It’s 5 degrees at 6am when my brother Grant and I are rushing around to load skis, food and clothes into my car. I’m thankful for the spare down jacket he’s lent me since I left mine at home on a couch where I would be sure not to forget it when I ran out the door yesterday. Car loaded we hustle over to the Crested Butte Nordic Center and setup our pit near the start/finish area. A couple bags of spare clothes, a labeled cooler and a folding chair marks our staging area. Then we rush inside for the 6:45 skier’s meeting.
We’re both registered for the inaugural 12 Hours of Crested Butte nordic ski race. Teams of 2 or 4 make up most of the field but three of us are registered as solo racers. The course consists of a winding 6k route through the center’s trails with one water stop serving double duty at the narrow neck of an out and back loop. Easter eggs would also be hidden along the course and could be turned in later for a prize. With a 5 minute warning we all run outside and get ready to ski.
The race is started at 7:05am and the pack takes off on skate skiing gear. Grant, his friend Drew and myself look at each other as we slide forward our on snail-like classic skis. Oh, and they aren’t racing skis either, they’re backcountry models. We stick together for the first lap talking and warming up as dawn breaks over the valley. Toward the end of the lap my only thought is to finish one lap before being passed by any of the skate skiers on their second time around.
Luckily, all three of us just barely make it though the timing tent before the fast racers come through. Our first lap was about 45 minutes and we soon headed out for lap two after a quickly refueling stop. Grant and I take a longer break after the second lap and sunglasses come out and some layers stay back at the pit. Pretty soon we work into a pattern: ski for 45 minutes, then rest/refuel/rewax skis/hit the bathroom for 5-15 minutes.
After lap three I’ve removed my heavy mittens and before starting lap 5 I’m down to some light pants, a t-shirt and thin windbreaker. The day would heat up to about 43 degrees and a few climbs were in shadeless areas. I kept wondering how Grant was doing in his all-black “nordic ninja” outfit.
Other than Drew’s four person team we were the only classic skiers out on the slopes, so we just trudged through the course all day while being passed on the left by the quicker skate skiers. Most said a few kind words as they’d zip by and we soon zeroed in on the other solo racer, a female skate skier and cheered her on as well.
The advantage of moving slower was finding more of the Easter eggs. Grant found 1, Drew 2 and I found 4 (between us that accounted for all but 5 of the total eggs).
As noon approached more spectators showed up and the 4 person teams who may have started the race with only one skier present gathered in total. With a lively announcer and the growing crowd we took longer breaks at the base to enjoy the scene and relax between laps.
By the half way point we’d covered 7 laps and we debating whether to call it quits after 10 or 11 (37-40 miles roughly). Today’s race was training for a “Grand”-er event coming up and wasn’t an “A” race for either of us. Plus, the beer was flowing and with every lap it looked more and more enticing.
Grant and I both agreed our 7th lap was our worst, it felt just hot and miserable. On that lap we’d started well apart and skied solo for the whole loop. Being together was enough of a moral boost that we decided to keep together for our remaining circuits. Our tendency to stay together had the announcer referring to us as the “Solo Duo”.
Still, the last two laps were pretty tough on me. Grant was feeling plenty strong but my left ski boot was bothering my achilles tendon and watching my brother zip ahead on the downhills on his faster waxable skis while my waxless scales hummed on the snow was demoralizing. For the final lap Grant had to wait a few times for me to drag myself along and we ended our final lap 12 seconds apart.
The beer and food was great, as was just sitting down and not having to think about going out for another lap. We watched the last two hours of the race including some really fast laps by the two leading four person teams and a completely naked finish by another competitor. The other solo racer ended up meeting her goal of 17 laps (102km) for a really impressive finish.
At the awards presentation both she and Grant won $500+ pair of skis for finishing first in their categories (solo female and solo male). Hats went to the egg holders, and I’d distributed my “spare” 3 eggs to other racers (both for good sportsmanship and to follow the race rules).
The race was a lot of fun, but if I come back next year I’d rather do it on skate skis, and maybe as a two or four person team. Of course, that might depend on what I’m training for. . .
Congrats!!!