Beautiful views helped ease the pain of a punishing course. Photo by Kate Lapides

Randonee racer Bryan Wickenhauser reports on the first Five Peaks ski mountaineering race in the Ten Mile Range above Breckenridge—a monster course that gained 10,000 vertical feet. Thirty-five teams of two braved the challenge on April 10; see the Five Peaks website for full results and links to photos. Here’s Wick’s report:

The inaugural Five Peaks race lived up to its hype as North America’s longest ski mountaineering race, with 10,000 feet of vertical and five separate ascents behind and in the Breckenridge ski resort. My teammate for the race was my fellow Team Crested Butte member Jon Brown. We’ve both been racing in the COSMIC Series for the last four years, and we train all the time together—perfect partners!

The weather going into Friday night called for temps bottoming out at 20°F with light winds for Saturday and sunny skies. Really a perfect forecast for an April ski mountaineering event. The start was classic Alpine at 6 a.m., so we awoke at 4:30 a.m. to get our breakfast on and have time for a brief warm up at gear check.

The start was at the base of Peak 9 at about 9,600 feet, and our first summit would be Peak 10, about 4,000 feet higher! We skinned our way up some mellow groomed runs to the top of the ski area, where we continued though a backcountry gate. Now we began to get into more technical skinning, as we were above tree line and the winds had taken most of the loose snow and deposited it elsewhere (like hopefully on the descents).

Our climb up to the peak took us past some old mining cabins and onto a ridge where the first gusty winds of the day greeted us. Upon gaining the ridge. it was only a five-minute skin to the peak. Ninety minutes from the base area, we were at the top of Peak 10 at 13,643 feet, where some hardy volunteer offered us coffee and candy corn. We politely declined, ripped our skins, and dropped in on a techie entrance. With some nasty rocks to negotiate, we followed the prescribed line into the main open bowl and some really good spring powder. Until now we had been in first place, but on the downhill we were overtaken by Monique (Mona) Merrill (event co-director) and Mike Kloser. The battle was beginning to heat up!

Follow the green arrows.... About 10,000' of vertical in all.

Two of the beautiful aspects of this race, in my mind, were the long, demanding descents and the dramatic views. Above tree line for much of the day, we were exposed to the elements but were getting views that the skiers in the resort below only wished they could see!

The second climb was the shortest of the day, and Jon and I rallied up to the top of Peak 9 together with Team Kloser/Merrill. Thus we settled into a rhythm for the rest of the day:  We would catch them on the climbs, and they would pass us on the descents.

At the top of Peak 9 we skied back down into the upper section of Breckenridge Resort and were integrated with tourists. We all followed Mona, as it’s her local ski resort, down to the transition area.

On up to Peak 8 (Imperial Bowl), the skinning got techie again as refrozen, skied-off snow proved to be quite difficult for side-hilling. Jon and I regained contact with Mona and Mike at this point, and we passed them prior to getting to the lone boot pack of the day, up to the ridge of Peak 8. The boot pack was well-designed with a hand line for those in need. At the top of the ca. 400-foot booter, we slapped on our skis and skinned up the ridge past a number of chutes that led to Imperial Bowl.

Bryan Wickenhauser and Jon Brown, with team Merrill/Kloser in hot pursuit. The downhills would clinch it. Photo by Kate Lapides

From the summit, it was back into the resort with a high-speed descent though refrozen, slightly soft bumps and newer snow on Horseshoe Bowl. Mike and Mona again passed us and led us down through some technical traverses to the lower flanks of Cucumber Bowl and into the T-Bar lift line for our third transition. Race co-director Pete Swenson had warned us at the prerace meeting that this would be the “steepest skinning of the day,” and it sure was! For every racer I talked to afterward, this was the low point of the day. The combination of at least 2.5 hours of racing already completed, direct sun, no wind, and a steep, lengthy pitch made you want to trade imaginary spots with someone in Death Valley , because that might feel cooler.  Dripping sweat and moving a quarter mile an hour…ugh!

Luckily it wasn’t more than 15 minutes before we got above tree line again and caught a cool breeze. We topped out on Peak 8 for the second time just before Mike and Mona, and with no other teams really pressing us from behind the battle was among friends at this point.

Descending Peak 8 to the northeast, Mona again led the way down the Whales Tail to near the summit of Peak 7 Chair for the fourth and final uphill transition. From here it was up Art’s Bowl, with technical skinning on wind-hammered sastrugi to the top. There was nothing we could do to try and shake Mona and Mike on the climb; everyone was tapped from nearly four hours of racing. The writing was on the wall: They owned us on the downhills. Heading off Peak 7, Mona and Mike gained the separation and never looked back. We made our way down to claim second overall and first in the men’s category, two minutes behind the winners at 4:08.

Hats off to Pete Swenson for designing a truly European-style course that flowed as if it was meant to be. I know Pete and Monique are already excited for the second edition, and so am I!

Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim? Nope. It's the course profile for the new Grand Mesa 100.

The Grand Mesa 100 is a brand-new trail ultra-marathon set for July 24-25,  with 37.5, 50, and 100-mile distances. The races will start at Grand Mesa Lodge, a few miles north of Cedaredge, and will loop around the gorgeous high-altitude plateau. Actually, the 100-mile course will dive off the plateau in mid-race, with a unique and challenging 4,100-foot plunge down the Kannah Creek Trail and return climb along the brutal Switchback Trail, gaining over 4,000 feet in 5.5 miles.

In all, the 100-mile course has 76.5 miles of trail, 20 miles of Forest Service roads, and 3.5 miles of pavement, with about 11,175 feet of climb and descent. There’s a 33-hour time limit for the 100, and 14 hours for the 37.5 and 50. Early registration (through April 10) is just $120 ($50 for 37.5 miles; $65 for 50 miles), a relative bargain. “This is the first year for the race,” said organizer Phil Berghauser. “With a little hard work, we hope to turn this into a long-term event.”

Josiah Middaugh and Keri Nelson won the men’s and women’s 10K at the Jeremy Wright North American Snowshoe Championships in Beaver Creek on Sunday. Middaugh, who won the U.S. championships in New York the day before (yes, it’s confusing), smoked the 10K course in 47:45. Simon Escorcia and Kelly Escorcia took the 5K titles. More than 300 people entered the various races.

Video courtesy of RunColo.com.

More results after the jump.

Men’s 10K
1. Josiah Middaugh
2. Josh Eberle
3. Bernie Boettcher
4. Mike Kloser
5. Jason Michalak

Women’s 10K
1. Keri Nelson
2. Brandy Erholtz
3. Cynthia Lauren-Arnold
4. Jeanne Cooper
5. Myriah Blair

1,500 vertical feet X 20 laps = ouch.

Michael Hagen completed an even 20 laps of the one-mile, 1,500-vertical-foot course at the Endurance Challenge at Sunlight Mountain, a  12-hour suffer-fest at the ski resort near Glenwood Springs. Hagen needed 11 hours 43 minutes to wrap up his 30,000-vertical-foot workout on February 28.

Meanwhile, Eva Hagen won the women’s solo division with 15 laps, or ca. 22,500 vertical feet. Not a bad day out for the husband and wife from Colorado Springs, each of whom won $2,000 for their victories. Competing as a team, the Hagens placed third in the duo category at the 24 Hours of Sunlight in 2009.

More than 140 competitors raced in various categories at the Endurance Challenge, a 12-hour stand-in for the canceled 24 Hours of Sunlight. The Glenwood Springs Post Independent has posted a good story about the race, with full results and a photo of Michael Hagen racing.

Men’s Solo
1. Michael Hagen (20 laps)
2. Billy Laird (19)
3. Travis Macy (19)

Women’s Solo
1. Eva Hagen (15 laps)
2. Meredith Edwards (12)
3. Anne St. Claire (12)

Courtesy of Vail Athletic Club

Josiah Middaugh of Edwards won the Vail Winter Uphill race, posting a time of 37:42 for the two-mile, 2,000-vertical-foot course. Middaugh, a top-ranked off-road triathlon racer and past national champion in snowshoeing, had knee surgery in early November and obviously is doing well in recovery. Anita Ortiz, a multi-time national mountain running champion, was the fastest woman up the course, finishing in fourth overall with a time of 42:30. Ortiz was last year’s USATF ultra runner of the year in the master’s division.

Click here to see all the results (box in lower left of the page) and photos from the Vail Winter Uphill.

Pete Swenson and Monique Merrill were fastest up and down (and up and down, and up and down, and up and down) Monarch Mountain in Saturday’s Race the Divide, the third of six races in the 2010 Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup. The “race” course did four laps (red, orange, yellow, and then blue on the map), totaling about 3,500 vertical feet, and three racers finished this delightful tour in under an hour and a half.

Visit the website of Salida Mountain Sports, presenting sponsor of the race, to see the full results.

Trail through the Buffalo Creek burn area.

A brand-new trail ultra is planned for the Buffalo Creek area this summer. The North Fork 50 Mile/50K Trail Race will start at Jeffco’s Pine Valley Ranch Park, along the banks of the North Fork of the South Platte River, and climb into Pike National Forest along trails best known for their superb mountain biking. All of the run will be on single-track and double-track trails. Although some of the course passes through areas burned by the Buffalo Creek fire—and thus this could be a sunny, hot race—the area is still beautiful and the trails are smooth and excellent for running. A welcome addition to the midsummer schedule!

Steve Bremner on a winter solstice run.

Steve Bremner from Manitou Springs likely set the speed record for the winter ascent of Pikes Peak on January 12, running up the 14,115-foot peak in 3:21:55, from the Barr Trailhead to the summit. Bremner ran down the cog railway to Mountain View, traversed to Barr Camp, and then continued down the Barr Trail, for a round-trip time of 5:35:25, also likely a winter record.

Above the A-Frame on the Barr Trail, near treeline, Bremner followed “winter rules” for his route to the summit, taking the most direct and ice-free line he could find. His distance for the ascent was 9.9 miles (about 7,850 vertical feet), and 21.8 miles for the round trip. The previous fastest known time for a winter ascent was 4:02.

Upper east face. Bremner ran up just right of the prominent snow streak. Photo by Rick Hessek

“I have had the attempt in mind since last winter,” Bremner, 54, said in an email. “I went up in 4:18 last March, then afterwards found out the record for winter was only 4:02, [which] I knew I could beat. My fastest summer ascent was in the Pikes Peak Ascent race of 1999, [starting at] Memorial Park in Manitou Springs: 2:49.”

After scouting the trail to the A-Frame on January 10, Bremner ran during a sunny, warm, and wind-free window two days later. He carried a CamelBak, two bars, two gels, a cell phone, and a few extra clothes (but didn’t need them), and he wore Yaktrax above the A-Frame.

Leadville, 3:50 a.m.

Time to plan your 2010 race season—the deadlines for fast-filling trail races are fast approaching. Here’s a quick rundown of key race dates and deadlines to help your planning:

May 1: Greenland Trail 50K (also 25K and 8 mile). Registration is open (price goes up January 15). Race likely to fill.

May 1: Collegiate Peaks Trail Run (25 and 50 mile). Registration open (fees go up April 1). Unlikely to fill.

June 19: San Juan Solstice 50 Mile Run. Registration opens January 15 at 7 a.m. Speedy registration essential.

June 19: Mt. Evans Ascent. Registration is open (price rises May 1). Limited to 500 runners; may fill.

July 3: Leadville Trail Marathon and Heavy Half Marathon. Registration open. Unlikely to fill, but race fee goes up after May 31.

July 9-11 : Hardrock 100. Application deadline: February 5. Race always fills; lottery determines entrants.

July 18: Barr Trail Mountain Race. Registration opens May 3.

August 15 and 16: Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon. Registration date TBA, but will be in March. Fills in one day.

August 21-22: Leadville Trail 100. Registration open. Has not filled in past, but race fee goes up January 31.

August 22-27: TransRockies Run. Registration is open; deadline July 15.

September 5: Breck Crest Mountain Marathon (also half marathon and 5 mile). Date not officially announced and registration not open, but traditionally the Sunday of Labor Day weekend.

September 11: Imogene Pass Run. Registration opens June 1 and fills fast.

September 25: Golden Leaf Half Marathon. Registration not yet open. Stay tuned: Race will fill.

Brandy Erholtz

Three Colorado women have been named mountain or ultra Runner of the Year by the Mountain/Ultra/Trail Running Council of USA Track & Field: Brandy Erholtz from Bailey (Mountain Women–Open); Laura Haefeli of Del Norte (Mountain Women–Master); and Anita Ortiz of Eagle (Ultra Women–Master). Read the full story…