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Hipster Keys
This weekend Aly and i took a dirtbag ski/climbing trip up to vermont to try and find the last remaining bits of winter. We skied/snowboarded jay peak on friday, and while hanging out in the hotel lobby on friday night pretending we were paid guests, but just not ready to go to sleep in a cold van, we saw a poster for a Ski Mountaineering Race for saturday morning.
i figured what the hell...ive been seeing more and more of these races and they seem like a ton of fun. The only snag is i dont ski. But i do have a splitboard!
Saturday morning 7 AM and i ask if they will allow a splitboard in the race. I get a very welcoming yes, and my fate is sealed.
I have an hour and a half to dig through the van, get my gear ready and try and remember how to quicky change over the board to skis, because i havent been out on it this season yet.
I decided to opt for the short course. it had only 3 transitions, which is where i will be losing the most time for being on a split board.
8:30 and we start off. All of the skinsuit guys rocket into the front with their superlight skis. Im working hard to stay somewhere in the pack with my heavy board on my feet, but im joined by other people who are trying it for the first time with their backcountry setups.
The route takes us up a nicely groomed blue trail, and then shoots us up a black which is full of steep icy moguls. Im not very good at skinning and this is proving to be treacherous. Im constantly losing traction and slipping. but finally i make it through the moguls and cross a flat trail to get to the fun boot pack section. They sent us up "green Beret" which is a very steep ungroomed black trail near the exposed ridgeline. far to steep to skin up. so i take off my skis and strap them to my back and keep booting up. Since im more of a mountaineer/climber than a skier, i was able to pass someone on this short section, though they got the spot back on the next skinning section.
i made it to the summit, pretty exhausted and started my legthy transition from ski to snowboard. The pros can transition in a matter of seconds with their skis. I was able to get it done in about 5 minutes.
then its a downhill race. the sun hadnt hit many of the trails we were on yet, so it was lots of icy moguls as fast as you can. nearing the bottom the trail really flattened out and i was left scooting on my snowboard while i had other racers pass me as they skated by...lesson learned, next time im keeping my poles in my hands.
i had one more short climb, so transition back to skis, put on my skins and head up. a short/low angle lift line for the green trails. half way up, i lost 2 screws for my pivot and ended up with a floppy ski that i could no longer skin on. so i took them off and booted up the rest of the climb. (all this is happening while getting heckled by all of the people on the lift)
I make it to the top of the climb and once again transition back to a snowboard. but this time i keep my poles out for the flats ahead. I probably looked like a freaking moron, being a guy riding a snowboard while using ski poles to speed ahead on the flats, but it worked and i crossed the finish line.
Since i entered the short course (or essentially beginner class) there wasnt a ton of competition, but i ended up coming in 3rd out of 7. I was quite surprised! the course took me about an hour and a half. and was seriously hard work. I would love to do more of these. I just wish that i started skiing 20 years ago instead of snowboarding. but its all good fun!
i figured what the hell...ive been seeing more and more of these races and they seem like a ton of fun. The only snag is i dont ski. But i do have a splitboard!
Saturday morning 7 AM and i ask if they will allow a splitboard in the race. I get a very welcoming yes, and my fate is sealed.
I have an hour and a half to dig through the van, get my gear ready and try and remember how to quicky change over the board to skis, because i havent been out on it this season yet.
I decided to opt for the short course. it had only 3 transitions, which is where i will be losing the most time for being on a split board.
8:30 and we start off. All of the skinsuit guys rocket into the front with their superlight skis. Im working hard to stay somewhere in the pack with my heavy board on my feet, but im joined by other people who are trying it for the first time with their backcountry setups.
The route takes us up a nicely groomed blue trail, and then shoots us up a black which is full of steep icy moguls. Im not very good at skinning and this is proving to be treacherous. Im constantly losing traction and slipping. but finally i make it through the moguls and cross a flat trail to get to the fun boot pack section. They sent us up "green Beret" which is a very steep ungroomed black trail near the exposed ridgeline. far to steep to skin up. so i take off my skis and strap them to my back and keep booting up. Since im more of a mountaineer/climber than a skier, i was able to pass someone on this short section, though they got the spot back on the next skinning section.
i made it to the summit, pretty exhausted and started my legthy transition from ski to snowboard. The pros can transition in a matter of seconds with their skis. I was able to get it done in about 5 minutes.
then its a downhill race. the sun hadnt hit many of the trails we were on yet, so it was lots of icy moguls as fast as you can. nearing the bottom the trail really flattened out and i was left scooting on my snowboard while i had other racers pass me as they skated by...lesson learned, next time im keeping my poles in my hands.
i had one more short climb, so transition back to skis, put on my skins and head up. a short/low angle lift line for the green trails. half way up, i lost 2 screws for my pivot and ended up with a floppy ski that i could no longer skin on. so i took them off and booted up the rest of the climb. (all this is happening while getting heckled by all of the people on the lift)
I make it to the top of the climb and once again transition back to a snowboard. but this time i keep my poles out for the flats ahead. I probably looked like a freaking moron, being a guy riding a snowboard while using ski poles to speed ahead on the flats, but it worked and i crossed the finish line.
Since i entered the short course (or essentially beginner class) there wasnt a ton of competition, but i ended up coming in 3rd out of 7. I was quite surprised! the course took me about an hour and a half. and was seriously hard work. I would love to do more of these. I just wish that i started skiing 20 years ago instead of snowboarding. but its all good fun!
