Sunset at Snowbowl

New PR on Humphreys Trail

This morning I set a new PR for myself on the Humphreys Trail. I got up and down in 2:02 flat. That's 1 hr from trailhead to the saddle, 20 minutes from saddle to summit and 42 minutes from summit to trailhead.

I really went for it, for not really running that much lately, but everything just clicked. I really pushed it on the way up, running most of it and hiking as fast as I could on the rest. The summit was a bit crazy with high winds and lots of ice but the rest of the trail was in good shape, making for a fast descent once I got off the upper ridge. In fact, I don't know if I could go much faster on the descent as I was already borderline to fast (it is super rocky on the trail and it would be easy to face plant demanding total concentration). I think the only way for me to improve would be to move faster up hill. I think that I would need to be able to really "run" the up hill to break 2 hours. I have big time respect for people that do this trail fast because I am pushing it to my max and still coming in over 2 hours. Big time respect...

Just keep trying...maybe I'll break the elusive 2 hour barrier. It seems right there for the taking. Just run harder...

Telluride Trail Run: Bridal Veil/Wasatch/Bear Creek Trail Loop

Susan and I went to Telluride last weekend to support our friends while they competed in the Imogene Pass Run.

They did very well! Congrats!!! Putting in a good time is no easy task, running up over a 13,000 ft. pass from Ouray to Telluride with a distance of about 17 miles and about 5,000 ft. of elevation gain and 4,000 ft. of elevation loss.

They ended up putting in great times.

Andrea placed 12th in her division with a time of 3:50. More results from her division here.

Matt placed 62nd in his division with a time of 4:05. More results from his division here.

They weren't the only ones from Flagstaff that competed. Flagstaff represented big time with around 400 competitors (what I heard through the gossip train) and there were 1,200 total competitors in the race. That's at least 1/3 of the competitors. Wow.

It was fun to see friends from Flagstaff everywhere in town. We took over!

While they were competing, Susan went for a hike with her friend Molly and I took the opportunity to run my own trail run. The trail I chose was the Bridal Veil/Wasatch/Bear Creek Trail Loop with an elevation change of about 4,000 ft. up and 4,000 ft. down along the about 17 miles? of trail. (I couldn't get an accurate distance online of any of these trails so I'm guessing).

I was not disappointed with the trail! It had a bit of everything I like in a trail run. Big elevation changes, lots of running above tree line, a summit, tricky route finding in sections, great single track, wildlife sightings, breathtaking views...totally inspiring.

I got dropped off by Susan at 7:30 am part way up the dirt road that leads up to Bridal Veil Falls, just above Telluride, and the start of the Bridal Veil Trail. Much of the first miles were on old jeep roads which I don't get as excited about but the surroundings were breathtaking going past Bridal Veil Falls and then along Bridal Veil Creek.

(Getting ready to run-Susan caught me in a pretty grumpy

early morning mood during this shot)

Part way along Bridal Veil Creek the trail started to get tricky. The road split in a few places and I had to guess on which ones to take (amazingly no signs along this section even though it is right next to town and pretty popular). Luckily, I chose to have a map with me that showed topography because following a map of just the trail would have been worthless for me through this section.

I kept guessing my way along jeep trails that got fainter and fainter until I was able to see the saddle that I was supposed to cross over. Perfect timing, as I would have been completely confused otherwise. The trail seemed to have almost completely disappeared at this point. I was following a faint depression in the tundra with a wood post in the ground every mile or so to tell you that you were on a trail (you wouldn't know what trail though because the posts didn't have any markings on them).

(Beautiful meadows and tundra)

Not long after I saw the saddle, I reached a much better trail and a much better sign that pointed to the saddle. I was much relieved as I knew now that I would get to the saddle. I wouldn't have to turn back early. I still had a chance at doing the whole loop (as long as I could find my way down the other side).

(13,000 + peak near trail)

(nearing the saddle-the saddle I crossed over is the right one in the photo)

The rest of the run to the saddle was very pleasant. I was able to run this section (I had to hike at least 1/2 of the lower section, it was steep!) as it was now a much more reasonable angle, traversing along the front of a ridge and I had saddle fever.


Once I made it to the saddle I was psyched. Not only was it amazingly beautiful up there but I could see that the Wasatch Trail that leads down the other side and back to Telluride would be much easier to follow than what I had just done. I could see single track winding for miles down the hill. Only one thing still worried me...

(saddle)

Earlier in the day, near the beginning of the Bridal Veil Trail, I chatted with some hikers that told me the lower section of the Wasatch Trail was closed because of construction. They didn't know the condition of the trail or what the construction was all about but they did know that there is a fatty sign on the trail that says it is closed.


I've never been one to be stopped by these kinds of things. I figured I would find another way down if the trail was closed and impassible (if I got on a ridge above the lower portion of the Wasatch Trail I could follow ski runs down the mountain to Telluride if I needed to escape). It should all workout, I thought.


I decided, while on the ridge, to go for it. I would much rather adventure down new terrain to town instead of backtrack the same trail I just followed. But, not until I summited the 13,000+ ft. peak right next to the saddle.

(summit)

(summit poser shot)

Summiting wasn't technical. It was a quick scramble up a faint trail on talus. Well worth it...it is always nice to stand on top of a mountain and this one was to easy to pass up. Also, this is the highest point I have ever been. BONUS! Excellent views from the top and I stayed there for 10 minutes or so to soak it all in before heading back to town.

(really nice single track down Wasatch Trail)

Going down from the saddle, the trail was pure bliss. Amazing single track trail that winded it's way down through tundra for many miles until...there it was ...a big sign and fence telling me that the trail was, indeed, closed. I only hesitated for a second and then went around the sign and continued on my way.

(early on in the closed section of the trail)

In the end the sign was nothing to worry about (at least on this day). There was no construction or dangers along the trail. In fact the trail was in great shape and I enjoyed running it thoroughly. Along the trail, tundra gave way to sparsely treed meadows, then to forest and creeks and then again to canyons with thick forest and finally to flat,wide trail, people and town.


Finish time: 11:30 am. So, it took me 4 hours to do the loop. Not bad, considering I stopped a bit to take photos, hang on the saddle and then again on the summit.


Excellent loop. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a little adventure in their trail running. Stunning.



View a slideshow here of the run http://www.flickr.com/photos/33744037@N04/show/with/3918561382/




See the trail map bigger and better here.


Note: The next day we woke up and found that it had snowed all night in the mountains above town. Crazy that we were lucky enough to miss this dumping and had the excellent weather the day before.

Run up Mt. Humphreys

Just ran up Mt. Humprheys a couple days ago on the Mt. Humphreys Trail (one of my all time favorite runs). I haven't run much over the last 30 days (not much motivation after running the Wonderland Trail) so it was a bit of an effort. My legs didn't have their "in shape" spring on the uphill climb. Going down was fine though, didn't push it, just enjoyed the downhill.

Still came in with a decent time of 2 hrs and 30 minutes. I have found that as long as I power hike the tougher sections of the up hill and then run the flats and gradual up hill sections I get up to the summit in about 1 hr and 30 minutes. On the way down, if I run but don't push hard I get down in about an hour. So, most of my runs to the summit end up about the same now at about 2 1/2 hours, a good comfortable run.

I have pushed it a few times running most of the way up and then running as fast as I can without falling on my face on all the rocks and roots on the way down. I can come in just over 2 hours (my fastest time is 2 hrs and 7 minutes).

Maybe I will try to break 2 hours sometime this fall if I feel up for it. Not that much of a leap right now. I will just have to really want to try that hard. There is some serious elevation gain and loss and the trail is quite technical so it is hard to really push it. Running a bit on big climbs on the peaks and on the dry lake hills would help before I try hard on it again too.

More mountain running...

I will be in Telluride this weekend. I have friends running the famous Imogene Pass Run and I thought I would sneak a long trail run in too. Finally, a run in the San Juan mountains! I'll give a full report on the run next week.

New Routes: A way of life

When I was a younger climber (early twenties), I spent much of my time new routing in the mountains and cliffs of Washington and British Columbia. Most of this time was spent developing new sport routes at the local crags of Bellingham, Washington and Mt. Baker, some time was spent at Skaha, Canada developing and I even made a few trips into some remote mountain ranges in British Columbia to put up some alpine, multi pitch traditional climbs.

(Me, climbing at a sport crag I developed near Mt. Baker named The Pump House

-wow, I was so young in that photo!)

I really enjoyed those times, searching for and developing new climbs. In all, I developed somewhere in the range of 120 new climbs from 5.5 to 5.12D. I committed more time and money to this endeavor than any normal person would think reasonable.

It was a great time though, and those forming years of my climbing started me on a very specific path in my life. That path was to be one of continual searching and exploration in the wilds around me. Climbing has been my central tool for this exploration, although I have added ultra running and other things throughout the years as further opportunities to explore and mix it up.

After, my early 20's I made the switch to bouldering as my preferred climbing style. It was natural at the time, I was getting sick of climbing manufactured routes (at that time, most hard routes had "chipped holds" instead of climbing completely natural lines, a lack of vision in my view). I wasn't interested in making the switch to crack climbing because it never really seemed to be that fun to me, very "claustrophobic." Maybe hard to understand...someday I'll explain this further. But bouldering...it fit just right. I really enjoyed the style of movement, freedom from ropes and gear and the aesthetic natural lines formed on boulders. Not much chipping happening on the boulders either and if there was...I had hundreds of other impressive and inspiring boulder problems to try that weren't.

I spent much of my late twenties and early thirties bouldering and developing new bouldering areas throughout the western United States. In fact, because of the ease of bouldering I was able to put up 1000's of new boulder problems during those years, most being developed in Southern Utah, Northern Arizona and Washington State.

By my early thirties, I had pretty much made a complete switch. Bouldering was it for me. I could find endless amounts of boulders and good new cliffs were much harder to come by. And the exploration...I have visited some of the most remote and inspiring places in my search for boulders. Even though I didn't find all that many good new areas on many of my exploratory trips, I was fortunate enough to visit some extremely amazing places that I may have never witnessed otherwise. Every once in a while though...oh boy...you find a sweet boulder or boulder field and all those other trips are validated. All the work becomes worth it. So, I would continue the search for more areas. Endless...

I made a switch in the last few years back to sport climbing. I still boulder but I seem to be putting most of my effort into sport routes these days. There are many reasons for this... looking for a new and different challenge in climbing (I spent a ton of time bouldering, was getting a little bored with it and was looking for a change), I started dating Susan, who enjoys sport climbing, and while looking for new bouldering, I was accidentally finding some pretty sweet sport crags that could be developed.

It seems that maybe the new routing bug is back with sport climbing. This last year I have found some pretty cool stuff and have started putting in a few new lines.

Some areas are a secret. I won't let the cat out of the bag to keep it my little baby for awhile but I have been active in more developed areas too. The pit and The Peaks are two areas where I have been active in recent years. In the last few weeks alone, I have put up 4 new routes at the peaks and remembering how much I enjoy it.

It looks like this way of life will continue. My path is set. I suppose it could end someday as all things do but I feel that in the present this is "my way". To search, develop, search, develop and then do it some more...to keep looking around the next corner in the canyon...to "search for something."

And that just seems fine to me.

Parting Shot

(Me, doing my thing...climbing a fun V0 boulder problem

I found and cleaned a few years back on The Peaks)

Snow on Humprheys!

No joke! There was a dusting on Humphreys today. Welcome to early Fall in Flagstaff.

Jacks Canyon Climbing/Happy Birthday Susan

On Susan's birthday, we went to Jacks Canyon to climb for the day. It was a nice day and we both got worked (we had plans that night to go downtown and have some fun but fell asleep on the couch instead!)

Here are a few shots from the day at Jacks.

(Jacks Canyon from where the trail enters the canyon. We spent much of the day at the tower in the back/center of photo)

(Susan on a nice warm up)

(Susan on a 5.11 at the end of the day)

(nice sunset)

The next day we were lucky enough to go to Josephine's for a very nice birthday dinner (thank you Bill and Laura Spizzirri). This was our first visit to this restaurant even though it is only a couple blocks from our house. Great food! Definitely worth the visit!