While the hills were hot, it was far cooler than the beach and it was tough to be back in the heat. When we got to Mararikulam we checked into the homestay, had lunch, and then went to the beach. With no intention of going for a swim, we were too hot not to. Still in the clothes we had worn for now 6 days, we used the ocean as our “Prewash” of our clothes. The Arabian Sea was amazing. The water was close to 90F and it was luxurious.
The Arabian Sea
The hotel had some old junker bikes. We put 60 KM on the bikes seeing the wholesale fish market, Allepey, and Mararikulam areas. It was great to see a ton of the surrounding area that we were visiting.
Our mighty steads
2-lane roads
The sunrise fish market was super cool. The smaller fish were sold by the kilo and the larger fish were sold by a verbal auction.
Fish Market
One of the things listed as not to miss in the Allepey area is a backwaters boat cruise. You can do large houseboats, small boats, canoes, or kayaks. We chose the canoe trip. If this was your first chance to see local communities it would be an amazing experience, but having spent 5 days walking through the communities, it was a disappointment and was not worth investing 6 hours of a day. We got bored so we helped paddle for about half of the trip. We were still glad to have done it, but would have seen more walking another day in Idukki.
Canoeing the Backwaters
Another very interesting thing that we wanted to do and ended up doing twice was an Ayurveda massage. It was a very interesting process with oils, chanting, and massaging from the top of your head to your toes in one motion.
We enjoyed a little beach time before spending Thanksgiving as a travel day. It was a two-hour drive to Kochi, a 70-minute flight to Bangalore, then a four-hour drive from Bangalore to Mysore which included a stop for a roadside dosa which may have been the best dosa of the trip.
Thanksgiving dinner
Mysore is known as the cleanest city in India and it showed. It was so different than any other Indian city. It truly was clean. Only in a few back dirt roads did we find the normal road trash of India. For our first full day, we had arranged a cooking class. It was 3.5 hours in a husband and wife’s home where we made 9 dishes and then got to indulge ourselves in eating them. It was a great meal and greatly built on the other 2 classes we had taken. The rest of the day was spent walking around and seeing some of the many temples and palaces of Mysore.
Shree Chamundeshwari Temple sits at the top of Chamunde Hill with 1,025 steps leading up to it. It was great to get some climbing in after a few days. The temple was huge and there were tons of people making the pilgrimage to the top. We chose not to deal with the long wait to enter and instead took in the surroundings. This also made a great workout on Sunday morning doing 2 laps of stairs before taking the train back to Bangalore marking the end of an amazing Southern India trip.
Cooking Class
Mysore Palace
Since our first trip in 2002, India has been near and dear to our hearts. It had been a long time since we had been there and it has us eager to plan another trip. Maybe a bike tour in Uttar Pradesh or Uttarakhand?
We had a lot of highlights. We each took a turn writing down our highlights and then when we compared we both wanted to add each other’s to our list. I guess that is the sign of an amazing trip.
Chad’s Highlights
Overall walking from village to village of Idukki and just seeing local life.
Picnic with locals on the walk from Kurisumala Hill Church to Thangalpara
Cooking class in Mysore
Diwali with Mamatha and her family
Having cheap, but really good food and doing some dirt bagging
Flower market in Bangalore
Emily’s Highlights
Diwali with Mamatha and family
Flower market at Diwali
Walking around the streets in neighborhoods seeing people celebrate Diwali
The two breakfasts of eating parotta with the locals
All the friendly people when we were walking through the villages
Walking through the villages seeing how people live
Ayurvedic massages
All the colors, smells, food!
Overall, every trip to India is a rewarding experience. It is not a restful vacation, but we have always come back with a deep and long-lasting appreciation for everything it has to offer.
Kochi – The Queen of the Arabian City. We arrived in Kochi and immediately felt the intense heat and humidity. It was overwhelming from the first step out of the airport. We had 2 days to explore Kochi before heading into the hill regions. With the heat that was going to be plenty. Kochi and much of Kerala state is much different than anywhere else in India in that it has a large Christian presence. There are numerous churches dating back as old as 800 AD. Vasco de Gama was in Kochi in the 1400s and died there. There is a mix of Dutch, Portuguese, and British influence. There was also a Chinese influence as well.
Chinese Fishing Nets
Kerala is known for Fish, Tea, and Spices, especially Caradmmon and Pepper
We had over a week in Kerala and a big goal was to take some cooking classes. Our first class was in Kochi where we made Dry Vegetable Curry (Thoran), Daal, Coconut Rice, Chicken Masala, and Roti. The cooking class took place in Meera’s home and it was a great experience, the dishes were delicious, and we can’t wait to make them at home. A village-to-village trek through the Idukki region was definitely a highlight of the trip. It was very hard to plan a trek with limited topo maps so it was sort of a big guess of back roads tied together in a route from Google Maps, GAIA, and CalTopo. The route ended up great and in the end, we wished we had spent at least 2 more days walking. Day 1 was pretty much a bust. We got to Idukki Dam and it was closed so we couldn’t see the dam and walked to our hotel at 10o North. We got dropped off up the road a little way and had an amazing 7.5-mile walk with over 2,000′ of climbing. About 1.5 miles from the hotel it started raining – HARD. We had a great time sitting at a very small store along the road for about a half hour drinking tea and waiting for the rain to die down (a little). Our hotel was set on a beautiful plantation hillside. Unfortunately, it was socked in fog with zero visibility the entire time we were there.
Waiting out the rain with tea and snacks
Day 2 was a taxi ride to Vagamon for the rest of our hiking. This by far started the best part of our trip. We walked around Vagamon, then to the Kurisumala Hill Church which was a long climb up to a Catholic church overlooking the valley. We had not packed food assuming there would be stalls along the road like we had seen during our trip. A few hours went by and there were no food stalls. As we topped a hill there was a small tour bus with a big group of men having a picnic. As we walked by, they motioned us to join them. We declined twice, but on the third request, we accepted. What came out was a highlight of our trip and this great rice and chicken meal. The men loved that we ate with them and asked to take pictures of us. They took tons of photos and videos of us as we ate and we had a fun group photo at the end. Even though they spoke no English and us no Malayalam, we could tell it was a highlight of all of our days and a lifelong memory for us.
Hilltop picnic – this was a highlight of the trip
Post picnic group photo
From there we continued to Thangalpara which was another climb, but this time to the tomb of Sheikh Fariuddin from the year 1200 AD. Many schoolchildren and locals were making the pilgrimage. From there, to the Pine Forest which was a beautiful forest that was frequented by many locals and Indian tourists.
Thangalpara – Thomb of Sheikh Fariuddin
Day 3 was not about sites, but rather about walking back roads and plantation trails. We were completely “off the beaten path”. People looked at us like we were crazy and I am sure they were wondering what the hell we were doing. Breakfast was also a fun experience for us as we found a “homely” restaurant (that is literally what the sign outside stated) which we called the local bread shop as not only were there lots of locals coming in for breakfast but many coming in for takeout of the parotta bread wrapped in newspaper and a plastic bag of the local curry to accompany the parotta. All along, people were so friendly, they would wave, greet us, or stop their car or moto to talk. The friendliness was just amazing and made us feel great. We felt like we were integrating into the local culture. It was hot and shade was minimal. An umbrella was fantastic for shade as we walked.
It may say homely food, but it was excellent.
An umbrella was welcome shade in the stifling heat
This was a fairly typical 2-lane road. I measured the slope angle at 20o
Day 4: We regret not having more time to spend in villages. Our final day was great walking through plantations and going out of our way to see the Pattumala Church. We had several people asking to take photographs with us which is always a comical, but fun experience.
One of the many locals excited to see white people and ask us to have their picture take with them
Day 5: A short walk past Valanjanganam Water Fall and then a bit further to our pickup spot for our ride to Mararikulam.
Valanjanganam Water Fall
Part 3 coming up – Allepey, Mararikulam, and Mysore
Ahhh – India. Our first visit in 2002 was our first big travel experience spending 7 months in Southeast Asia with most of that in Nepal. At that time, we walked across the border from Nepal to India and then took trains across the country through Varanasi, Delhi, and Rajasthan. That alone was an experience.
Our next trip to India was in 2007 to Ladakh and Sikkim. We spent 6 weeks in Ladakh with most of that doing dental clinics for kids with Tom Grahams and then trekking through rural villages teaching handwashing and tooth brushing and giving out toothbrushes. We had an amazing experience learning and teaching. Tom was later executed by the Taliban while doing dental work in Afghanistan with a British humanitarian group. It is impossible to be back in India without him in our minds.
We have never traveled through South India. We were excited for this trip and a big part of that excitement was for the food. It is hard to get South Indian food in the US, but that is the food we prefer.
It doesn’t seem like much has changed in India since our last trip. The traffic is still crazy and the roads are a mix of asphalt, rock, and dirt and are shared by cars, buses, motorcycles, cows, and donkey-drawn carts. Street food is everywhere. It ranges from something we should probably not try (or risk getting sick) to street stalls that are mostly clean, and busy, and the food is all freshly cooked. We ate most meals at these stalls where the 2 of us could eat a meal for ~125RS per person ($1.50) and it is better Indian food that we can get in Utah.
Thindi Beedi Street Food Stalls – Dinner on Night 1
Thali Meal for just over $1.
Bangalore is a green city. There are lots of parks and huge trees. It is so different than a city like Delhi where I don’t remember parks and much greenery.
Diwali – the Festival of Lights – “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance”. It is like Christmas meets the 4th of July. We were excited to spend Diwali in Bangalore. To see one of their biggest holidays in a city of over 11M people was surely going to be an experience. We were also invited to celebrate the holiday with Emily’s past boss and her family. We were excited to see how the locals celebrated. We started our Diwali early walking to the KM Market (Krishnarajendra Market) which is the flower, vegetable, and fruit wholesale market. The market was crazy and overwhelming. It was at least 6 blocks in both directions and probably 500,000 people. Amazing flowers everywhere and people buying huge bags of them for their celebrations as well as for reselling.
KM Market with people stocking up for Diwali celebrations
As we walked around the street on Diwali, we walked into a Hindu temple where we received our first-ever Hindu blessing. It was an amazing process of the Hindu Pandit (priest) reciting something as he moved a tray with a burning flame around a shrine 5 times. We then had to put our hands in the flame smoke and touch our foreheads 3 times. This was followed by him putting the red powder on our forehead then a tablespoon of sweet milk being placed in our hand to drink and then a tablespoon of coconut water in our hand to drink. It was a great experience.
We donned our Indian attire for an evening Puja and celebration with Mamatha and her family. It was amazing to see. They had a puja to worship Lakshmi and bring good fortune. The shrine at the house was amazing. A ghee lamp needs to burn for 24 hours. At the shrine, they give 5 fruits and 5 desserts. There is a burning of some type of material that you bring the smoke to your face and then carry through the house. After the puja, 51 oil lamps are lit and placed at every door and window to honor Lakshmi. We ended the evening walking around Commerce Street which was all lit up for the holiday and packed with people.
Seven volcanos in seven days. It is something I have wanted to do for over a decade. Timing, snow, partners, a weather window – there was always something preventing the trip – until this year.
With only a loose plan of getting to Bend, Oregon, and figuring it out, Marc Calaf and I were road-bound. We had an 11-hour drive to figure out a rough plan for the first 3 days. After that, we were going to watch the weather. The Pacific Northwest weather can be very unpredictable. The day we left, Rainier had sustained 60+mph winds. We had options where we could ski Bend and South or if the weather improved head north to the bigger peaks of Adams, Hood, and Rainier.
We decided to start the trip on Cascade Lakes Highway with a warm-up on Broken Top and then ski South Sister. We lucked out that the Cascade Lakes Highway opened on May 16 and we would be arriving on May 20. This would save us many miles of skinning to ski both peaks.
Broken Top is a rugged mountain whose magma core collapsed leaving a huge crater. We chose to ski The Sheild on the SW Ridge so we actually only summited South Broken Top. We were treated to solitude with no other skiers and amazing views of numerous prize ski lines. We were also treated to great weather with a small storm hitting just after we returned to the trailhead.
Day 1
Ascent
5,000′
Descent
13.0 miles
Broken TopSummit of Broken Top from the summit of South Broken Top
South Sister is the tallest and youngest of the 3 sisters. It also has the highest lake in Oregon (Teardrop Pool on the summit crater at 10,358’). South Sister’s SE Ridge is a very straightforward climb that was very busy with climbers and skiers. The highlight was definitely the summit crater. We were able to skin and ski right to and from the summit. We were treated with a 5,150’ descent with the top 3500’ being a continuous fall line
Day 2
Daily
Total
Ascent
5,150′
10,150′
Descent
12.5 miles
25.5 miles
The less sketchy of our 2 stream crossings5,150′ of bliss
Back into Bend for some work and supplies and we were off to Pole Creek Trailhead for a doubleheader of the SE ridge of North Sister, up Hayden Glacier to the Summit of Middle Sister, and then ski the Diller Headwall. North Sister is a craggy and jagged peak and one of the hardest climbs in the Cascade volcanoes. We wouldn’t be summiting North Sister, but we would be able to get a few hundred feet below the summit to ski and avoid the 5.8 climbing of the top 400’. Middle Sister on the other hand would get us onto glaciers and steep ice. We climbed the Hayden Glacier and then had 55-degree snow ice to the summit. My flimsy aluminum crampons were not sufficient. We were treated to being able to ski the Diller Headwall which we learned from some locals is not always skiable. An amazing 42-degree descent, jumping the bergshrund, and then a few thousand feet of corn on the apron put us back to our shoes and a long 3.1 mile walk out over lots of deadfall.
Day 3
Daily
Total
Ascent
6,460′
16,610′
Descent
16.6 miles
42.1 miles
3.1 miles of burn to the snowApproach to North SisterDiller Headwall off Middle Sister – it was as steep as it looked Mark jumping the bergshrund at the bottom of the headwall
We had a 1.5 hr drive to Mt Jefferson – or so we thought. We arrived at the junction to our trailhead to a closed road and no cell service. From Jim, who we met at Pole Creek, we knew there was good skiing up from Pamelia Lake so we rerouted to that trailhead and the task of planning a new route.
Mt Jefferson is an extinct volcano that last erupted 40,000-50,000 years ago. It is the only volcano in the Cascade range that hasn’t erupted in the last 10,000 years. The peak was named by Lewis and Clark in honor of President Jefferson. The peak is the 2nd highest in Oregon and has 5,777’ feet of prominence!
The skiing options from Pamelia Lake looked great, but the approach, not so much. The trailhead was only 3,100’ which was 1,000’ lower than we planned. We decided for a 6 AM start. 8 miles later we finally left dirt for snow and started the 5,200’ climb to just below the vertical wall of the Mt Jefferson Summit. The climb was long into the beating sun and we cooked as we climbed. We ran into a couple more locals that Jim had told us would be there and climbed for a few hundred feet with them getting more beta. After the long climb, we were treated to the 5,200’ descent on amazing corn. The LONG hike out seemed to last forever but was only around 2.5 hours. Back at the van, we ate, packed, and got ready for the 3.5-hour drive to Mt Hood.
Day 4
Daily
Total
Ascent
7,480′
24,090′
Descent
20.2 miles
62.3 miles
The approach that never endedThe final pushWe stopped short of the summitMother Nature’s Wrath
Mt Hood is a volcano with active fumaroles that last erupted in 1865 and is said to have a Very High potential to erupt again. While one of the best ski lines is the Wy’East, we wanted a summit so we were going to climb the South Side and either Old Chute or Pearly Gates. Mt Hood is the 2nd most climbed glaciated peak in the world (Mt Fuji being the most climbed).
We woke to horrible weather with 100-meter visibility and light rain. We hung out drinking coffee, working, and analyzing weather model after weather model. There appeared there might be a break in the afternoon so we decided to ascend to 8,400’ and wait for a couple of hours for a potential weather break. The weather didn’t break. We descended back to Timberline, enjoyed the comedy show of the parking lot people, analyzed weather models once again, and decided there most likely would not be a window.
Day 5
Daily
Total
Ascent
2,650′
26,740′
Descent
4.7 miles
67.0 miles
Waiting for the weather window the didn’t come
We finally decided to pull the plug and drove 10 miles down when the storm broke. Back to the drawing board – meaning looking at the weather models. The models still did not favor a summit, but they were consistent for the next 14 hours. We turned around and headed back to the parking lot with plans for a 3:30 AM departure which would get us to the summit and back down before the weather front moved in.
The 3 AM alarm was early. We dressed and ate quickly and were on skis by 3:30. We made good time climbing at a strong, but comfortable pace and ticking off the first 4,000’ in 2 hours. The clouds moved in around sunrise and the wind picked up strongly. We were hopeful the weather would hold, both concerned about winds on the summit. We locked in compass bearings for our descent assuming we would have limited visibility.
Beautiful morning as the clouds rolled inFumaroles
We switched to crampons at the fumaroles and continued up through the Pearly Gates which were an amazing tunnel of ice taking us to the crater rim and then the summit.
Climbing up the Pearly GatesThe final steep sectionThe top. We were treated to amazing views of the inside of a pingpong ball
We had to downclimb to the bottom of Pearly Gates and then I switch to skis for a rowdy 50+ degree descent on solid ice. To say I skied it would be an exaggeration. With poles on my pack, I used my ice tool to lower myself down the pitch until it dropped to around 45 degrees. The ice didn’t subside for another 1,000’ after which we were treated to around 4,000’ of great corn all the way to the parking lot.
Day 6
Daily
Total
Ascent
5,460′
32,200′
Descent
8.2 miles
75.2 miles
Our weather window was officially shut and our skiing would be over for the trip. While we didn’t get 7 volcanoes, 6 volcanoes in 5 days of skiing was a success.
The second part of our trip was planned around relaxing. After another late night, we caught an early morning bus to Girona, rented a car and headed to the beach. The coast was HOT and it didn’t take us long to remember how much we hate heat and humidity. We relaxed on the beach Tuesday afternoon, then got to our hotel in Tossa de Mar to learned it had no AC or wifi. We were planning to use some of this time to catch up on work and emails and now this would not be possible. Our hotel room was over 32C, so sleep didn’t look like it would happen. .
Cala del Sr. Ramón
Ruins in the fortified city of Tossa de Mar
We had booked 2 scuba dives on Wednesday with a friend of Gerard and Marta’s then had an amazing sea side dinner on a private terrace (thanks to Gemma’s roommate’s parents who are friends with the owner and made reservations for us) followed by a very warm night. It was so hot, I soaked a pillow case on water and laid it over my body to attempt to cool myself.
Dinner on a private terrace at Bahia in Tossa de Mar
We were excited to dive on Wednesday as we don’t get an opportunity to do it very often and always nice to see under water in different areas.
Scuba Diving with L’amfora in Tossa de Mar
Scuba Diving with L’amfora in Tossa de Mar
Afer diving, we drove to Villafranca in the Penedes area to tour and taste cava. We had planned to spend 1 night in this area and we were very happy we extended this to 2 nights. Cava is the traditional sparkling wine from the Penedes area. Any Spanish sparkling wine can be called cava, but the only certified cava (each bottle has a certification sticker) comes from Penedes. We were staying right on a vineyard in a 12-room boutique hotel shaped like stacked wine bottles. The base of the bottle was the windows and our windows overlooked the vineyard.
Our fantastic boutique hotel at Mas Tinell in Villafranca, Penedes
Our fantastic boutique hotel at Mas Tinell in Villafranca, Penedes
On Thursday morning, after a run through the vineyards and hillside, we had a cava breakfast and hit the road for some tours and tastings. We had an amazing time learning about cava and tasting the differences. I think we both may have become cava converts.
Cava tours in tastings in the Penedes region – bottles ranging from 350ml to over 26L
Cava Tasting
Freixenet winery
The traditional method for getting cava settlement into the bottle neck
Mastinell tasting
After several hours of tastings (probably a few too many), we needed a walk and some groceries. In town, we found a nice meat and cheese shop. Everything in the shop was Euro/Kg (so we thought). We found the Iberico Jamon we wanted, ordered 300g and when the bill came to $43 Euro’s, we realized that the 4 Jamon’s on 1 of the tables were Euro/100g. We quickly changed plans from meat and cheese as a snack and quick lunch to focusing a good meal on this amazing meat. The quality was not wasted and we thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this delicacy. We had a truly amazing meal accompanied by cava and wine tasting at our hotel that night and had a plan to get on the road to Calafell on Friday morning with a stop for a trail run along the way.
Run in El Montmell-Marmellar on the way from Villafranca to Calafell
Calafell was a little too touristy for us, but there was a Starwood hotel there so we could stay for free on points (one of the few perks of business travel is that we used frequent flyer miles for our airfare and could stay on this beach on hotel points). We checked into a beautiful Le Meridian hotel and quickly went down to the beach. I was once again reminded of my distaste for heat and humidity and didn’t last long on the beach. We decided we needed a relaxing night so we planned our dinner to be tapas in our room. We already had top shelf meat, we just needed a few other items and we were quickly able to put together an amazing meal of Iberico Jamon, tapenade, salmon pate, white anchovies, gazpacho, bread, and wine. It was nice to sit on our patio and have a long, relaxing dinner.
Tapa dinner on our patio
Calafell beach time
Roman ruins in Tarragona dating back to 200 BC
Our last day would be spent driving back to Barcelona. We had spent time in Barcelona a few years ago so we didn’t want to spend much time there. What we hadn’t planned for is that most everything would be closed on Sunday. We were disappointed to miss out on a few shops we wanted to check out (mostly the huge Mercado). We were able to take in a Jamon tour and tasting which while a little touristy, was very informative.
Jamon tasting in Barcelona
Jamon tasting in Barcelona
We capped the night off with dinner at 7 Portes which is known for their paella (although Gemma’s mom’s was much, much better) and an early night back at the hotel as we had to leave for the airport at 4AM.
Since spending a week training for Hardrock 100 in the Pyrenees 2013 during a break between work trips to London I have wanted to get back to the Pyrenees to run the GR11 trail (this is part of the Grande Randonnee long distance trail system in Europe). Emily and I started to plan a run across the GR11 over 10 months ago. Or original plan was to run the entire trail (when we thought it was ~500km during initial research). After more detailed research, and learning that it was an 800km trail, we planned to run the best 500km from Candanchu in the west to the Mediterranean Sea. With help of local Catalan friends Gemma and Jordi, we put together a great route utilizing a combination of huts and villages for an 11-day running adventure. As winter and plans progressed, Emily was sidetracked from training with a pulled hamstring from skiing. Plans were once again modified and reduced to a 300 km and 8 day run that would start further west, but be equally beautiful. Since we were no longer covering as much of the GR11, we also modified plans to visit some key locations off of the GR11 (like visiting friends Marta and Gerard who run the Refugio de Colomina a 1-day run south of the GR11). Spring work schedules were busy, Chad’s work travel schedule was unrelenting, training was not what it should have been, Emily’s hamstring was not healing, and the day before leaving my back went out once again leaving our trip and all of our running plans in question. Some good drugs for Chad, a change of plans for Emily to do fewer running days and do some biking with Gemma and we decided that we would see what happened on the GR11 and best case I would do 250-300km and worst case we would have to bag those plans and just have a good Spanish holiday.
I had visited Gemma’s home village of Guils de Cerdanya in 2013 and could not wait to return to the village. It is a small place of ~100 homes on a hillside overlooking the town or Puigcerda and the beautiful mountain valley.
View from Gemma’s house
Shake out hike with Gemma and her nieces
Hiking the lakes above Guils de Cerdanya
A couple days were planned in Guils to recover from travel. Gemma treated us to amazing hospitality, a rapid adjustment to Spanish time (dinner at 10PM), and a reminder that we are not as young as we used to be and just can’t party till 5AM any longer.
Partying all night at the Puigcerda festival
After a short night sleep after the Puigcerda festival, we were on our way to Gavernie, France where we would spend the first day running to the GR11, but also get to take in some great Tour de France history as Gavernie is at the base on Col du Tourmelade one of the famous TdF climbs.
We started out climbing past the highest waterfall in Europe (Le Grande Cascade) to Refugio des Seraradets, Passamos de la Brecha, Collado del Descargador and finally to our resting spot of Refugio de Goriz.
Day 1: Gavernie to Goriz; Les Grande Cascade – highest waterfall in Europe
Day 1: Gavernie to Goriz; Les Grande Cascade – highest waterfall in Europe
Day 1: Gavernie to Goriz; climbing to Refugio des Seraradets
Day 1: Gavernie to Goriz; Passamos de la Brecha
I continued from Goriz to the summit of Mt Perdido while Emily and Gemma went on a shorter run.
Day 1: Goriz to Mt Perdido back to Goriz – Summit of Mt Perdido (3365M)
We were all tired after a lot of climbing on day 1
Day 1: Gavernie to Goriz; Emily tired out and cathing a quick nap on a comfortable rock at the refugio
Day 1 Recap:
Route: Gavernie – Refugio des Seraradets – Passamos de la Brecha – Collado del Descargador – Refugio de Goriz – Mt Perdido – Goriz
24km,2720M ascent,1790M descent,2 passes,1 summit
Gemma returned to Gavernie and Emily and I continued to Parzan. Gemma was going to pick up Emily in Parzan for a couple days of road biking in the Pyrenees with her friend Enrique. It was day 2 where I realized how slow going the ‘running’ was going to be. The ascents and descents were all very steep and there would not be much running on these. I also quickly realized that I did not want to move fast as I wanted to stop and enjoy the amazing mountain scenery and take photos.
Day 2: Goriz to Parzan – Route from Collado de Goriz o de Arrablo to Collado de las Olsd o de los Maquis
Day 2: Goriz to Parzan – Route from Collado de Goriz o de Arrablo to Collado de las Olsd o de los Maquis
Day 2: Goriz to Parzan – Collada de Anisclo
Day 2: Goriz to Parzan – descending to Refugio de Pineta
Day 2 Recap:
Route: Goriz – Collado de Goriz o de Arrablo – Collado de las Olsd o de los Maquis – Collada de Anisclo – Refugio de Pineta – Collodeta Plana Fonda – Collata las Coronetas – Parzan
33km,1560m ascent,2600m descent,5 Passes
I would spend the next 2 days covering long distances alone. I was looking forward to some mountain solitude. My back was doing ok. I was able to go a little further each day before the pain and sciatica started. By day 3, I was up to 4 hours pain free (which meant 5-6 hours in pain). My legs were tired and I didn’t have the ‘pep’ in my step that I had hoped for. It was also very hot and the heat was taking a toll on me and preventing me from sleep. I was going into day 3 with about 10 hours of sleep in 3 nights.
Day 3: Parzan to Puen de San Chaime – Collado de Urdiceto
Day 3 Recap:
Route: Parzan – Collado de Urdiceto – Refugio de Biados – Puerto de Chistau o de Estos- Puen de San Chaime
42.5km,2460m ascent,2140m descent,2 Passes
Emily spent the day biking and had an amazing time riding TdF cols.
Emily’s day 3 bike ride with Gemma and Enrique
Emily’s day 3 bike ride with Gemma and Enrique
Emily’s day 3 bike ride with Gemma and Enrique
Emily’s day 3 bike ride with Gemma and Enrique
Day 4 would be my hardest day. I caught a 5AM bus to get 4km of road out of the way. I was exhausted with another night of 4 hours of sleep and since it was still dark when I got off the bus, I curled up on the side of the road and slept for another hour. Waking up at sunrise freezing cold, I started the ~1800M and 10km climb. I just could not get moving and for the first couple hours had a hard time staying awake on the trail. I continued to slog upwards trying to gain motivation from the mountain beauty. I never really got moving this day and what I thought would be an 8 hour day took over 10 hours to get to Refugio dera Restanca where Emily was meeting me. I slogged in and started the normal ritual of stretching, eating, drinking, and attempting to recover. I realized that this time that I had 2 huge days of over 50km and 3300M ascent planned and that there was no way I would be able to complete these days. We did some re-routing and I decided that after day 7 I needed a rest day and since Gemma had left her car for us by Espot, Emily would drive me to Andorra and I would cut out about 75km of difficult terrain.
Day 4: Puen de San Chaime to Refugio dera Restanca – Ibon Alto de Ballibierna
Day 4: Puen de San Chaime to Refugio dera Restanca – Collada de Vallibierna
Day 4: Puen de San Chaime to Refugio dera Restanca – struggling on the final climb up to Refugio dera Restanca
Day 4 Recap:
Route: Puen San Chame – Collado de Vallibierna – Refugio de Cap de Llauset – Collado de lid Ibones – Refugio de Conangles – Port de Rius – Refugio dera Restanca
40km,2702 m ascent,2053 m descent,3 Passes
I awoke on day 5 feeling good and felt like I had probably gotten over the ‘hump’ of big days and I was starting to get into the rhythm of my days. We left Restanca for an amazing day to Colomina. The terrain was challenging with lots of scrambling, and steep descents, but I was happy to have company again and we would spend the night in the presence of friends. It was great to see Gerard (Marta was doing an adventure race and was not there) and spend some time catching up with him.
Day 5: Refugio dera Restanca to Refugi de Colomina – Leaving Restanca
Day 5: Refugio dera Restanca to Refugi de Colomina – Coret d’Oelhacrestada
Day 5: Refugio dera Restanca to Refugi de Colomina – Hiking up to Coll de Contraix
Day 5: Refugio dera Restanca to Refugi de Colomina – Coll de Contraix
Day 5: Refugio dera Restanca to Refugi de Colomina – Coll de Contraix
Day 5: Refugio dera Restanca to Refugi de Colomina – Collada de Delluir
Day 5 Recap:
Route: Restanca – Coret d’Oelhacrestada – Refugi Ventosa i Calvall – Coll de Contraix – Refugi d’ Estany Llong – Collada de Delluir – Refugi de Colomina
27.5 km,2150 M ascent, 1750M descent,3 passes
With the re-route, day 6 would be my shortest day and Emily and I would drive to Andorra to enjoy a relaxing afternoon and a much needed good night sleep in a hotel. The weather forecast was for afternoon storms so we got an early start and decided to summit Pic de Peguera on our run to Espot. This turned out to be a pretty bad decision as the storm moved in 3 hours early and we hit the summit as the clouds blanketed us. We had a difficult time down climbing off the summit in minimal visibility and hit Collado de Monestero just as the lightening and hail started. We started down the steep col as quickly as possible and finally found a large rock to escape the now marble sized hail and put on rain pants. We spend the next 10km running through a torrential downpour. We were able to easily hitch a ride with a couple other runners from Espot to la Guingueta d’Aneu where Gemma had left the car and after a short lunch stop we were on our way to Andorra.
Day 6: Refugi de Refugi to Espot – Coll de Peguera
Day 6: Refugi de Refugi to Espot – scramble to Pic de Peguera (2982M)
Day 6: Refugi de Refugi to Espot – Pic de Peguera (2982M)
Day 6: Refugi de Refugi to Espot – Collado de Monestero
Day 6: Refugi de Refugi to Espot – Descending from Collado de Monestero in the storm
Day 6: Refugi de Refugi to Espot – Lunch in Llavorsi after a wet run
Day 6 Recap:
Route: Refugi de Colomina – Coll de Peguera – Pic de Peguera (2982M) – Collado de Monestero – Estany de Saint Maurici – Espot
18.6 km,670 M ascent,1750M descent,2 pass
We had an early start in Andorra La Vella where Emily planned to run the first 2 hours (all uphill) with me, then return to the car and drive to Guils. The climb out of the town was over 20% and was slow going. I would spend this day running almost the entire way across Andorra and ending at Gemma’s house. It was amazing terrain and scenery, but on and off rain, strong wind, and cold temperatures until the afternoon. I enjoyed the run through the cattle pastures and was excited to see Emily and Gemma as I approached Guils.
Day 7: Andorra La Vella to Guils de Cerdanya – Coll de I’llla
Day 7: Andorra La Vella to Guils de Cerdanya – Emily and Gemma meeting me for the final descent to Guils
Day 7 Recap:
Route: Andorra La Vella – Refugi de Fontverd – Refugi de Riu dels Orris- Refugi de I’llla – Coll de I’llla – Cabana dels Esparvers – Portella d’Engorgs – Refugi de Malniu – Guils de Cerdanya
38.5 km,2450M ascent,2075M descent.2 Passes
Gemma had invited us to her friend Chavi’s birthday party on Saturday night and while being tired, we couldn’t pass up the invitation and this turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. We arrived at normal Spanish dinner party time (show up at 9PM for 10PM dinner) to a long table set for 28 people. There was traditional Catalan foods (salad, meets, bread, olives, chips, wine, beer) and a group of amazing people that treated us like old friends and loved the chance to practice some English. The night was capped off with Zac playing accordion for the entire group. This was like something out of Bon Appetite for both of us. We capped this night off with another festival in a small village of just a couple dozen houses that had drawn about 400 people. Another 4:30 AM night and we had mixed emotions of if we could really make good Catalans or if we were too old for this.
Chavi’s birthday party
another late night festival in Travessares
Sunday was a rest day with a long hike through the hills around Guils followed by late Catalan lunch with Gemma’s parents and grandma (none of whom speak English). Gemma’s mom taught us how to make Paella (which was amazing) and we had a traditional salted code salad (also amazing). It is too bad the Norwegians cured their cod in lye and not salt as if lutefisk tasted like this salted and reconstituted cod, I would be much more eager to eat it at Christmas.
The last day of running became a short day on the GR11 with a focus of running 4 of the peaks and ridge line visible from Gemma’s house. This also took us into the ski town of Nuria named after the virgin Nuria that so many Catalan’s are named after.
Day 8: Peaks and Ridge visible from Guils – Puigmal de Llo
Day 8: Peaks and Ridge visible from Guils – Pic de Segre (2843M)
Day 8: Peaks and Ridge visible from Guils – Pic de Segre to Coma de Finestrelles
Day 8: Peaks and Ridge visible from Guils – Puig de Coll de Finestrelles (2827M)
Day 8: Peaks and Ridge visible from Guils – Puigmal d’Err (2909M)
Day 8 Recap:
Route: Puigmal de Llo (2801M) – Pic de Segre (2843M) – Coma de Finestrelles – Puig de Coll de Finestrelles (2827M) – Nuria – Puigmal d’Err (2909M) – Tossa del Pas dels Lladres
21 KM,2050 Ascent,3 passes,4 summits
We did our last laundry, packed up, had an amazing last meal with Gemma and on Tuesday morning we were on our way to Tossa de Mar for the next stage of our trip. Looking back, we had such a wonderful experience being taken in by friends and friends of friends. We met so many people and truly go the experience we strive for when traveling (to be able to live like a local). This is something that will always be a highlight of this trip for us.
Final dinner with Gemma
I have done a few 2-3 day fast pack trips, but never a long trip with refugios and villages so it took some planning to figure out what to take. We wanted to pack as light as possible while still being able to be semi-self-sufficient if things went bad. In the end, we decided that we would pack a space set of running cloths and a mylar bivy so that if the shit really hit the fan, we could survive a night out although it would most likely be type 3 fun. My total pack weight was around 6Kg.
CAMP Raid Vest (20L): A 15-17L pack would have been ideal, but I didn’t want to purchase something new
My last posting covered my first week in Verbier (Sunday to Sunday). Races, meetings, and the team were much busier the second week as the ‘big’ races (Individual and Team) were scheduled Monday and Wednesday. There were a lot of logistics and racer shuffling to get taken care of in the final days as well as get team plans for water, spare gear, and other on-course logistics sorted out. As a 1 man show, this was a significant amount of work.
Monday was the individual and an early morning. The team was on the bus at 6:30 heading to the starting line. As with the previous races, the weather was perfect. I knew the Individual course very well so I was excited to see the team off at the start, catch them on course and then meet them at the finish. The course was amazing with long climbs, 3 booters, hundreds of switchbacks, summiting Six Blanc twice and a final hair-raising descent.
Start of the Men’s Individual Race
I had a few hours after the race for quick tour with Rory and Colin. We had hoped to summit Mt Rogneux, but due to a late start and a ridge line that was much longer than we anticipated, we ended up making a couple awesome powder laps just off the summit shoulder, then made an extremely long ski and traverse back to Le Chable in time for them to catch the train home and me to get to the race briefing.
Chad and Rory on the saddle below Mount Rogneux
I followed the race briefing and team meeting with a late but extremely fun dinner with some of the Italians I have met in the past few years – Oscar, Carlo, and Riccardo and new friends Andre, Enrico, and Markus. We had dinner at a small restaurant owned by the famous Swiss alpine racer Roland Collombin. We had a great meal and several beers.
“The Italian Job”
Tuesday was the junior Individual so another off day for the team, but only a partial off day for me as I had meetings with the ISMF starting at 4PM. Freddy Grossnicklaus who guided us through the Bernese Oberland several years ago had given me several touring recommendations in the Verbier area. I convinced Logan and Rory to do some one of these tours (or a variation of it). We took the lifts up to Mont Fort then skied and climbed Rosa Blanche and Le Perrain and finished with a 6000’+ descent to Fionnay where we hoped to either catch a bus or hitch hike back to Le Chable in time for all my meetings. We had an amazing tour through the valleys and across the glaciers followed by a someone interesting descent into Fionnay. I was thrilled to be able to do this tour with 2 strong partners. We had great snow for all but the final couple thousand feet into Fionnay. To make this even better, we skied down the road into Fionnay and a waiting bus. We couldn’t believe our timing!
Huge terrain of the Swiss Alps
Logan with Le Perrain
Looking down at Fionnay from about ½ way down our descent
Of all the races I have been to, the Wednesday Teams Race course sparked jealously that I wasn’t racing. The course was long (2200M for the men and 2000M for the women) with very technical ascents and descents. The Team had another early morning with the 6:30 bus and eventually made our way to the start. After some confusion of a delayed start due to ice, then an on-time start, we scrambled to get the team to the start and watch the initial >550M climb. It was amazing the pace of the racers as they disappeared up the mountain. After the women’s start (15 minutes after the men), we took the lifts to Les Attelas and joined the other 500+ spectators crowding the course. It was so much fun to see so many spectators and watch all the teams at the top of their second climb. Due to limited time and need to be at the finish line for the racer check (I was carrying all of the passports and if the coach is not at the finish line with passports and the racer is checked, they are disqualified) I had to descend after our last team went through Les Attelas. Our teams had amazing finishes with a top 10 and 3 more top 20 finishes. This was the most people we had ever had in a top 20 and was very exciting. I decided Wed would be a pseudo rest day with only the skiing during the race. After 9 days in a row and very little sleep (on average 6 hours a night), I was exhausted.
Meredith and McKenna excited about their finish
Nice to see friends on the podium – Letitia (1st), Marta (3rd), Gemma (5th)
Thursday was the final day. Many racers don’t like the relay race, but it is actually one of the funnest races to watch. You can either watch the entire race from the base or skip back and forth to see every racer twice. We had strong men’s and women’s teams and in the end we ended up with our highest finish of the week with a 5th place finish by our women’s team. Two of the three women were first timers at World’s so it was exciting to see them do so well.
Women’s 5th place team – Sarah, Meredith, Jessie
The closing ceremonies is alway quite the party and this year was the same. Numerous speeches (again), a food meal, and lots of wine and beer lead to an entertaining evening with several us of realizing that most of our rides back to Martigny had left and scrambling at the last minute to get a ride.
Chad representing the US (far right) on our 10th place finish.
Gemma, Gerard, and Marta showing off their Catalan moves
After a late night (getting to bed after 1AM with too many beers consumed), we were up at 6AM to catch the 7:20 train to Chamonix. I was not sure of my plans for the last 2 days and really wanted to get out and spend the night in a hut. About half of the team wanted to go to Chamonix so I decided that was my best best and I did not regret it. We were on the early train and didn’t have set plans other than go up the Aiguillie du Midi lift which rises 9000 vertical feet from Chamonix and is probably the most famous ski lift in the world. We arrived in Chamonix with no losing and not knowing what to do with our bags. Jon Brown and I were quickly able to get a room for 1 night and dropped our bags then suited up (skis, poles, crampons, ropes, harnesses, ice axes, ice screws, prussics pulleys, and all the rest of our glacier kits). It is crazy in Chamonix to see people in fully ice gear walking down the street next to someone in a fully length fur coat. A surprise awaited us at the base of the Aiguille du Midi when we met Glen Plake (a friend of Max Taam’s) who Max had planned for us to ski with that day. This was amazing. I grew up watching Glen in dozens and movies and was now going to get to ski with him. I felt like I was in a dream. Skiing off the Aguille du Midi in Chamonix with Glen Plake, it couldn’t be true.
Tram lines to the top of the Aguille – this was from the mid point station!
Gearing up with crampons and axes in the ice tunnel
Glen leading Scott and Jon down the knife ridge
Chad, Scott, and Glen getting ready to drop in
Amazing ice arch in the glacier
For the first run, we were a large group (13 people) who all took their time down Vallee Blanche as Glen pointed out all the famous cols, couloirs, peaks, and climbs. The descent was around 20KM from the top to town as we dropped the 9,000’. It was amazing. I was lucky enough to be able to make another lap on some bigger terrain with Glen, Kimberly (his wife), Max, and Jessie. This was definitely one of the highlights of my ski life.
We were all tired Friday night after limited sleep Thursday so we had a mellow night. We got a good sleep Saturday, then due to bad weather and poor visibility had a late start Saturday. We spent some time at the Chamonix Farmers Market and various outdoor stores before Jon and I skinned up Le Brevant booted up to Col Cornu, skied down to Lac Cornu and then made a round about traverse, ski, and skin back to the Col and into Chamonix.
Chad on Col Cornu
We enjoyed a last beer in Chamonix (a wonderful Belgian Ale which was the best beer I had the whole trip), the caught a shuttle to Geneva for the night. We ended up with a late dinner and another early morning to catch our taxi to the airport. I am writing this mid flight from Amsterdam to Detroit (then connecting to SLC). I am excited to get home after 2 weeks, but only have 12 hours once I get home to unpack and re-pack for a work trip to Chicago. My preference would be for Emily to be coming to Chamonix and to have another 2 weeks to ski as we left in a storm and far too much terrain went un-explored.
I had a great 2 weeks and can’t thank our US Ski Mountaineering Team for their great racing and dedication to the sport. We are an unsupported team so these people took time off work and spent their own money to come to Verbier to represent the USA in our best finish at World’s yet. Thanks also to La Sportiva for providing team uniforms and making the USA look so professional and to Voile for a couple of great pairs of skis (custom poplar core WSP’s and Vectors) to enjoy 13 days of skiing on.
This year I was once again lucky enough to travel with the US National Ski Mountaineering Team to the World Ski Mountaineering Championships in Verbier, Switzerland. I was in Verbier in 2014 just after my back went out and I was excited to go back in good health. The racers were scheduled for 05-12 February. With the weekends, I decided to leave 31 January and return 15 February. The job of coach can be challenging. Nick Francis and I split all of the duties of getting things ready (lodging, registration, travel, uniforms, etc) as much as possible before we left the US. One on Verbier, there are daily race briefings, numerous meetings with the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF), getting the racers to and from races, daily team meetings, social media updates, daily blogs, etc. The days get very busy and most days I hope for 2-3 hours of free time for some skiing between 6:00 AM when we get up and midnight when I finally get all the work done. Needless to say, it is exhausting
I will post a few photos in the blog, but will post a photo album in a few days.
The snow in Verbier had been very poor all winter, but the weekend I was leaving they were forecasted to get a huge storm. The storm ended up dumping close to 1M of snow on the ground in 3 days. I arrived in Le Chable (the village in the valley below Verbier) on Sunday night. I got off the train and was tired and ready for a bed. There was 30+ cm of snow on the ground as I drug my bags up and down a few streets until I finally found the place I was staying. I had found a room on booking.com that was just a bedroom in some people’s home. It was small and quaint, but made a great basecamp for a couple of days until the team arrived and I moved to Martigny down the valley
My tiny room in Le Chable
As normal with Europe travel, I went to bed early, but woke up around 2 and was wide awake until 5. I fell back asleep and was up at 8 ready to ski. Due to high avalanche danger I was not able to tour on Monday. I purchased a Verbier lift ticket and was treated to a huge day of >45,000 feet of amazing powder skiing. The resort is absolutely HUGE. I was able to ski fresh, untracked snow all day and had the best resort day of my lift.
An amazing ski day in Verbier
I didn’t want to ski the resort 2 days in a row, but avalanche conditions were still very high so on Tuesday I decided to climb from Le Chable to Bruson and check out some of the Individual Race Course and tour on any safe terrain I could find. It was a 1750M climb to the top of Bryson and Six Blanc where the Individual Course would top out 2 times. There were massive avalanche crowns everywhere I looked. I was able to find a great ~25 degree slope off the back shoulder of Six Blanc that I skied 700M down the valley. When I got to the bottom, I realized that none of the other dozen or so tracks on the slope was an uptrack (I later realized on the map that people toured to Osiers and took the train back around). I slogged back up putting in a skin track and then skied back down Bruson to Le Chable. It ended up being a big day with over 2300M of climbing. I got to Le Chable with 20 minutes to run to get my bags and catch the train to Martigny to meet Sarah and McKenna (the first 2 team members to arrive).
View from treeline skinning up Bruson
The 3 of us had a good dinner together and planned a tour for Wednesday. The avalanche rating was still Considerable so we planned a very mellow tour from the town of Loutier up towards Mount Rogneux. We took the train from Martigny to Le Chable, the quickly hitched a ride to Loutier. We found a trail tight from town and started climbing. After a couple hours and 1400M of climbing we reached Cabana Brunet, a hut/refuge on the shoulder of Mount Rogneux. We had lunch there then continued up. As we climbed, the clouds moved in ad our visibility got poor. We decided that this was a good sign to turn around. We had a great untracked powder run several hundred meters back down. We eventually hit a junction in the trail and decided to take a different route down. It turns out this leave to an upper trailhead leaving us well above Loutier and on the highway. We skied the shoulder, the rocks, and walked our way back to town. We missed the last bus to Le Chable by 10 minutes so we started to hitch. We were unsuccessful for about 30 minutes before a guide picked us up and even thought he was not going all the way to Le Chable, he went out of his way to drop us off there. We were elated for his help. We caught the next train to Martigny and met up with most of the rest of the team.
McKenna and Sarah at Cabana Brunet, our lunch stop
With the Team mostly having arrived on Wednesday night, Thursday was racer registration and getting people out on the course. Scott Simmons and I headed out to the Individual Course. At our first ascent, we were quickly caught by Killian Jornet. It was amazing to watch his ease and speed climbing up the skin track. We summited Six Blanc on the races second ascent, skied the steep descent, the climbed the third ascent for another trip to the top of Six Blanc. Instead of skiing down, I convinced Scott to traverse the ridge line a ways and ski down some untracked powder. We were treated to an amazing descent all the way back to Le Chable. We arrived in time for lunch with the team and then the opening ceremonies which included a parade of nations and far too many speeches in French while we stood in the freezing cold.
Scott showing me how to rip on skinny skis
Scott enjoying the amazing Verbier Pow
Opening Ceremonies – Parade of Nations
The first race was the sprint race held in Champsec on Friday. The team was excited about the sprint even though it is typically not a strong race for us. We ended up with all 4 women making it to the quarter finals (although due to a timing error, McKenna ended up being omitted). We also ended up with 2 of our men reaching the quarter finals. This was extremely exciting for us as we had never advanced any men and only 1 woman (Nina) before.
Champsec Sprint Course
Saturday was the Vertical Race, but it didn’t start until 4PM so we had some time to ski in the morning. I didn’t have time for a long tour so I took the lifts up to Mont Fort and then planned to ski off the back side down to Lac de Cleuson and around to Tortin then take lifts back to Verbier. The mini-tour was fantastic.
The course for the Vertical was amazing as it wound through the streets of Verbier then finished part way up the mountain at Les Ruinettes. Thousands of people lined the streets for the race, then jumped on the lifts to get to the top for the finish. There were at least 1500 spectators lining the last 200M of the race. It was truly like watch a Tour de France race.
The highlight of my Friday was getting to catch up with Gemma. Gemma had been living in Park City teaching the last 3 years, but was unable to get a work visa this year so she is back home in Catalonia. She was excited to see her Wasatch friends.
Sunday was a rest day for the team as it was the Junior Individual. I was hoping for a day to tour, but due to some problems with ISMF, I had to be back to Le Chable by 2:00 for a long afternoon of meetings and straightening out registration and other problems. I was able to accompany Logan, Andy, Rory, and Brian on a start of their tour. They were going off the back of Mont Fort, then just touring around and coming out either back at Verbier or down valley and catching a ride. I was sad to leave them just as the terrain was getting amazing. I climbed back up to Col de Prefleuri as they descended to the Prefleuri hut. I was treated to an amazing untracked run back to Lac de Cleuson, then as I had done before took the lifts and skied to Verbier and down to Le Chable. After a tiring few meetings, I was able to get back to the hotel for dinner a little after 7:30.
If you haven’t read, Part 1, please reach that first.
Taking a quick step back to May, we also started a large house remodel as soon as the snow melted. We extended our master bedroom above the 2nd garage (which had been a scab on at some point). The construction wasn’t without challenges. As with most remodels, there were a lot of unknowns as they began to tear into things and we encountered numerous setbacks in the first few weeks. Thanks to our great architect and friend Blake and Noah Bigwood our builder for doing such a great job. We now have an amazing master suite and my pride and joy of a gear room.
EMGT was Emily’s last long run before Wasatch 100. Unfortunately, this was her first DNF as a slip at mile 6 caused a glute muscle pull that by mile 60-ish was no longer bearable. Your first DNF is always hard and Emily struggled for several weeks accepting it. Luckily, her glute recovered fairly quickly and she was able to enjoy a fall of fun running.
Summer and fall were a mix of things going on. I was working on getting a new job going back to work with some old colleagues from Accenture. I was excited about an opportunity to work in healthcare technology consulting, but getting the job finalized became a long engagement. I finally started the new role on 01 December. Our friend Stephanie who had gone through breast cancer 3 years ago was re-diagnosed with cancer and has been undergoing rigorous treatments. Christian’s health continued to yo-yo with a couple more hospital stays and some challenging times for him. My uncle was also diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and began a rigorous treatment regiment. All of this lead to a busy, stressful, and sometimes sad fall. It is amazing the impact that the health of close friends has on a person.
Fall also had fun times with Nick and Brita’s wedding in Tellurirde, Coyote running, and seeing family.
Mt biking with Eric and Jackie in Telluride
The happy couple
Starting in November, my back started to do much better and the last 2 months have been the best of the year for my health. This allowed us to once again enjoy our long weekend of Coyote running antics. This year we were in St George and Zion. Jared Campbell treated us to an amazing Zion run that required wetsuits, ropes, and harnesses. We also had some great runs around the St George area. Coyote Running
November became the month we really weren’t home with 2 trips to Arizona to help care for my uncle and grandma. It was great to spend so much quality time with them and to be able to help my uncle through this challenging time.
We scrambled to get moved back into our house by Thanksgiving when Emily’s parents, sister, and nieces came to spend the week. By the time Emily’s family arrived, we hadn’t both been home at the same time for 3 weeks and our stress was increasing. Adding to the stress, I would start a new job on 01Dec, but be flying out the Sunday of Thanksgiving. I would be getting home and we would turn around and go to Crested Butte for the first skimo race of the season, then I would leave again that Sunday for another work trip. When I finally got home on 11Dec, we were both excited to have no travel plans and be able to spend some time recuperating, skiing, and finishing up working on the house. It had been since 04Nov since we had both been home and had time together. Another level of stress for both of us. Skimo training at PCMR under the snow guns
We spent a quiet Christmas with friends and we were treated to a 70”+ storm over the Christmas week leading to some of the best skiing in 2 seasons. Amazing powder skiing over Christmas
The key I had been learning all year was how to no let all the different types of stress affect my health. It has proved to be a constant journey that is never simple. The new year is going to probe to be very busy with work, skiing, racing, Powder Keg, USSMA, and all of the other hobbies that we have. With hopes, I will keep the lessons I learned in 2014 close to me and be able to manage all of the responsibilities and stresses without letting it affect my health.
Here’s to looking forward to sunny days, powder skiing, friends, and family in 2015!
It has been a quiet year of blogging as it has been a challenging year. Unfortunately, that means that this post got a little bit long so I broke it into 2 parts. It was a challenging year for me physically and mentally. I started the year off with great fitness ready for a good ski and skimo racing season. That worked out very well with great race finishes (PR’s) at the Targhee and Jackson races. The Targhee race had decent weather but the Jackson race had sub-zero starting line temperatures with 40 mph winds at the top. Most of us were treated to a nice case of frostnip (or worse).
Climbing Corbett’s Couloir at the Jackson Skimo Race
What wasn’t readily apparent to me going into the new year was my stress level. Work had been crazy with over a dozen trips to Europe during the year including a last minute 48 hour round trip to Oslo. Add to this stress the natural holiday season stress and the training the skiing I was doing and I was setting myself up for a giant fall.
The week after Jackson, we were off to Heathen Challenge in Sunlight Colorado. The race was fun and post race I was driving to Denver to catch a Sunday afternoon flight back to London for work. A great run with Matt and Walter, a quick shower and off to the airport. This was supposed to be a great trip that would involve a hard week of work followed by a quick weekend in Verbier to race a skimo World Cup race. Little did I know that my giant fall would come that week. On Wednesday I was stretching in my hotel room before going to work and felt something in my back ‘pop’ and then felt sudden excruciating pain. I have dealt with back issues for 20+ years so I didn’t think much of this. The pain increased during the day and I was able to find both a masseur and physical therapist over the next 2 days. By the time Friday came and I was supposed to be heading to Verbier, I could hardly stand up straight and carrying my suitcase and ski bag was miserable. I made it to Verbier, met Meredith and Bill and we had an easy skin to see if my back would behave. It wouldn’t. There would be no racing for me. I went out the next day and Bill and I cheered Meredith on at various location of the course. Sunday morning I could not get out of bed and was in the worst pain of my life. By the time the vertical race ended, I had made it out of bed and packed my bags. We were headed to Chamonix and then I would fly out of Geneva Monday morning. Lots of pain and drugs later, I finally was back in the US hunched to the side and barely able to walk. This is what started the next 10 months of rehab for me. My much looked forward to ski season would end up being only easy climbing on groomed runs for 6 weeks.
In normal fashion, I did race the CROWBAR and Power of Four races off the couch. My fitness was poor, but I still enjoyed racing and not pushing myself so that I would get hurt worse. I was able to complete my Level 3 Avalanche class in light of my back issues. I was concerned I would not be able to complete the class, but was extremely happy to have been able to expand my avalanche knowledge to this level. This all brought an end to February.
Our nighttime skimo race series
Sarah and Emily finishing Power of Four
March started crazy busy with the Powder Keg. We were the North American Championship Race and also was an ISMF Sanctioned Race so we had a huge turn out and our most successful race ever. It was in March that I finally started to put the puzzle pieces together and realize the root cause of my back issue – the combination of stresses (work, physical, personal). I had a good learning lesson and really appreciated the book Back Sense and the lessons it has to offer for anyone with chronic pain. After the Powder Keg, I was able to start skiing again, but being cautious while still trying to have fun. This allowed some fun objectives like Mt Nebo, the Sliver, and others.
Skiing the top of the Sliver
I normally start training for running after the Powder Keg, but this was still out of the question with my back so I decided to continue skiing as long as I could. Emily and I planned a trip to Sayulita for April. This would be our first ever destination beach trip and we were both excited to do something completely different. I have done a little bit of surfing over the past few years so I was excited to be able to get in a full week of surfing. The day before leaving, we Paul D joined us for a ‘Whiskey Tour’ (Alta to High West Distillery in Park City).
We left the next morning and had a great week of fully relaxation with lots of surfing, a day of scuba diving, great fish, and the chance to see our friends Chris and Ashley (and their kids Alex and Trace) who had moved to Sayulita a few years earlier. This was a great vacation for us. No racing. No plans. No stress. I felt better after this trip than I had felt all year. Things seemed like they were (hopefully) turning around for my back.
True R&R in Sayulita
I still wasn’t running in May so skiing continued. A couple of standout adventures on Bald Mt, Mt Wheeler and Twin Peaks. Not nearly as much skiing as walking, but fun none the less.
Gemma climbing Bald Mt; Chad hiking off Wheeler Peak in the rain/snow/sleet; Mark wading down Deaf Smith Canyon off Twin Peaks
June was still limited climbing so Eric and I went to the NW for a couple of volcanoes. We skied Mt Adams and Mt Rainier in 2 days for a total of over 20,000’ climbing and pretty much horrible snow and weather conditions. I had the worst frostbite of my life in June on Mt Adams. Skiing quality aside, it was a great trip. Thankfully we had Goliath (Eric’s Sportsmobile) to shelter us from the weather and provide a great base camp.
Rime storm on Mt Adams
Freezing on Rainier
Ski season had ended and I really wasn’t doing much running. I enjoyed short runs and some great mt bike rides through July and August. My work had been going through lots of changes so starting in April, my work load was very small. This was fun, but also added some stress as I never really knew if I would be laid off as several other’s on our team had been laid off and then they had dismantled our team. More stress was added when Christian’s health started going up and down. Christian is our best friend who has been dealing with lymphoma and all the treatment side effects for over 3 years. I tried to keep the lessons learned from Back Sense in mind and deal with those stresses ‘healthfully’.
In July I was invited on a Canyoneering Trip by Paul and Tom. A little unsure of my abilities, I was hesitant, but was ensured that the pace would be slow so it would not hurt my back. This turned out to be an amazing trip doing Ice Box, Heaps, and Pine Creek Canyons in 3 days (video). I am definitely hooked on canyoneering. I did sustain a nasty hematoma on my shin that would end up taking over a month to heal.
Bashed shins
Final 300’ Heaps rapel into Emerald Pools
I also did the Pie N Beer marathon. I definitely wasn’t ready for that distance and just wanted to go out and have fun doing an easy paced long run. Unfortunately, I learned a side effect of the leg weakness caused by my back issues – extensor tendonosis. I was hobbled for about 15 miles by foot pain. This was a huge mental setback for me. I was planning to do the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse Run on August 19 and I was not very unsure if I would be able to do that. I rested until EMGT and 8 miles into that 40 mile race, had the same tendonosis break out. To add to this, we were running from Crested Butte to Aspen and had no planned return. We had a hotel reservation and a planned running route for the following day. After a good night out with friends and a few too many margaritas, I was able to hobble back to CB the day after the race. It would have been a tough day had it not been such a beautiful trail full of wild flowers as we went over Triangle Pass.
Mt biking with Eric and Jackie in Telluride
The happy couple
Skimo training at PCMR under the snow guns
