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| East Ridge of Mt. Matier |
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| Nick hiking in Ceriese Creek |
Showing posts with label Nick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nick. Show all posts
Friday, October 26, 2012
First Ski!
I have never had snow on my birthday but Friday night, after celebrating with Sarah, it started to snow in the mountains. Saturday morning we woke up to snow low on the north shore and even saw a bit down in the valley during a run. I had to wait until Wednesday for a full day free but when it finally came, I got an early start driving to Pemberton.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Trip Report - Mt. Weart Recon
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North face of Mount Weart
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Monday, October 1, 2012
Race - 2012 Rubble Creek Classic
Sarah and I went to Squamish on Saturday night and stayed with my former roommate Nick. Sunday morning we got up exceptionally early and headed off in the dark to the Garibaldi Lake Trailhead North of Squamish. We met our friend Ed there at 6:30 and continued on to the Chekamus Lake Trailhead near Whistler.
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Friday, September 14, 2012
Race - Semi-Alcoholic Traverse
Three weeks ago, Stano and I set out to do the Semi-Alcoholic Traverse. This is a high alpine ridge run from Brandywine Mountain to Cypress Mountain. Aparently the proper Alcoholic Traverse finishes at Brew rather than Cypress Mountain but we decided Cypress was a better finish on a more logical route and with a better scramble at the end. We made it up Brandywine in good time but turned around as the weather deteriorated.Nick and I set out again to do it this week on a perfect crisp day. The hardest part of the traverse is arranging the cars, as you start and finish in two different places - both very far up logging roads. Having heard of epics involving mountain bikes and hitchhiking, we opted to each drive a car and do the shuttle.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Race - Joffre Enchainment in a Day
Nick and I had the day off and set our sights in climbing each of the three peaks that circle the Matier Glacier on the Duffy Lake Road in less than 12 hours; a mission partially inspired by the Ceriese Creek -> Joffre Lake Traverse by Stano F in this spring.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Race - Ken Jones Classic
March 24th was the Ken Jones Classic Ski Mountaineering Race. Nick and I drove from Vancouver to Golden on Friday and stayed at the Rondo Motel
We managed to do the entire drive during daylight and I had enough time to go for a walk around Golden to stretch out my legs before the sun went down. Nick had an upset stomach on the drive up and was feeling pretty under the weather by the time we got there. Assuming he had eaten something that didn't agree with him, he spent the afternoon napping.
With the time zone change, we woke up at 4am and headed out for Lake Louise. The drive was quick and we got registered for the race. It was a chilly -12 C at the start and the sun had not yet hit that side of the mountain. It was tough to decide what to wear in order to stay warm for the first part of the race but not overheat when the sun came out.
The first climb was on the groomed ski runs and I found it to be a bit steep in order to keep the pace. I fell in with Peter Knight who I knew to be near my speed. We were sitting in second and third when Andrew McNab overtook us.
(Photos From Ski Lake Louise)
There was a solid chase group of national team members just behind us.
(Photo From Ski Lake Louise)
Higher up the climb, we came to a section of proper skin track. Ian Gale passed us and the three of us skied together for most of the rest of the race. The first three descents were sufficiently technical on chopped up snow that I was able to make up time on the racers around me with my big skis. On the last climb I was a few seconds behind Peter, sitting in 5th place. I hoped that the last descent would give me a chance to overtake him but it proved to be an easier one. I was unable to make up any time and finished 5th as the first non-national team member for the second race in a row. Nick finished in the middle of the pack after suffering through the race feeling pretty sick.
The course had four climbs and four descents with a net elevation loss and one bootpack section.
Climb # - Ascent (meters) - Avg HR - Rate of Ascent (m/min)
1 - 611 - 181 - 17.02
2 - 217 - 176 - 15.36
3a (skinning) - 189 - 173 - 15.66
3b (booting) - 82 - 173 - 16.63
4 - 541 - 166 - 13.38
Similar to the Dogtooth Dash, I started out significantly harder and faded on the later climbs. I think a little pacing here would go a long way to allowing me to finish stronger.
When I compare my heart rate and climbing speeds for the last two races in this graph, it appears that I was climbing more efficiently in the most recent race. The lines indicate my speed at any given heart rate and in the most recent race, the line is higher. This shows that at the same heart rate, I am climbing faster. In a controlled environment, this could be explained entirely by increased fitness and efficiency. Because it is in the field though, there could be confounders. Snow conditions would be a big one. Depending on how well the skins grip the snow would seriously effect my efficiency. Other factors such as heat and hydration could play a role. I suspect these are minimal however and I think that the biggest difference is fitness and being more familiar with the style of racing.
After the race, we hung out at the resort, waiting for the awards ceremony. We hit the road and made it back to Squamish by 1am.
A few other thoughts on the race: My skis are significantly heavier than the rest of the group. Next year, an upgrade to race skis will help make up important seconds. My transitions are still pretty quick. As long as I stay calm and pay attention to what I am doing I can keep up with the fast guys. My new CAMP Rapid 260 Race Backpack worked great. The ski attachment system works fine and the tool box is a great water bottle holder. My clothing choices were a little better but I still was sweating pretty bad in the sun. A proper race suit would be great and make carrrying skins easier. A slightly shorter race, I found myself keeping a bit of energy in reserve when I should have finshed stronger. With a downhill finish, the true finish line is the top of the last climb. I took three Hammer Gel packets and finished almost 750ml of Hammer HEED. This is around 370 calories total during the race, which does not seem like very much considering it cost me around 2000 calories. The gels are a bit tough to eat cold - they get to be a very slimy consitency. It would also be nice to have one bottle with energy drink and another with plain water to wash things down.
We managed to do the entire drive during daylight and I had enough time to go for a walk around Golden to stretch out my legs before the sun went down. Nick had an upset stomach on the drive up and was feeling pretty under the weather by the time we got there. Assuming he had eaten something that didn't agree with him, he spent the afternoon napping.
With the time zone change, we woke up at 4am and headed out for Lake Louise. The drive was quick and we got registered for the race. It was a chilly -12 C at the start and the sun had not yet hit that side of the mountain. It was tough to decide what to wear in order to stay warm for the first part of the race but not overheat when the sun came out.
The first climb was on the groomed ski runs and I found it to be a bit steep in order to keep the pace. I fell in with Peter Knight who I knew to be near my speed. We were sitting in second and third when Andrew McNab overtook us.
(Photos From Ski Lake Louise)
There was a solid chase group of national team members just behind us.
(Photo From Ski Lake Louise)
Higher up the climb, we came to a section of proper skin track. Ian Gale passed us and the three of us skied together for most of the rest of the race. The first three descents were sufficiently technical on chopped up snow that I was able to make up time on the racers around me with my big skis. On the last climb I was a few seconds behind Peter, sitting in 5th place. I hoped that the last descent would give me a chance to overtake him but it proved to be an easier one. I was unable to make up any time and finished 5th as the first non-national team member for the second race in a row. Nick finished in the middle of the pack after suffering through the race feeling pretty sick.
The course had four climbs and four descents with a net elevation loss and one bootpack section.
Climb # - Ascent (meters) - Avg HR - Rate of Ascent (m/min)
1 - 611 - 181 - 17.02
2 - 217 - 176 - 15.36
3a (skinning) - 189 - 173 - 15.66
3b (booting) - 82 - 173 - 16.63
4 - 541 - 166 - 13.38
Similar to the Dogtooth Dash, I started out significantly harder and faded on the later climbs. I think a little pacing here would go a long way to allowing me to finish stronger.
When I compare my heart rate and climbing speeds for the last two races in this graph, it appears that I was climbing more efficiently in the most recent race. The lines indicate my speed at any given heart rate and in the most recent race, the line is higher. This shows that at the same heart rate, I am climbing faster. In a controlled environment, this could be explained entirely by increased fitness and efficiency. Because it is in the field though, there could be confounders. Snow conditions would be a big one. Depending on how well the skins grip the snow would seriously effect my efficiency. Other factors such as heat and hydration could play a role. I suspect these are minimal however and I think that the biggest difference is fitness and being more familiar with the style of racing.
After the race, we hung out at the resort, waiting for the awards ceremony. We hit the road and made it back to Squamish by 1am.
A few other thoughts on the race: My skis are significantly heavier than the rest of the group. Next year, an upgrade to race skis will help make up important seconds. My transitions are still pretty quick. As long as I stay calm and pay attention to what I am doing I can keep up with the fast guys. My new CAMP Rapid 260 Race Backpack worked great. The ski attachment system works fine and the tool box is a great water bottle holder. My clothing choices were a little better but I still was sweating pretty bad in the sun. A proper race suit would be great and make carrrying skins easier. A slightly shorter race, I found myself keeping a bit of energy in reserve when I should have finshed stronger. With a downhill finish, the true finish line is the top of the last climb. I took three Hammer Gel packets and finished almost 750ml of Hammer HEED. This is around 370 calories total during the race, which does not seem like very much considering it cost me around 2000 calories. The gels are a bit tough to eat cold - they get to be a very slimy consitency. It would also be nice to have one bottle with energy drink and another with plain water to wash things down.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Race - Canadian Ski Mountaineering National Championships - 2012 Dogtooth Dash
After an excellent trip to the Rockies with Sarah, this weekend was the Canadian Skimo Championships in Golden B.C. Dad and I drove up Friday with a stop for a ski in Rogers Pass and then met Nick and Paul in Golden for the race. Golden is a fun town and Kicking Horse is a pretty cool resort. Very well suited to holding a race like this
Saturday was a 15km race with 6000ft of vertical climbing. We were a bit unsure of ourselves in our first race ever but managed to figure things out pretty quickly.
Nick and I started off in a good position and were sitting in the top 5 but by the third (and biggest) climb of the day, the group of four that we were racing with started to pull away. We held contact with them hoping they would lose some steam but by the last climb, another big one, they stepped up the pace a bit as we started to fade. Nick broke a pole but still managed to give me a run for my money. We ended up in 6th and 7th place and only 6 minutes off the podium (in a 2:30 long race) and were the first two non-national team finishers.
Looking at my heart rate profile, it is clear that I started too hard. It seems like it would be tough to hold back early in the race when people are jockying for position but looking at the average HR for each climb I think it is much more reasonable to stay in the 173-179 bpm range and try to pick up the pace later in the race.
My tranisitons were fast even with the big skis and I didnt have any skin trouble during the race. My big skis were great on the downhills but a lighter pair of race skis will go a long way on the uphills. The homemade ski carrying pack worked but was not as efficient as a proper skimo pack. I was dressed way to warm and next time will dress more as if I am competing in a nordic ski race rather than a day of downhill skiing. With all these factors resolved and at least one race under my belt, I am confident I can shave a significant amount of time.
Average heart rate, average ascent rate, and total ascent for each climb:
Climb 1 - 185 bpm - 16.5 m/min - 107 m
Climb 2 - 185 bpm - 16.3 m/min - 119 m
Climb 3 - 179 bpm - 14.6 m/min - 518 m
Climb 4 - 175 bpm - 14.0 m/min - 343 m
Climb 5 - 172 bpm - 13.6 m/min - 214 m
Climb 6 - 171 bpm - 11.7 m/min - 289 m
Sunday was a team relay of 4 x 8-minute laps. I did lap 1, 3, and 4 and Dad did lap 2. We managed not to finish last. We packed up after the relay and managed to make it back to Squamish by 10:00pm with another 1500 km of driving for the weekend.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
January Ice
Nick and I managed to get in a few days of climbing during a brief cold snap. We climbed eight pitches in the Rambles along the Duffy Lake Road and a few days later it was cold enough to climb ice in Squamish.
Shannon Falls was still flowing strong so we got in three pitches nearby. After a break for tea at home, we were able to walk into the Smoke Bluffs outside our house and climb another pitch called Alice on Ice.
Now the warm weather is back and it looks like we willl have to do a bit more driving for good climbing.
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