... And so it begins 2017

Track refilling between laps.  Good to be back on skis.

The first day back in Missoula also corresponded with my first full available day in the mountains in several months, so I went skiing despite a horrendous forecast.  With high avalanche danger, thin coverage, an a desire to simply get a lot of vertical in, I kept it simple and skied just outside the Snowbowl boundary.  The day was straightforward: skin to the top of Point 6, take a standard Jenny Bowl lap, then yo-yo the east shoulder of Jenny Bowl for the remainder of the day.  Although it is out of the way, I enjoy the east/skier's left shoulder for its low angle and generally wind protected skiing.  The weather deteriorated throughout the day as forecast.  By the end, trees were crashing down (one on the skin track, one adjacent to the track, and two in the ski area boundary), snow was blowing sideways, and it was easy to cut the day one run short to finish in the daylight.

Frosty grin between laps.

Lots of tracks, all my own, proper solo yo-you skiing.

The skiing was just OK.  I have had better first days, but I have also certainly had much, much worse.  As predicted, the snowpack structure is poor and bottomless and well below average at the mid to upper elevations.  Nevertheless, it was great to get back on skis and hammer out a respectable day.  Right around 10k vertical, done in about 9.5 hours at an aerobic pace with stops to manage the weather.

Minneapolis diaries, 2016

I spent a few fall weeks in the Twin Cities again this year.  I was able to get out the door to bike and run here and there, but most outings were before or after dark, since I was using vacation time to take care of Sam during the day.  It was great to allow Leah to focus on work for a few weeks, and I got to spend a lot of quality time with Sam.  As for adventures, here is a quick summary.  Sorry for the lack of pictures, but we pretty much just take photos of Sam these days, and most outings were in the dark anyway.

Biking:  I brought the cross bike this year and did a reasonable amount of biking, all at an easy pace.  Minneapolis has an extensive paved trail system, and it was a blast to start piecing routes together.

Murphy-Hanrehan loop - The morning after rolling into town, I spun a hour plus road loop around the exterior of the park before picking everyone up at the airport.  I misjudged the time and showed up late, but the bike ride was quite enjoyable.

Lake Josephine and North Mississippi River trail loops - Taking advantage of unseasonably warm temperatures, I rallied out the door in the dark two days in a row to explore.  Both 20-ish mile loops were enjoyable, new to me, and a great way to hammer out some miles and watch the sun rise.

Greenway loops - Leah freed up two evenings for a me to get out for a couple of hours.  The first loop was a 25+ mile route down the West parkway to the Mid town greenway to Cedar lake, and around the NW corner of the Grand rounds to the Mississippi and back via Second and Lowry ave.  The second was a similar loop on the Cedar lake trail all the way out to Hopkins and back on the Mississippi bluff/Greenway trails.  I think this is the best bike outing for fun, continuous riding on paved trails.  Both rides were cold and wet, but I did not care.

Grand rounds (mostly) 30+ miles - I spent a stormy Friday evening hammering out the Grand Rounds.  I took wrong turns near lake Hiawatha, and near Lake of the Isle, and cut out the Northwest corner of the loop from Lowry to the Mississippi, but otherwise did the full ground tour of the city.  It took longer than anticipated, so thanks to Leah for her patience.

Run

Baldy:  I took a major driving break in Bozeman on the way out and finally did the M to Sypes to Baldy to Ridge trail loop.  It is a little techy and long to be an everyday classic run, but what a fun outing.

Snowy South Grand Rounds:  I spent a snowy Sunday morning running to a brunch date with friends around the South Grand rounds.  It had snowed 6" overnight, and only about half of the way was cleared, so what was intended to be a nice jaunt in the snow turned into a surprisingly challenging slog.  Wirth Parkway, Chain of lakes, Minnehaha creek, and across the Mississippi on the Ford St. Bridge.  20 miles and tired at the end.  Good to run the tank dry.

Stroller Running:  I did about a hundred miles of running behind a jogging stroller with Sam.  The paved trail system in town and at adjacent parks allows for a seemingly endless list of fast, flat and scenic runs.  To my surprise, running with a stroller doesn't seem to affect my pace or running ergonomics much, as long as the terrain is flat and well paved.  Highlight runs were a Broadway to Franklin bridge loop along the Mississippi, two big loops at Elm creek with Leah, two separate Two bridge runs on the Mississippi in the dark with Leah, and multiple mid day St. Anthony park triple loops.

Vampire runs:  I did a bunch of early runs from the house, typically out for an hour and back at sunrise.  Every day brought its own adventure.  Sub zero temps, rain, snow, stunning clear mornings, tempo runs, easy runs, shaking out residual fatigue, elation as the body slowly woke up.  It was all great.  Highlights were a stunning Cedar lake regional trail  loop with a skiff of fresh snow, and the many St. Anthony park loops.

State park walks:  Minnesota has an extensive and well-maintained park system, and we took full advantage of both the trails, and of the heated visitor centers. Carver, William O'Brien, Fort Snelling, Elm Creek.  All were very enjoyable.

Gym:  I made it in the gym at least twice weekly for hour of power sessions, focusing on leg strength and plyometric power for ski season.  Lots of heavy deadlifts and squats, plyo jumps of all kinds, core work, and general heavy (for me) lifting.  Thanks to Mike Wolfe and Mountain Project yet again for the training plans and advice. It was nice to get a block of consistent, high quality work done.  I also did a few intensity sessions on the treadmill, and it was good to start mixing hard aerobic work back in.  Fitness wise, I did not spend enough cumulative time on the move to maintain overall fitness, but I stayed healthy and was able to get in the ball park, and for that I am grateful.

Ninemile high points

I have tended to shy away from trails in the Ninemile, citing long road drives, short trails, and poor trail maintenance.  But, by biking from the valley, the peaks of the Ninemile become engaging outings with sub-30 minute drives from Missoula.  Since my poor broken big toe is still on the mend from an unfortunate growler-to-toe accident, it seemed prudent to mix a lot of biking into these outings.  No worries, because I have always enjoyed time on a bike.

Ch-paa-qn + Edith preak road loop
I rolled out from the bottom of the Sixmile road in the dark on a foggy Saturday morning.  By daybreak, I had passed the Ninemile ranger station, and was well up the Edith peak road.  There were a lot of hunters, but I figured a bright blue shirt and blinking bike light should be sufficient to identify myself as a human.  Sunrise was spectacular, especially with the valley shrouded in undercast.  It was fun to grind away at a moderate pace, and I was at the Reservation divide less than two hours after leaving the car,  After a quick transition to running shoes, I ran the Reservation divide trail to the base of the peak, then slip slid my way up through bear grass and frosty talus to the summit.  Ch-paa-qn has one of the most striking views around, especially of the Missions and Flathead valley, and the undercast added to the drama.  A bitter wind on the summit was not sufficient to dampen my spirits.

Sunrise!  It was a lot more striking in person. 

Summit view out to the Missions.

Thumbs up while looking South along the Reservation divide.

Summit view looking down the Ninemile to the Bitterroot and Graves creek ranges.

In deference to big broken left toe, I took my time carefully descending frosty talus to the trail, and made it without a single toe stub.  The run out to the road was fun.  From the trailhead, I skimmed along muddy roads for a few miles toward Edith peak before layering up for the cold downhill ride to Sixmile.  With my mountain bike out of commission, I was on the cross bike, and was not looking forward to bone jarring ride down. But it went quickly enough, and I was soon spinning out the last few miles to the truck.  4.45 at steady aerobic pace.  30++ miles.

Thoughts
Adding a bike component to the outing shortens the drive to 25 minutes from town, and makes it a more fulfilling outing. There are a ton of good road loops in the Sixmile/Ninemile.  Just doing the Edith peak road loop would be a very good 3 hour circuit, but it is only one of many good road circuits. I need to do Ch-paa-qn from the house some day as a grand loop, riding to Ravalli, jamming up to the Reservation divide from the east, and returning to town via the Edith peak and the frontage road.

Three lakes peak + Ninemile tour
I was able to take an afternoon off from a busy work schedule and play.  With peaks of the Ninemile largely below snowline, I decided to park at the Ninemile house, bike a bunch of flat dirt road to the head of the drainage, and run Three lakes peak.  The ride up the drainage was fast and delightful, aside from being chastised by a hunter for not wearing orange (I assumed a biker clad in neon green was sufficiently visible).  After a quick bike to running shoes transition at the trailhead, I started jogging up.  Montana Trail Crew runners cleared the trail last year, and it is still in good running shape.  Soon enough, I had climbed to Burnt Fork pinnacle, traversed the beautiful high single track to the peak, and hiked snowy talus to the west summit.  It was another beautiful day to be out.

Rolling a few miles in.  Three lakes peak looking white in the far distance.
Still a long way to go on the bike.

Cruising the trail out to Three lakes peak.

Looking out to the Missions.

Looking south along the Reservation divide to Ch-paa-qn and the Missoula valley.

The return to the bike was fun, running freely, and chasing the sunset.  To my surprise, the deproach bike was much faster than the approach (I didn't think 500 vertical feet in 20 miles would make much of a difference), and I was back at the car in plenty of time to watch the Cubs crush the Indians to win the World Series.  6.35 at a steady aerobic pace, 50 miles plus or minus.  I can only imagine how stunning this outing would be in early October before the cottonwood leaves have fallen along the creek, and when the larch have just turned brilliant yellow.

Fall in the upper Ninemile during the egress run.

Last rays of sunlight on the ride out.

Back at the car.  Not even dark!  psyched.

Stark mountain + Rennick access road

Looking south down the Ninemile to the Missoula valley from the summit of Stark mountain

After a morning of cheering Leah on at the Elk Ramble 15k, I was able to sneak out for the afternoon.  With limited time before dark, I decided to hit up the Ninemile one last time.  I ended up driving five miles or so up the drainage to the bottom of the Rennick access road and biking from there.  The dirt road to the trailhead is slow and frustrating in a car, but it was pure joy on a bike.  I was running in a little under an hour from leaving the car.  The trail to Stark was also pure joy - basically 4,000 vertical feet of steep but runnable grade from the trailhead to the top.  I did it in a push, and was on the summit well ahead of schedule.  

Dirt road riding to the trailhead.

Nearing the lookout.

A long shadow, Ninemile valley, Ch-paa-qn, and the Missions.

 The run down was faster and smooth, and an uneventful bike ride out had me back at the car about an hour faster than anticipated.  Really nice way to spend a perfect fall afternoon.  I didn't do any mileage checking, but probably a little under 30 miles and 5k vert, done in 3.48 at a bright aerobic pace (I went a little too hard today).

Blue Mountain 30K, 2016

Mile 7.  Photo: Kyle Story

I once again had a great time running the Blue Mountain 30K.  I showed up well rested and surprisingly prepared for a 6-week old father thanks in large part to Leah’s support.  I was excited to race, and soon enough we were off.  The pace in the lead group felt about right, so I settled in a pack of four, moving briefly into the lead before settling into a comfortable 3^rd place, which I would hold for the entire first climb.  

Running with the lead group early on.

At the top of the first climb, Nicole Hunt and I passed Michael, and I took the lead at the first aid.  I pushed the downhill at a smooth and fastish pace, which I hoped would be enough to put a small gap on my pursuers, but to my minor dismay, they held in and even closed the gap a bit on the climb to the second aid station.  It was great to see my family at the second aid, even though I just rolled through.  The remaining climb to Hayes and run down to the last aid went OK, but Nicole remained a stubborn 30 seconds back.  Ready to either secure the lead or go down trying, I decided to push it as we both fired up the last climb.  The effort was sufficient to finally gain a small gap to the top, and I rolled as fast as my legs would go to the finish.  I almost took one spill, and cramped once, but kept it together, crossing the line appropriately whopped, about four minutes faster than my previous best. Nicole came in about two minutes later, having broken the women’s course record (I think).  Thanks for Runner's Edge, Mike Foote, and the Hellgate team for putting on another great race.

Milton (on bike) was nice enough to provide encouragement and traffic control near the finish.

Happy Storyberg family at the finish.

In terms of analysis, the race went well. The field was small, and even though I had a good run, a similar performance would not even yield a top 30 finish at the Rut.  But a win is a win, I guess, and it did feel like race with constant pressure from Nicole.  Preparation was a lot different in the past (more biking, more Vo2 max work, targeted strength work on a few weak muscle groups, less running volume, less sleep), but a consistent, extended block of training translated well to good race performance.  Looking forward, I am excited to take a little break then return to hard efforts in late fall with renewed psyche. 

Scapegoat - Echo to Mineral Hill run

A free mid-week day materialized in late July, and I was able to check out an entirely new-to-me corner of the Scapegoat. With time and intellectual energy pointed toward domestic pursuits, I pretty much just rolled out of bed earlyish, grabbed my running stuff and a map, and just went for it, hoping for the best.

The route, and a fence from the road. Echo, Iron, Unnamed, and Mineral hill from right to left.

It was a fun day, and I was cruising up the well graded Dry fork trail less than two hours after leaving the house.  After an hour plus of movement, I emerged on the northwestern flank of Daly peak and began the overland journey.  It was interesting, if not a bit slow, to climb along the edge of an old wildfire and see the remnants of what looked like a fairly expansive hand suppression effort.  Before too long I was above the fire, and a consistent push put me on top of Daly peak a little over two hours into the day. Racing the heat, I kept moving all day, stopping only to refill water, fill my hat with snow to keep cool, and occasionally snap photos. The traverse to Iron and Echo had more krumholtz schwacking than ideal, but it wasn't too bad clad in bushwacking socks.  

Echo from Iron mountain.  The going became less scrappy as the day progressed.

Unnamed and Mineral hill from Iron mountain.

From Echo, the going became more clean and elegant, and I enjoyed moving easily over the uncomplicated terrain.  From an unnamed summit just south of Windy pass, I dropped over a thousand vertical of steep grass and scree to the pass.  I ended up following the system trail North out of Windy pass for a few minutes before starting the climb to Mineral Hill  A good solid push up the south ridge put me on the final summit, roughly 7k of climbing into the day, still feeling pretty good.  The return to the car was surprisingly quick and pleasant.  I was able to stock up on snowmelt water, and a few stops at water crossings to manage heat allowed for a comfortable exit on a very hot day. The trail was surprisingly runable and enjoyable, especially near Windy pass.  The Bob is ecologically complex, and it was interesting to drop from the sub alpine to the valley through old burns, spruce, larch, lodgepole, ponderosa and aspen stands.  This being the first longer outing since a minor foot injury, I took it easy, and everything felt great all the way to the car.  About 7 hours car to car at a moderate, steady effort.

On Mineral Hill, ready to head home.

Looking back at the traverse.

Nice trail running on the way out.

Thoughts:  I think this is a fun loop, but it is a little too scrappy and the peaks are not commanding enough for it to quite rise to the status of must-do.  Still, a great day and fun to explore a new wild corner of the Bob close to town. I think running the shuttle is simplest, but a bike or car shuttle to the Bear creek trailhead to eliminate the weird return around Cooper lake.

North Trapper, Cowboy ridge loop for time

Leah and I spend a glorious weekend in the southern Bitterroot, and on the first day I did the classic North Trapper/Cowboy ridge/Trapper circuit for time.  This is one of the only high quality established alpine routes in the Bitterroot, and I have been wanting to give it a hard go for several years now. I have not been climbing recently, and the thought of quickly downclimbing past rappel anchors seemed a bit arrogant. But, the technical difficulties are not too bad, so I decided to give it a go, with caution.

I left the car at a hard but reasonable pace, and just stuck to it all the way past Baker, Middle, and Gem lakes, and up to the notch at the top of the basin.  The descent to the N. Trapper basin is relatively complex, with two couloir systems and some routefinding and tricky downclimbing, but I made it in without botching anything too badly.  The ascent of N. Trapper went quickly, and it was fun to romp up the clean slabby lower flanks of the peak.  The upper peak went quickly, and I was on one of my all time favorite peaks well ahead of schedule.

From the summit, I embarked on the traverse.  Accepting my rusty climbing skills and head, I took my time and tried to just move in an efficient, unhurried fashion through the traverse.  Even though it felt like I was moving slowly, I only botched one section and ended up pushing through the technical portion of the traverse in reasonable time.  I also found a new sneak around the second chimney, further ironing out bugs in the route.  I made up a lot of time on the non-technical climb to Trapper peak since my legs still had quite a bit of pep.  From the summit, I promptly lost the trail on the South side, but made adequate time off trail.  Once on the familiar faint climber trail above Baker lake, I just ran it out down to the lake, then out to the car.  A minor foot injury the previous week left me with no confidence to push the pace, so I ended up just cruising it in, feeling great. Total time 3 hours, 38 minutes car to car from the Baker lake trailhead.  This was an absolutely delightful outing in the most alpine region of the Bitterroot.

The rest of the weekend was spent camping, hiking, and enjoying time with Leah.

Thoughts:
First off, I forgot my camera, so apologies for the lack of images.  Even though there is not a lot of technical climbing, this is a great alpine route full of easy 4th class climbing, exposed ridgeline traversing, and tricky-ish routefinding.  For those uncomfortable with routefinding, it is very much worth bringing a rope and very light alpine rack with slings.  There are typically rap slings at each of the west side chimneys for belays or raps.  As for time/effort, I was pushing at a hard pace, but it was never super desperate or painful.  I probably lost 10 minutes total to routefinding blunders, and took the entire last downhill fairly easy to preserve my left foot, so there is room to go faster.  Still, everything went flawlessly, and I am confident that this is a quick time, if only through a small triumph of efficiency.

Beta:
Here is a very crude route description of the Cowboy traverse from N. Trapper to Trapper.  The route is of similar difficulty in the reverse direction.  The main takaways are that one is on the crest except for three spots North of the saddle, and the obvious cliff section South of the saddle, all of which are fairly intuitive:

From the N. Trapper summit, traverse south on the crest several hundred feet until it drops off steeply, and a minor sub ridge drops off to the west.  Downclimb west into an obvious gully system.  After about 100 feet of easy downclimbing, you will be on a small ledge with a large chockstone step directly below.   There will usually be rap slings above the chocksone. The chockstone can be downclimbed back down to the gully system (10 feet of easy 5th), but it is easier to traverse south on the ledge and downclimb a shallow ledge system.  Once on the lower ledge system, follow it back South to the main ridge.  Continue on the main ridge system until you encounter another steep drop on the crest. This can be easily bypassed on the west via an obvious vertical chimney.  There will usually be rap slings here.  The chimney is vertical for about 20 feet, but it is secure.  Once below the chimney, continue south on ledge systems to the crest.  Shortly before reaching the N. Trapper/Trapper saddle, one final steep step is encountered.  The easiest bypass is a narrow ledge/gully system on the East side which drops from the crest almost 100 feet north of the step.  It is likely that you will have to backtrack a bit to find it, but it is the easiest way down.  The alternative is to make a few exposed slab moves just east of the crest, then downclimb a 4th class chimney east of the crest.

From the base of this step, one can scramble to the saddle, then up easy west facing ledges to a large grassy plateau.  From the top of the plateau, the cliffy lower half of the North ridge of Trapper peak is bypassed on the West.  Take a sandy ledge system down and across the west face (several ledges go).  Stay on the easiest ledge system for several hundred feet until you arrive at a large open gully/ledge system which climbs to the skyline ridge.  This system is past most of the sheer west facing cliffs of the lower North ridge of Trapper, and just before the ledge systems shut down farther out on the west face.  Work up this open gully/ledge system, following the line of least resistance all the way to the crest.  From the crest, it is an easy 300 vertical foot class 3 climb to the main Trapper summit.

Splits for future reference:
Baker lake: 0.17; Notch ~0.45; Base of North Trapper 1.00; N. Trapper summit 1.35; Trapper summit 2.45; car 3.38

8th and 9th annual Warren Wallow

The 8th Warren wallow went undocumented last year, so this post will encompass two outings, both of which were splendid.

8th Wallow - Tamarack version
After a relaxed day of spectating the Double Dip and biking in Pattee canyon, Jeff and I drove out to the Carpp lake trailhead.  I have always wanted to camp at the trailhead to ease the morning start, and doing so was every bit as pleasant as I had hoped.  Temperatures never dipped below freezing, so we set off at first light in order to do most of our skiing before noon.  Instead of using the normal Carpp lake approach, we hiked out to Tamarack lake and skied the best looking of the couloirs in the cirque.  Aside from a little scree sneek at the top of the fan, the run was enjoyable.  From the lake, we made a long bootpack to the upper reaches of Porter ridge, then slogged up the Southwest face of Warren to the summit.  It was a long climb, and we may have donated a running shoe to the mountain gods (a story in itself), but neither of us were in a hurry and it was kind of fun to grind up well over a thousand vertical feet of loose scree in ski boots.  The normal North face route skied well, and we tacked on the exit couloir to Upper Carpp lake.  In keeping with recent tradition, these were my last turns of the year, and they were great. Much to my chagrin, I started feeling quite terrible on the hike out.  Little did I know that I would spend the next 12 hours on the couch sleeping off some ungodly stomach bug.  It was good to explore some new ski terrain while keeping the Warren streak alive, and thanks to Jeff for a great day, and for the tasty breakfast burritos.

In keeping with the lazy nature of summer skiing, neither of us had a camera or tracked our vertical, but rest assured we skied enough, and the day was beautiful.

9th Wallow - Maloney solo version
I made a solo push out to Warren on a drop dead gorgeous Sunday in mid June.  With a respectable start from town, I was jogging out of the trailhead before 8:30 am.  Aside from a couple of silly and painful 10 minute lactate threshold efforts, the approach was casual and delightful, and I was on the summit of Warren well under 3 hours from leaving the car.

Warren from Upper Carpp lake.

The North face skied as well as I have ever seen it, with consistent snow top to bottom, and a convenient sneek around the choke that was in the sun and not icy.  To my surprise, as I was snacking at the pothole lake, a lone runner popped up on the horizon, and within just a few minutes joined me at my snack spot.  Turns out it was Mike Wolfe, who was out for a few hours during a family backpack trip.  Always fun to see great people in the mountains.

Ready to ski Warren's classic North face run.

A Wolfe in its natural environment.

For my second run, I climbed a snow strip looker's left of the standard North face, which ties in to the lower couloir system on the Wiggler run.  It is more exposed to rock and ice fall than ideal, but I moved quickly through the exposed bits, and was soon on top of the Wiggler exit couloir.  The couloir was great fun.  With a few extra hours to burn, I kept working deeper into Malloney basin, skiing two shorter runs between Warren and the next peak east before calling it a day.   I may have missed the trail on the way out, but eventually found it and ran out to the car with a big grin on my face, tired and content from another great last ski day in the mountains.

Second run in the lower Wiggler couloir.

Excited to check out some new terrain in Maloney basin.

Maloney basin skiing.

More Maloney basin skiing.

Hmmm. That looks fun. Always something to come back for.

Beaverhead ski rambling

A warm spring has ski season drawing to a premature close, but I was able to sneak away to the Big Hole valley for two days of skiing. No agenda, just camp and ski.

Sacajawea peak couloir bounce

Couloirs in the Sacajawea cirque.

After a crisp morning driving the last few miles of jeep road and firing up the stove for coffee and breakfast, I rolled out of the trailhead shortly after 7 am.  The trail to and around upper Miner lake was quick, and I was trudging up the first run of the day from the lake inlet less than two hours after leaving the car.  I opted to ski one of the steeper couloirs in the northern edge of the cirque first before the snow got too warm.  The ascent was straightforward, and I was soon transitioning at a tiny perch below the ridgeline cornice.  The steep hanging upper snowfield demanded full attention. Fortunately, the technical difficulties were brief, and I was soon safe and sound in the gut of the couloir.  The rest of the run skied well.

First run.  All cued up for couloir skiing!
Homer Youngs  peak in the background.

Lunch break after the first run.

Next up was a pair of couloirs on the northern flank of Sacajawea peak.  Both runs terminate a few hundred feet below the top, and I am yet to summit this craggy mountain.  A long boot/skin/boot put me on top of the first run.  To my delight, the snow was excellent, just-plain-fun couloir skiing.  I stopped at the tarn above the lake and spun a lap in the other fork of the couloir, which was slightly shorter but equally enjoyable, with the added bonus of skiing the exit chute to the lake.  Second lunch was deluxe with good food and a little shoes-off nap.

Looking up the second and third runs.

Looking down the third run.

From the lake, I made another almost 2,000 foot climb to a similar couloir system, skied it, and made a final exit climb to the high ridge east of the cirque.  The final few hundred feet of scree to the ridgeline were loose and acutely unenjoyable.  Fortunately, I wasn't in a hurry, and slowly slip-slid my way up.  I traversed the rocky ridge crest east for almost an hour as gusty winds blew high clouds in and out.  The long exit snowfield was a great last run. After wading the creek with ski boots on, a few miles of jogging had me back at a mosquito-infested car by early evening.  Great day in one of the finest couloir skiing zones around.  Something around 9,000 vertical feet done in about 11.5 hours.

Upper Miner lake.  from high on Sacajawea.
To exit, I traversed the right skyline ridge and skied the most
continuous snow stripe, crossing the creek below the lake outlet.

Big Swamp creek exploration
I have heard that the skiing is good around Ajax peak, so I drove up the drainage without an agenda before settling in for an evening of cooking and relaxing in solitude.  I decided to ski an unnamed 10,000 foot peak east of the crest because of its two prominent and aesthetic ski lines and easy access from the car.  In the morning, I struck out off trail to the base of the peak after a hearty breakfast of fresh coffee and leftover curry.  Morning visibility was nil, but fortunately the ski runs were obvious, the rain never came, and there was enough rock at the edge of the snow to keep vertigo in check.

Looking up at the two lines in Big swamp creek (far left and right).
They are better than they look in the photo.

The first run was a long, clean gully well east of the summit proper, and the second was the best of a group of gullies which drop from near the summit.  They were both highly recommended runs, and I was surprised to see an old set of ski tracks.  Having skied the best lines in the cirque, I devised a plan to summit, ridge traverse to the next cirque west, and ski it out to the car.  The climb to the summit was enjoyable, but to my dismay, there was very little snow in the adjacent cirque.  With plenty of time and limited other ski options, I traversed out there anyway, eventually linking snow patches down to a remote lake at snowline.  Since there was not enough snow to justify a second run, I peeled ski boots off and took a nice nap in the sun.  The exit was easy. Shod in running shoes, I was back at the car after a short bushwack to the road and a blissfully short 10 minutes of road jogging.  Aside from working through some residual fatigue, this was a relaxed day, less than 5,000 vertical feet done in about 7 hours.

Second run. Good stuff!

Looking west to Ajax peak and the snowless cirque that I scrambled out to.

Running races, summer 2016

With my primary focus this summer on unstructured adventures, the plan is to wrap all running races into a single post.

Note: these reports are written in large part for myself, and as such there will be a lot of personal ruminating, as opposed to inspiring writing about the race.  Also, note, I am a relatively slow runner.  Find someone faster to follow if you want more exciting front of the pack action.

Snowbowl 15k, August 6

I signed up last minute for the Snowbowl 15k.  With good knowledge of the course and reasonable fitness, my goal was to run a fast, even race and not blow up.  I also allowed a respectable taper, so there were no excuses for a bad race.  After the normal warm up and pre-race jitters, we were off.  To my surprise, the start was fast, and it felt more like a road 10k, so I reluctantly settled a little farther back in the pack than anticipated, chugging along right at anaerobic threshold.  There is only one big climb, and after the initial sorting, I slowly began working up through the pack, but was only able to pass five or so runners before topping out.  I started down just a few yards behind the phenomenally talented Ella Degrandpre (fastest 15 year old I know of, hands down).  While Ella put me to shame on the up, I was able to harness enough energy to pass her and push ahead into no-man's land.  About a mile out, I also passed Nicole Hunt.  I was pleased to maintain a 6 min/mile pace on the down, but it was not enough to pass anyone else before crossing the line in 11th place, 1.14.  A few calf twinges in the last mile were confirmation that I had pushed reasonably hard.

This race was a lot of fun.  I could have dug deeper and found a minute or two on the climb, but otherwise I felt good about my race.  Effort was right at anaerobic threshold for the climb (avg HR ~169), and hard enough on the down (avg HR ~164).  Equally important, I didn't have to stop for any of the myriad possible reasons (eating, sideache, cramping, peeing, tieing shoes, etc) the entire race, which hopefully offset any deficiencies in pushing to the limit.

Scout Mountain 60k, June 4

I returned to the beautiful trails of Pocatello in early June for another go at this runnable course.  My primary goal was to run an even race with a strong secondary goal of improving my solid time from two years ago.  The race went well.  A bunch of runners went out fast, but I started off at a reasonable 50k pace and rolled with a group, topping out somewhere around 10th place.  After advancing several spots by skipping the first water stop, I ran at a bright but still slightly restrained pace all the way to the first aid, then ran to the second aid with two other runners.  I ran into the 25k aid nine minutes behind my previous time, but feeling much better.  

The second half of the course is dominated with a big, beautiful and hot climb over Scout mountain.  It makes or breaks most runners' races.  My two fellow 60K runners took off blazing up the climb, and I them go, hoping for a fade on their part.  Sure enough, over the course of the next two hours, I would pass them as well as the 3rd place runner, who was suffering mightily in the heat.  My slower early pace start started to return dividends, as I still felt reasonable, which allowed much more uphill running, and no cramping on the long downhill to last aid station.  In terms of competition, I was in no mans land for the last half of the race, with 10+ minute gaps on both sides. While I was tired for sure, I was pleased to have enough energy in the tank to more or less hold the pace over the last 10k.  I topped out on the last climb gassed and with some minor calf, adductor and hip flexor cramps, but they stayed at bay enough to push reasonably to the finish, with one spectacular cartwheeling stumble to keep things entertaining.  I ran 6.41 over 60K with about 8,500 feet of elevation, which was a six minute improvement over my 2014 time.

As always, thanks to overall awesome all around person Luke Nelson for organizing this event, and for everyone from the community who pitches in to make it so enjoyable.  In addition to a good course, the low key vibe coupled with top notch support and execution make for an enjoyable event.

Training geek comments for future reference:
Overall, I continue to be satisfied with incremental improvement. While I could take more risks and probably find another minute or two along the way, I am gaining confidence in pacing and general race execution for a solid 50k race.  In terms of effort, I was able to push incrementally harder than in similar races last year.  I used a HR monitor and ran most of the uphills with my HR in the low to mid 150s, and ran the downhills in the upper 140s.  I tried slowly running more of the douche grade climbs instead of struggling to walk fast, which seemed to work, and I kept the pace comfortable/in check on the first few downhills.  Also, I took some time at aids to wage war on the heat, drinking extra water and soaking my head and shirt. I haven't had any desire to heat train ever (sounds awful), and haven't quite ultra-geeked out enough to get an ice pack neck band, but so far even minor attention to heat makes a big difference.

My training leading up to the race was different than in the past.  A sprained ankle only allowed me to start running about ten weeks out from the race, and the first two weeks were spent slowy ratcheting up mileage and ankle confidence.  Weekly spring running volume was comparable to past years, but I did fewer long runs, and did more quality and strength work, and ran more each day on average.  I am still following Mike Wolfe's training plans with heavy modifications for running and they have been great, especially for strength/stability/injury prevention work. Aside from a few quad banging top to bottom repeats on Sentinel, I generally favored moderate grades to get a lot of leg turn over.  While my cardiovascular fitness isn't any better than in the past, I don't think it has suffered, and I my running form and general muscular resilience are slightly improved.

Honestly, my biggest current worry is trying to figure out why my general level of energy has been poor for the past month or so.  I did get a little sick, but even before and after, I have been sporadically sluggish, struggling through some runs and feeling OK for others.  I am hoping energy levels will stage a major come back after a rest week of biking and skiing.

Superfun(d) 10k, April 23

On a very rainy Saturday put a big kibosh on our plans, so Leah and I showed up and ran the Superfun(d) road 10k hosted by Run Wild Missoula.  I did a minimal two day taper, but showed up feeling adequately rested for a decent performance.  Having never run a proper length 10k race, I headed out at a goal pace of 5.50 miles and just tried to hang on.  I was able to hold the pace for the race, although it was fiercer than I had hoped for over the last third.  I moved up over the first two miles, until I was running in the lead, which I held to the finish.  I don't remember my exact time, but it was 37 something, 5.50 mile splits.

Training geek comments for future reference:  I wore a HR monitor, and was surprised that I couldn't keep 'er higher than 170 - maybe I wasn't rested as well as I thought, or perhaps lactate threshold HR is lower than I thought.  For now, I'll just try to run lactate threshold sessions easier and keep tinkering.

Scapegoat - Red Mountain

Jeffrey walking to the summit of Red Mountain.

I have always wanted to spend more time in the Bob Marshall, so it seemed fitting to explore the area around its highest peak on skis.  My first trip was on a cold, blustery day in mid May, hoping for a reasonable morning weather window that never materialized.  As such, I used a wonky low elevation approach to Red mountain before climbing the Southeast face to a point just below the summit ridge. Stymied by a blustery, miserable whiteout, I bailed, and the remainder of the day was spent skiing various shorter runs on the way back to the car.

Time to head back to the car after getting shut down by weather.
Tail firmly tucked between my legs.

A week later, much improved weather allowed a direct climb to the summit.  The approach route is somewhat convoluted, but it isn't actually too far, just a bit bush wackey and awkward in spots. With nicely refrozen snow, Jeffrey and I climbed to the top of Red mountain in under three hours via the south ridge.  We rallied an early start, so snow on the Northeast face was still frozen, but it was not too steep or scary, and I had a blast.  Firm conditions made for a quick walk back up, and we traversed to the next peak south (Blonde mountain?) before dropping into the cleanest couloir on the Southeast face.  The run was great. The face has four nice couloirs, and a return trip is warranted.

At the bottom of the Northeast face of Red Mountain.

At the bottom of our second run on Blonde mountain.
The couloirs in the cirque are better than they look in the picture.

We followed bear tracks to the top of our short third run, which would have been better if we had enough time to extend it another few hundred feet to its logical terminus.  Instead, we exited stage right for a final climb to the basin which would most cleanly deposit us near the car.  One last enjoyable run was followed by a long shuss to the end of the snow, which was remarkably smooth.  We were both feeling relaxed at the end of the day, and just walked back to the car in about an hour from snowline in running shoes. It was satisfying to return to this nice high corner of the Scapegoat and have such a remarkably effortless day.

Climbing to our fourth run, with our third run in the background.

Looking down our fourth run.
Our egress route is visible along the bench on the skier's right side of the basin.

End of the snow.

Between the long drive, shorter runs, and slightly awkward approaches and egresses, the Copper creek area a little off compared to other Missoula spring skiing locales.  In addition, about half of the skiiable terrain is open to snowmobiles, and it appears they hit it pretty hard well into the spring.  However, there is a lot of terrain, and the climate (drier) and spring snowpack (more wind consolidated/better potential for good corn) are reason enough to keep it on the radar, especially as the road opens up in May, and on days when conditions closer to Missoula are sub optimal.  Finally, while Red mountain is the technical high point, the skiing is no better than more easily accessible options closer to the car.  For stats, a little over 6k vert, done in about 7 hours car to car.

Grizzly tracks.