Thursday, June 30, 2011

Grand Teton: 5 hrs 17 min

Jason Dorais, Andy Dorais, and I went back to the Grand for a speed attempt.  We got it done in 5 hrs and 17 minutes.  I'd like to write something that expresses what went into this project, how I feel about it, and why.  I hope to get to that someday soon.  For now, here are a few links to some reports on the trip and the "proj":








Wednesday, June 29, 2011

6-28-2011 Speed attempt of the Ford/Stettner, The Grand Teton

Jared's been talking about this one for a while now.  I was always on board but wasn't super psyched until Brian, Sam, Jared and I climbed the Grand en route to the Trifecta a few weeks ago.  That day Jared had to be in Salt Lake early so he skied out after summiting the Grand.  His car to car time was 7:21. Pretty quick but to me, it seemed like we wasted at least an hour taking pictures, getting lost,  slowly transitioning, hiking at a casual pace, sitting on the summit...  Since then I've thought A LOT about how to get up there and give it a go.  Andy and I were planning on trying later this week when we got a picture text from Nate Brown with his watch reading 7:15 and the caption of GFT!  His psych is pretty contagious.

Somehow Jared, Andy, and I were all free on Tuesday so off we went.  The first two people we talked to in Jackson added fuel to the fire.  #1, the cop who pulled Jared over for speeding.  After lawyering his way out of ticket Jared was asked what our plans were.  He said to attempt a speed ascent of the Grand.  The cop laughed, said yeah right, and walked away.  #2, some guide we met at the trailhead.  The first thing he said in a condescending tone was, "you're too late."  The next thing was, "two tools, two whippets?  That's 4 tools! What?!"  The next I heard as (not even close to a direct quote), "nice tights, you guys are idiots, I'm a guide, I know a lot."  With that fresh in our minds we started jogging the flats and fast hiking any ups on the way to the meadows.  We planned on dividing the day into 3 parts; 1:20 to the meadows, 1:20 to Glencoe, 1:20 to the summit.

1:16 at the meadows had us skinning on variable snow up to Glencoe.  After swapping leads about half way up the Tepee, we decided to start taking the booting the 5 people who left before us had kindly put in, thanks! We decided not to take it lower down since we normally prefer to skin but the warm temps and the morning sun had done some damage to the Tepee.




The boys heading to Glencoe Col
We arrived at Glencoe at 2:38, transitioned and left for the summit at 2:45.  Hard snow made for fast travel, no need to put a booter in, we just front pointed all the way to the summit (3:27).  On the summit we regrouped for a few minutes, laughed a lot while yelling at Andy, and were off.




Andy looking fresh



Jared "skiing" off the summit



Skiing off the summit. Photo by Andy
The skiing down through the Ford was pretty great, hard pack but very skiable.  After transitioning right at the base of the Petzoldt ridge we down climbed through the ice which seemed easier than a few weeks ago since the ice was pretty beat out.  Moving quick yet cautiously on exposed terrain with a few friends is pretty amazing.




Andy and Jared in the Chevy
All we had left was sloppy corn down to our shoes and a quick run to the car.  I don't care what Andy or Jared say, the run out was great.  A few falls and not cutting any switchbacks (erosion=bad) cost us a bit of time but we didn't care.  I couldn't help but laugh/smile the whole way.




Sweaty, in tights, and content

Grand Teton Ski Descent Speed Record!

Pointing at the wrong mountain, but you get the idea
The stars aligned yesterday and Jared, Jason and I were able to make a mad dash to GTNP to try and make a speed run at the GT.  Conditions this spring have been nearly perfect after the monster winter and the word was out that buddy Nate Brown had just set the standard at 7 hours and 15 minutes.  He realized this time would likely be broken and was incredibly encouraging, offering up key beta that the Chevy was still "full" and downclimbable.  His view on this project is refreshing and is that we (those of us that like stopwatches and tights) are all in this together and that we might as well try to further the collective goal of going as fast as possible.  No secrets.  Only positive vibes.  

For a little more backstory, we have all wanted to make a speed run all winter but Jared has really been the instigator of the "Light and Fast" mentality.  In fact, it was an email from him saying he was heading up to Jackson that got us all motivated.  I think we've developed a synergistic energy in SLC with all of us contributing ideas, different skills (ice, climbing, ropework/anchors), and motivation.  Nate's recent record added fuel to the fire.  

We arrived at the Lupine Meadows TH late Monday night and tried to grab a few hours of sleep before our 4:45 departure time.  Donning running shoes with our kits on our backs, we were off jogging the flats and fast hiking the up en route to Garnet Canyon.  This wasn't all that uncomfortable given we weren't carrying too much.  No ropes, no rock/ice pro, no avy gear, no bulky winter clothing.  Jared had Trab race skis and his DNA boots along with Camp Nanotech crampons.  Jason and I both had Dynafit Nanga Parbats, TLT Performance boots, and Petzl Dart/win crampons.  We also brought along two ice tools and Whippets.  

This first leg went well and we were skinning through the Meadows 1:16 into the day.  Nate had kindly provided us with splits at the Meadows, Glencoe Col, and the summit so we had targets to shoot for.  We were already ahead of pace.  From there, we skinned with ski crampons the majority of the way up the Teepee Glacier before switching to boot packing.  At this point, I began to fatigue a bit, but stayed focused on trying to keep contact with the other guys.  From the onset, I was worried I'd get dropped given a subpar fitness level secondary to TOO much work lately.  

Jared stated the other day that,

"Skiing in a group made us faster.  We know each other well, and worked well together.  In addition to some trail breaking, the collective mental energy (and the knowledge that your buddies would leave you for dead if you stopped to tie your shoe) made us faster." 

As I stumbled over the Glencoe Col, the other guys were already beginning their transition to crampons and pulling out their ice tools.  The watch read 2:38.  I took a minute or two to drink a coke and slurp down a couple gels.  When I looked up they were gone.  Damn.  Pulling around into the Stettner, they were a couple hundred yards up, nearing the entrance to the Chevy.  I put my head down and tried to grind out the last segment while getting bombed by ice chunks.  We passed a group of three in the Chevy who shouted encouraging words as we soloed past.  They appeared to be having fun and I hope they found the adventure they were looking for.  

Out of the Chevy and into the Ford, my rhythm became 75 steps and rest for 15 seconds, look up and curse because I wasn't closing the gap.  75/15.  75/15.  75/15.  Then, I look up and... summit block!  Then I hear Jared screaming at me, "DON'T STOP! RUN! RUN!"  Those guys were laughing.  I was laughing on the inside but was outwardly blown.  They were 3:27 to the summit and I was a few minutes back from that.  They had finished transitioning and choked down some food.  As I walked up, they grabbed my skis and pack to aid the transition.  I yanked off my crampons and switched my boots to ski mode.  By the time I stood up, all I had to do was step into my skis and we were off.  I loved it.  

One pic of how I felt on the inside...the other of how I looked (pretty messed up)


Not caring that the upper mountain was bullet proof, we dropped off the summit and made enjoyable turns down the upper face and Ford Couloir.  It was controlled group skiing on a mission and I loved it.  
Jared and Jason dropping off the summit of the GFT!
At the top of the Chevy, we put the skis away and pulled out the spikes and picks for the down climb.  First Jared, then me, then Jason.  We down climbed quickly and securely and were soon skiing the sloppy Teepee en route back to our shoes just past the Meadows.  

JD down climbing the Chevy




Jared below and myself, down climbing the Chevy (photo by JD)

Jared had more difficulty with the isothermic snow on his thin race skis and we were back in our shoes as he pulled in. The watch read 4:37.  Jason and I walk/ran through the patches of snow that remained and ran easy down the upper switchbacks until Jared caught back up.  From there it was three guys in tights, bombing downhill with skis and boots on our backs, scaring tourists with what must have been a mix of glee and despair on our faces.  Glee because the day was nearly perfect and the record was in the bag.  Despair because the legs were becoming less and less willing to keep the pace. 

A couple mishaps - my pack coming open and all the contents spilling onto the trail, slowed us by a few minutes, but we suddenly found ourselves on the broken asphalt that makes up the last few hundred meters before the Lupine Meadows TH.  Jason was in front shouting and laughing.  Jared and I were side by side happy to see the sign.  As Jason exited the trail, he was yelling, "Stop the watch!"  We thew down our packs/skis/boots, and the watch read 5:17.  I loved it.  

Happy!
The cool thing...?

It will go faster.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Lone Peak: Up Big Willow, NE Couloir, Down Bells

NE Face of Lone Peak, January 2011
I see Lone Peak almost everyday.  From my car and my work at window, it often holds my attention.  What's it doing today?  While it is situated quite closely to the valley, the approach is long by Wasatch standards--you can't drive to its base and start climbing.  And that's one of the characteristics that makes it my one of my favorites.

Friday night, when Lone became the target, good partners were hard to come by.  The Dorais bros were running RAGNAR, Brother Sam had to work, Bart is still out of commission.  So it became a solo mission.  My plan was to drop a bike at the Bell's Canyon trailhead, climb up from the Big Willow trailhead, ski the NE Couloir, ski out Bells Canyon, and ride my bike back to the Big Willow trailhead. 

I've heard different things about Big Willow as a way to get up Lone Peak.  If you look at it from the valley, it is a very direct way to go.  More direct than Bells or Dry Creek (which departs from Alpine).  Fritzrips says Big Willow the way to go.  But I've heard horror stories about Big Willow too, all of which involve epic bushwhacks.  I've never been up Big Willow and approached it with a bit of trepidation.  I figured that at worst I'd get an early morning hike in.  Luckily, my inner homing pigeon was functioning, and after a couple hours, much travail with caterpillars and their silky wisps, I was at the head of Big Willow cirque.  For those who might try Lone Peak via Big Willow, I'll give you a hint: the Sawmill Trail.

My Dynafit boots, MontBell puffy, CAMP nanotech crampons, ski crampons, and a bottle of water fit nicely in my 30L pack.  Besides a few gels, a headlamp, Whippets, and skis that's pretty much all I carried.  From 5500 ft where the trail starts, I fast hiked and sometimes jogged up the trail.  By 9000 feet, I was in the cirque and walking on hard snow.  Travelling conditions were prime, so I kept my running shoes on until the cirque steepened, at which point I switched to my boots, race skis, and ski crampons.  

Big Willow Cirque, June 2011
The other side of the "Notch."
Near the top of the cirque, I gained a ridge, mostly hard snow and a few granite blocks.  I tried to put my crampons on, but realized that they were set to fit a different pair of boots, and didn't fit the ones I had on.  Without tools to fix them, I went without crampons.  (In hindsight, I guess a mini Leatherman doesn't weigh that much.  Maybe I'll carry one from now on.)  Going crampon-less made the the final ascent and traverse to the summit a bit more adventuresome.  

Traverse to the top of Lone Peak.
I topped out on the North Summit in 2 hours and 59 minutes.  And promptly texted this photo to my buddies.
  


As I was climbing the cirque, I was thrilled that the snow was hard.  But I worried that I was too early for the corn cycle.  As it turned out, the NE face of Lone Peak corns up about 8:00 a.m., which is about the time I skied it.  


As I made turns off the headwall of the NE Couloir, I thought I'd hit the jackpot.  But soon I found myself dodging runnels.  Because of a very deep (like 6 feet) runnel, midway down the chute, I had to ski a contrived line, and eventually had to downclimb into the runnel and then climb out of the runnel to continue my contrived line.

The chute within the chute.
As I neared the bottom of the NE Couloir, I was relieved to discover that the cliff was still sufficiently filled in. While there was a large glide crack--huckable if you were crazy enough--between the cliff and the snow, the crack was skirtable.  As I reached the apron, I breathed a sigh of relief, and arced my turns a bit bigger.  Then, I skied a couple thousand feet of corn, out Bells Canyon.

Eventually though, I ran out of snow.  I think I startled several scouts and families as I ran down and out the Bells Canyon trail with skis on my back, wearing a weird grin on my face.  That didn't deter me much because I was hoping to keep my car-to-car time under 5 hours.  But the inner homing pigeon must have died because at Bells reservoir, I got turned around.  Weird, I know but it happened.  At the exit, my bike was waiting for me.
Bells Canyon.  I started running up this road before I realized I ought to be running down this road.

My waiting bike.  DON'T LAUGH AT MY RIDE!  Yes, it is a women's styled bike.
And yes, I can sit perfectly upright on this bike -- perfect with a ski pack on.
 After a leisurely cruise down Wasatch Blvd, I made it back to my car.  I clocked in at about 5:11 car-to-car.  At the trailhead, I met Chris Cawley who had made an attempt on the Grand Teton earlier this week and was out for a trail run.  He laughed at my ride too.

Mode of Travel: Ski, Run, Bike
Stats:  5:11
Miles: 14.9
Vert: 6528

Ragnar Relay Running

This last weekend was the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay.  This is generally a 12 person relay race where each person runs 3 legs ranging from 3 to 9 miles.  The total length is 191+ miles.  Over 1,200 teams were entered with the staggered start ranging from 5:00AM to 6:00PM on Friday.  The teams are self seeded with projected times dictating where in the day they start, with the slower teams starting earliest.

Our team, The Ultra Gyno Girls, was put together almost a year ago by EC, an enthusiastic ultra running OB/Gyn friend.  She wanted to run the relay as a 6 person team and recruited JD, JD (wifey, also an OB), JH, DD, and myself.  JD and I originally committed as a show of support for wifey JD, but when she found out she was expecting (I've got a boy baking in the oven), she backed out.  Jake T was brought in as a last minute replacement.

A strained hamstring that I sustained while playing frisbee last week threatened to add 30+ miles to the other guy's legs.  But, I went for a light jog Wed night and decided to give it a try.

This is how it went:

End of Jake's 1st leg
The rest of the team drove up to Logan and got off to a mid day start while I went to work for the morning.  We rendezvoused in the town of Eden, 3 (really 6 but we were doubling up) legs into the race.  Jake took a botched handoff from Dave, who had been waiting at the exchange for 3 minutes while Jake stood in the crowd, oblivious to his presence.  Jason jumped in my car and we drove ahead to the next exchange.  The other car, now consisting of Jessie, Erin, and Dave, drove ahead to the 12th exchange where they hoped to eat and rest in preparation for their next legs.


JD blowing by some Weber guy
 Jason took off on his first leg with a former Weber State runner just in front of him, who would be handing off to former NCAA Cross Country Champion, Josh Rohatinsky.  Feeling his competitive nature surface, he ran down the Weber guy and put enough time into him to hold off Josh on the next leg.
One of the most interesting things about the Wasatch Back is the enthusiasm most teams bring to the event.  Every team has two vans, full of runners, that are decked out with car paint and various decorations.  Each team has a name and many make shirts that reflect that.  For the most part the team names are a play on words involving mild trash talking or displaying team camaraderie, but a few were more edgy and likely offensive to at least someone out there.  

Examples: 

Oh the language... 
 On their van????
I ran my first leg as a tribute to my man Lars Kjerengtroen, after whom I would like to name my first born son.  















Pronounced: Share-ing-tron.  Weird Norwegians.
 My first leg was up hill to the base of Snowbasin and went well enough until the last half mile when my gimpy leg tightened up causing me to limp into the finish and question my ability to finish my other two legs.  Jason and Jake were a bit worried they'd have to each run an extra 12 miles.

Captain America
At that point, I bummed some ibuprofen from another team, ate some pizza and bagels, and we drove ahead to try and get some rest before our next legs.

The drive was entertaining with all the costumes and the beautiful scenery.

Erin, Jessie, and Dave ran well and likely passed hundreds of runners advancing the baton through the night.  Jake was up next and was pretty psyched for his mostly down hill leg.  He thought it would be cold so dressed in long sleeves under his reflective vest.  
He was wrong and was soon bearing a fine midriff.

Sorry ladies.  Jake T has a girl.  

Jason getting the baton for the second time

My next leg was 12.4 miles and after the first 10 minutes, my leg loosened up enough to run relatively unfettered.  By now the routine was run, eat, drive, try to sleep, and repeat.  This went on a couple more times before all that was left was Jake's long 14+ mile last leg to the finish line.

Jason handing off after a strong run up to Gaurdsman Pass from Heber Valley.  Jake is off to a fast flat footed start.

Jake was my hero as he traded legs with me to allow me run a flat section since my leg preferred that to the hills.  This left him with the long 14 mile leg pounding section down from Gaurdsman.  Thinking the BYU team (eventual winners who started 6 hours after us) was hot on his heels, he sprinted in to the transition.

We made him down some gels and then sent him on his way to the finish line.


Wide eyed with a mission

Finally...

24 hours and 40 minutes later
Stats:

6 runners
191.6 miles
24:40: and change of running
A lot of gels, pizza, bagels, chips, pretzels...

Initially I was slightly chaffed to have to spend two of my only free days this month running a goofy relay when I could have been in the mountains.  Turns out the goofy spirit of the race was contagious and I think we all had a good time in spite of being ill prepared.  Might even be back next year.  

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

6-11,12,13-2011, The Nose, El Cap

Pre-climb meal, actually pretty good.
 I gave Drake a call a few weeks ago on the off chance that he would have a week free to go climb.  He said he had class/work on the 8th and then a final in the morning of  the 15th but as long as we could get him back to Denver in time to take his test he would go.  Ha ha, I love it.  He was so psyched that he was willing to risk missing a final in Pediatric Nursing to give the Nose a go. He and Graham (Indiana friend who wanted to go find a partner in the Valley and get on whatever he could, also psyched!) pulled into SLC late Wed night slept for a few hours and we headed out early Thurs with the plan packing the bag that night, fixing to Sickle ledge on Fri, and giving it a go starting Sat. I was sure Drake was in great climbing shape but was a little worried about how well we would work together never having climbed a wall together.  In fact, we had only climbed together once (outside of Climb Time Towers) prior to this trip. 
Drake heading over to start fixing lines. 
Pitch 3
 Fixing to Sickle went as smoothly as I could have hoped and I remembered why I liked climbing with Drake so much last year; he's always ready and trying to be efficient.  Exactly what we needed on a long climb.  From there it was pretty casual making our pre-planned bivy spots.  On the first full day of climbing we hit El Cap Tower before 5 PM.  Having of extra free time was pretty great, we ate a ton and then decided to fix the next pitch, the Texas Flake, just to get a head start on the next day.
Drake after penduluming, heading toward the Stovelegs
Drake after penduluming once again on pitch 12 off of Dolt Tower.

Breakfast on El Cap Tower.  
 Day 2 was better than the first.  There was a little to think about (always fun) as far as logistics go. The King Swing, hauling through the traversing Grey Bands pitches, and Drake leading his first full aid pitch of the trip (The Great Roof) were the highlights.  As lame as it sounds, it felt pretty good to hit the King Swing and hear cheers from the bridge down low.
About to start the King Swing

Drake on the classic Great Roof

Drake jugging the upper part of Pancake Flake
 Day 3 was a short one, 6 and half pitches and we were off.
A wet Changing Corners

Drake on the last STEEP bolt ladder

A view down the most of the route from the "wild stance"

Drake topping out El Cap
 Finding the East Ledge decent added a little adventure to the day.  Luckily it was easy to find, had fixed lines and was a MUCH quicker than the Yosemite falls exit.
Drake scrambling with the Haul bag.  
 Immediately after getting down we took showers and headed out as quickly as possible.  We figured if we drove all night, Drake could get home to study a bit and sleep the night before his test.  It felt like a long drive to SLC, I'm sure adding the 7 hours to Denver felt longer. Hope he did fine.  After unpacking I realized we left in such a hurry that we forgot to take one of the lines we left at the base of the route.  Hopefully the party that we shared fixed lines with noticed we forgot it and gets some good use out of it, I doubt they will...