Well, I went into the “Heathen Challenge” at Sunlight with lofty goals…and for half an hour, they seemed attainable.
After that, not so much. Ouch!
I entered the Heathen as my second rando race ever, so naturally I expected to win in commanding fashion. In fact, I placed a handsome wager on myself at the sports desk at Caesar’s, in Vegas. I also bet against Mike Kloser, Pete Swenson, and anybody else I could think of, including Pete Sampras. Fuck that guy–I’ll be bull-whipped before I get shelled by Sampras on skis. Remember that time he hurled at the US Open?! Soft is what that guy is!
Anyway, back to the Heathen. The second stop on the Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup (COSMIC) series, the course has a rep for being tough–steep, tons of kick turns, and you descend the Defiance run three times. (Normally they funnel you down The Heathen, but poor snow cover meant we dropped Defiance instead–a 50-degree roll over, scoured bumps. It was full-value!) Shy of 5,000 feet of climbing, I figured I’d survive on one bottle and my iron will.
Saturday, January 14 dawned to splitter weather. We started at 8 a.m. and as usual, it was a pretty friendly scene. Of course, no one knew I’d placed 50 large on myself and bet viciously against them all.
I got a good warm up, did a few hard efforts, then called my bookie to add another five grand to my bet. I was feeling good!
On the start line I took a look around. OK, so everybody looked fitter than me, no sweat. Wait, a lot of guys and girls had lighter skis and boots than me, but hey, it’s all about the pilot, right?
Oh, how true a statement that would soon prove to be.
The gun went off and the fast men and women set the pace, up out of the base area and on to a cat track. Two minutes into the effort I walked out of my left ski–I’m pretty sure my opponents had colluded against me, but I have no proof (yet) of said collusion. I stepped back into my ski and got going again, just as a familiar looking woman passed me.
I swear to god it was Linda Hamilton from Terminator 2. In Lycra. Kinda hot, but she spat on my “heavy” gear as she went by. Maybe she was French?
I trailed the leaders for the first climb, maybe 45 seconds off the best guys, then another 15-20 off a little peloton of 7th or so through about 15th. By the top of the first climb (2.5 miles, 1900 feet of climbing), though, the wheels had come off and the bar at Caesar’s was abuzz: I was coming apart.
Seriously, though, it was a badass event and (just like last year at the Breck “Five Peaks” race) I was amazed at how fast the front 15 guys, and five women, were going. Crazy fast. Super dialed on their transitions, fluid in their skinning, and banzai on their descents. Really cool.
I’d never been to Sunlight, either–totally great little mountain. There is some very steep terrain on that hill, way steeper than anything at Vail or Aspen, right? Maybe there’s a little pitch in Highlands Bowl or North Rim that compares, but I doubt it. Anyway, the course was indeed tough, with enough kick-turning I should be set for the next three seasons with those. They’re hosting a 12-hour event, “The Endurance Challenge” on February 25th, and I might be dumb enough to do it.
Before then, though, there’s another COSMIC race at Winter Park, January 30, as part of the Ski Industry Association trade show expo. Should be a good time and a shorter event than most.
And oh yeah, for the record, I finished 24th out of 40-something dudes. There were several DNF’s, probably skin problems and good old-fashioned biomechanical meltdowns…but no sweat, they’ll have their chances to whip my ass good at the next event. Watch for a post!
Big thanks to Todd Patrick for his photographs. Check out his website for more of the Sunlight “Heathen Challenge!”