Running Update

I ran once this week.  Tuesday hill repeats with Leila.  Might run tonight.  Racing 5K Saturday.  Likely group run Sunday evening on Falcon if anyone wants to go.  The last two days I skipped running to hang with my boys and eat chocolate chip cookies.

Snow Cone

Scream Scram 5K Race Report

That sucked.

Boulder 50K

So, attempting to fake your way to a fast 50K is a good way to get out the door for a nice walk, as it turns out.  I had some thoughts that I'd be able to run under 3:50 for the flat/fast Boulder 50K on no training or specific fitness, because, you know, it seemed like a good idea.  Again, I was duped into thinking I might be able to snag a W given that the race would be tiny (there ended up being 12 finishers of 14 starters).  Of course, I showed up and saw Bill Fanselow warming up, so that was easy to let go.

I took it out with Bill, or rather, Bill let me lead it out for a few miles before dropping my ass like a bag of hot rocks.  Then, I simply fell into my pace and tried to think about anything besides running 5 out and back "loops".  The laps 1-3 (the fifth lap is a short 2ish miler mini lap) went as planned, with me running a pretty smack dab on pace, rolling through in 2:36 for 21 and change.  My legs simply stopped functioning after that,  and I enjoyed some nice walking with great views of the mountains and the cool fall breeze.  In the end, I finished in 4:15, 3rd of 12.  So, I achieved my real goal, finish the year not on a DNF.  Back to the shorter stuff for the rest of fall/winter.

Lining it up

Shin update: feeling much better today.  Only a few times did the winks of pain make their case.  Actually, today was the first time I'd really tested the leg as I needed to mow the lawn, and it felt fine.  I've been taking calcium/Vitamin D and icing (ice massage) twice daily which seems to help.  The icing is brutal though, and I can feel the small bulges on the bone really when I run the ice up and down.  Whatever helps though, right?

In any case, I've been able to look at what I'd like to do during what I consider the fun run season, basically late fall/winter.  Hopefully, I'll be back up and ready for some shorter races in October along with some soccer, and I'm planning on hitting up the BC 10 spot in the hood here, then a possibility of some sort of double/triple in November with combos of HRBC Half/Incline Beer Mile/CC6K/FSIV on 11/10 and 11/11.  December, as per ususal, will be heading up for the Fat Ass in the norse country and the Fat Ass in the south in January.  My focus for December and January is to get some solid hill training/tempo work in and be in good shape come February.

February is slotted for an event that has been on my bucket list for at least 2 years now: Orcas Island 50K.  I think I've previously made mention of the fact that I really, really like running in the PNW, and this is up there with the best events offered in the area.  Check out the photos from Glen Tachiyama here.  Then, most likely, I'll be heading to Salida for the marathon again, and hopefully this year I'll be in shape.  The real kicker is that somewhere in March - May, Rachel and I are going somewhere to celebrate 5 years (which will actually lapse 12/9).  I've got 2 50's I'd like to run in that time (Jemez and Zane Grey) but likely won't do one, and Zane Grey is the hardest to get out to, so that's likely not going to happen.  There are a few 50's in CO during that time (Fruita/CP/Quad Rock) but all are double loops, and I just don't like the double loop, but the 25's in any would be fine, with QR the best course by far.  So, we'll see about all of that.

June is pretty well locked with the Golden Gate Dirty 30, pacing my best friend at Bighorn, and then San Juan (another bucket list race).  The rest of the year is lottery dependent.  Of course I'll be hoping to be picked for Hardrock, though that is rather ominous coming off two 100 DNFs.  Cascade Crest and Wasatch are high on the list, lottery dependent. If I don't get into Hardrock, I think I'll leave July open for some more fun high country projects like this year.

In any case, the injury has let me spend some more time than normal looking at how to align the race schedule for next year.  I'll only go back to a race if it's one that I really like (Salida, Jemez, Mt. Werner Classic), with one exception (Fruita) as the wife really had fun out there, so we might head back out.  Looking forward to getting back running.  Mostly I want to explore some new stuff on my backyard trails that seems to be just coming to my attention.  I'm also looking forward to some of the smaller fun stuff we've got this winter, like the Hardrock lottery party.

Lastly, I'm throwing a party for my wife on 9/30 at our new place at 5:00PM.  Rachel's running her first ultra and we're still newly moved in, so come hang out on our back porch and welcome my wife to the club.

Run Rabbit Run DNF

Previously.

So, if you read that, I will ensure you that I feel about as unaligned with that post as I could be.  I actually am quite happy and content with myself at the current moment.

So, what happened? Let's start at the beginning.  Leila, Donnie, and I had made our way to the starting line and surprisingly quickly we were charging up the ski hill on a route I was really not prepared for (but secretly loved), a Jemez style trek up the ski hill (only with better footing).  All the way to the top I was simply trying not to kill myself and I settled into a decent pace just in front of Nikki Kimball and Ashley Arnold.

When we approached Mt. Werner, we had to do a short out and back to the aid station then down the trail towards Long Lake.  This was the best part of the race for me (fun wise) because I love that trail, and I was running with Leila and Donnie on the front range express train.  We nearly made the wrong turn down Fish Creek Falls where a ton of people went wrong, and to be honest, it needed to be marked better.  I've been on this section of trail a lot, and I still almost went the wrong way.  There is flagging on all of the trails (3 way "Y" intersection) but nothing indicating which way to go (for reference, you needed to go right, then right, then left, then left as you hit the intersection 4 times).

Wearing a pack, I made it out before the others and ran slowly down FCF to the high school, eventually reconvening with Leila and Donnie just before the school.  By the bottom of FCF I was feeling pretty sick, odd because I'm typically pretty solid there, and then after getting through Olympian Hall and up the ski jumps I puked my brains out.  It was pretty awesome puking too, four points of contact puking.  After that, I needed to lay on the trail for a second and get my shit together mentally.  I saw Mike here and saw his awesome stitches, he told me he was probably going to drop due to the wound pulling on his knee pretty hard, but Mike would go on to finish like a boss.

So after my little bitch session (these are real things), I slowly made my way down to Cow Creek.  I had made my peace with having a good race and just focused on having some fun.  Unfortunately, the volunteer at the previous aid station misheard me (or more likely, I misspoke) and my water had been filled to 15oz instead of 50oz and I was out of water for about an hour or so.  After regrouping at the aid station, I began my best section of the race.  I ran really well all the way to the top of the ski jumps, went quickly through the aid stations and started up the climb to FCF.  The lower section is steeper, but just past the bridge I was able to start running and ran most of the rest of the way to Long Lake.

At long lake I ran into Donnie, and we left together towards Summit Lake.  I was feeling good and decided to pick it up to stay warm, but could really notice the pain in my left shin (it had been a dull pain until then), and after leaving Summit Lake and starting the long downhill, I began having real trouble.  I stopped and tried to stretch, but to no avail.  The pain became pretty strong, forcing me to walk sections and then about 2 miles above Dry Lake I was really having trouble putting pressure on it.  I got myself into Dry Lake and attempted to wrap up my shin with duct tape and left down towards the high school.  Looking back, I probably should have dropped there.  I knew in my head that it was over, that this was an issue I couldn't work through and it would get better.  That said, I really didn't want to DNF, so I went on.  Stubbornly, I kept going, even though I had a hard time walking.  Saw a bunch of friends, including Leila on her way to 3rd place, and was generally miserable.  I muttered some choice words, then laughed at myself, because, well because I paid a lot of money to do this.

Sometimes, when you're having such a rotten time you eventually move past the point of sourness to the point where every bit of additional misery simply becomes comical.  So, the closer I got to SHS, the better my mood was and the more pain I was in.  My shin was throbbing, but I was otherwise fine (it appears to have all the markings of a stress fracture, but not super severe. Swelling is almost gone, and the bumps on my shin have subsided a bit).  My legs weren't overly thrashed, and I was happy.  I promptly DNF'd at the aid station, and ate some bacon with Eron (Donnie's wife), before getting a ride back to my stuff at Leila's condo.  If it was another weekend, I would have stayed for the post race festivities, and I felt bad for not staying to watch my friends come in, but this was also the weekend of Oliver's first birthday and I needed to get back home to help get the place ready.

On Sunday (day after the race), we had bunch of friends over for Oliver's birthday and I really enjoyed just hanging out on my back deck with friends and beer.  Thanks to everyone who came out for that, especially those that had to come all the way down from the mountains and out of town.  I can't imagine I'll ever have a better day after a DNF.

In regards to the race itself, there has been a lot of chatter about issues folks had with the race.  My only issue was that the course felt contrived.  Going through town was not really necessary, and the east side of town (the loop) certainly isn't an area that necessitates the diversion.

So, I was a bit disappointed with the event for that sake, not at all for my own issues, which would have happened in any case.  I really hope they make some major changes to the 100, to bring it up to par with the 50, which, in my opinion, is world class event.  The course layout simply left a lot to be desired, and created some unnecessary confusion, especially since there is so much else to use.  Time will tell if I come back to it, but I'm hoping for luck in either the Cascade Crest or Wasatch lotteries, so those would be my first choice.

Congrats to all who toughed it out all the way to the finish, and Karl for just schooling everyone.  Makes me laugh when I re-read my pre-race plan of sticking with him! That lasted for about 30 yards :)

And, again, Kieran wins the beer for guessing the correct amount of women to finish ahead of me: 4.

Live and learn, right?

Run Rabbit Run Contest

There have been some calls for me to post some sort of prediction contest for beer as I've done in the past.  Those have resulted in me owing a lot of beer, so we'll do a different kind of contest this time.

The Game:

Predict how many women (from the "hares" field will finish ahead of me).

Closest predictor will win a sixer of Punk'n.

Winnings

There is a catch.  If you post a prediction, and I manage to not get chicked (not likely), you owe me a beer.

Deal? Deal.  Let's run.

Revisiting the past

A lot of the time folks don't want to revisit the past, but recently an old schoolmate posted a photo I took (with an actual camera containing FILM!) that I had lost from the summer of 2005:

Tiger's Nest Monastery. Paro, Bhutan

During that summer I spent 6 weeks building trails high in the Indian Himalayas in a small village called Daragaon 15 miles south of Kangchenjunga. On the way out, we looped through Darjeeling and then to the Kingdom of Bhutan.  While in Paro, we made our way up to Paro Taksang, one of the most incredible views and experiences of my life to date.  Check out some other photos.  The story behind the monastery is equally interesting, though neither does justice to the act of being there.

View from the bottom

In any case, I was thinking about what it would be like to go back as a runner, or an ultrarunner more specifically.  There are some incredible hikes and remote outposts in the most mountainous terrain in the world, a place where they don't start naming peaks until they hit 18,000', but logistically it would be a massive challenge.  First of all, with children, a wife, and a job, it is difficult to travel anywhere.  Second, Bhutan is a very intensive experience with stringent rules (though supposedly relaxing year by year).  When I was there, you were required to travel with a state appointed guide, though I imagine if you worked hard enough to prove you were there for the pure athletic and aesthetic experience, you could swing it.

Just a bit of reflection, though I do imagine that I'll keep my word to return to the Himalayas at some point.

Here we go again

In 9 days I'll line up for a 100 mile race for the 3rd time looking for my 2nd finish.  This is the time where I typically start feeling a bit unsettled.

I think it's likely normal for 100 mile novices like me because there is nothing more you can do to prepare yourself physically for the challenge, and a host of things you can do to derail whatever success you have perceived in your brain as a "goal".

My taper? Well, my taper hasn't started particularly well, but there was nothing I could do to change that.  My wife and I bought our first home a week ago and spent the better part of the last week moving all of our crap over to the new house.  I did my last real long run last Saturday night and I felt terrible.  With all the moving of boxes and furniture, and my skinny runner ass, I was just exhausted.  Perhaps I'll just have to go with the Joe Kulak method.

 I've been trying to get some good sleep, though Oliver has made that difficult with some late night/early morning rousing due to sickness.  So, I'm fairly resigned to picking up whatever he's got. Damn kids.  Otherwise, things have been going really well, and I'm not injured which is really all you can ask for.

So, what are my goals?  I'm not really sure, and I'm not entirely certain how I should go about it.  My results this year have been the full bag; great, decent, and terrible.  I'm confident about finishing (which is something everyone always says, thus cliche, but important nonetheless).  Otherwise, with a new course/race, there is no historical precedent to look at to gain a decent understanding of where I could be.  Going into Leadville last year, I knew I could look at the historical times of people who I'm usually finishing near in other races.

Looking to finish in a certain place is a fool's errand, and besides, the race is stacked.  I have some concerns with regards to ruining my race early.  First, the initial climb is steep, exposed, and starts at 1PM, which could make it pretty hot.  Then, there's the fast miles from mile 7 to mile 40 where an overstepping of my fitness could set me up for a brutal second half.  The fact that most of the run is at night actually doesn't bother me at all, as I really enjoy running at night on trail and it is something I practice quite often.

Where does that leave me? Who knows, but I think a sub-24 finish would be a solid time on the course, as it is at Wasatch.  In regards to that place question? I'm realistic, and like Leadville, I think a top 10 finish would be simply my best effort on my best day, but likely not in the cards.  I'll worry about that when I get back to Summit Lake.  So, perhaps I'll just follow my Hellgate race plan: follow Karl Meltzer early and see how it feels.  Besides, if anyone knows how to run a strong 100 it's him, right?

Homie's Adventure

So, Homie is a guy I've met once and can't really say I know, as we've talked briefly for 30 minutes or so.  However, when you meet a guy like Homie, they leave quite an impression.  Right now he's attempting to take down a RIDICULOUS record. Like, stupid ridiculous: the CO 14er record (which is ALL 50+ peaks in succession).  He gets some basic assistance like being carted from trail head to trail head, but even with this, it is a 10+ day record.  So, basically, I'm just trying to shed some light on this insane attempt to do something that few people will actually follow or know about.  I'm pulling big time for Homie to get the record, and I can't think of someone more worthy or capable of holding the title.  Updates provided on his blog and his spot tracker.

GO HOMIE GO!

JT found a new sponsor

Stinger Marathon and looking forward to RRR

Another week, another race in Steamboat.  This time I was able to gain access to the west side of town and Howelson Hill. The Stinger Marathon (as put on by Honey Stinger) was a fun and relatively fast course with plenty of single track.  Despite a somewhat contrived ending to the race (presumably to gain the necessary exact 26.2 distance) there were plenty of things that made this race worth doing:

1. Steamboat
2. Actual bathrooms at the Start/Finish
3. Finish is on the Yampa river
4. Pulled pork sandwiches
5. Ranger IPA on tap

As for my race against the man with one nut, it was a decent effort, but another reminder that I'm not fast.  I did decent work on the initial climb, not overdoing it, and tried to relax on the long downhill.  As the race essentially consisted of two climbs followed by two long descents, my plan was to hammer the back half climb.  At the start of the second climb I had to shepherd a gigantic heifer off the trail before really getting to work.  The climb was shallow and like the rest of the trail, non-technical.  I was working well, but couldn't find that extra gear.  Caught Luke just before the summit, and tried to make some ground on the 5th place guy.  About halfway down, I caught a glimpse of 5th and made an overly concerted effort to close the gap.  This was a mistake.

I've been pretty good lately in races about catching and passing without expending extra energy, but I discarded that here.  Just after the final aid station (3 to go) I was nearly in contact and in regular sight, but once the course opened up and the sun exposure took hold, it was clear that the effort I made to get close pushed me a bit over the line and I began to fade.  So, unfortunately, I fell back a bit and missed my pre-race goal of 3:30 by a solid 10 minutes.

Certainly the positives of the race were gaining course knowledge and familiarity with that side of town, as I'll be hitting it right around mile 23 of the 100 in 5 weeks.  The 100 takes a much more direct approach of Howelson Hill however, and removes all of the zig-zagging and sends you straight up the ski jumps before completing what appears to be the same middle half of the marathon course.

I'm feeling strong, and already recovered from the effort, which is a good sign.  However, I'm not harboring any ill-conceived ambitions of winning cash at RRR.  That will be an effort in survival and constant trudging, with this side of the course being the "easy" side I'll hope to get back to Long Lake for the 2nd of 3 times feeling comfortable before the real brutality of the course kicks in.  So, I'm about as familiar with the course as one could be without living and training in the area.  The only sections I'm unfamiliar with are the Fish Creek drop and climb and the Summit Lake loop (two admittedly important sections).  The good thing is that if I can make it back to Long Lake for the 3rd time I'll be able to taste the finish line and I'll know that section to the finish like the back of my hand, and it's gonna suck.  The last time I ran this section of trail (LL to Gondola Square via Storm Peak Rd), I passed out at the finish line.  Hopefully, this time I can make it standing.

Mt. Werner Classic

This past Friday, I picked up Donnie and headed for the one place you know will deliver quality results on race day:

Steamboat's Finest Chinese Buffet

After crashing at Donnie's friend's pad, and fighting our way out of our room which we locked ourselves into,  we managed to wander over to the start area.

mmmm... Steamboat

Surprisingly great was the Patagucci long sleeve race shirt, which served as a welcome buffer to the morning chill.  And after crashing the Sheraton's lounge for some pre-race comfort, we soon found ourselves heading up Mt. Werner.

I've got to say, this course's take on the whole climb/descent of the ski area kicks the Run Rabbit Run version's ass.  Instead of sticking on the service road to Storm Peak, we got a tour of the tree-lined single track all the way to the top, which coupled with the awesomeness of the trail to Long Lake made for some serious stokage (that's a word, I just made it up).  In any case, I was certainly not feeling chipper and by after the first 2,500' or so of climbing I knew that a great race just wasn't in the cards.  However, I focused on the one thing I had come for, sustained grinding effort.  I just kept the legs churning (if at an admittedly slow pace).  I was something like 8th at the turn and picked off a few guys on the way back.  When I got back to Storm Peak (right before the 4K plunge to the finish) I knew I could do either 1 of 2 things.  I could 1) demolish the downhill and break 5 hours... or 2) drink a beer and enjoy myself all the way down to the finish and not completely wreck my legs.  So, one beer, and a lovely jaunt down the to bottom later, I crossed the line in 5:07:57, good for 5th place, and about 7 minutes back of Donnie.

After a dip in the creek and a few awesome sandwiches later (seriously, the food at this race was unreal), Donnie, new friend Sean Meissner, and ladies champ Becca and I grabbed some adult beverages at Slopside, just a quick walk from the finish line.  Following the story swapping session, we managed to make it back for the awards/raffle where an incredible amount of schwag was dispersed.  In all, it was a phenomenal weekend, and a great, GREAT race.  All of the best parts of the RRR course (with a far superior opening/closing climb), albeit without the Rabbit Ears.  Another perfect day in the mountains, and I'll be back next year.  Next up, another trip to the boat this Sunday for the Stinger Marathon.

Back on track

Lots of fun last night up in Boulder.  I got crushed by a (really fast) girl in the 1500 and the 400 hurdles, but I didn't fall.  I'm perfectly set up to crush the steeple next go around.  Good times though, with Xavier running the 200 and 400, Rachel running the 1500 and 4X400 with Keith, Laurie, and Rob.  Trip up the middle route of green with Gunner afterwards was a perfect night cap.

Pure Class

The sad results:
http://boulderroadrunners.org/results/BRRTrack5-2012.html

As it turns out, there are more than 4 hurdles in the 400...

Xavier's 5 goal special

This one is more for my parents, but you may enjoy the hilarity of 4 year old soccer.  The 5th goal was his best goal, though it comes towards the end of the clip.











And, to prove he's a child of mine, here are two of his fouls the second of which earned him a quick talk with the coaches.  To show he was on the same page, he petulantly backheeled the ball away from the other kid before running back to his side.  Maybe he's ready for the big time afterall...





I'm definitely going to be a loud parent.  At least I'm not the crazy angry one.

Green - Buchanon/Pawnee Pass Loop

Saturday night I headed up for a night run on Green in Boulder before continuing to the Indian Peaks Wilderness.  It was a bit of a challenge getting a parking spot as it seems there was a concert of sorts.  Definitely not feeling peppy, I opted for Gregory/Ranger on the way up and stupidly chose to hop down Greenman/Saddle/Amph which was a bit tricky in the dark.

Sunday morning I got the alarm bells ringing at 3:45 and I struggled to get up out of the Subaru to hit the trail by 4.  Couldn't have been a rougher start to the morning.  I was really tired, my stomach was upset, and it was pitch black out.  I also didn't bank on the technical looseness of the trail skirting Mt. Autobon.  I tripped and stumbled enough to effectively maim my stride into a crawl and it wasn't until the sun came up and I was approaching Buchanan Pass that I had any kind of lift.  I had all of my pre-run beta courtesy of Woody, and like others have mentioned, I saw more tents than people until mile 21.  With the week prior being the 4 pass loop, I had a similar course to go by.  I'd put the 4 pass loop higher on scenery (Fravert basin and Snowmass lake are unsurpassed) and climbing (8500 to 6500), but the edge to the actual trail to BPP.  BPP is far more rugged than 4 pass, and its Cascade Creek Trail is hands down my favorite trail.  I need to go back and run it in the heat of the day so I can jump into the pools and stand under waterfalls.  I should mention that I was woefully under-prepared for the climb up Pawnee Pass, perhaps not really looking into the data for the climb.  I thought it'd be 5 miles, but in reality it's closer to 7.5.  As a result, my slacking off took a toll on my arrival back at the car.  This is a must do for any CO trail runner.  Fairly easy to follow (stay on Cascade Creek Trail!).

Photo: Woody Anderson

Boulder Open Mile

4 Pass Loop

The best pictures are on Woody's blog.  Pictures don't do it justice, however, you've got to see it for yourself.  The only bummer was that it is quite obvious my lack of training over the last month or so.  Time to  ratchet things up a bit.  We did take our time, and did the loop in 7 hrs.  We (Jaime, Kieran, Scott, & Woody) met up with Carbondalians Jeremy, Ashley, Gina, and Casey.  Good times for all.

Snowmass Lake - Photo: Woody

Comments

I begrudgingly added the word verification to my comments because I was getting hundreds of "free Viagra" backlinks being posted to old blog posts.  My apologies, I hate doing them, but I hate the emails more.  At least blogger wiped them out for me.

Independence Day Trail 10K

Didn't happen.  Jaime and I drove up early to get ready for the event, and when we got to the rego table we were told it was closed and you had to be pre-registered to run.  I guess next time I'll lie about where I live so I can register though the website...  So, Jamie and I took off and pre-ran the course (with some slight deviations), and had a great time.  Weather was nice and cool, a good change of pace from recent days.  Makes me want to live in Summit county more and more.  We saw a few other folks out on the course that weren't able to register, and then saw Helen Cospolich at the aid station.  Jaime and I finished up and headed to the finish to watch the leaders come in.  Unfortunately, I think I could have placed fairly well, but oh well.

At the finish area was Neal Gorman who I had met while training on Hope Pass last year.  Neal was there watching his wife (7 months pregnant and still kicking ass) run the race.  So, we chatted a bit on Western and Steamboat.  I couldn't think of all the names running it, so I went back to look at the list and while the list isn't staggeringly long, it is staggeringly stacked.  I'm only wondering how many more will show up with the purse now at $40K. Even without it, the list is big: Roes, Schlarb, Mackey, Parr, Meltzer, Wolfe, Downie, Callahan, Bowman, etc...  Those and others along with the women who are likely to beat me.  I expect to see some fast times (I presume the course to be in the same time range as Wasatch if a bit faster without experience on either, solid climbing and altitude to shake things up) with 10 G's on the line for the winner.

Los Gundersons

My best friend Gunner got married this weekend in Wisconsin, and boy did we celebrate.  I did some running, quarters from bar to bar.  The 15 hour marathon road trip back was rough, but we made the most of it.  Incredible weekend with friends and new family.

Let the games begin...

The only problem with surrounding your kid with collegiate soccer players is that they learn to play aggressive and dirty from a young age...

My Crew Chief

One of my best friends, and my Leadville crew chief, is running one of the Red Cross shelters for the Waldo fire.  He was interviewed for KOAA.  Keith is an evacuee himself (Vindicator and Centennial), and dropped  everything to run this shelter.  As proof that evacuees don't have time to grab everything, Keith didn't even have time to get his insane mop cut...



I've been impressed with the running community's response to the fires (High Park, Waldo, Flagstaff), and my inbox has been crammed with offers from runners offering their homes and resources to anyone in need.  We gave (a small amount) to the Red Cross, and encourage others to do the same.  While prayer and good thoughts are great things, the willingness to act and the extension of tangible help are the most important things right now.

Wyoming

Bighorn DNF

Not a good day for me, lots of personal mistakes ended in a frustrating shiver.  I won't bore you with the details, but I struggled from the off, slowed way down, recovered a bit, ran hard for 20 miles, got a bit hypothermic and froze my ass off.  After an hour or two of shivering in 2 jackets while sitting in front of a propane heater, I caught a ride back to the cabin.  Lessons learned I guess, and it was quite an embarrassment sitting there like a frozen idiot.  The good thing was the rest of the weekend was kick ass.  Will post photos soon.

Family Camping!

Never one to limit the abilities of my vehicles, I may have pushed it a bit too far...

Bierstadt, Sawtooth, & Evans

Managed to bail from work early and wanted to get high again.  I'd never grabbed Mt. Evans and didn't want to get it cheaply so I decided to do the Sawtooth ridge.  Mt. Bierstadt was my first 14er, so it holds some special place in my mind.  As per usual (and more now with the new road) it was a packed lot on a Friday at mid day.  Went easy and took lots of photos. I didn't spend much time on either summit as they were jam packed, but took my time along the ridges when I was alone.  Incredible weather, 74*F at the TH near 11,500' and well over 60*F on the summits.  The willows are horrendous right now, I'd avoid them if you choose to go.

False Evans, Sawtooth, Bierstadt

West from below the saddle

South from below the saddle

Sawtooth from Bierstadt summit

Proof Mt. B

Partway down to the Sawtooth, stayed low to avoid a big snowfield

Down you go

Back at Bierstadt 

Cairn

Sawtooth, rated class 3, but that's a stretch

Stay left

My friend and guide

Northeast from Evans 

Evans north ridge, stayed high to avoid people and get some extra scrambling in

Proof Mt. E, it was a zoo as you can see

Looking back up the drainage on the way home

Sawtooth and Mt. B from the drainage

Not the best running conditions

Route crosses the creek above the ponds and into the dreaded willows

Marmot

The dreaded willows.  Highly advise not using this route right now, this was only the start, gets nut deep

Great look from the drive down