Last year, we posted our picks for the best ski mountaineering trip reports from North America in the 2013/2014 season. We decided to do it again this year with the following criteria: a well written report with exciting photos and true ski mountaineering, not just ski touring.
While last year was marked by a series of exciting reports on FKTs in North America, this year that front was much quieter. Instead, we have a handful of cool trip reports to take your mind off the unbearable summer heat.
Next up is a report from our Utah friends, the Dorais brothers. Jason and Andy have been fixtures on the skimo racing podiums in the US and have also been stepping up their game in big mountain terrain. After returning from the Ski Mountaineering World Championships in Switzerland, along with Tom Goth, another top US skimo racer, they ticked off the Teton Trifecta in excellent style. A technically demanding series of descents, presented with words from Andy and excellent photos from the group here.
Also be sure to check out the recent film documenting the Dorais bro’s approach to life and skiing by Duct Tape Then Beer Productions at the end of this post.
Another report is from Noah Howell, formerly of Powderwhore Productions, is well versed in story telling and generally an impressive photographer. While he may look a rather unlikely skimo racer, he seems to be one of the few who truly race for the fun of it. When he isn’t racing skinny skis on the North American series, he seems to have an affinity for getting a little further afield than most of us and embracing the suffering that accompanies such trips. His report from a spring trip to the Beartooth Mountains is illustrative of this approach to technical ski mountaineering descents.
Last up, not a specific trip report but a blog to follow for its beautiful pictures and excellent beta if you find yourself skiing in the Cooke City area, the Cook City Chronicle by Beau Fredlund.
And that should be enough reading to stoke the excitement for winter! 🙂
If you have any other awesome trip reports that you think must be included, link them in the comments below!
Andy Dorais
Interview with Tom Goth – the 2014 US SkiMo National Champion – on inspiration, training and gear
Few weeks ago, I was trying to figure out who to approach for the next SkinTrack’s interview when I thought of Tom Goth.
I thought of him because I didn’t think our North American skimo community knew much about him – he seems to keep more private than others – yet he was quietly collecting podium placings over the last two seasons.
Fast-forward few weeks and, what a coincidence, Tom became the US National Ski Mountaineering Champion in individual race on March 15th at Crested Butte.
He is 28, is a member of the US National SkiMo Team and La Sportiva athlete living in Salt Lake City, UT.
Tom Goth on his background and inspiration
Before discovering skimo racing, I was a resort skier who dabbled in ski touring for a while. Despite its appeal to me, it never really took hold until 2010/11. That’s when I had a parking lot run-in with skimo evangelist, Andy Dorais.
After the seed was planted it has been a progression in gear acquisition, increasing training and racing. It’s become my main sporting focus during the year.
Q: What inspired you to start racing in this sport? What do you like the most about it?
Skimo shares the attributes of other endurance sports, something which has always appealed to me. As a lifelong skier, it was a natural decision to pick up the sport as I became aware of it.
Often skimo is referred to as a complete sport – aerobic capacity on the climbs, strength and power on the descent and technical ability with transitions. I think this is true, but for me the real gravy is that training is so much fun. Squeezing in few thousand vertical after work, something which would have seemed like half-day tour a few years ago, feels like freedom.
I did some competitive running in high school and college, but didn’t take training very seriously. One obstacle to consistent training was my passion for skiing. After college, I picked up triathlon during the summers. I learned some discipline and put together improved results, including a top ten Ironman finish and two trips to Kona.
To focus on skimo, I’ve taken a break from long course triathlons. I’ve moved the cycling and running off-road to get more vertical in the summer.
On training and becoming faster
Q: I would say that you had a pretty fast rise up the US skimo ranks, by the way, congrats on becoming the US SkiMo National Champion a month ago! What do you think were the most crucial elements and factors that allowed you to develop so quickly?
I think with any endurance sport, the most important aspect of training is consistency. I’ve been lucky enough to put together consistent training this season and over the past couple years. Across all sports, my progression as an endurance athlete has been very linear.
With regards to skimo, my biggest leaps have been with sport specific skills, such as descending and transitions. It may sound obvious, but the best way to get better at descending on race skis is to train on race skis. Many of us have more desirable skis to take out on any given day, but if you embrace the skinny skis it pays off in races.
Q: You raced in Europe and attended the SkiMo World Champs for the first time last year. What was your experience like? What surprised you the most? And what did you find different?
Racing in Europe was awesome. The depth of field, the perfect skin tracks, the long climbs and descents, and the atmosphere in general made for a great experience.
Glide. I was most surprised by the amount of glide some of those guys were getting. Whether it was on the flats or the low angle climbs, their technique and skins allowed them to move really fast!
I think with ISMF sanctioned races in the US our courses are continuing to improve. However, the courses at world champs were impressive. There was no hacking straight up a mogul field. It helped that they had an army (literally) putting in the double track.
This season 2013/14 looks like:
- October – December: Uphill running and early season skiing
- December – March: Competitive skimo season (20 – 40k vertical ft and 15 – 25 hours / week)
- March – May: Spring adventure skiing
- April – September: Mountain bike, trail run and some swimming (10 – 20 hrs / week)
Q: Do you do any strength training? If so, is it skimo specific or more general?
No weight training during the competitive season. I may include some during the off season. Downhill running is also something I rely on during the off season.
Q: Do you have a coach?
No, I don’t.
Q: What are your future skimo racing and athletic goals?
For next year, it’s to race well at the World Championships in Verbier. It would be great to make another trip for one of the Big Three as well.
On nutrition and gear
Q: Do you follow any specific diet? (vegetarian, Paleo, LCHF…)
I find it hard to subscribe to any dietary dogma, but I do like the Paleo and LCHF ideas. I fuel my training and racing with typical sports nutrition, but generally eat whole unprocessed foods for meals.
Q: What race gear have you been using this season?
La Sportiva RSR skis, Stratos Cube boots, RSR bindings and multiple brands of skins. The La Sportiva partnership has worked out great. Going from not racing on their gear to getting my best results has been a huge validation for me. I’m stoked on their products.
16 ounce soft flask(s).
Q: If you could ask anyone from the whole world skimo racing community one question, who would it be and what would you ask?
That’s a hard question! But right now I’m geeking out on gear, so I’d love to check out the production process of the La Sportiva Cubes. Hopefully soon there are more full carbon race boots than plastic on the market.
Q: For all SkinTrack reader’s that ask me whether I am obsessed with skimo racing poles length, here’s my signature question: How tall are you and long are your poles? 🙂
6’2” (188 cm) and 140 cm.
Best 6 Ski Mountaineering Reported Trips of 2012-2013 "season"
The other day, on Twitter, Carl (@CarlKohnstamm) asked me for my opinion on “What are the top 5 ski mountaineering trip (reports) of 2012-13”? (It was worded a bit differently but after clarification that is what he meant.)
That is a one damn great question – fun to answer but by no means it’s easy. Here I am going to attempt to best express my opinion while approaching the question from a wider perspective, and obviously taking into account only trips that I know of.
Note: FKT stands for “fastest known time”
1. Matterhorn FKT (2h 52min) – by Kilian Jornet
Why I included it? Because it was realized by arguably the best skimo racer ever. Kilian “ran” from Cervinia, Italy (around 2,050 m) to the top of Matterhorn (4,478 m) in 1h 56min, which was an ascent speed of 1,256 m per hour!
He descented back in 56min which was a descent speed of 2601 m/h – that is almost like skiing!
» One of the various reports from this “trip” can be found on Climbing.com – http://www.climbing.com/news/kilian-jornet-shatters-matterhorn-speed-record/
2. Mount Rainier FKT – by Jason and Andy Dorais
Besides, Mt Rainer is almost 4,400 m high (14,411 feet) and the route up it definitely includes enough hazard negotiation that one cannot just go without thinking. Skiing it down fast is also quite dangerous.
This is also the one performance of 2013 that pisses me off the most as Dorais brothers stole the record from our team only about 10 days after Eric Carter and Nick Elson pushed their old one down to 4h 19min. 🙂
» Report by Jason from their attempt – http://jasondorais.blogspot.ca/2013/06/mt-rainier-speed-run-35755.html
» Report from our trip – http://www.skintrack.com/trip-reports-conditions/mount-rainier-record-4h-19min-12sec/
3. Steep descents in Coast Mountains – by Tevor Hunt
This is a superb read of a solo descent of a steep face on an undisclosed peak not too far from civilization in the Coast Mountains of BC.
But this one is only one of many under-the-radar (1st) descents of the little known steeps hunter Trevor Hunt.
(Interview with Trevor coming soon!)
» Read “Full Commitment” here http://www.coaststeepskier.com/wphome/?p=21242
4. Tantalus Traverse in a day (FKT) – by Skyler Des Roches, Christian Veenstra
A fitting quote from their day:
“Crossing above above a nunatak, then literally sprinting below a fierce cracked serac cave, we made our way along another bench between crevasses until we reached a notch on the south shoulder of Dione.”
» Here’s the full account of this 17h day – http://runoutoffroute.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/tantalus-traverse-in-a-day/
5. Spearhead Traverse 2 x FKT – by Eric Carter, Nick Elson, Brad Schalles
Spearhead Traverse has been testing grounds for Coastal speedy ski mountaineers for a long time. The tradition was likely started by no other than Greg Hill back in 2004 or so on the classic version (Blackcomb to Whistler Village via Singing Pass).
This spring three of my good friends took on these records with great success:
First, Eric and Nick lowered Greg Hill’s classic version of the traverse record from 4h to 3h 10min
http://coastmountainskiing.com/race-spearhead-traverse-fkt/
Then couple of weeks later, Brad Schalles called me to investigate the route I took in 2009 on the long version to make sure he stayed on it as close as possible. He pushed the time down to 6h 47min! No report but Brad’s blog is here – http://westcoastskimo.blogspot.ca/
6. Steep skiing on Mount Robson – by Reiner Thoni and Jeff Colvin
Reiner and Jeff are my good friends from which I have learnt a great deal whether about mountains or just life in general. I was happy to see that after over a year of not seeing each other they were able to hook up for such an adventure this summer.
By now, Reiner knows Robson very intimately – summitted it about 5 times and skied it twice in last 2 years – yet this must have been a highly rated trip up a familiar mountain.
For those that don’t know Reiner – he is consistently highest placed North American at skimo world champs and placed 15th at Pierra Menta last March. But his big heart mostly beats for things outside of racing.
Eye candy
I left videos out of the above list on purpose. Because if you are like me then I didn’t want you to get caught up in a spectacle and forget about priorities. And you are welcome 🙂
Here’s a short clip of Kilian’s record on Matterhorn.
Reiner’s and Jeff’s skimo adventure on Robson.
Honorable mention
This didn’t make it to the list as it has nothing to do with ski mountaineering but what a performance and inspiration – Ueli Steck speed soloing South Face on Annapurna this October. More at Alpinist – http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web13f/newswire-ueli-steck-south-face-annapurna