March 3, 2007, Crystal Mtn Vertfest

Vertfest just concluded with massive swag throw of hats, sox and tees. Incredible performances in the Randonae Rally...skin or boot up Lower Bull AKA Lower Ferks, up K2 face to the top of Powder Bowl, then down Bear Pits and return to base, two laps for the elite Racers. I was the gate marshall at top of Lower Bull..what a show of pure endurance, some of the top finishers wern't even close to blowing up as they staright line skined up.Went over to Campbell Basin for the Sturdavents Freeride Blitz from the top of Chair 6, down the chair line, traverse across the basin the up the ridge to the top of the Throne and down again. Same top 4 finishers !!!! Of note was an alpine skier on Seths in alpine boots. Thats a loooong boot pack.The Rally portion was nearly 5000 vertical. Hats off to OR and Mountain Guides for putting on such a neat event. Crystal Mtn was very cooperative in giving Vertfest the run of the mtn today. Even had two women pro patrolers compete as well as Kim Kircher who took first in her division. Great show of force. Next round is Alpental in a couple of weeks. Killer opportunity to demo the new gear. Was lusting after the new Scarpa Pro and th Karu fats. Just might have to jump on the touring bandwagon. Worked to late for demos but did develop some great skills hauling bamboo and setting courses. Much easier sliding down k2 than skining up.

Yea verily, good stuff today. The forecast was outdistanced by the sun and corn/mashed spuds. Those of us who demo-ed, hung out and skied with our friends were loving it too. Felt like spring! My son Isaak started on his board, tried some AT gear for the first time ever, and ended up on his tele rig. Cheers to all.

Did anyone get pics from the event? I was too busy skining up at a far-too-fast pace...got a good jump at the start and tried, like an idiot, to keep pace with the thoroughbreds out in front. That didn't last long, and I was compelled to be a little more realistic about the pursuit. All in all, lots of fun was had, and I had a big grin as I crossed the start/finish line. What a great event! Thanks to the organizers and spondors, and props to all the participants! Also to the vendors letting us play with the new toys.

Pics? Anyone?

Plinko, that start was wild and crazy. From my vantage point at the top of the run formerly known as Lower Bull the Slovakians and about 10 others quickly cut the inside line and sprinted up the first 50m of the ascent, the next grouping was forced to spread out and many lost serious time getting back to the track for the control gate. Several participants went ascenders right into the bumpier terrian,not sure if this hindered or helped them. I side slipped the track up between laps for the elite group, seemed like ascent times the second round were a tad faster perhaps do to firmer surface. Outdoor Reasearch guys had one of their graphic design guys with very expensive looking Nikon on site. I believe they are going to have pics available on their web site. Try emailing info@orgear.com or check the site www.orgear.com/home/page/home . Was certainly a most excellent event. Participants were a far cry from the typical weekend resort skier. I was hoping to see a few more of the Crystal HardCores in attendance. Don't forget the Mountain Challange Freeride Comp coming up 3-21 thru 3-25 I am told that the Qualifier starts over Rabbit Ears then moves around to rocks above Bear Pits, Avalanche Basin and finals on the King. mountainchallenge.org/

I raced at VertFest at Crystal Mountain on Saturday, 3/3/07.  I wanted to ski the long course so I registered for the Elite division.  My time was approximately 2 hours 56 minutes - almost double the winning time of 1h 35m - so I feel I can report on the race from a decidedly non-elite perspective  .  I wore a Garmin 305 GPS/Heart Rate Monitor during the race and have included the data for those who like to geek out on this stuff like I do:

                                                                    Time (min:sec)
Race Start (4430') to top of Chair 6 (6970')                   83:25
Skins off                                                                   2:06
Top of Chair 6 to base (4430')                                     12:39
Skins on                                                                    3:01
Base to Bear Pits gate (6410')                                     62:45
Skins off and rest                                                       2:48
Bear Pits gate to Finish (4430')                                      9:10

Weather: At the start of the race, the temp was 35 degrees with the sun just starting to shine through the fog.

Race start: 10:06am.  This race used a running start.  I fumbled a bit getting into skis and attaching leashes, probably lost 15 seconds here.

Lower Bull Run (aka Lower Ferk's): Went out a bit too fast according to my HRM.  My average ascent rate on this section was 46 feet per minute.  Most racers started doing kick turns about halfway up this section.

Top of Lower Bull Run to base of K2 Face: 32 fpm

K2 Face: Pace slowed down to 25 fpm, despite HR going much higher than I had planned.  Pace was slowed by the numerous kick turns, some slippery skinning, and some congestion in the skin track.  I was burning up in this section due to the heat, sweating profusely and fogging my sunglasses.  I should have taken the time to shed a layer.  Some people de-skied and booted up the top section, although in retrospect that didn't appear to provide a speed advantage.

Top of K2 Face to Bear Pits control gate: Took a drink break at the top of K2 face and then deliberately slowed down my pace in order to get my heart rate down.  Ascent rate was only 25 fpm in this section.  It was HOT.  The battery in my MP3 player died during this section, leaving me without tunes for the remainder of the race.

Bear Pits control gate to top of Chair 6: Average ascent rate was 32 feet per minute

Skins off transition: An embarassing 2 min 6 sec due to a tumble while pulling a skin off one ski

Top of Chair 6 to base: 12m 39s for the descent.  Legs were fatigued so I didn't traverse across the face of the Throne as fast as I normally would.  Lost some time due to a crash on CMAC just above the Forest Queen lower station.  Max speed was 34.8 mph.  The cool-off on the descent was nice.  This was the end of the race for those in the tour division.  My split time for the first lap of the race was approximately 1h 38m.  The winner of the race finished two laps in 1h 35m - three minutes faster than it took me to do one.

Skins on: 3m 01s.  I could have sworn it didn't take that long!

Lower Bull Run: Averaged 43 fpm vs. 46 fpm on the first lap.

Top of Lower Bull Run to base of K2 face: 28 fpm vs. 32 on the first lap.  My upper legs were starting to cramp up, preventing a full stride.

K2 Face: 30 fpm, faster than on the first lap.  Left tricep started to cramp.

Top of K2 Face to Bear Pits gate: 29 fpm, faster than the first lap, despite leg cramps.

Bear Pits control gate: Very leisurely skins-off transition here, to allow some rest time before the descent.

Bear Pits gate to Finish: Made several stops during the Bear Pits descent, since my legs were cramping and on the verge of seizing up.  Spent about five minutes descending 800' of steep slopes, then opened the throttle to the finish line, via Skid Road and Downhill.  Max speed was 34.4mph.

I was expecting a faster time, and I think the biggest problem I had was being slightly overdressed for the weather.  The heat led to dehydration, which led to a reduced speed, which led to spending more time in the heat, which led to more dehydration.  Despite drinking plenty of Gatorade, water and beer before, during and after the race, I lost 3.5 pounds during the day.

Heart rate and elevation vs. time:


It was a great event.  Congratulations to the winners!

Wow! Way to hit K2 face hard on the second lap! Very impressive, and great to see the breakdown!