Triple Traverse

 In September - Cole asked me to attempt the WURL - Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup

http://jasondorais.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-wurl.html

Cole in Stairs Gulch during a WURL preparation scramble

I did not want to do the WURL for the obvious reasons- but settled on a compromise. We would instead turn the ~25 miles of ridge hiking into a 2-day adventure broken up by a stay at one of Snowbird's lodges. We would also cut out the section of ridge from Cardiff Pass to the Tram. We would call this the WSWURL "Weak Sauce WURL". Needless to say we completed about 30% of the WSWURL - and have a long way to go to complete the WURL in its entirety.

Cole - Twin Peaks looking into LCC

To get myself ready - I started doing non-sensical things - like running at Liberty Park in the dark before work, a 5k followed by a day of DH biking, scrambling rock faces, climbing mountains. I even bought a pair of shoes that were billed for walking around on rocks!

Me - Twin Peaks with the city in the background

 Needless to say - I left a lot of good fall biking on the table.

We made it up Twin Peaks quickly and were moving fast towards Sunrise. All the training was paying off. However, it was not the fitness that ultimately had me worried - it was the scrambling.

Sunrise Peak

 There were two sections of the BCC ridge that had me concerned. The first was the section heading up Sunrise and the next was Monte Cristo. This concern was the reason I sought out several rock scrambling adventures prior.

Pano

However, what ultimately got me was the extended section of ridge line from the top of Tanner's slide path to the Little Pine Couloir. This section was slightly downhill for a sustained distance and knife edge. The fact that we spent much of this section not going up made it very difficult.

Tanner's Slide Path to LCC road

I was mentally exhausted when we reached the Little Pine Couloir -  and not feeling up for an attempt on the Monte Cristo section. We decided to bail towards BCC and Lake Blanche.

Time to bail

 Once I get a chance to do the Monte Cristo section I can confirm, but bailing was likely more difficult than continuing. ~3 hours later we made it down several cliff bands to Lake Blanche.

Somewhere above Lake Blanche

Lake Blanche is awesome.

2015 Park City P2P

7:17:57

73.3mi

12, 069ft

4^th Place SS

ENDURO!

So much fun, it sucks I have to wait a whole year before I get to do it again!  Loads of singletrack with new additions and re-routes, especially the Round Valley portion, made for another fantastic race.  After some Strava-stalking of people I didn’t know, I realized that this year’s SS category was gonna be super tough, especially with Corey and Quin racing too.  After Pierre’s Hole, the game plan was to stay with those two for as long as I could and hope for the best.  Jay had us starting in the rears with the Open Men, which was great until we rolled up to a giant traffic jam at the start of the singletrack.  Despite this, the Round Valley section flowed really well; while Corey, Quin, and I rode together chasing Dax who was several hundred yards in front.  We all rode into the Deer Valley aid station together, with Dax starting the climb up to the Flagstaff loop out in front.  Quin and I climbed up Team Big Bear for a ways until he made an attack to catch Dax that I couldn’t match.  All the while, my Solomon hydration pack was leaking GU Roctane all over my leg and arm as I descended Flagstaff and entered the enduro section.  This would cause some nutrition issues later during the John’s descent and Steps climb, which is where I lost contact with Corey.  Out of hydration due to the aforementioned leak, I was praying to the mtb gods for water at the yurt atop the Steps climb.  Not sure if it was luck or divine intervention, but volunteers had set up an aid right at the yurt…coke, bananas, and water!  After this, the climb up to Shadow Lake was great, and especially the 5 miles or so of descending to PCMR.  Though the rigid was a tad bit rowdy going down on CMG. 

Smellin' hamburgers

Coming out of the PCMR aid is always a kick in the nuts, it was the only spot I decided to hike the bike.  Hitting the Iron Mtn section, I was greeted by some rain and hail that lasted about half an hour.  After this came one of my favorite sections of trail in the Wasatch, the section of Mid-Mtn from the Crest Connector to the top of Rob’s.  Adrenaline was definitely pumping after this descent, and it carried me through to the finish, 17 minutes behind Dax.

Top spot goes to AJ

To add, the 34x21 felt pretty good and the Endless cog was awesome, much quieter than the Chris King cogs.  Also seeing those full suspension single speeds is creating some unhealthy thoughts…hard to beat the Pivot Les though.  Next up, the 25 hrs of Frog Hollow in November.

Thanks again to Jay, Shannon, and all the volunteers for making it happen.     

Pierre's Hole 100

88.2 miles

12,439ft of vert

8:47:55

3^rd Place SS

Another fantastic race put together by Andy and the volunteers in the Teton Valley.  It was almost a déjà vu moment Friday night before the race, as a gnarly thunderstorm rolled in dumping rain and lightning throughout the night.  Like last year, this made for muddy conditions during the first lap and hero dirt for the last two.  Sadly missing from this year’s race was AJ, single speed legend, and frankly my inspiration to get into this crazy sport.  Despite this, many people paid tribute to AJ by racing in his jersey and utilizing his “HTFU” mantra. 

Riding rigid ain't too bad!

Just an awesome photo

The first mile or so of the first lap is a stout climb on a cat track that really split up the racers before hitting singletrack.  Corey and I were out front among the other single speeders just behind the lead group, and we would ride together for the entire first lap and the start of the second.  Muscular fatigue started to set in during the first few miles of the second lap (byproduct of the 34x19 gearing and a hot start), which forced me to slow down and let Corey go…singing T Swift or something as he passed.  I stayed in second place all the way until the top of the 38 Special descent, where Quin would pass me.  At first glance, I thought it was a geared rider because he was on a Scalpel, but as Quin passed I realized it was SS with a chain tensioner…awesome!  Now in third, I was determined to hold my position and catch back up to Quin.  Once I reached the Rick’s Basin area the motivation to finish under 9hrs was strong, and those last few miles were probably the strongest I’ve ever finished a race. 

SS Podium

Getting back to the déjà vu, I finished in third place like last year a few minutes behind Quin, and 20 minutes or so behind Corey.  It was also nice to see Brian and Andy supporting me at the finish! Not a bad way to celebrate a birthday, time to drink some Idaho double IPA and rest up for the Park City P2P.  

Now I just need a belt for it!