Pt. 12,644 (aka “Little Buff”)
10/17/08
~10 miles
~3,400 vertical
Jeff Valliere, Gerry and Jennifer Roach, Sierra and Charlie
I sent out a few e-mails to see who might be able to get up to the high country on Thursday and got a quick response from Gerry inviting me to join he and Jennifer on a hike up “Little Buff” to close out her 10 mile/Mosquito 12ers. This sounded great to me and plans were set. We had all climbed the Buffalo Peaks previously, but somehow we had all managed to overlook Little Buff.
We started from the “trailhead” off of 431 (mile 8.5) and followed one of the many old logging roads generally South and slightly West aiming for the general vicinity of the saddle between East Buffalo and Little Buff. Since it is hunting season, the three of us, plus the dogs, were adorned in an assortment of Elmer Fudd orange hunting caps, vests and flagging ribbon. We really looked like a rag tag group.
Of course we made one of the classic climbing “mistakes” that Gerry and I were recently discussing, cutting up too soon and were faced with either an unpleasant side hilling adventure across talus and unconsolidated snow or continue on our path up the fall line. Fortunately (and as we fully expected), we had not cut up toooo soon and we found an easy and more efficient route to the anticlimactic summit of Little Buff.
We took a long break on top as the weather was quite nice aside from a bit of wind, but was otherwise pleasant. For kicks, we descended to the Little Buff, East Buff saddle and explored the Lynch Creek drainage a bit, then did some extra credit bushwhacking/log road following making a perfect figure 8 and adding considerably to our “Roach Points” for the day.
All in all a great trip to the Buffalo Peaks area with great company, topped off by a stop at Coney Island for some well earned junk food.
Pictures:
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/jeffvalliere/Little%20Buff/
Sierra
Sierra
Friday, October 17, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wednesday, 10/15/08 Walker Lollipop from Eldo
Walker Ranch Lollipop from Eldorado Canyon
~14 miles (plus an extra 2 miles RT for the approach)
~3,800 vertical
I’ve been wanting to run this route hard for a long time, after running it easy and hiking it several times. George's recent post renewed my interest in the area and I was eagerly planning it in my mind for the past few days. I parked where the Eldo road turns to dirt and ran in the back way via the Fowler Trail and got to the visitors center in 12 minutes going very easy. Used the bathroom and mentally prepared myself for the pain and suffering to come as I was not really sure how I would feel.
I paced myself pretty reasonably up the trail, reaching the park boundary in a little over 7 minutes and then kept up my effort through the technical sections and up and down the rollers. I was hoping to get to the Walker Loop in less than 30 to help build a little bit of a cushion (as I was hoping to do the entire run in 2 hours), but got there in 30:18, not too bad I guess, but I had my work cut out. Just to change things up, I decided to run the loop clockwise and made quick work of the steep “hike a bike” section, cresting the far ridge after 3 minutes on the loop. From here, I just tried my best to maintain a steady tempo on the gradual to rolling climb. I passed a mountain biker as I neared the far parking lot and was sure I would get re-passed by him on the downhill, but I was surprised to hold him off (or he took a break or got on the road).
I worked hard to maintain good turnover, which is key on this route, but I was quickly realizing that I was a bit naïve to think I would be able to run this whole thing in 2 hours, given the fact that I have not done any “fast” running with quick turnover in months, and even that was very minimal. It took me exactly 1:04 to run the loop, then 10 minutes to crest the ridge on the climb out of the canyon. I was really starting to hurt and I knew I would not make 2:00, but was willing to accept slightly over, no worse than 2:05 I was hoping. I kept repeating in my mind a statement George posted not too long ago: "This is a test of endurance, so endure dammit" or something to that effect.
I really pushed for all I was worth through the remaining rollers and technical sections and finished at 2:05:18.
I was a bit trashed afterwards, so I walked most of the way back to the car and just enjoyed the canyon and watching the climbers on the far wall. My legs are already a bit stiff, I think I might feel this one for a few days.
~14 miles (plus an extra 2 miles RT for the approach)
~3,800 vertical
I’ve been wanting to run this route hard for a long time, after running it easy and hiking it several times. George's recent post renewed my interest in the area and I was eagerly planning it in my mind for the past few days. I parked where the Eldo road turns to dirt and ran in the back way via the Fowler Trail and got to the visitors center in 12 minutes going very easy. Used the bathroom and mentally prepared myself for the pain and suffering to come as I was not really sure how I would feel.
I paced myself pretty reasonably up the trail, reaching the park boundary in a little over 7 minutes and then kept up my effort through the technical sections and up and down the rollers. I was hoping to get to the Walker Loop in less than 30 to help build a little bit of a cushion (as I was hoping to do the entire run in 2 hours), but got there in 30:18, not too bad I guess, but I had my work cut out. Just to change things up, I decided to run the loop clockwise and made quick work of the steep “hike a bike” section, cresting the far ridge after 3 minutes on the loop. From here, I just tried my best to maintain a steady tempo on the gradual to rolling climb. I passed a mountain biker as I neared the far parking lot and was sure I would get re-passed by him on the downhill, but I was surprised to hold him off (or he took a break or got on the road).
I worked hard to maintain good turnover, which is key on this route, but I was quickly realizing that I was a bit naïve to think I would be able to run this whole thing in 2 hours, given the fact that I have not done any “fast” running with quick turnover in months, and even that was very minimal. It took me exactly 1:04 to run the loop, then 10 minutes to crest the ridge on the climb out of the canyon. I was really starting to hurt and I knew I would not make 2:00, but was willing to accept slightly over, no worse than 2:05 I was hoping. I kept repeating in my mind a statement George posted not too long ago: "This is a test of endurance, so endure dammit" or something to that effect.
I really pushed for all I was worth through the remaining rollers and technical sections and finished at 2:05:18.
I was a bit trashed afterwards, so I walked most of the way back to the car and just enjoyed the canyon and watching the climbers on the far wall. My legs are already a bit stiff, I think I might feel this one for a few days.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Tuesday, 10/14/08 Shanahan Loop/Slab Recon
7 miles
2,100 vertical
Got out for 2 consecutive runs today (1 run with a 10 minute break?). Started from Shanahan at 4:30ish for Bear. Part way up, I changed my mind and decided to meet Dave, Stefan and Charlie for a run up to the Slab to recon for tomorrow's scramble. I ran something like 3 miles, mostly on trail with some off trail exploring. Met them a bit before 5 and we went easy up to the slab. They engaged the rock, while I went the more cautious and circuitous route to meet them at the short downclimb. The route through the woods was wet with patchy snow and extremely slippery. We all took it easy coming down, it was cloudy, damp and a bit chilly. Hopefully things warm up a bit and dry out for tomorrow.
2,100 vertical
Got out for 2 consecutive runs today (1 run with a 10 minute break?). Started from Shanahan at 4:30ish for Bear. Part way up, I changed my mind and decided to meet Dave, Stefan and Charlie for a run up to the Slab to recon for tomorrow's scramble. I ran something like 3 miles, mostly on trail with some off trail exploring. Met them a bit before 5 and we went easy up to the slab. They engaged the rock, while I went the more cautious and circuitous route to meet them at the short downclimb. The route through the woods was wet with patchy snow and extremely slippery. We all took it easy coming down, it was cloudy, damp and a bit chilly. Hopefully things warm up a bit and dry out for tomorrow.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Monday, 10/13/08 Bear Peak
6 miles
2,800 vertical
49 up
31 down
Got out for an easy but great run with Sierra this morning up Bear. It had snowed in Boulder and on the peaks and was amazingly beautiful. The snow increased as I went up, but was never more than an inch or two deep. It was surprisingly grippy too, like blown styrofoam. The summit boulders were treacherous though, took 6 minutes RT from the sign to the summit and back as I was being quite careful not to loose my footing. The descent was fun through the snow and Sierra bounded all over with a huge doggy grin, voicing her approval of these early signs of winter. The trees were encrusted with a shiny coat of crystaline ice, glimmering in the morning sun and the peaking aspen were especially brilliant with the added coat of ice. Great day to be out in the hills.
2,800 vertical
49 up
31 down
Got out for an easy but great run with Sierra this morning up Bear. It had snowed in Boulder and on the peaks and was amazingly beautiful. The snow increased as I went up, but was never more than an inch or two deep. It was surprisingly grippy too, like blown styrofoam. The summit boulders were treacherous though, took 6 minutes RT from the sign to the summit and back as I was being quite careful not to loose my footing. The descent was fun through the snow and Sierra bounded all over with a huge doggy grin, voicing her approval of these early signs of winter. The trees were encrusted with a shiny coat of crystaline ice, glimmering in the morning sun and the peaking aspen were especially brilliant with the added coat of ice. Great day to be out in the hills.
Saturday, 10/11/08 Flagstaff
4 miles
1,400 vertical
Allison, Sierra and I got out in the rain for a nice run. I was not eager to go out in crappy conditions, but once I did, I had a great time and was happy that I did. Just like at Pikes, I fumbled with my shell.... too hot, too cold, on with the hood, off with the hood, adjust pit zips etc.... Allison kept getting ahead and I would have to concentrate to keep up. It's a miracle I broke 3 hours at Pikes considering my mental state and lack of focus when it is that crappy out.
1,400 vertical
Allison, Sierra and I got out in the rain for a nice run. I was not eager to go out in crappy conditions, but once I did, I had a great time and was happy that I did. Just like at Pikes, I fumbled with my shell.... too hot, too cold, on with the hood, off with the hood, adjust pit zips etc.... Allison kept getting ahead and I would have to concentrate to keep up. It's a miracle I broke 3 hours at Pikes considering my mental state and lack of focus when it is that crappy out.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Thursday, 10/9/08 Free Solo of Second Flatiron and Green Mountain
Second Flatiron
Freeway II, F3 *Classic*
10/09/08
Solo
For a long time I have been wanting to climb this route. The description in Roach’s Flatiron Classics book makes it sound so easy, but I was still a little apprehensive. Several days per week I have been running past it, carefully examining what I could see from the base and the walk off. Recently, I have been watching friends scamper up the Flatirons at a near run, competing with themselves for personal bests and course bests, making it look sooo easy.
I am not fooled though, these guys are some of the best climbers/all around uber fit athletes around and are infinitely more skilled and experienced than I. Even though this stuff is a cakewalk for them, it is tough and somewhat scary for me. The consequences of a fall would most certainly be fatal, or at least life altering.
This morning, at the last minute, I decided that today was the day I was ready to tackle the 2nd Flatiron via the 800 foot long Freeway route. I have climbed the 1st and 3rd before roped to competent climbing partners, but today I was all on my own.Allison and Sierra accompanied me to the base of the climb under cloudy skies and surprisingly cold temps. I changed into my climbing shoes at the base and immidiately began scampering up. I felt a little awkward at first and stayed left where the climbing seemed to be a bit easier.
My awkwardness was compounded by the fact that Allison was watching, along with a group of tourists, I felt a little silly. About 100 feet off the deck, the terrain started tempting me right and the air under my feet seemed to increase dramatically. Tied into a rope, I would not have thought twice, but I think I got myself into some harder terrain than necessary. Good hand holds and foot holds were minimal and somewhat spaced out, requiring some reachy moves and many friction holds where I had to fully trust my sticky rubber climbing shoes.
Several times my knees began to shake and I was questioning my sanity, it sure looks easier from the ground.Soon enough though, I reached easier and less exposed terrain with better hand holds as the route made a right turn along the ridge. I scampered up, tempted to go fast, but always playing it safe and making sure I had 3 points of contact and trusted my holds. Sooner than expected, I heard a whistle, and looked up to see Allison at the walk off point at the top of my route, just as I was approaching the jump across gap. I stood and contemplated it for a moment. It is not too exposed, but it looks like it would be a hard landing, so I opted to down climb and go around.
The remainder of the route got a bit steeper, but hand holds were plentiful and bomber, so it was a great way to finish. The sun came out on the second half and warmed things nicely, including the rubber on my climbing shoes. Sure would have been nice to have that extra grip in the beginning….At the end of the route, I received a hearty congrats from Allison and Sierra, changed into my running shoes and we continued on to the summit of Green Mountain.
It ended up taking me 40 minutes for the entire climb of Freeway, extremely pokey when compared to my climbing pals that do it in 10 minutes or less, but I just took it one move at a time and played it as safe as possible and had a great time. As far as rock climbs go, this is amongst the easiest, but it was certainly one of the hardest things I have accomplished without a rope and completely on my own. I can’t wait to do it again!
Freeway II, F3 *Classic*
10/09/08
Solo
For a long time I have been wanting to climb this route. The description in Roach’s Flatiron Classics book makes it sound so easy, but I was still a little apprehensive. Several days per week I have been running past it, carefully examining what I could see from the base and the walk off. Recently, I have been watching friends scamper up the Flatirons at a near run, competing with themselves for personal bests and course bests, making it look sooo easy.
I am not fooled though, these guys are some of the best climbers/all around uber fit athletes around and are infinitely more skilled and experienced than I. Even though this stuff is a cakewalk for them, it is tough and somewhat scary for me. The consequences of a fall would most certainly be fatal, or at least life altering.
This morning, at the last minute, I decided that today was the day I was ready to tackle the 2nd Flatiron via the 800 foot long Freeway route. I have climbed the 1st and 3rd before roped to competent climbing partners, but today I was all on my own.Allison and Sierra accompanied me to the base of the climb under cloudy skies and surprisingly cold temps. I changed into my climbing shoes at the base and immidiately began scampering up. I felt a little awkward at first and stayed left where the climbing seemed to be a bit easier.
My awkwardness was compounded by the fact that Allison was watching, along with a group of tourists, I felt a little silly. About 100 feet off the deck, the terrain started tempting me right and the air under my feet seemed to increase dramatically. Tied into a rope, I would not have thought twice, but I think I got myself into some harder terrain than necessary. Good hand holds and foot holds were minimal and somewhat spaced out, requiring some reachy moves and many friction holds where I had to fully trust my sticky rubber climbing shoes.
Several times my knees began to shake and I was questioning my sanity, it sure looks easier from the ground.Soon enough though, I reached easier and less exposed terrain with better hand holds as the route made a right turn along the ridge. I scampered up, tempted to go fast, but always playing it safe and making sure I had 3 points of contact and trusted my holds. Sooner than expected, I heard a whistle, and looked up to see Allison at the walk off point at the top of my route, just as I was approaching the jump across gap. I stood and contemplated it for a moment. It is not too exposed, but it looks like it would be a hard landing, so I opted to down climb and go around.
The remainder of the route got a bit steeper, but hand holds were plentiful and bomber, so it was a great way to finish. The sun came out on the second half and warmed things nicely, including the rubber on my climbing shoes. Sure would have been nice to have that extra grip in the beginning….At the end of the route, I received a hearty congrats from Allison and Sierra, changed into my running shoes and we continued on to the summit of Green Mountain.
It ended up taking me 40 minutes for the entire climb of Freeway, extremely pokey when compared to my climbing pals that do it in 10 minutes or less, but I just took it one move at a time and played it as safe as possible and had a great time. As far as rock climbs go, this is amongst the easiest, but it was certainly one of the hardest things I have accomplished without a rope and completely on my own. I can’t wait to do it again!
Wednesday, 10/08/08 Green Mountain
8.5 miles
3,460 vertical
Before spectating Bill's scrambling "event" from the base of the 1st Flatiron, I took a quick trip up Green via the 1st access trail. I felt great, but was building a LOT of mucus in my throat and lungs for some reason. Not sure if it was the air quality or what, but it was noticably dry and I was having a heck of a time breathing and I was very dehydrated, constantly licking my lips and such. Despite this, I still managed a 38:20 ascent and a 25 minute descent (6:13 to Bluebell Tr, 7:31 to 2nd Flatiron turn, 10:38 to base of 1st Flatiron, 20:45 topping out behind the 1st). I was going fairly hard, but never really digging too deep.
3,460 vertical
Before spectating Bill's scrambling "event" from the base of the 1st Flatiron, I took a quick trip up Green via the 1st access trail. I felt great, but was building a LOT of mucus in my throat and lungs for some reason. Not sure if it was the air quality or what, but it was noticably dry and I was having a heck of a time breathing and I was very dehydrated, constantly licking my lips and such. Despite this, I still managed a 38:20 ascent and a 25 minute descent (6:13 to Bluebell Tr, 7:31 to 2nd Flatiron turn, 10:38 to base of 1st Flatiron, 20:45 topping out behind the 1st). I was going fairly hard, but never really digging too deep.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Sunday, 10/05/08 Green Mountain
7 miles
3,000 vertical
Had a nice run up Green today, past the First Flatiron to the summit (40 minutes), then cruised back down (those new shoes hook up great on the loose stuff). I have never seen anyone on this "route" beyond the back of the 1st and today saw 2 people, imagine that! I then ran the trail past the 2nd, then up the 3rd Flatiron approach trail. I did some minor scrambling up/down/around at the base and am really itching to climb the 3rd, maybe without ropes?.....
3,000 vertical
Had a nice run up Green today, past the First Flatiron to the summit (40 minutes), then cruised back down (those new shoes hook up great on the loose stuff). I have never seen anyone on this "route" beyond the back of the 1st and today saw 2 people, imagine that! I then ran the trail past the 2nd, then up the 3rd Flatiron approach trail. I did some minor scrambling up/down/around at the base and am really itching to climb the 3rd, maybe without ropes?.....
Saturday, 10/04/08 Pt. 9,300 Lost Creek Wilderness
Pt. 9,300 in Lost Creek Wilderness
10/04/08
~10.5 miles
~2,600 vertical
From Goose Creek TH
Jeff Valliere, John Prater, Dwight Sunwall, Sarah Thompson, Dominic Meiser (for the climb)
and Allison Valliere, Dave Hale, Emily Hale, Sierra, Shep and Kiefer (for the hike).
Two years ago, John, Dave, Allison and I visited the Goose Creek area of Lost Creek Wilderness with John and I climbing unnamed Pt. 9,242, a technical rock climb overlooking the actual Lost Creek. We were hoping to also climb Pt. 9,300 that day, another rock tower to the North, but the ascent of this rock tower took longer than we had anticipated and we simply ran out of time..... fast forward two years.
During the week John and I had gone back and forth on a bunch of different ideas for the weekend, one of them being to go back for 9,300. John ran the idea by Dwight and before we knew it, we had a great group of 5 committed for the climb.We started from the Goose Creek TH at 7:37am, intending to meet Dwight, Sarah and Dominic at the trail junction for the shafthouse at 8:30am, as they had camped out the night before. As the hike progressed, we realized that we were not going to meet them on time, so I ran ahead to let them know we were running a few minutes late.
We continued along the trail for another 1/3 mile or so, then began the bushwhack toward Pt. 9,300. This involved some areas of dense bushes, circuitous loops around giants rock gardens and a short ford across Lost Creek. We made our way roughly 2/3 of the way up the S. facing gulley which involved some steep walking, some class 3 moves over/around boulders. We then went climbers right to a spacious bench on the ridge at the base of technical portion of the climb.We took a short break, geared up and got on with the remainder of the ascent. Dominic led, placing a few cams along the way and had just enough rope to get to the top. Aside from a low fifth class move near the beginning, the climb consisted of nice class 3 and class 4 grippy slabs. There was a decent amount of exposure though along the way and since we carried the gear all that distance, it was great practice.
We found no cairn or register on the summit, so Dwight placed a register, only none of us had a pen on the summit to sign in with. We rapped down to the packs, signed in and Dwight zipped back up to put the register back on the summit. On the descent of the gulley, we met up with Dave, then made the short descent back to the field near the beaver pond where Allison, Emily and the dogs were napping. We took a long break, looking back up toward the giant east face of the tower.
There were great patches of aspen, and we took our time on the hike out enjoying this great area. It was great to hike with everyone as always and great to meet Sarah and Dominic. Can’t wait to get out there again soon!
As an aside.... this was little Kiefers first backcountry outing. He is an AWESOME little pup and did absolutely great on a hike this long. He learned how to cross a log bridge across a creek, bushwhack and did some very minor scrambling. It is amazing how obedient and well behaved he is at such a young age and did a great job keeping up with and learning from the older dogs.
Pictures:
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/jeffvalliere/2008_10_05_9300LCW/
10/04/08
~10.5 miles
~2,600 vertical
From Goose Creek TH
Jeff Valliere, John Prater, Dwight Sunwall, Sarah Thompson, Dominic Meiser (for the climb)
and Allison Valliere, Dave Hale, Emily Hale, Sierra, Shep and Kiefer (for the hike).
Two years ago, John, Dave, Allison and I visited the Goose Creek area of Lost Creek Wilderness with John and I climbing unnamed Pt. 9,242, a technical rock climb overlooking the actual Lost Creek. We were hoping to also climb Pt. 9,300 that day, another rock tower to the North, but the ascent of this rock tower took longer than we had anticipated and we simply ran out of time..... fast forward two years.
During the week John and I had gone back and forth on a bunch of different ideas for the weekend, one of them being to go back for 9,300. John ran the idea by Dwight and before we knew it, we had a great group of 5 committed for the climb.We started from the Goose Creek TH at 7:37am, intending to meet Dwight, Sarah and Dominic at the trail junction for the shafthouse at 8:30am, as they had camped out the night before. As the hike progressed, we realized that we were not going to meet them on time, so I ran ahead to let them know we were running a few minutes late.
We continued along the trail for another 1/3 mile or so, then began the bushwhack toward Pt. 9,300. This involved some areas of dense bushes, circuitous loops around giants rock gardens and a short ford across Lost Creek. We made our way roughly 2/3 of the way up the S. facing gulley which involved some steep walking, some class 3 moves over/around boulders. We then went climbers right to a spacious bench on the ridge at the base of technical portion of the climb.We took a short break, geared up and got on with the remainder of the ascent. Dominic led, placing a few cams along the way and had just enough rope to get to the top. Aside from a low fifth class move near the beginning, the climb consisted of nice class 3 and class 4 grippy slabs. There was a decent amount of exposure though along the way and since we carried the gear all that distance, it was great practice.
We found no cairn or register on the summit, so Dwight placed a register, only none of us had a pen on the summit to sign in with. We rapped down to the packs, signed in and Dwight zipped back up to put the register back on the summit. On the descent of the gulley, we met up with Dave, then made the short descent back to the field near the beaver pond where Allison, Emily and the dogs were napping. We took a long break, looking back up toward the giant east face of the tower.
There were great patches of aspen, and we took our time on the hike out enjoying this great area. It was great to hike with everyone as always and great to meet Sarah and Dominic. Can’t wait to get out there again soon!
As an aside.... this was little Kiefers first backcountry outing. He is an AWESOME little pup and did absolutely great on a hike this long. He learned how to cross a log bridge across a creek, bushwhack and did some very minor scrambling. It is amazing how obedient and well behaved he is at such a young age and did a great job keeping up with and learning from the older dogs.
Pictures:
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/jeffvalliere/2008_10_05_9300LCW/
Friday, October 3, 2008
Friday, 10/03/08 Bear and S. Boulder
8 miles
3,300 vertical
Allison, Sierra and I got out for a great fall hike today up Bear and S. Boulder from the Cragmoor TH, going up Shanahan/Fern. Went up in 1:02 going pretty easy (moderately hard for Allison and Sierra, although we stopped a few times to let Sierra drink). It was a great day, warm but not too warm, just right really and we really enjoyed the day and each other's company. On the summit of S. Boulder, I was commenting to Allison that I have not tested any PI trail shoes in over a YEAR, the last pair being those WRX soft shells. Great shoes, but not suited to everyday running IMHO, kind of a niche shoe.
I arrive home and find an e-mail from Mike at PI, asking me to come in and grab a pair of their new (for 2010 or 11?) Syncro Infinity trail running shoes. I got a sneak preview a few weeks ago and was excited, now I finally have a pair and am looking forward to putting them through the ringer (and having a bit of traction for my daily steep uphill/downhill runs). I have not been this excited about a PI shoe since the Peak XC came out last year.
3,300 vertical
Allison, Sierra and I got out for a great fall hike today up Bear and S. Boulder from the Cragmoor TH, going up Shanahan/Fern. Went up in 1:02 going pretty easy (moderately hard for Allison and Sierra, although we stopped a few times to let Sierra drink). It was a great day, warm but not too warm, just right really and we really enjoyed the day and each other's company. On the summit of S. Boulder, I was commenting to Allison that I have not tested any PI trail shoes in over a YEAR, the last pair being those WRX soft shells. Great shoes, but not suited to everyday running IMHO, kind of a niche shoe.
I arrive home and find an e-mail from Mike at PI, asking me to come in and grab a pair of their new (for 2010 or 11?) Syncro Infinity trail running shoes. I got a sneak preview a few weeks ago and was excited, now I finally have a pair and am looking forward to putting them through the ringer (and having a bit of traction for my daily steep uphill/downhill runs). I have not been this excited about a PI shoe since the Peak XC came out last year.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Thursday, 10/02/08 Green Mountain
6 miles
2,500 vertical
Sierra and I got out for a nice walk today up Green via the 1st shortcut. It was cloudy and the temperature got really cold near the summit. The distant rumble of thunder had me debating turning around, but I pressed on to the top and turned tail quickly, as it was coming in quick from the West and North. Soon the wind really picked up dramatically and it began to rain and hail. I wanted to move quick, but with slick road shoes, wet rocks/ground and waiting for the dog, it was not too fast. Dressed in just shorts and a tee, I was freezing on the upper half, and although wet, was comfortable on the lower half (only if I kept moving).
Up in 57
RT in 1:31
2,500 vertical
Sierra and I got out for a nice walk today up Green via the 1st shortcut. It was cloudy and the temperature got really cold near the summit. The distant rumble of thunder had me debating turning around, but I pressed on to the top and turned tail quickly, as it was coming in quick from the West and North. Soon the wind really picked up dramatically and it began to rain and hail. I wanted to move quick, but with slick road shoes, wet rocks/ground and waiting for the dog, it was not too fast. Dressed in just shorts and a tee, I was freezing on the upper half, and although wet, was comfortable on the lower half (only if I kept moving).
Up in 57
RT in 1:31
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Wednesday, 10/01/08 Green Mountain
~9.5 miles
~4,000 vertical
Got out for a run up my now usual route up Green. I was running tight on time, but did not feel like pushing. I just figured I would go up until my watch said 4:15pm, as I was to meet Dave at 4:45 at Chautauqua to run up to the 3rd to watch a few friends do some scrambling. I got to the summit at 4:18 and did an immidiate U turn (42:26 up), and then backtracked my ascent route and went a decent pace on the descent (as well as possible on loose dirt, rock and pine cones with slick shoes) and was back down in 23:?? for a 66 minute RT. I had just enough time to grab my camera, eat a Powerbar and glug half a liter of water before I joined up with Dave to run up to the 3rd. We went at a pretty easy conversational pace, I think it took us 18 or 19 minutes. Dave scrambled up, while I waited at the base to take pictures. I think there were 8 scramblers tonight, all moving fast and I got some cool photos and video. Great evening in Boulder.
Photos and Video:
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/jeffvalliere/2008%203rd%20Flatiron/
~4,000 vertical
Got out for a run up my now usual route up Green. I was running tight on time, but did not feel like pushing. I just figured I would go up until my watch said 4:15pm, as I was to meet Dave at 4:45 at Chautauqua to run up to the 3rd to watch a few friends do some scrambling. I got to the summit at 4:18 and did an immidiate U turn (42:26 up), and then backtracked my ascent route and went a decent pace on the descent (as well as possible on loose dirt, rock and pine cones with slick shoes) and was back down in 23:?? for a 66 minute RT. I had just enough time to grab my camera, eat a Powerbar and glug half a liter of water before I joined up with Dave to run up to the 3rd. We went at a pretty easy conversational pace, I think it took us 18 or 19 minutes. Dave scrambled up, while I waited at the base to take pictures. I think there were 8 scramblers tonight, all moving fast and I got some cool photos and video. Great evening in Boulder.
Photos and Video:
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r296/jeffvalliere/2008%203rd%20Flatiron/
Olympic Highlight
I really got a kick out of this race and especially the post race interviews.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=0821_hd_atb_hl_l1148&channelcode=sportat
I know nothing about these guys, nor anything about track, but Jeremy Wariner really came across as big time cocky and it was fun to see him get trounced by LaShawn Merritt. Love the comment 2 minutes into the video by LaShawn, good stuff! The dude diving for Bronze was great too.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=0821_hd_atb_hl_l1148&channelcode=sportat
I know nothing about these guys, nor anything about track, but Jeremy Wariner really came across as big time cocky and it was fun to see him get trounced by LaShawn Merritt. Love the comment 2 minutes into the video by LaShawn, good stuff! The dude diving for Bronze was great too.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, 9/30/08 Sanitas
~4 miles
~1,700 vertical
Allison and I got out for a nice hike/run around Sanitas, going up the East side, down the S. Ridge, then back up the valley trail before descending back to the car. The weather has been just so perfect lately and it is impossible to resist the lure of the trails.
Summed up my stats for September:
220.4 miles (PR)
84,170 vertical feet (PR)
45 Peaks
~1,700 vertical
Allison and I got out for a nice hike/run around Sanitas, going up the East side, down the S. Ridge, then back up the valley trail before descending back to the car. The weather has been just so perfect lately and it is impossible to resist the lure of the trails.
Summed up my stats for September:
220.4 miles (PR)
84,170 vertical feet (PR)
45 Peaks
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