As part of the lead up to the Gore Tex Grand Traverse, we have been making some budget home movies to highlight our training, gear, and clothing. This is the second one in our series and is complete with cheesy voice over and sponsor graphics. The skiers are goofy and the footage a little shaky, but the beauty of the Wasatch is undeniable.
Enjoy...
Three Great Days from andy dorais on Vimeo.
Monday, March 11, 2013
2013 Wasatch Powderkeg
This weekend the annual Wasatch Powderkeg was held again and was a huge success. The new three day format seemed to be a big draw for some of the top national talent as well as many local racers who wanted to experience racing with a partner across some more technical terrain. I was unable to participate in the Teams Race but can speak first hand of the Sprint and Individual Races.
But first, I'd like to offer a few observations. Of all the races I've attended, the Powderkeg is one of the most well attended and with a truly festive environment. Many major sponsors had demo booths, food and drink was provided, and the prize loot and raffle are the deepest and richest I've seen. $700 to the winners of the men's and women's race division is a worthy prize for sure. Thanks to Colleen, Andrew, and everyone else that started the PKeg and to the Brackelsburgs and everyone else that has kept it going and helped it evolve into one of the premier events in the country. And Brighton certainly deserves a healthy dose of credit for their role in supporting the uphill movement. Well done Brighton! They should be awarded the slogan of another local resort (which should have the slogan taken away). Brighton, a place for skiers!
Getting back to the racing (full results here)...
Sprint Race:
Friday night a sprint race was held, patterned after the European style. First, a time trial took place over the short course which consisted of a lower angle approach to some kick turns, a booter, a short skin, a DH through gates, and finally a short skate to the finish. National Champion, John Gaston turned into the fastest qualifier of f a 3:23 and I was pleased to be seeded second with a 3:25. Everyone else was just seconds back but because of growing darkness, the semi-final round was bypassed in favor of an eight man final. On the women's side, with only 5 entrants, everyone made the final after a "qualifying" round to warm up properly.
With the light fading to gray, we took off, a flurry of poles and carbon fiber, fighting for position. I experienced some technical difficulty and quickly found myself in the back. Pissed at my mistakes, I was pleased to see Jason gapping the other guys on the boot track en route to a win in 3:21. John Gaston was second and Luke Neson third.
The well loved adopted member of the Wasatch, Gemma Arro Ribot (from Cataluña) won the women's sprint with her friend Marta taking second and National Team member, Meredith Edwards rounding out the podium.
Sprints are a blast, hurt like an 800 on the track, are spectator friendly and punish foolish mistakes. I hope to see more of them accompanying other races around the country.
Individual Race:
With six inches of snow overnight, the individual race on Saturday morning was delayed by 30 minutes as the Brighton patrol performed some last minute avy control work to mitigate the danger of 200 people traipsing around the surrounding backcountry.
Once started, the race was fantastic with fresh powder and longer descents and climbs than traditionally found in the PKeg. With the new snow, the guy out front had to work a little harder on the first couple climbs since the skin track had partially blown in, but this made for a more relaxed first climb than usual. Well, for everyone except Luke who seemed hellbent on destroying himself early and broke almost the entire way up Clayton Peak. Near the top when he was post holing to mid thing in places, I yelled, "BRAVO LUKE!" and the rest of the guys in the front pack also cheered him on. He claimed the premium for the king of the hill but seemed to have taxed himself a bit too much for the rest of the race.
From there, it stayed fairly close with the Aspen cream rising again to the top as Max Taam and John Gaston went 1-2 followed by Tom Goth, Jason, myself, Brian Wickenhauser (who amazingly raced most of the course with a broken boot), Luke Nelson, Gerard (also from Catalonia), Jon Brown, and Teague Holmes to round out the top ten.
I was really pleased to finish strong and to ski more aggressively. I still managed to find myself upside down in the air once but apparently my crash wasn't as spectacular as Jason as he reports tomahawking down the third descent. I wish I could have been just a little closer at the time to see that!
Overall, I think this was my favorite PKeg Course yet and liked the changes that were made as a result of the Forest Service making some cuts to the traditional one.
Teams Race:
Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the teams race but from what I hear, it was also a fantastic course. There was a technical section that required racers to use harnesses and a via ferrata and covered over 8500 vertical with fresh snow and tight competition. While I was sore and enjoyed sleeping in a little, I would have loved to have been there.
Ultimately, Max and John took the win...again. Tom and Luke were close throughout and if it weren't for a broken boot (that had Luke taking his off mid climb and trading with a spectator), they may have pulled it off. They were followed by the Team Crested Butte guys, Wick and JB.
Next year, it looks as if the Powderkeg may become a full ISMF certified World Cup race with perhaps a contingent of Euros coming over to race. With the growth of the sport, local race series popping up around the country, and an infusion of new talent, maybe collectively we can rise to the challenge. Hope to see you all there!
But first, I'd like to offer a few observations. Of all the races I've attended, the Powderkeg is one of the most well attended and with a truly festive environment. Many major sponsors had demo booths, food and drink was provided, and the prize loot and raffle are the deepest and richest I've seen. $700 to the winners of the men's and women's race division is a worthy prize for sure. Thanks to Colleen, Andrew, and everyone else that started the PKeg and to the Brackelsburgs and everyone else that has kept it going and helped it evolve into one of the premier events in the country. And Brighton certainly deserves a healthy dose of credit for their role in supporting the uphill movement. Well done Brighton! They should be awarded the slogan of another local resort (which should have the slogan taken away). Brighton, a place for skiers!
Getting back to the racing (full results here)...
Sprint Race:
Friday night a sprint race was held, patterned after the European style. First, a time trial took place over the short course which consisted of a lower angle approach to some kick turns, a booter, a short skin, a DH through gates, and finally a short skate to the finish. National Champion, John Gaston turned into the fastest qualifier of f a 3:23 and I was pleased to be seeded second with a 3:25. Everyone else was just seconds back but because of growing darkness, the semi-final round was bypassed in favor of an eight man final. On the women's side, with only 5 entrants, everyone made the final after a "qualifying" round to warm up properly.
With the light fading to gray, we took off, a flurry of poles and carbon fiber, fighting for position. I experienced some technical difficulty and quickly found myself in the back. Pissed at my mistakes, I was pleased to see Jason gapping the other guys on the boot track en route to a win in 3:21. John Gaston was second and Luke Neson third.
The well loved adopted member of the Wasatch, Gemma Arro Ribot (from Cataluña) won the women's sprint with her friend Marta taking second and National Team member, Meredith Edwards rounding out the podium.
Sprints are a blast, hurt like an 800 on the track, are spectator friendly and punish foolish mistakes. I hope to see more of them accompanying other races around the country.
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| The beloved Gemma along with worthy opponents Marta and Meredith |
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| Jason on top with John and Luke |
Individual Race:
With six inches of snow overnight, the individual race on Saturday morning was delayed by 30 minutes as the Brighton patrol performed some last minute avy control work to mitigate the danger of 200 people traipsing around the surrounding backcountry.
Once started, the race was fantastic with fresh powder and longer descents and climbs than traditionally found in the PKeg. With the new snow, the guy out front had to work a little harder on the first couple climbs since the skin track had partially blown in, but this made for a more relaxed first climb than usual. Well, for everyone except Luke who seemed hellbent on destroying himself early and broke almost the entire way up Clayton Peak. Near the top when he was post holing to mid thing in places, I yelled, "BRAVO LUKE!" and the rest of the guys in the front pack also cheered him on. He claimed the premium for the king of the hill but seemed to have taxed himself a bit too much for the rest of the race.
From there, it stayed fairly close with the Aspen cream rising again to the top as Max Taam and John Gaston went 1-2 followed by Tom Goth, Jason, myself, Brian Wickenhauser (who amazingly raced most of the course with a broken boot), Luke Nelson, Gerard (also from Catalonia), Jon Brown, and Teague Holmes to round out the top ten.
I was really pleased to finish strong and to ski more aggressively. I still managed to find myself upside down in the air once but apparently my crash wasn't as spectacular as Jason as he reports tomahawking down the third descent. I wish I could have been just a little closer at the time to see that!
Overall, I think this was my favorite PKeg Course yet and liked the changes that were made as a result of the Forest Service making some cuts to the traditional one.
Teams Race:
Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the teams race but from what I hear, it was also a fantastic course. There was a technical section that required racers to use harnesses and a via ferrata and covered over 8500 vertical with fresh snow and tight competition. While I was sore and enjoyed sleeping in a little, I would have loved to have been there.
Ultimately, Max and John took the win...again. Tom and Luke were close throughout and if it weren't for a broken boot (that had Luke taking his off mid climb and trading with a spectator), they may have pulled it off. They were followed by the Team Crested Butte guys, Wick and JB.
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| This has to break some kind of ISMF rule. And, it's awesome. Way to finish Luke and Tom! (photo stolen from the interweb) |
Friday, March 8, 2013
Rando Stuff for Sale
I can tell I've been a little obsessed with gear and now have too much. It's a good problem though and hopefully someone out there can pick something up that will be useful. Feel free to contact me through this site to haggle over price and shipping.
Here's the list:
Here's the list:
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| Ski Trab Race Aero World Cups, 164 cm, $250 |
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| Drilled once, good condition |
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| La Sportiva Stratos Evo, Size 27.0, $500 |
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| Resoled |
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| La Sportiva Baturas, Size 43.5, $150 Near perfect condition - used once |
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| Dynafit TLT 5, Size 27.0, $150 |
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| Pretty beat TLTs but cheap! |
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| Dynafit DyNA Evo, Size 27.0, $700 |
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| Used one season for racing. In good condition. |
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| Ski Trab Stelvio XL (171 cm) with Trab TR Race Bindings, $500 without bindings $300 |
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| Stelvio bases |
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| Voile Drifters, 171 cm, $250 New in the wrapper |
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| Garmont Mega Ride boots, Size 28.0, $75 Lightly used |
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| Cheap Swix poles, free if I like you |
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Pleasing the Boss Pfeifferhorn Style
Last week Jason sent me a text saying that we would be skiing with one of our bosses today. You can't say no to your superiors. Right? Luckily, this particular boss is super cool and we'd like to hang out with him in the mountains even if he didn't hold power over us.
He had never been to the summit of the Pfeiff and had an understandable fascination with it. We do too since it's one of the more alpine feeling peaks in the Wasatch and there's just something inspiring about steep snow and granite.
The boss surprised by moving quite well, making the trip to the summit in right around three hours. And, he's now talking of getting even lighter gear!
Speaking of light gear, the rappel was done with a single 35 meter 6 millimeter piece of cord. We brought two, just in case, but one did the trick. My feeling is that for rappels only, 6 mm cord is definitely the way to go as it takes many pound off one's back and takes up significantly less space in the pack. Also, I've been skiing nearly every day on the Trab Maestro skis and have found them to be a very useful and appropriate tool for ski mountaineering. They weigh 950 grams and when combined with a race binding, still come in at under 1100 grams. This allows for a fast cadence, almost as if on race skis. It also makes technical climbing easier since they are lighter on the pack. As for the skiing, we've recently encountered perfect powder, rock hard baby head roller balls and everything in between. They probably excel most on hard smooth surfaces but have done just fine in all conditions. Of course more testing is needed so I better go skiing again today!
Here are some pictures from the Pfeifferhorn, beautiful as always. Jason shot the best ones and I think is developing a nice talent in photography.
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| Gaining the White Baldy/Pfeifferhorn Ridge |
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| Mild winds as forecasted |
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| VWD pulling into the tempest |
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| Photo by JD |
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| The always fun ridge traverse (photo by JD) |
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| VWD scrambling |
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| VWD |
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| Jason, cool texture, and Utah Lake |
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| We saw a couple other guys on the summit, thanked them for the skin track/booter, and then waited for them to claim what was theirs. |
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| Pointing out something important to Virgil (photo by JD) |
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| For some reason there's no snow from the summit so we had to traverse into it. (photo by JD) |
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| Sneak entrance into the NW Couloir (photo by JD) |
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| Jason getting started down the NW Couloir in pleasant conditions |
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| Here's Jason make a calculated sloppy turn just above the rappell |
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| Rappelling with about 35 meters of 6mm cord. I barely noticed it in my pack. (photo by JD) |
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| Virgil getting the goods (photo by JD) |
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| VWD and the lower NW Couloir |
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| The final apron |
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| One of my favorite ridges |
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| One last test for the day |
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Cascade Peak Couloirs
It's been a great week for skiing, starting with cold temps and nice powder, and now ending with spring like conditions. We've taken advantage of our available time and today was no different. Trying to squeeze in another pilgrimage to the county, we set our sights on one of the couloirs on the south end of Cascade Peak.
Jim Knight has recommended the Upper Pole Couloir but for convenience it was going to have to wait for another day as it was the farthest from our starting point at the mouth of Rock Canyon. From the outset, we were pleased that there was still snow from the parking lot and made quick work of the approach to the base of the Grr Couloir. With the recent warm temps and expected high in the 50s today, we were concerned about the possibility of ongoing wet activity.
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| Tom and Jason approaching the Grr Couloir |
Then we pulled into the mouth of the thing and saw that the warm March sun had already done it's work. Happily, was threw our skis on our backs and hiked up the frozen debris.
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| Best snow on earth |
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| Tom, Jason, and Layne |
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| Tom nearing the top of the couloir. |
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| Layne near the top of the Grr |
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| JD, happy as can be in his ladies googles |
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| I don't know if he's scratching his brow or hanging his head in shame |
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| Jason tries not to bomb loose rock on Tom and Layne |
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| Topping out the V0 ridge move |
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| Tom and Jason high on Cascade |
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| Tom Goth on the South Summit with Freedom and Provo Peaks in the background |
If not, our wives, children, and employers would not be happy.
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| Tom Goth skiing the greatest snow on earth with Mount Timpanogos in the background |
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| A little more Tom |
As we descended, the snow of the upper bowel gave way to a narrower, icier, and steeper pitch with enclosing walls of warm rock. Jason was out front shouting something about how he wasn't sure of something. Not waiting to find out, I skirted to the skier's left and picked my way through the cliff bands to emerge underneath his position. Jason, Tom, and Layne persisted in a game of whippet assisted side stepping until they too were through the difficulties. Well, Jason and Tom did. Layne didn't have a whippet so his experience was likely more memorable, plus he was on race skis and he forgot his helmet. I almost felt bad for him and almost lent him a whippet earlier in the day. In the end, I was glad to have both.
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| Jason emerges from the icy choke |
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| Jason, debris, the lower South Summit Couloir, and Utah Lake |
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| Tom finishing up |
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| Tom, a runnel, and some very firm snow |
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| Tom, some debris, and some very nice snow |
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| JD heading home |
1500 feet of luge style skiing ensued with hopefully only a few children and BYU students getting scared.
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| Tom and a nice young family |
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| I think Layne was happy to be done in time to relive his wife from the kids so she could go running with mine. |
Stuff I used...
Scarpa Alien 1.0 boots
Ski Trab Maestro skis, Race Helmet, Nordic Race Gloves and Sport Evo Jacket
BD Whippets
Outdoor Research Radiant Hybrid Hoody
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