Team Crested Butte Episode 4

Meadow Skipping

It has been a sporty year in the Crested Butte backcountry. A dry spell through December has created a nasty weak layer that has been the culprit for some nasty avalanches. The normal ski terrain has been sketchy so its a good year to meadow skip. It's not worth it to roll the dice, stability will come with time.

cheers,

chris

Q & A with Brian Smith

Gunnison local Brian Smith won the "Race the Divide" ski mountaineering Race Sunday at Monarch Mountain. The elite race had about 3,500 feet of climbing while the recreation class had about 1,500 feet in altitude gain. Smith’s time of 1:58:44 beat Marshall Thomson of Crested Butte by less than two minutes. Bryan Wickenhauser of Crested Butte came in third. Stevie Kremer of Crested Butte had the fastest women’s time of 2:22:05 followed by Jari Kirkland of Crested Butte in second. Seems to be a Gunni valley theme at the COSMIC podiums...

Q&A with Brian Smith SCARPA/SKI TRAB Team Crested Butte

R&R- How did your race go at Monarch Mountain?

BS-I had a great race at Monarch. Marshall set the early tempo and had me on the ropes initially. As the race progressed I settled into my pace and felt solid the whole time.

R&R- You have been battling for the throne with Marshall this season, was this revenge for TEVA?

BS-Yeah, I felt that I was short changed at Teva after having control of the race all day. At Monarch I felt I needed to establish myself at the front and keep good pressure on Marshall all day. It wasn't until the last climb that I was able to distance myself from him. With Marshall's form this season anytime I can get more than 10 seconds on the guy is a feat in itself! It was sweet redemption although I got a 12 pack of beer not the 1K payday.

R&R- How did you like the course?

BS-The course was fun, great low angle backcountry skiing like the grand traverse. I would have liked more technical skiing and maybe a boot pack. Given the terrain we had to work with, the course was great and the time frame was more in line with other COSMIC events than in past years.

R&R- How do you train for a race like this?

BS-I like to do 2-3 runs per week with some fast paced tredmill workouts for intensity. It is good to have one day on the snow to practice skin transitions and using the race equipment.

R&R- You were ripping down that couloir in "Mirkwood" making it look like a GS course, is that hard with the super-light set up?

BS-Skiing downhill fast on randonee race skis is tricky. You have to sit back and ride your tails in deep snow and bumps to avoid front end crashes. I grew up downhill ski racing so I am pretty comfortable with high speeds. Being on twigs keeps

things interesting!

R&R- What gear do you use?

BS-I race on SCARPA Alien 1.0 Carbon boots, Ski-Trab Duo Race Aero World Cup skis and Attico Race bindings, Ski-Trab 100% mohair skin with tip attachment and no tail clip, Ski-Trab World Cup vertical pole. All my soft goods and helmet are CAMP with the exception of my race suit that is Ski-Trab. I use a Rudy Project race visor on my helmet as well.

R&R- Seems like the podium at these COSMIC races are filled with folks from the Gunnison Valley, why do you think this is?

BS-We have a core group of athletes that take ski mountaineer racing very seriously here in the Gunnison Valley. Not only do we have great COSMIC events close to home but there are nordic events at both ends of the valley and the legendary Grand Traverse. With that many winter sport options as well as a talented athlete pool it's no surprise that we set the standard for top results.

R&R - What is Next?

BS-Next on tap is the Power of Four COSMIC event. This is a team event which you race with a partner for over 20 miles with over 9,000 vertical feet. My partner Bryan Wickenhauser and I won the grueling event in 6 hours 14 minutes. We hope to repeat as winners this coming Saturday. We then have two weeks off before tackling the Grand Traverse.

R&R- Anything you would like to add?

BS-I am so lucky to have such great support with ski mountaineering. SCARPA/Ski-Trab, CAMP, CBMR and Rock and Roll Sports have been very gracious with their product and labor. We wouldn't be winning races without their help. This sport is awesome!

Team Crested Butte Episode 3

Episode 3 Team Crested Butte

Fall in the Gunnison Valley

Well it's that time of year again-that little window of Fall has just passed and now we are headed into winter. The last weeks of November and the first couple weeks of December are unique here in the Gunnison Valley. In one week I Nordic skied on perfect trails above Crested Butte, I mountain biked on perfect trails at Hartman Rocks, and I played Hockey in Gunnison.

Lily Lake-early season

Josho's Trail Hartman Rocks, Gunnison

I also work at Western State College, which by the way is loaded with sharp students heading for great careers and they are also amazing athletes. I ran into Scott, a biology major. He is a great skier and climber. He had been climbing out in Utah--just a few hrs away. He also had been ice climbing.

Then downtown for lunch. Down at Farrell's Restaurant, Patrick Farrell, with his short shorts and huge handlebar mustache had been out speed skating. There is a large group that will find the ice as soon as it freezes. Sometimes too soon and they fall in but they always have gotten out. Here is video from last winter.

I stopped by the Rock and Roll shop a couple of times this last week to see a flurry of people buying skis, boots, ski poles, and climbing gear. Now these skis aren't the kind you see most of the time. These are light. They are made for climbing fast and then locking you heals down and ripping down steep chutes in the back country. They are Alpine Touring skis. A cross between downhill and Telemark. They work well for touring also or even racing to such places as Aspen. Some of my friends live for this. Here is a couple Chris Miller took this year. Check out his page for more.

The real reason I was in the shop was to check out a hard tail 29in mt bike for a ridiculous race next summer. Like drugs you start doing a little bit at a time and before you know it you can't stop doing the hard stuff. That is what living in Gunnison does to you. And it doesn't make the wife all that happy sometimes either. I started off doing races like the Leadville 100. OK it was hard but I wanted something more. How about the Vaportrail 125. 125 mi and it starts at 10pm at night. OK that was hard and I did pretty good. Other friends, like Jefe and Ethan had been doing other long multi-day bike races. You have to carry all your own gear and can only buy things along the way--no food/gear drops. That sounds hard. So last summer I did the Colorado Trail Race. Almost 500 mi at high altitudes self supported. I did OK and got to know Eszter H.  She is the coach of the cycle team here a Western and really hard core on the bike. I barely kept ahead of her. She had been talking of doing the Tour Divide. A race from Banff Canada to the Mexico border. Jefe and Ethan did it this past summer. Jefe was 2nd on a single speed, Ethan 3rd. Well it grew on me and now here I am looking at mountain bike closeouts.

Dave Mo is really like the drug dealer. He has all you need to do all the crazy things we do--except the ice skates. And he always has a smile and will cut you a screaming deal.

Thanks for letting me post Dave! By the way my name is Jarral Ryter. Click here to see my personal blog.

WSC Campus Cross #1

Despite wind and cold, the first race of the Western Campus Cross went off successfully this past Saturday with over 20 racers toeing the line with a combination of cross bikes, mountain bikes, and single speeds of various shapes and sizes.

The start was a casual affair.  So casual that race organizer Eszter is going to create a hole-shot prime for next week.

The start

Brae Patten (WSC Cycling) shows pro form

Costumes were encouraged.

Next week, we'll be having a prize for the best dressed.

Ansel Schimpff (WSC Cycling) goes airborne over the barries.

Ochs (AlpineOrtho) shows us how it's done

Amy was the women's winner on her SS mountain bike

Bill floats up the hill

Jen not only organized the whole dang event, she raced in it too

Jarral recovered from the WSC Chemistry Show on Friday to race on his CTR rig

Jon and Amy hang out together on course

Ochs looking pro

Stubbe couldn't resist the allure of cross.  He needs a bike for next week.

Racers were all stoked on the course, the racing, and the schwag table at the end donated by our generous sponsors, including Rock N Roll sports.  We'll have a new course and a new race next weekend, same time, same place.  Don't forget that we'll have series prizes as well, so be sure to come out and support WSC Cycling and Gunnison Trails.

WSC Cycling at Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals

Well, collegiate mountain bike nationals has come and gone.  It was a weekend nothing short of epic riding conditions, snow, ice, and some excellent racing.  When I came to this program at the beginning of last year, I had plenty of people shaking their head sadly and wishing me good luck.  These people were wrong.  This team can race, and they can race fast, and they don't have to go to bed at 8:30 at night and put their feet up and not have any fun.  As coach, I'm incredibly proud of what they did out there, how they dealt with the conditions, the weather, and the courses.  Watch out, this team is going places.  

The women (Angela, Alexis, and Madi) raced first in the XC.  The ground was frozen for the first lap and then got stupid muddy by the second.  Angela put her running skills to good use on the climb and held on for the descent to finish 5th.  For those who don't remember, she couldn't ride down those rocks at the top of Jacks 6 weeks ago.  Mad props.  Madi put her descending skills to good use and finished 12th insisting that she wasn't going to race endurance next year.   I pulled a bone-head move and let Alexis out to ride in sub-freezing temperatures in thin gloves.  It did not end well. No worry, the girls still placed 3rd in the event.

The boys took to an even muddier course at noon.  Brae, Ben and Owen lined up.  Owen wore my flower arm warmers.   They looked good.  Brae was riding in a solid 2nd and looking good when I looked up the hill from the feedzone to see him writhing in pain from leg cramps.  We got him to be able to bend his legs and when he started complaining about not getting bib shorts, I sent him on his way back up the hill, unfortunately without enough calories.  Nationals is always a longer race than the conference ones and I think it took us all by surprise.  Tulip rallied for an impressive 15th place finish.

The short track was fast.  The DII women had the two fastest women at the race in their division, so it was a matter of riding as hard as they could until those beasts of women got 80% of a lap up.  Angela decided to get into a fight with a fence off the start but rallied to an 11th place.  Alexis, using her irritation at my stupidity from the day before as fuel, cracked the top ten.  She'd never ridden a bike on dirt before this season.  Madi secured third place for the girls by getting past one from Union gals on the last lap. Every single place counted.

The boys raced stupid hard too.  Every time Ben came around, I watched him pass 3-4 guys on the sketchy downhill and straightaway.  It was impressive.  Brae raced in second before fading to 7th.  We then heckled him enough that he passed back the guy in front of him (who was wearing goggles) to finish 6th.  It was a Humbolt guy and the guys beat Humbolt in the event, which was key for the team overall.

Our DH guys dominated the DH, which, to summarize, looked terrifying.  Covered in snow and ice.  Mud.  I would have cried.  Owen finished 2nd, Colin 3rd, Ansel 7th, Caleb 9th, and Thomas was 26th at his first Nationals.  Owen and Caleb were the only two that I heard of to ride the course without a crash.  Needless to say, the boys won that event.

They opened up the dual slalom for practice on Sunday morning.  It was a sheet of ice and the lack of skin left on Owen's stomach is proof that it wasn't a soft landing.  Then the sun came out and turned the entire thing into mud.  Crashes were frequent and ruts treacherous. Next year, the team is going to take a field trip or two to the BMX track in Montrose.  We've got some bermage and leg speed work to do.

When the points shook out, the team took 4th overall, which is significantly better than last year, especially since we weren't in contention for 25% of the points.  Everyone rode stupid-hard all weekend and I'm beyond proud of everyone who rallied in the mud. Mud is not our natural state of riding, so to be able to step it up, accept the conditions for what they were, and still ride as well as we did is a testament to our riders.  As a coach, I learned a lot.  From putting warm gloves on all my riders, to having extra calories in the feed zone to hand up, to making sure that we have several sets of parents on hand to have a dinner cook off so we don't have to cook for ourselves at all.  

We're building something big here and each and every person who came out to practice and race this year is a huge part of it.  I'm honored to be a part of it and I can't wait until next year.