ski jorging behind your partner but it does take a few pounds off your load and provides a significant mental boost when you need it. Jared and I were both on the receiving end of this strategy during the event and we both agree that our success was, in large part, because of it.
Race Day
With strong ski corporation backing and plenty of help, race organizer, Pete Swenson, hit a grand slam with this first-time event. He was blessed with adequate volunteer numbers, a well-marked course, perfect weather and ideal snow conditions. The race sold out its 75 team field (150 skiers). Cut off times were established along the way to avoid any epics.
The course was not super technical with only the absolute minimum of transitions. The climbs tended to be long and straight forward. Some of the descents were absolutely brilliant skiing (Highlands Bowl) while others were desperate, such as the Congo Trail, a heavily wooded, single-track mountain bike trail that had me white-knuckled for several minutes on my way to the final hour and 40 minute climb. For some reason I was anticipating the final descent to be the usual groomer affair that is used at the end of the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse from Crested Butte to Aspen. Instead, we traversed skier's left and descended some of the gnarliest mogul runs Ajax has to offer.
We're off! - photo: Chris KlugThe day dawned clear and cold but temps were supposed to warm to perfect for the bulk of the day. The start line was a festive affair and everything was in order and on time. With my target heart rates(HR) in mind we hauled ass off the line like usual. I was willing to hit my threshold HR for a little while but knew that sticking to the plan would entail slowly dropping the pace to sub-threshold early in the first climb.
The group strung out quickly and we settled into a comfortable pace in the top 5 teams, or so. Bryan Wickenhauser and Brian Smith out-classed everyone early and were rarely seen the rest of the day. There was some see-sawing back and forth for the rest of us and we all stayed close for the 1 hr. 12 min. long first climb. It seemed like a long ascent but was just a warm-up compared to the two others to come. To get to the traverse to Buttermilk we hit some awesome, steep descending before re-skinning to the exit gate and onto the ridge traverse.
The skiing was fine and boot top powder made the occasional tight-tree luge run reasonable. I crashed hard after catching a tip at speed, slamming my head during the ensuing egg-beater. Luckily there was some slow herring-boning just after and I was able to regain contact. Interestingly, after 2 hours of racing, there were three teams within a few seconds of each other. 
Pulling the hides on B-Milk - photo: Kevin KrillIt was a frantic skin rip with six competitors going through the drill. The groomed descent was super fast and fun and Jared and I separated ourselves from the four others.
A swath of snow packed across the parking lot that we hit at speed got us onto the pedestrian bridge and briefly onto a nordic trail. A few minutes of some slow skating took us to the bike path and some Euro-style running to Highlands. I say, "Euro-style" because many of the great skimo races in Europe have sections of running through quaint medieval villages. This was the closest we'd get to that.
Things get interesting
We held our advantage as we donned skis for the 4,400+ foot ascent of Highlands. I took advantage of the lull to pound some Gu Energy Gel and Gu Brew electrolyte drink - perhaps too much. Just a short distance up the steep initial skin I vomited the contents of my stomach... 5 times. This was not good. Some of our advantage was erased and Jon Brown passed me in good humor commenting that at least I was lighter and, no doubt, feeling better.
Jon is a veteran adventure racer and has seen this sight many times. But it was a new experience for me and filled me with a sense of dread not knowing what lay ahead. Staring at the puke at my feet I had only two thoughts. One was, yep, I'm feeling better and, two, I'm going to miss those calories later on.
My stomach was surprisingly settled as I skinned on and was soon taking small sips from my bladder knowing that I still needed to keep the calories coming. Jared, now recovered from the trauma of hearing those horrible sounds emanating from his partner, offered me the bungee. 
Recovery tow - photo: courtesy of Pierre WilleI clipped in and off we went. In sight was second place. Max Tam from Aspen was clearly in a "bad patch" and was slowly coming back to us. His partner, Chris Kroger from Jackson, was still out of sight up ahead, no doubt trying to keep the two Brians within reach while simultaneously willing Max on from the front.
The jockeying continued on the climb as Jon and his partner, Jan Koles, and then another team, Mike Hagen and Mike Schilling closed and passed us. The six of us were inspired knowing that Max and Chris were within sight. Before the booter up the bowl I came off tow and started feeling good. I re-passed the other four and caught Max half way up. 
The glorious Highlands Bowl - photo: Kevin KrillThere was plenty of non-racer traffic on the track but most were more than willing to step aside with an encouraging comment as we stormed the climb.
I caught up to Chris as he waited for Max and we finished the climb together. Jon Brown actually ran by me just before the summit and Jared was right behind him. Holy crap. It was crazy how close it was after 4 hours of racing. The bowl was in perfect condition with soft snow at the top and some moguls near the bottom. The skiing is steep off the summit. Jared and I skied it non-stop and were solidly in second as we re-skinned for the 15 minute traverse over to the Congo Trail.
Jon and Jan were lurking and after starting down the tricky mountain bike single track I was stunned at the speed with which Jan flew past me. I'm an okay downhill skier but this type of terrain, with nowhere to easily bleed speed and trees everywhere, scares the crap out of me. Jan, on the other hand, hit it like a groomer. What a master.
The final beat down
Jan, Jared and I all arrived at the road together, crossed the pavement and started up the Midnight Mine Road on foot. Jan waited for Jon and Jared and I began contemplating the satisfaction of a second place finish. We were cautious about counting any un-hatched chickens here because we really had no idea what to expect on this climb. All we knew is that it was 6 miles to the top. I think I overheard Andre Wille, perennial Aspen bad-ass, say at the race check-in that he thought the Mine Road climb would take 1.5 hours. I tried not to think of that.
Jared was getting low on fuel and I had a few Gu Chomps left that I gave him. It was now his turn for a bad patch and I handed him the bungee. My turn to return the favor. I drained my hydration bladder after about an hour and my last Gu went down right after. The fumes in the tank would have to do. Jon and Jan caught and passed us about a third of the way up. They were just up ahead now not moving away much and Max and Chris were now lurking less than a minute behind. This was turning into one of the most righteous show downs any of us have ever had in an event like this.
The length of the climb was demoralizing. Below the top there are some cabins that can be seen near some of the switch backs. The sight of one of them convinced me we were close and I increased our pace for awhile. This brought us closer to Jon and Jan. But another few minutes passed and a glance up from another turn convinced me I was wrong. And on it went.
Finally, the view up a long stretch of low-angle road was capped with the Sun Deck, the top. I upped the pace again, determined to burn what fuel remained. Jared was swearing out loud at this point, clearly digging deep. As I put my head down, Jan up ahead suddenly stopped and slumped over. He was done. This was our chance.
The final charge into 2nd - photo: Kevin KrillJared was encouraging me from behind and we arrived at the transition with a nice buffer. I felt relaxed as we pushed off for the final descent. The route that the slalom panels was taking me was unexpected and we were soon staring down a couple of thousand vertical feet of moguls. What happened to the groomer I promised Jared? We dove in, picked our way down and then savored the final few hundred feet to the finish line. It was a very satisfying second place finish.
For pure recreational athletes like us, it's hard to have a more gratifying competitive experience. Focused training leading to a disciplined race plan followed by the best finish we could hope for. What more could we want?
Full Results
