MTBMaven’s blog

My buddy Krisztian (Bergsteiger) and I have been driving 395 together for years; heading to Mammoth, climbing peaks, etc. In recent years we have been eyeing the road to Horseshoe Meadows and Whitney Portal for a bike ride. We have both driven these roads several times on trips to climb Mt Langley, Mt. Whitney, and just a month ago to climb Mt Russell. This time we wanted to bike the to hellaciously long and steep roads.

First the stats:
Horseshoe Meadows: 20 miles - 6,200 feet of gain
Mt Whitney Portal: 11 miles - 4,300 feet of gain

We planned to camp out the night before at Tuttle Creek BLM Campground. (This is a great little campground just outside Lone Pine off Horseshoe Meadows Rd with a creek 10 feet outside camp.) Nick (Good ol' Slappy) joined us for this adventure. On the drive up Krisztian got a PM from Sol (SDstumpy). We re-PMed him and invited him on the trip - time 10:30 PM. Sol packed up his stuff and took off to Lone Pine. He arrived at 3:30 AM.

The Marmot Hotel

The Mohican Villa


The cowboy

We started at the intersection of Whitney Portal Rd and Horseshoes Meadows Rd. at about 8:00 AM. The beginning of the ride is a mellow grade for about 4 miles then starts to tilt upward like an exponential growth curve. The first switchback is 3 miles long!

Let's git er done!
There is no getting around the fact that this is a long steep climb with only short sections of rest (read 6% grades); the rest of the time the grades are between 8%-12%.

Punishing. That is the road lower down in the background.

First switchback

Nick and Sol making their way up. I am still lagging behind.

We stashed a gallon of water at Morton's Rock the night before. When looking up at Horseshoe Meadows Rd from the 395 Morton's Rock is right were the road disappears. Unfortunately the road does not stop here. It is another 3 miles until the end of the road. Luckily there is a 1 mile downhill.

Krisztian posing at Morton's Rock with Owens Valley some 9,500 feet below!

Horseshoe Meadows is the end of the road at 9,900 feet. The weather was perfect with a nice little chill in the air. Remnants of snow could be seen on the peaks from last weeks early season storm. The parking lots were nearly empty. I think we saw less than 10 cars the whole climb.

A much deserved break

1 down 1 to go

The descent started out very cold but the one mile up hill warmed us up before the forever long downhill back to the vehicles. Speeds were fast. It was hard to keep things in the 30s. Nearly 50 minutes after we left Horseshoe Meadows we finally reached the vehicles. We stocked up on water and food before the climb up to Whitney Portal.

At this point I felt pretty good. The climb to Horseshoes Meadows was difficult but not deadly. I was in for a rude awakening on the Portal climb.

The climb started out with a moderate 5% grade, which was surprisingly difficult. After a bit of this the legs started to weaken as the road went on forever. Looming were the two big switchbacks up to the Portal.

Before we even reached the first switchback Nick, Sol, and I were paperboying it back and forth across the road. I got into a rhythm of 50 pedal strokes then 6 switchbacks. This got me to the base of the first switchback.

There were more vehicles on this road but still not that many. Everyone gave us plenty of room, passing in the other lane. Most waved.

The two switchbacks were terribly punishing for me. My knees were killing me. I zig zagged, I stood, I found shade when I could, all in an effort to keep moving. The grade eased up quite a bit after the end of the second switchback until just past Whitney Portal Campground. One more steep switchback and then it was the home stretch. As soon as I reached the overflow parking lot I knew I was there. I was the last one to roll into the Portal.

Victorious!

We got cheeseburgers, fries, and Sierra Nevada beer from the Portal Store! Really good burgers and fries.

We eat our food in the sun by the little fishing pond.

The descent was even faster than Horseshoe Meadows. After the last switchback the road is almost straight for miles with grades between 8% - 5%. I reached my highest speed to date of 52.5 MPH, Nick reached 55 something. At that speed I started to notice some serious speed wobbles starting so I backed off. It took a surprisingly long time to get back down to the low 40s. Supper fun fast descent!

This was a really difficult ride for me. The mileage is not super long at 60ish but with over 10,000 feet of gain it is potent. This has been a dream of mine for about 4 years. I'm glad I finally did it!

Enjoy the ride belo Route information here:
http://www.geoladders.com/show_route.php?route=29240

Due to some last minute changes my plans for the weekend of July 11-12 changed at the last minute. On Wednesday my buddy and I decided to do the Markleeville Tour of the California Alps - Death Ride. The ride is 129 miles with 15,000+ feet of elevation gain over 5 passes.

The registration process for this is event is very difficult I understand. Most people feel honored just getting a pass. So for us to decide to do the ride just three days before the event is a bit unusual. Both of us ride regularly so the fact that we did not train specifically for this event was not our main concern, getting passes was. Krisztian has been riding regularly, far more regularly that me. I on the other hand have not been riding that much over the last month or so. Nevertheless we decided to give it a go.

We found two tickets on Thursday via the ride web site discussion board. Krisztian departed Aliso Viejo and picked me up in Pasadena about 11:30. We picked up our first pass in Sylmar from a guy who could no longer do the event. The drive up 395 is always nice and gets nicer the further north one drives. Departing the 395 towards Monitor Pass was amazing. Neither of us had driven that section of road and boy was it amazing. Registration closed at 7:00 PM, we rolled in around 7:15 PM. This put us in the "problem child" line with about a hundred other riders looking to register. We were also supposed to meet up with someone else to purchase another pass. He was no where to be found. After a few stressful moments we found someone in line we could purchase a pass from.

With two complete rider packets in hand we set off to get some dinner and get ready for the big ride the next day. We elected to camp in Krisztian's truck rather than the camping grounds with some fellow co-workers. It was late and dark at this point and setting up a tent in the dark sounded like a huge hassle at that point. Big mistake. I tried to get to sleep in the back of the truck but to no avail. Finally I crawled into the cab to see if I could sleep. I think I got somewhere between 3-4 hours sleep. I was awoken by the sound of drums at 4:00 AM from a marching band making its way through the parking lot/camp.

We started our ride at 5:30 AM. We started out with Brad, Theresa, John, and one of John's riding buddies (sorry I can't recall his name). Brad had provided some very important advice - keep your heart rate below 80% for the first 3 passes. He had echoed this point to me many times and I'm glad he did. Our group split up quickly into teams of two as we departed the starting line never to reform. 

The ride out of Markleeville is a fast descent out of town on its way to the Monitor Pass climb. The weather was surpringly warm and no extra clothing was needed. The Monitor Pass climb was a long, long, long slog up a 6% - 9% grade that seemed to go on forever. The views were beautiful. Brad's recommendations rang in my ears as my mind wanted to keep up with the masses. Luckily I left my ego at home and held to my guns keeping my heart rate in the 150 range. The ride rules called for no headphones. I have read this on many rides but it is rarely inforced. Luckily I had about 3/4 of The Long Tail on my iPod Shuffle, which helped take my mind off the endless climbing.   Just below the top of the pass were magnificent stands of Alder trees.

The descent down from the top of Monitor Pass marked the end of the first of 5 climbs for the day. We were rewarded with a long fast descent down to the 395. The rest stop at the bottom was the best of the day in my opinion because the had boilded and salted potatoes. Mmmm the BEST food to eat on a long ride like this. The stop was chaos however with what felt like all of the 2,0000+ riders all there at the same time.
Krisztian and I still smiling.
The climb out of the stop back up to Monitor Pass was a difficult one for me. It almost felt like the most difficult climb of the day. The temps had warmed up considerably on this side of the hill and there was no shade cover at all. Knowing I had a long day ahead of me I just buckled down and kept pedaling. 

After another very fast and long descent down Monitor Pass we start the rolling climb to the base of Ebbits Pass, the highest pass of the day. At this point both Krisztian and I seemed to stop taking as many photos. I also noticed that my normal nutrition plan had fallen apart yet I was still riding strong. I wasn't consuming as much Perpetuem or Sustained Energy as I normally do on rides like this but was consuming far more Cytomax. I think it just goes to show how important electrolytes are on rides.

The climb up Ebbits was long, just like all of the climbs. Without looking at the number that cloesly my guess would be it was a 2+ hour climb.

After the summit is yet another descent. This time however we didn't descend as much as we climbed, which meant the climb back up to Ebbits would not be as long as the first time. In the end the climb was still long and seemingly never ending. The beauty of completing the second climb on Ebbits is that it's the forth of five climbs of the day and there is lunch at the bottom. The descent was as expected, long and fast. Sadly we saw a rider layed out on the way down. He was on a board with a brace around his neck. Hopefully he is ok.

Lunch was a welcome nice break. We didn't allow ourselves too long of a break as it is just that much harder to get going again. The road out of the stop was a nice little descent back into Markleeville. There were lots of cheering fans on the ride in and back out of town. This was a nice little pick-me-up and made me feel like a Tour de France rider if only for a few minutes. The route takes us through town to the base of the last climb of the day - Carson Pass.

The climb started at mile 90 and ended at mile 110. These number were very demoralizing at this point in the day. You are sitting there riding thinking there is no way I can climb 20 miles at this point in the day. Then the head winds kick in and you're climbing going 5 MPH and thinking no way can I climb for 4 hours. Thankfully the winds died down a bit and after about 5 miles the grade changes from 6% to 2% for several miles of rolling hills. Yet just as the grade changed for the best the weather changed for the worst. Dark clouds set in and it started raining. Not just a little drizzle but full on rain. So here I am dressed in basically my underwear riding my bike in the rain at 6,000+ feet. Good times! The ride has now turned into an epic. This actually picked up my spirits as I always love an epic. I figure if I don't die or loose any fingers or toes from hypothermia it will make a great story. 

Krisztian took a great short video, which helps illustrate the conditions.
Somewhere near what I thought was my breaking point on the climb I thought I was coming up on the end of the climb. It seemed as if the trees were clearing and maybe, just maybe, the end was near. Much to my dismay as I reached the edge of the clearing I saw the road continue on a seemingly endless traverse followed by a left hand turn to another long traverse up the mountain. At this point I took my first of two standing breaks on a climb. I didn't want to unclip or get off my bike so I held onto a street sign and hung my head in desperation. The lack of sleep and 12,000+ feet of climbing was taking its toll. I dug down deep and set mini goals in an effort break up the climb ahead of me. This helped tremendously and I slogged my way to the top of the pass and into the last stop of the day.

The weather had cleared at this point but I was cold and wet and the pass was windy. I found a box of plastic bags at the rest stop. I pocked a hole in the bottom of the bag for my head and two on the sides for my arms. This makeshift wind vest was a life saver on the descent. After some food and a short break it was time for the last big descent to the finish line.

Right as the road headed down there was the most amazing rainbow I think I have ever seen. It was a full arch with perfect color separation. Truly spectacular!
The descent was a bit sketchy at first with the wet roads but after a while the roads were dryer and I was able to pick up my speeds. Unfortunately the ride is not over at the bottom of the descent. There is a punishing set of shot 0.5 - 0.75 mile 6% climbs before the finish line.

I managed to finish the ride in a total time of 13 hours and 49 minutes. This is the longest ride I have done to date by 20 minutes (Solvang Double Century was 13 hours and 30ish minutes). Much like any ride like this there is no way I want to do it again that day or the day after, however I am already starting to think about doing it next year. Next year is the 30th anniversary of the ride and there is talk of adding a 6th pass adding another 24 miles to the ride. WOW!!!

After the ride we were treated to some of the worst food ever. The folks that put on the Death Ride do put on a great event, but the food leaves something to be desired. I was hungry, I mean really hungry, and I could hardly eat that food. After dinner I got a nice shower in the port-a-shower thingy and got a much deserved 30 minute massage. I highly recommend getting a massage after big events like this. It makes the next day so much easier. This time I set up a tent next to the truck and slept much better.

So while the Tour de France was riding in the Pyrenees we were riding in the California Alps. We basically rode what amounts to one of the harder stages of the TdF. The pro of the TdF would complete the Death Ride is some where around 6 hours it took me 13:49, however it is cool to know that I could complete a hard stage of the TdF. What I couldn't do is go out again and do it the next day like they do.

The Tour de France started today.  This is the first time I have been able to watch every stage in the comfort of my home.  AND I can use the DVR to record it in HD!!!  Good times!  Needless to say I am excited.

There is a new lust in my life.  The 2010 Specialized Epic 29.  I caught my first gimps of it on MTBR last week.  This appears to be an aluminum, race oriented, short travel, 29er.  There seem to be several new offering in this arena, e.g. Rocky Mountain and Fisher both have similar rigs coming out.  I understand the Fisher will be carbon, which is a show stopper for me. 

Now I love my steel HT Niner.  When riding trails like Upper Winter Creek I have often thought how just a few inches of travel would go a long way.  My feeling is the little bit of suspension would actually be better for climbing more than descending in terms of speed.  Sure a few inches of travel would make descents a bit more comfortable but it's not like the Niner is a slow descender (on all but really aggressive trails).

Early thinking is it will only be sold as a full bike.  I really only want a frame.  I have my industry insider looking into bike versus frame and cost issues at the upcoming Specialized industry demo event in mid-July.  Team VeloSport/Sho-Air hands out pro forms for Specialized around the begining of the year I believe.  Better start saving my pennies. 

Set up thoughts

Fork: I would hope to get one of the second gen 29er RS Pikes or maybe a Fox and would love to get a 20mm or new Shimano/Fox 15mm axel.  I'm pretty much done with 9mm if I can help it. 

Wheels: I will port over my existing wheels (hopefull with a new Hope hub to work with different axel sizes), regardless if I have to get a full bike.  Parting out the OEM wheels should be easy.

Cranks: 94 BCD cranks will be a must.  Options include my existing NOS Race Face cranks, NOS Race Face Next LP, or Middleburn cranks.  Surly makes a crank with 94 BCD but I think it's a tank. 

Brakes: I could run my Hope Mini/M4 set up but the M4 is a bit portly.  Replacing the M4 with a Mini is another option.  This is by far a cheaper route.  A set of Formula One brakes would be sweet but more in the money-no-object category.

Saddle: This one is a no brainer.  Brooks B-17, black, chopped.  I will hang on to my already broken in antique brown Brooks to be recommissioned at a future date.

January is a long time away and these things have a way of changing.  Time will tell what ends up unfolding.  Stay tuned.

Saturday May 9th the Warrior Society held the 3rd Traverse mountain bike race.  The event is a 45 mile ride with about 8,500 feet of elevation gain.  The course is similar to the Vision Quest I did earlier the year but a bit shorter with less elevation gain.  Like the Vision Quest there are cut offs one must make or else your day is over. 

This was my first Traverse and wow did it kick my butt. This was also my first event riding for Team VeloSport/ShoAir.  I have been dealing with escrow for the last month and have had very little time to train for this event. I was in much better condition for the Vision Quest.

My buddy Krisztian participated in the Traverse last year and was beaten by the 100+ degree heat.  His goal was to get revenge.  One of his friends, Brian, also joined us for the race.  Shortly after the start we began to separate.  This being a race and not a social ride waiting for each other was not really expected.  It was mano y mano.

I could tell within the first 2 miles it was going to be a difficult day. Not too long after climbing out of the valley I began to feel like crap. A few times I felt like I needed to pull over and throw up.  I shouldn't have had that half an energy bar before the start.  I slowed way down to try and settle into groove. This worked to some degree but the rest of the day was survival riding for me.  The initial climb out of the valley is a pretty steady grade.  However once one hits the ridge of the mountain range, or the Main Divide, the trail is rolling with short downs, mainly up, and sometimes very steep ups.  Luckily I left my ego at the car and had no problems walking these super steep sections.  To me there is far less shame in walking during a difficult event like this than not finishing.  Plus riding a trail that steep builds up way too much lactic acid and leads to cramping.

  Somewhere on a flat section after reaching the Main Divide I saw a Hammer Nutrition pill tube on the trail and stopped to pick it up. I hope who ever lost this didn't need it too badly because it was a life saver for me. There were Endurolytes (capsules of powder electroyles) and ibuprofen in there. Not too long after picking up the pills I rode past another rider (Duke777, plate number 19) who started crapping pretty badly. I got a few yards ahead and turned back when I remembered I had the pills. We both sucked down a few Endurolytes and pain killers.

I go to 4 Corners about 10:30 (30 minutes before the cut off) and had a few minutes chill out and get some food. My potatoes were delicious. I will totally be making those things again in the future. Gave me good energy through out the day. 

Side note: I cooked new potatoes sans skin and mashed them in a bowl.  I added soy sauce, balsamic vinegar,  lightly sauteed spinach, Parmesan cheese, and salt.  Potatoes have more potassium than bananas and a very high glycemic index, so it's basically rocket fuel.  Spinach also has a lot of potassium in it.  Next time I will add some lentils to add a bit of protein.

The ride too the summit wasn't too bad.  The grades were a bit less plus the last cut off was down hill from there.  My glasses because so caked with sweat by 4 Corners I rode without them to the summit. Which wasn't a big deal until we headed down. There were so many bugs it was getting dangerous riding without glasses. The nice folks at the check point after the summit gave me some gauze to clean my lenses. Life saver that gauze was.

Hitting Holy Jim was a great feeling. No more cut offs and I could relax a bit. Not that it was going to be easy but at least no more worrying I wasn't going to make it. More potatoes and I was off.

I had a pretty made mechanical on a descent after The Wall (an aptly names section of trail I had planned to walk from the get go). My chain got terrible wedged in between my cassette and wheel. I damaged some spokes getting it out and my wheel is way out of true now. Might need to get some spokes replaced it's so bad. Luckily I was able to fix it and keep riding.

The aid station at the top of West Horse Thief was like an oasis.  Temps were pushing 90 and the sun was intense at elevation.  I rolled in and was promptly handed a wedge of watermelon.  The people working the station grabbed my bottle off my bike and had it filled in no time.  It was like a NASCAR pit stop.  I took their offer to sit in a chair in the shade for a few to cool down.  Before I took off I took an offer to have someone dump water over my head and back.  Ah good times!

I pushed pretty hard to the last aid station at the top of Trabuco knowing it was all downhill from there.  I didn't bother to stop as I had water and wanted to enjoy the downhill.  After a quick down of the seat I was off.  The descent down Trabuco is always fun but beats the hell out me.  The upper section is fast and fun but the lower section is just brutal.  It's not really a trail but more a rocky hillside with a narrow ribbon with no vegetation.  I think what happens is that parts on my bike get loosened on Trabuco and then finally fall apart on the dirt road out. Both this ride and VQ I had problems on the road out. This time my rear tire was leaking air. Luckily I had stuff to make repairs this time but really didn't want to put in a tube at that point. So I filled the tire with CO2 cartridge and rode it for as long as it would hold. And that was WAY longer that I should. By the time I filled it again the tire must have had like 5 PSI in it.

Just as I was finishing inflating the tire for the last time a person I know from the local riding scene, Abui, rode past me. I caught him a few minutes later where he asked if we wanted to ride past the finish line together. This was such a cool offer. So we rode through the finish area hands clasped over our heads in victory. Very cool moment.

Hard events like this make me question why I do this kind of stuff.  But I know in a few weeks I will want to be out there doing it again.  I don't have any big organized events plan until the fall.  I want to do the second 12 Hours of Temecula solo again, maybe do one or two 24 hour event on a 2 or 3 person team as well.

Stats for the event:
Distance: 46.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 8,300 ft
Total Time: 7:44:14
Total Ride Time: 6:21:01
Average Moving Speed: 7.3 mph
Max Speed: 33.3 mph
Average Heart Rate: 154 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 184 bpm

Just got home, what a day. I left the house in Pasadena about 4:30 AM. Got out to registration in no time and just in time to see the crazy double century folks taking off. Kudos to them for doing 200 miles on that course! I had plenty of time to kill before the 6:30 start time, so I crawled back in the Trooper to stay warm.

I could tell I was under dressed for the 40 degree temps at the start and was way under dressed for the mid-30 degree temps on Malibu Canyon. We took of right at 6:30 and immediately my fingers were numb with my half finger gloves. All I had was wool arm warmers, toe covers, and a vest. No full finger gloves, no jacket, no leg warmers. My fingers have never hurt so much from the cold. In the end it was really only 20-30 minutes of total discomfort. By the time we hit PCH I was feeling fine and glad I didn't have all that warm stuff to deal with. The vest was put away at the first SAG but the arm warmers stayed on all day, but spent most of the time around my wrists.

The weather was perfect today. Sunny, comfortably warm, with nice clouds, and a nice breeze. Can't ask for much better.

I felt strong most of the day. My favorite part of the day was the section along Yerba Buena. I spent a good bit of time all over the western part of the Santa Monicas in grad school doing vegetation sampling. It was great to be out there riding the same roads we traveled. The descents on most of the roads kind of sucked because the road quality was so bad. The climb up Corinth was not too bad as I still had legs at that point.

 

The reroute took us up Mulholland from PCH to Decker. Up until about mid-way up Mulholland I felt great. Mulholland slowly sucked the life out of me. By the time I got to the SAG at the top of Decker I was starting to loose it. Hearing we still had to climb Decker was totally demoralizing. The descent down Encenal was fast and fun. But the climb up Decker killed me. I was in 34x27 and doggin' it. Even had to stop quickly at one point.

I got a nice break at Decker and enjoyed a Snickers. Man those things really do satisfy you. We rolled out of Decker and started making our way back. There were lot of rolling hills but got to admit it wasn't too bad. The Rock Store Grade came up much quicker than I expected. That was the best descent all day for me. The ride from there on was pretty quick and I felt stronger the closer we got to the finish.

Stats for the day:
Total Time: 9:16:12
Moving Time: 7:57:48
Distance: 101.81 miles
Elevation Gain: wait for it....12,442 feet
Average Heart Rate: 136 bpm Max: 184 bpm
Average Grade: 5.2%
Average Moving Speed: 12.8 mph
Total Ascent Distance: 34.93 miles

My big cycling goal for the year was to complete the Warrior Society's Vision Quest.  This is one of the top ten most difficult mountain bike endurance events in the country.  The course is 56.5 miles with over 11,000 feet of elevation gain.  To make things interesting there are cut off point along the course, that if you don't make your day is over.  The big cut off is reaching the 3rd and final cut off at the bottom of the Holy Jim Trail by noon, which is 39 miles and 6.5 hours from the start.  There are two events held on the course, the Vision Quest (VQ) and the Counting Coup (CC), which is shorter than the VQ.  Both courses share the same route, except the VQ has an extra 11 mile lollypop extension.

This event has really gained in popularity over the past few years.  Registration opens at midnight and this year sold out in less than 24 hours.  I stayed up late to make sure I got my slot.  As such I ended up with #3 bib number.

I trained for many months starting in ernest in late December - early January.  I focused mainly on road riding as it fit my schedule best.  With limited amounts of time I am able to get more bang for my time on the road because I didn't have to drive anywhere.  Nearly all of my training consisted of hill repeats in the hills of Pasadena around the Rose Bowl.  I found a great stretch of road where I could get a 1.5 mile sustained climb with grades between 7%-13%.  By the end I was doing the repeats in about 11.5 minutes and typically would to 3-4 sets.  Occasionally I would get in a big mountain climb and did one long road ride from Pasadena to Ventura (about 100 miles).  Additionally I did a 12 hour solo endurance event where I did 76 miles in about 9-10 hours. 

The night before events like this I typically don't sleep well with a mix of excitement and nerves.  The week before the event was hectic at work and I was exhausted by the end of the week.  My game plan going into Friday night was to take a melatonin about 7:00 PM and be in bed by 8:00 PM.  With my alarm clock set for 3:00 AM I was in bed by 8:30 PM and asleep by 9:00 PM.  Six hours of sleep going into this event if great in my book. 

Unfortunately I got a bad kink in my left shoulder/scapula area so bad it woke me up a few times at night.  It hurt to  take a deep breath or yawn.  Not a good start seeing as I would be breathing hard all day.  Then things got worse with an upset stomach on the drive down.  Luckily one pit stop and things got better. 

I picked up Krisztian at the finish line and we headed to the start.  I know it was cold (Krisztian's watch read 38 degrees) but with all the adrenaline I really wasn't that cold. I had bib shorts on, knee warmers, wool arm warmers, and fingerless roadie gloves. No jacket or vest.

Krisztian was doing the CC and I was doing the VQ. We had different cut off times and therefore rode at much different paces. The 5:30 AM start time meant we started in near total darkness with headlights.  I tried to keep my pace in check out of the gate and not pass people. After a short while I started making moves and passed a lot of people on the climb. Now I started out mid-pack, so there were plenty still ahead of me.

In hind sight I went out way to fast. I knew going into the event I had to keep an average speed of 6 miles an hour. I watched that number on my computer more than any other. By Beeks (about mile 5 or 6) I was averaging close to 8.  Beeks is a nearly all uphill climb on fireroad and after begins a rolling climb along the spine of the range.  While there are short downhill sections the climbs are brutally steep.  Several sections I walked to conserve energy.

Here are two pictures from two different professional photographers out on the course.  This is me descending the Motorway down Silverado Canyon.

I felt really strong all the way into Aid Station #1 at Maple Springs (mile 18.8).  The pit was very crowded with riders, volunteers, and friends and family of riders.  This wasn't your normal relaxed SAG stop like on a road ride.  The pace was furious.  The volunteer staff was amazing.  As I pulled up a volunteer came up to me and offered to fill my bottles for me.  Excellent service.  After dropping in about two scoops of Hammer Sustained Energy into 2 bottles I was off.  That had to be one of my fastest SAG stops ever. 

I was told going into the event that the climb out of Maple Springs sucks and will be a mental low for the day. And boy was it ever. I really started sucking wind on the climb and really didn't recover until Santiago Peak 11 miles later. I was getting behind on my water intake and really wasn't eating much of anything. My stomach was feeling quezy, and my head started to spin a little. Several times I wanted to stop for a few but I just kept pedalling.  It is about this point in events like this where the body becomes a machine (assuming one is properly trained).  Everything else my be screaming at you but the legs just keep pedalling. 

Really glad I didn't take my warmer stuff off at Maple Springs because it got pretty darn cold around the summit.  My cut off sheet said I needed to be at the peak by 11:00. I summited at 10:00 so I was feeling really darn good at that point.

My mechanical problems started on the descent. Going into the event I had a rear brake that was a little low on fluid. Not sure what changed but the brake was useless after the peak. I mean lever all the way to the grip and no braking power. Descending Upper Holy Jim with no rear brake was interesting but I managed to ride nearly all of it. Lower Holy Jim was a real blast, that is a fun descent.

I got into Aid Station #2 at the bottom of Holy Jim at 11:00 and the cut off was 12. Again feeling really good about my time. Just to make sure everything was right I asked one of the volunteers wearing a Warrior Society shirt that this was in fact the last cut off. He then tells me it's 3 mile up the trail at the bottom of West Horse Theif (WHT) trail. So I think what the heck. I'm glad I was ahead of schedule and take off far too quickly. I managed to fill two bottles and down a V8. In my haste I left one bottle behind, leaving me with one bottle with 2 scoops of Sustained Energy and one empty bottle. The best is when I get to the bottom of WHT the volunteer there tells me the last cut off is back at the aid station. Really wish I wouldn't have needed to push hard that last section and left stuff at Holy Jim. I left my carrying system I rigged up so I didn't get to put that to use.

WHT really did suck. No way around it. Two something miles of trail so steep there was no way I could ride it at that point.  Like everyone else I pushed my bike up 10 switchback.  The unofficial aid station at the top was a god send. Mmm salty chips! The only solid food I eat all day (save 2 dates that didn't want to go down). Trabuco was a blast but the tight turns at speed were rather difficult with no rear brake.

Back at Holy Jim I just start to take off and heard another rider arriving. I look back and it's Krisztian doing the CC. Amazing timing. I hadn't seen him since the start and now we get to ride out together! Well not so fast.

About 2-2.5 miles from the finish my front tire blows off the rim going close to 20mph. I luckly was able to stop without incident. I threw in more Stans and used CO2 to inflate the wheel. No go, it will not seal up - plus there was a 2-3 mm gash in the sidewall. Krisztian had to take off to get to a wedding and leaves me with a tube. Turns out the tube is a schrader of all things (the wrong value type for the non-bike types). I then get a tube from another rider but it's a 26" tube. I stretch out the tube and start putting it in. Mind you I have never been able to successfully inflate this wheelset with a tube, NEVER. And once again the tube gets a hole durring installation and will not hold air.

At this point I give up and face the fact that I'm walking out. So I basically ran with my bike most of the way out. After 53 miles of riding I end up running my bike out the last 2 miles. I had many offeres for assistance but at that point I had little hope anything was going to work and was pretty darn sure I would walk. Crossing the finish line while running and everyone chearing me on was really encouraging. I must say it was all a bit of a blur though. I remember someone running up to be and handing me a beer. That was cool!

If you asked me at the end of the ride if I would ever do it again I would have said no.  However by the next day I was ready to sign up for the event next year.  In fact, if the event were put on 2-3 weeks from now I would totally do it again.  There is something so addicting to me about pushing myself to my physical limit.  It really is a great feeling.  

I finished 136th out of 160 in 9:22:08.  Pretty sad actually considering I was an hour ahead of the cut off time at the last cut off time.  That means it took me almost 4 hours to do the last almost 14 miles.  My goal for next year is finish in 8 hours or less.  This will be a tough challenge but If I stay focused I'm pretty sure I can do it. 

Sorry for the dissertation. Thanks for reading.

For those who want more reading on this subject:
Warrior Society Official VQ page
Warrior Society 2009 Pow Wow Write Up
SoCal Trailriders Forum write ups and pictures
Orange County Register article on the VQ
Mountain Bike Review blog post on VQ
My results on Motion Based

Sunday January 11th, Bill and I went on a hike with Tom for his birthday.  Mt Baldy recently received several feet of snow.  Two weeks ago Tom got it in his mind that he wanted to tackle Baldy all covered in snow.  The original plan was to rent snow shoes as there was multiple feet of snow.  Well things warmed up a bit and lots of snow melted so snowshoes were out and crampons and ice axes were in.  We planned to hike the Ski Hut/Baldy Bowl Trail.  This is a 8.5 to 9 mile round trip trail with 3,900 feet of gain and considered a strenuous hike on Summit Post. 

The trailhead is signed as San Antonio Falls and is a paved road.  Conditions at the trailhead were quite cool but more importantly windy like no ones business.  Shortly after the falls the road turns to dirt.  The trail heading to the ski hut is not marked at all and very easy to walk past if you are sight seeing.  The trail is straight up for the minute you peal off the dirt road. 

The first stop for the day was the Sierra Club Ski Hut.  The hut was built in 1937 by ski mountaineers and maintained by volunteers.  I have visited the hut several times but never inside.  Luckily someone was inside when we arrived, so I had to check things out.  We hung out in the warm and wind free interior with Walt Davie who was repairing a broken window.  Turns out someone got evacuated on Saturday with two broken ankles.  While the winds were stiff I was warm an stripped down to my shorts and short sleeve shirt.

 

Shortly after leaving the hut the trail disappeared turning into snow, ice covered snow.  We quickly realized crampons were in order.  After donning crampons the trail turned upwards as we ascended up the bowl.  The winds at this point were quite steep.  The snow was stiff which actually made for fast travel as we didn't post hole.  We decided to follow a set of tracks taking us up to the ridge where the normal trail goes.  Upon reaching the ridge the wind decreased ever so slightly, unfortunately the trail was still straight up.

The climb to the summit was pretty straight forward and without incident.  The summit was quite windy but we found a nice place to hid from the wind behind a wind break.  We enjoyed a Maui Brewing Company Coconut Porter, some grub, and some company with with two guys hiking the same route we were.  One of them is taking off in two weeks to climb Aconcagua. 

The descent was SO much easier than the climb.  It is amazing how quickly we descended and amazing how steep the path was we ascended.  At one point we decide to practice our self arrests on a nice clean slop.  The snow was a little soft and the backpacks got in the way a bit but it was still fun and good practice.  Past the hut things warmed up considerable. 

Today was more serious mountaineering than I expected.  The fact we put on and seriously needed crampons for safety.  This was a seriously good time.

Background
Over the past 4 years a group of friends and I have been hiking in the Sierra.  Hiking and backpacking has been a passion of mine since my days as a Boy Scout.  It has been wonderful experiencing the outdoors with such close friends.  This year's goal was Mt Ritter.  The following is a description of Mt Ritter from Summit Post:

Mt. Ritter is the highest peak in the Ritter Range, a volcanic ridge west of the Sierra Crest, just outside Yosemite's southeast boundary. The Minarets, a set of more than a dozen fantastically sharp pinnacles in this range, together with Mt. Ritter and Banner Peak make for a striking skyline when viewed from the Mammoth Lakes area. According to Secor, "Mount Ritter is perhaps the most prominent peak in the High Sierra, and can even be seen from certain summits in the southern portion of the range." It is easily recognizeable (in conjunction with its neighbor Banner Peak) from as far north as the peaks around Sonora Pass, and far into the southern parts of the range, from the Palisades to Mt. Goddard, and some points even further. For highpoint seekers, Mt. Ritter is also the highpoint of Madera County, one of the more arduous of the 58 county highpoints in California.

The Journey North
We departed Thursday night about 6PM.  The group converged at the In and Out in Santa Clarita on our way north.  We arrived in Mammoth around mid-night stopping at the National Forest office to pick up our permit from the night drop box.  From there we drove over Minaret Summit and down into Agnew Meadows Campground to get some sleep for the night.  The campground was empty so we had easy pickings finding a suitable camp site.  Some time after 1:00 AM and a few requisite sips of Jagermeister we hit the hay for a few short hours of shut eye.

Day 1 - Approach to Bacecamp
Dawn arrived much too early as it always does.  Very shortly the campsite was a flurry of activity as we broke camp, cooked breakfast, sorted through piles of gear and food, and packed our bags for three days on the trail. 

Sometime close to 10AM we started out on the River Trail heading to Shadow Lakes.  This hike is one of the most beautiful in the Sierra I have hiked.  The trail starts out with a gentle descent into Olaine Lake then follows the river for a about a mile before crossing the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River.  Arriving at the river one is greeted by beautiful Alders.

After crossing the river the trails steepens significantly before reaching Shadow Lake.  The distance from the river to Shadow Lake is about 1 mile and 700 feet of gain and is traveled on outstanding trail with beautiful vistas.

Shadow Lakes is one of those rare gems in this world.  

From Shadow Lakes we hopped on the John Muir Trail for a short while (go right, do not cross the bridge) before veering off to Ediza Lakes.  The trail rolled through some more stellar terrain along a stream with many fishing and swimming holes and meadows. 

Ediza Lakes was the end of the road for our approach to base camp.  Yet another stunning lake.

The trail goes around the south side of the lake, however there is no camping on this side of the lake.  Rather than walk all the way around the lake we opted to hike across a boulder field to the north side of the lake where we could camp, thus saving 1/2 - 3/4 of a mile of hiking.

Finding a spot for 9 people and 5 tents is no easy feat in the Sierra.  Yet we managed to find a nice place with plenty of flat ground and in close enough proximity to the lake for water.  In camp we relaxed in the shade of some small trees, reconnoitering for the next days climb, and took a very gratifying group swim in the lake.  The water was in the upper 50's, about as warm as one will find considering the lake is fed from snow melt.  We replenished our stomachs with tasty (and in a few cases not so tasty) dehydrated meals, cookies, chocolate, and tea before drifting off to sleep at the late hour of about 8 PM.  The next day was to be a very long and difficult day with a dawn sunrise.

Day 2 - Summit Day
When most people head into the backcounty they travel on well maintained foot paths from the trailhead their destination and back again.  This makes for rather mindless travel (compared to what was in store for us).  Most also have a nice topo map with dashed lines indicating their path for the day.  This was not the case for our little adventure (for this is not the MTBMaven way).  The trail ends at Ediza Lake on topo map.  The trip logs from Alan Ritter consisted of photos with lines drawn on them and descriptions that only make since to those who have actually hiked the area before.

We luckily found a use trail (think unmaintained footpath) leading out of camp in the general direction of where we needed to go.  Shortly outside of camp we ran into a couple starting out their day as well.  We would run into Greg and Rena many times throughout the day.  At some magical moment we collectively agreed to depart from the comforts of the trail and set off up a bolder strewn gully.

When looking at the route from afar it seems impossible, 'there is no way to get up that!' you think. Yet the closer you get the more the route unfolds in front of you.  There are some advantages of going straight up.  Every step gains nearly 2 feet of elevation.  The only problem is every step is hard earned.  One never knows if the rock you rely on for forward momentum will hold firm or slip out from under you.  Forward progress requires excellent balance (which is even harder to achieve with 10-20 pounds of gear on your back).  After what seemed like forever we felt as if we past the infamous "tree rock" (see Alan Ritter's route description).  This meant we could begin our traverse towards Ritter and the Southeast glassier. 

Our route became a bit less clear from this point.  One source indicated we continue up through a saddle and the other suggested we traverse around a large massif to the base of southeast glassier.  We ascended a bit towards the saddle because the topo map suggested this route would be easier.  Unfortunately upon inspection this route appeared to be above our pay grade.  From here we had a downward traverse across another bolder field.

(bit of a Where's Waldo photo, trust me there are people in there.)

(Krisztian negotiating the bergshrund).

After the traverse we reached a snow field.  Having carried crampons and ice ax this far we figured it would be a perfect opportunity to dawn our cool mountaineering gear.

The snow field was pretty short but a great place to practice snow travel in a safe environment.  In hind sight we should have saved this effort for the much larger southeast glassier.  We opted to travel around the parameter of the glassier.  This was the most hair raising portion of the day (especially on the down climb). 

After passing the glassier and the "three toed buttress" we rounded the corner and entered Owen's Chute.

(Owen's Chute looking down from about 3/4 of the up)

(this photo gives a good idea of the scle of the area)

Towards the top of Owen's Chute is the crux of the entire day.  A 20 foot section of exposed Class IV climbing (my rating BTW).  There were excellent foot and hand holds but the exposure could be a bit too much for some. 

We met up with Greg and Rena again at this point.  I think they were considering heading back at this point.  Our group reached a decision point.  It was close to 1:00PM.  The bolder field up Owen's Chute was a beast of washer sized boulders.  And the slope got steeper as you went up culminating in the Class IV crux.  The group split in two.  All but Tom, Krisztian, and I decided to head back.

We helped Greg and Rena get past the crux.  Rena was a real tropper.  When asked if she wanted to continue to the summit she replied "after doing that...hell yeah!"  One of the most demoralizing points of the day was realizing that after passing the crux we still had what seemed like a whole other mountain to climb.  We were still close to 1,000 feel below the summit and we had a steep boulder field climb left to reach the summit.  Luckily the weather could not have been better.  This was the point in the day when thunderstorms can end a summit attempt.  However we were blessed with deep blue skis filled with only but a few puffy clouds and <5 MPH winds. 

After reaching deep down inside for inner motivation I reached the summit.  The Mt Ritter summit is something to behold.  Small and craggy, with room for only a few souls.  I wasn't entirely sure I was on the real summit when I arrived at what appeared to be the summit until I spotted the summit registry box.  I let out a war hop heard by the ascending summit party.  What a gratifying moment.  A 6 hour journey culminating in an endless view of our surroundings.

(Half Dome and Clouds Rest can be seen in the backgound of this photo)

 
(Tom reaching the summit)

(Krisztian reaching the summit)

(Summit team)

(heading back down)

We followed Greg and Rena back down as they took a more direct route to the summit.  They were welcome company on our descent.  As always the descent is 10 times worse than the ascent. 

We finished our day after dark by a dip in the lake under moon light.  Research shows that ice cold water is good for recovery.  While this may be great in the lab, in the field it results in near hypothermia.  Luckily Tom and I shared a 4 person serving of Mountain House Beef Stew dehydrated food for dinner; getting my caloric engine working again and ended my uncontrollable shivering.

Day 3 - The Hike Home
Mike injured his ankle on the descend the previous day so he left camp about and hour and a half before the rest of the group.  The rest of us slowly broke down camp and prepared for the journey out.  Again the descent is always hard on my body, luckily the scenery was beautiful.  All in all the hike out was pretty uneventful.  Well except for Mike who had a group of pack animals break free and stampede down the trail right in front of him. 

We departed Agnew Meadows, stopped for a group photo at Minarets Summit, and headed straight for pizza at Nick and Willies in Mammoth.  We arrived back home about 7:30PM.  I was hardly able to walk by this point.  The pain will quickly subside and all I will be left with is great memories of beautiful mountains and great times with 8 good friends.