2017 ultimate challenge (and tour of utah, stage 6)

Stage 6 (8/5/17) Soldier Hollow to Snowbird, 61 miles and 7,700 feet of elevation gain.  The race organizers have been mixing it up with the Tour of Utah this year.  For instance, Stage 6, the "queen stage," is much shorter this year, clocking in at only 61 miles.  It was nonetheless challenging: starting at Soldier Hollow and going around the end of Deer Creek Reservoir before climbing up the Alpine Loop behind Sundance, descending through American Fork Canyon, sweeping around the Point of the Mountain and then finally the grueling climb up Little Cottonwood Canyon for a Snowbird finish.   Stage podium: Guilio Ciccone (Bardiani); Simone Sterbini (Bardiani); Neilson Powless (Axeon).

Note those climbs

The stage winner did it in 2:45:38.  This is notable because Stage 6 is also the route of the Ultimate Challenge, where citizens are allowed to test themselves on the same course as the pros.  H, apparently because he hadn't tormented challenged himself enough with the Crusher, signed up for the Ultimate Challenge as well.  And then spent the week prior looking at the course profile and shaking his head mournfully.

Ready to go

We had to organize carefully because we would be gone all day, so that involved (a) H's ride gear, (b) my hiking gear, (c) H's post-ride gear, (d) my post-hike gear and (e) beer.  We left the house at 7:15 a.m., driving south to Orem, through Provo Canyon and up to Soldier Hollow, parking in a big field with all the other citizen riders.  After collecting H's hospitality tent wristband, he got himself ready to go and headed for the start.  I left at that point - since there were somewhere between 600-700 riders, I did not want to get tangled up with them on that road around the reservoir.  And it was a bit of a tangle, H reported later.  Even though this was merely a ride and not an actual race, there was an awful lot of aggressive passing and jostling for position during the first miles.

Heading to the start

This faded away as soon as the climbing started and H, who is in pretty good shape right now, managed to distance himself from the hordes, passing lots of people.  The climb up to the top of American Fork Canyon from the Sundance side - a steep, narrow, twisty road that we've driven many times - wasn't actually too bad.  There weren't many cars (the course was not closed for the Ultimate Challenge although it would be for the Tour of Utah riders) and it was largely shaded.  H had been anxious about the descent - again steep, narrow, twisty - but said that it wasn't bad at all.  He's been practicing his descending skills; he was able to ride most of it alone, without having to dodge other riders; and signs were on hand to warn of the biggest corners where speed needed to be reduced.

Lining up for the start

Once out of American Fork Canyon, things started to heat up.  Literally - since the rest of the ride would be entirely exposed with no shade.  The riders had a whole stretch of road to themselves through the Alpine area, came around into Draper and started up Highland Drive/Wasatch Boulevard to the Little Cottonwood Canyon Road.  As the climb started, H again passed a ton of people.  He said he was feeling good right up until gate B in Little Cottonwood Canyon.  At that point, the heat started getting to him and even though he needed fuel to sustain himself for the climb, he just didn't feel like eating.  The last four miles of the climb were absolutely miserable - and not just for H: people who could keep riding were wobbling all over the place and lots of riders were walking - but he pushed on through.  By the time he hit the final 200 m. stretch (downhill into the finish), he said he was barely pedaling.  But he made it, finishing in 4 hours and 15 minutes, with the last climb up LCC taking an hour.  H's results:  123 overall; 19 out of 99 age group; 116 out of 544 men.

Approaching the finish

While H was on his bike, I had booked it up to Snowbird, nabbing a prime parking spot along the creek.  Wanting to get a little exercise, I did a short hike up Peruvian Gulch to the top of the Peruvian Chair [Note: the Peruvian Ridge trail we did at the Wildflower Festival is much prettier than just trudging up the gulch trail.].  I made it up in 1 hour and 10 minutes, then got chilled on the chairlift ride down because I had worked up such a sweat.  Back at the car, I got texts from H at the Highland Drive feed station and at the mouth of LCC, so I knew approximately how much time I had.  I changed clothes, packed H's stuff in my backpack, grabbed the cooler and went back up to the finish line.  The crowd was growing and each Ultimate Challenge rider got a lot of applause as they came through the chute.

Finished!

After H finished, I managed to find him in the crowd.  He was a little shaky at first, from the exertion and heat and lack of nutrition and hydration.  But after a half hour of sitting in the shade drinking water, we moved over to the hospitality tent where he got some food.  As I wasn't a rider, I had to stand outside the fence, so after he ate, H joined me, continuing to work his way through a series of diet Cokes and Powerades, and we watched the Stage 6 finish on the Jumbotron.  Lots of other UC riders opted to do that as well, despite the finish line being just behind us in person; I overheard a lot of conversations where riders said, "I felt really good until we started climbing LCC!"

As the Stage 6 podiums were being announced, we collected H's bike from the bike valet and made our way back to the car.  It looked to be slow going getting out of the parking lot, as the race vehicles and viewing public were all trying to leave at once.  H had fully bounced back by now, so we sat in the shade and had a beer, recapping the day while the crowd dispersed.  Contrary to what we would have thought, H thinks that if he had to choose, he would rather do the Crusher again instead of the Ultimate Challenge (although we wonder if that would have been the case had the weather not cooled off so drastically for the Crusher).  Luckily, he doesn't have to decide any such thing any time soon ... and can just be glad that both rides are over for this year.

2017 tour of utah - stages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Early August means Tour of Utah!  After cruising through southern Utah last year, this year's iteration is all northern Utah.  SOMETHING ABOUT CYCLISTS.  Like last year, we only attended stages 6 and 7 in person, but here's a summary of the midweek events.

Stage 1 (7/31/17) Logan, 132 miles and 6,550 feet of elevation gain.  The longest stage of this year's Tour, Stage 1 starts and ends in Logan, with a tour through Cache Valley and Logan Canyon and around Bear Lake.  Stage podium: Tyler Magner (Holowesko/Citadel/Hincapie); Christopher Lawless (Axeon); Travis McCabe (UnitedHealthcare).

Stage 2 (8/1/17) Brigham City to Snowbasin, 94 miles and 6,900 feet of elevation gain.  This marks the first year the ToU goes to Snowbasin.  After warming up around Brigham City and Sardine Canyon, the riders cross the North Ogden Divide (a 5 km climb averaging a 10% gradient), before going around Pineview Reservoir and then hitting the climb (6 mi., average 6% gradient) for a mountain top finish at the ski resort.  Stage podium: Brent Bookwalter (BMC); Sepp Kuss (Rally Cycling); James Piccoli (Elevate-KHS).

Stage 3 (8/2/17) Big Cottonwood Canyon, 5 miles and 1,725 feet of elevation gain.  In a bit of a departure, Stage 3 was a five mile time trial, but since it was from Donut Falls to Brighton - all uphill, with a 5.5% average gradient - it actually suited the climbers more than the time trial specialists.  Brent Bookwalter, who had had such a good Stage 2 the day before, completely blew up on this one.  Stage podium:  Rob Britton (Rally Cycling); Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly): Gavin Mannion (UnitedHealthcare).

Stage 4 (8/3/17) South Jordan circuit, 123 miles with no noticeable elevation gain.  When I watch multi-stage bike races, I much prefer the ones where there's climbing.  This Stage 4, out on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley, really had none of that.  The sun and wind were a factor, as well as the wildfire smoke blowing in from Nevada.  It was a pretty exciting sprint finish, however, with the stage winner passing five riders at the last minute.  Stage podium:  John Murphy (Holowesko/Citadel); Jose Alfredo Rodriguez Victoria (Elevate-KHS): Mihkel Raim (Israel Cycling Academy).

Stage 5 (8/4/17) Layton to Bountiful, 115 miles with 4,200 feet of elevation gain.  Stage 5 is a sneaky stage.  The first half consists of rolling hills and then the back end has a series of brutal climbs, including two trips up and down the Bountiful bench which, if you look at them on the course profile, seem to be nearly straight up and down.  Stage podium: Travis McCabe (UnitedHealthcare); Marco Canola (Nippo Vini Fantini); Logan Owen (Axeon).

Rally is holding pretty tightly to the yellow jersey but it's been fun to see all these different teams - including an Israeli one and an Italian one - on the stage podiums.

our own private wildflower festival

The Cottonwood Canyons Foundation puts on the Wasatch Wildflower Festival every year in July.  In the past, they have crammed all into one long weekend: Big Cottonwood Canyon on a Friday and Little Cottonwood on Saturday and Sunday.  This year they split it up, doing Brighton and Solitude the weekend before; this weekend, Alta's guided tours were on Saturday and they were closing out the festival Sunday at Snowbird.  We had done the guided walks at Snowbird twice before, in 2012 and 2016.  They are well-done and informative but you are at the mercy of the other people in your assigned group, and if they are overly talkative or struggle with the hiking, it can be a little frustrating.  We decided that we weren't up for a group activity and so, armed with our CCF's Wildflower Guide to Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, we started hiking up.

Fireweed, lupine and a coneflower

Lupine, sunflowers, paintbrush and 

horsemint (at a minimum)

As anyone who has ever hiked at a ski mountain can attest, ski trails are steep to walk up, even if they are bunny slopes, and Snowbird is a seriously steep mountain.  We figured we would just go up the way we had come down on the guided tours since that seemed to go by lots and lots of flowers.  This meant the Peruvian Gulch trail, which starts off extremely steep right from the get-go, until you are able to crest the first ridge.  But the wildflowers were simply everywhere, also right from the get-go, including fireweed, penstemon, geraniums, showy daisies, paintbrush, cow parsnip, elderberries and columbine.  This section was also where we spotted most of the wildlife: four deer, including a doe and still-spotted fawn; potguts galore; pikas; squirrels, both the red and least ground varieties; and marmots.

What big ears you have!

Amazingly, this pika held still for a photograph

About halfway up we were presented with a choice: continue along the Peruvian Gulch trail, which we had done before, or try the Peruvian Ridge trail, which we had never done.  We picked the ridge trail and it was fantastic.  At first, the trail meandered across a drainage with a gushing brook and the flowers were just thick there, including lots of Lewis's monkeyflower and more elephant-heads than we had ever seen.  Then the trail started to climb, first switchbacking through a stand of trees and then crossing a sun-drenched and flower-filled bowl.  At once point, I just stopped on the trail and noticed: lupine, clover-headed mint, gentians, scorpionweed, paintbrush, Wyeth's buckwheat, sulphur buckwheat, horsemint and sunflowers - all just in that one spot.

Crossing under the tram line

Gorgeous bowl with top o' Snowbird in the back

When we reached the edge of the bowl, the trail turned back and followed the ridge between Peruvian Gulch and Gad Valley, all the way up to the summit.  The views were spectacular; the footing, while not scary, was definitely a walk-or-look situation, as opposed to a walk-and-look.  After a last scramble up a short, steep, loose section, we were underneath the tram tower.  We ran into an Alta acquaintance there and chatted with him for a while, trading hiking and camping recommendations, then continued up to the top of Hidden Peak.  We checked out the new(-ish) lodge, which was quite nice, with excellent views and $6/12 oz. draft beers, and then contemplated getting back down the mountain.

H on the ridge

The last little steep (and loose) bit

Not wanting to hike back down if we didn't have to, we first thought we might just take the tram back down to the base area.  But then we noticed that the Peruvian chair was getting ready to open (12-5:30 p.m., summer schedule) and traipsed down the access road to load the chair instead.  When we got back to the patio, the place was teeming with people - tourists, MTBers, trail runners and wildflower enthusiasts - and a live band was playing.  We hurried down to the truck, changed out of our hiking duds and then brought our cooler back up to the patio.  There, sitting on a shady bench, we managed to spend a very pleasant couple of hours, listening to the band, eating lunch, drinking beers and people-watching.  If you're ever in the area during the Wildflower Festival, stopping by one of the venues is highly recommended.

The more you know

last mtb of july

Since the end of July (I can't believe it's already the end of July!) means the Wasatch Wildflower Festival - and more on that later - we again switched up our routine to MTB on Saturday.  We planned ahead and got everything ready Friday night so that we could just roll out of bed and be on our way at 7 a.m.  Again, we parked at the in-town rail trail lot to allow me some extra miles on the bike, and the initial downhill brought goosebumps to my arms since the air was nice and cool.  Five hot air balloons floated overhead and it was another gorgeous day.

Up, up and away

The first thing we noticed was that there were a lot more people out walking their dogs than there had been the prior Saturday.  We had been surprised by the relative lack of people on the trails then; now we realized that it was because of the long, Utah-only holiday weekend and folks that would regularly be out on the Round Valley trails had likely gone out of town.  Still, everyone was very cordial and the earlier hour meant that we were ahead of most of the other MTBers.

Other than having to put my foot down on the Sweet Sixteen climb when a downhilling dude didn't yield (uphill traffic has the right-of-way, dude), I rode pretty well.  I seem to be gaining some confidence back and am slightly less squirrelly in my bike handling.  Slightly.  I've decided that my new favorite part of the whole ride is that Staircase climb: because it isn't rocky, I can climb it even though it is still a challenge and once at the top, it's basically all downhill from there.

Upright, smiling

After we got home, H went for a road ride and cut the lawn while I did laundry and made up stuff for dinner.  We headed up to Snowbird for a fantastic show, the Sweet Lillies, then returned home and crashed.  Summer is almost over - got to squeeze every bit out that we can.

lambs canyon on pioneer day

Monday was a state holiday for Utah: Pioneer Day, celebrating the arrival of the Mormon settlers in the Salt Lake valley.  Neither H nor I are much for parades so we thought we'd come up with something else to do.  He really wanted to do a bike ride early before it got too hot, while I really wanted to hike and knew that it would have to be early to get ahead of the holiday crowds.  So we went our separate ways.  Mine took me up Millcreek Canyon to do the Lambs Canyon up-and-down-and-up-again-and-down-again.

So green!

We did this exact hike just over a year ago: that post has the hike stats and hike profile; I did it in almost the exact same time this go-around.  When I got to the trailhead (shared with Mt. Aire), there were already a bunch of cars but I had a feeling that those hikers were all on the Mt. Aire trail.  I was right as I saw very few people.  On my way up the Millcreek side, I saw two high school trail runners; on my way down the Lambs Canyon side, I saw two hikers heading up; going back up Lambs Canyon, I passed one trail runner who was walking up and then those two hikers, plus another trail runner, coming back down; and going down the Millcreek side I saw two hikers on their way up, and a trail runner caught me right at the very end.  That's only eight people on a holiday hike in the Wasatch - amazing.

The flowers are pretty nice at the top of the pass

There are good reasons for this trail being less well-traveled than many others in the area.  There aren't really any views since the high point is on a tree-covered pass so you don't get the satisfaction of a summit.  It's a fairly long trail if you do what I (and all the trail runners) did: eight miles for front to back to front.  More importantly, the Millcreek side is really quite steep.  The footing for the whole thing is pretty good, though, almost all packed dirt with just a couple of brief rocky sections on the Millcreek side.  I can see why trail runners like it, especially the Lambs Canyon side (although that side tends to be very humid).

I kept a consistent pace, finishing the whole thing in about three hours, including just a little bit of stoppage time.  Things were picking up along the Millcreek Canyon road as I got out of my boots, pounded a beer and snarfed down a sandwich: road cyclists working their way up, MTBers cruising down, hikers and dog walkers hitting the trails and holiday-going picnickers setting up for their Pioneer Day lunch al fresco.  I was glad to be getting away from the hubub, but equally glad that I'd gotten the chance to have a bonus day to get some dirt under my boots.

wicked fun

Here's the thing: I really, really dislike the current [catchphrase/saying/???], "Sunday Funday."  It makes me twitch, like the word "moist" or fingernails on a chalkboard.  And yet this past Sunday was so much fun!  Here's what went down.

Looking waaaay down from the Needles trail

On summer Sundays, Snowbasin has "Blues, Brews & BBQ" which is pretty much what it sounds like - live music, beer and cooking out on the lawn at the base area.  We hadn't gone up for any yet because Snowbasin is a bit of a drive from our house but this time we didn't want to miss it since Andy Frasco & the U.N. were playing.  We'd seen them a few years ago at Snowbird and knew it would be a party; we thought we'd go up a little early and get a hike in first.

There really are a bunch of switchbacks in there

We got up to the resort and on the trail around 1:00 p.m.  The crowd was already gathering on the lawn for the opening acts but we had to put some miles on our legs before joining them.  The hike was the same one we did back in September 2015: about six miles of uphill and then a welcome ride down on the tram.  It seemed pretty hot as we started out, grinding our way up the Needles trail.  The ambient temperature was mid- to high 80s but the sun was strong and it didn't take long to get sweated up.

The scenery is pretty nice up at Snowbasin

The Needles trail (MTB/hiking) parallels an access road for a ways so we stayed on the road.  It was exposed (actually, pretty much the whole hike is exposed) but by staying off the singletrack, we were able to avoid some MTBers.  When the road faded away, Needles continued on (and up) as dusty singletrack, quite steep in some sections and also fairly rocky underfoot.  I always forget how rocky the Snowbasin trails are until I'm back on them.  We started to encounter more MTBers at this point: the long Needles trail is popular with folks who have taken the tram up with their bikes.  Since we were walking uphill and the bikers were all coming downhill, we were able to see them coming and step off the trail for them with no surprises.

View to the east down the cirque

We came off the Needles trail for a number of switchbacks on the Becker and Diamond trails, which gained us quite a bit of elevation before we rejoined the Needles trail for the final push to the top.  When we got to the lodge, we ducked inside to get more water and then did the quick (twelve minutes) push to the top of the cirque for 360-degree views.  We had seen very few people on our hike up so sharing the cirque trail with people - clean people, some wearing sundresses and sandals, who had ridden up on the tram - was a bit of a shock. 

H, atop the ridge

After that, the only thing left to do was walk back down to the Needles lodge and hop on the tram for a quick ride down to the base.  The party was in full swing but we went straight to the car to change out of our very sweaty hiking duds and pound sandwiches and a couple of beers.  It was a good thing we did - because you could go broke at this shindig buying beer!  Lots of people had prepurchased giant steins which apparently gave you a bit of a break on the price of the beers.  We didn't have those steins, however, and were shocked to learn that a tiny cup of IPA was $6.00!  You could get large cans of crap beer (PBR, Budweiser, etc.) for a mere $7.00 too.  I didn't even bother to check out what the food prices were but I can't imagine they were any more reasonable.

Xena keeps H's foot warm

One fantastic thing about Snowbasin is that dogs are allowed since it isn't a watershed.  And there were dogs everywhere!  Mutts, chihuahuas, golden retrievers, labs, standard poodles, basset hounds, beagles, a massive Great Dane, Rhodesian ridgebacks, Boston terriers ... it was wonderful to be around - and get to pat - all these good dogs.  We struck up a conversation with a guy because of his beautiful young German shepherd; he and H ended up talking for quite some time about skiing, mostly.

Terrible picture of the massive crowd - there were tons of people there

The show itself was fantastic and so much fun, especially once Andy Frasco and his band came up on stage.  Frasco is a talented showman who is skilled at working the crowd, plus he is very generous with his musicians and kept inviting guys from the prior acts to join them on stage.  At one point, there were over sixteen musicians up there, jamming away: drummers, pianists, three guitarists, a bassist, two trumpeters, two saxophone players.  They all just looked like they were having a great time too, as Andy Frasco kept crowd-surfing and passing beers around.  After playing for nearly three hours, they closed with the Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)" with a crowd of kids on stage and the whole crowd shouting every lyric along with the band.  So fun.  We will make a point of seeing them again if they come back next summer.

The map of the hike can be found at this earlier post.  It took us about three hours and was right around six miles, plus the two on the tram ride down.  (That hike would be much less pleasant if you were to have to walk downhill too.)  Wicked fun day.

switcheroo

Since we had specific plans for hiking on Sunday, we did our MTBing on Saturday instead.  We don't often go to Park City on Saturdays and so don't have a good sense about how crowded things might be.  That, coupled with the fact that it was going to be around 100 F in the valleys later, encouraged us to get an earlier start than usual: leaving the house in time to get on the trails by 8 a.m.  We went back to our former, usual parking lot - in-town, along the bike path - in order to get me on the bike for longer.  Then, with five hot-air balloons silently floating overhead, we started rolling.

The bike path adds another 2.7 miles or so (each way) to our regular ride: downhill for the outbound, and a long slog of an uphill on the return.  At that early hour, there weren't many other people out there with us - a couple of runners and one gentleman who was encouraging a snake, that had curled up on the path to soak in the sun, to move out of the way so it didn't get squished.  The parking lot at Quinn's Trailhead was pretty busy but that was because of a youth baseball tournament; once out on the dirt, the population got pretty sparse.  We saw a couple of desert cottontails and lots of songbirds; I did my best to ignore the ominous circling of buzzards overhead.

Sure doesn't look like it rained yesterday

The earlier morning temperatures were quite pleasant.  We got hot and sweaty on the uphills (it has been a little humid lately, being monsoon season and all) but the flats and downhills were lovely.  A big storm had moved through on Friday - the lightning for our morning commute in SLC had been impressive - and apparently Park City had gotten a fair amount of rain in a very short time as the system came through.  Several places on the jeep roads were washed out; the hardpack singletrack had a lot of loose rock on it; and there were one or two damp spots.  The trails were in good shape otherwise, proof that it's been so hot as to dry things up quickly.

I am still squirrelly with loose rock (and sand, I hate sand) but I had a better day.  My legs weren't tired, for one, so I climbed pretty well, except for one spin-out on the Sweet Sixteen where I had to put my foot down.  We didn't encounter anybody on either the uphill OR the downhill of Rambler - and neither of us can remember a time when that happened.  And I forwent the paved path for the stretch back to Quinn's Trailhead, staying on the dirt and climbing the Staircase really well.  After that, there was nothing but the long bike path return to the truck and since there wasn't a headwind for once, I was able to cruise that quickly.  I even passed some people!

The best part was that since I didn't overdo it, we went up to Snowbird that evening to see Eilen Jewell for the Snowbird Cool Air Concert Series.  (H, who did a road ride in the heat after we got home, may have taken a short nap beforehand.)

aftermath

It is entirely possible that I overdid it on our Brighton ridge run hike.  By Saturday early evening, my quads and calves were tightening up, due to the steep sections that I was under-fit for.  And I ended up having to take a nap - due to the heat and extra mileage - which meant we skipped the Snowbird Cool Air Concert.  By the time Sunday morning rolled around, my quads were very sore and I was avoiding going down any stairs at all cost.

But MTBing seemed like something we should do, to shake off the cobwebs and loosen things up.  We managed to get over to Round Valley and on the trails by 9 a.m.  There were enough cars in the parking lot that I ended up being surprised when we didn't see more than a couple of dog-walkers on the front half of our ride.  We did have to stop for a few minutes to encourage a tiny baby desert cottontail off the trail and into the sagebrush; while H shooed him away, I drank a lot of water and was grateful to rest my legs.

Grimace? Smile?  Hard to say exactly

I have not had enough time on the MTB this summer to get my groove back entirely, continuing to be skittish on rocky downhills.  I'm working on it and H and I have decided to go back to parking at the in-town lot to give me another four-ish miles on the bike.  This day, I did manage to ride a couple of sections pretty well and surprised myself by riding all but two of the Sweet Sixteen switchbacks, those two being the ones I have never ridden.  I did spew an impressive string of obscenities while wrestling my MTB up one rocky switchback - but I rode it without putting my foot down, and if high volume swearing is what it takes, then that's what I'll do.

By the time we'd gotten to the far side, however, my legs were toast.  H took the newer portion of our dirt trail back while I cruised the paved bike path.  He beat me back to the truck although only by 30 seconds or so - he'd clearly been held up by other trail users because I was s l o w.  Moral of the story:  do your MTBing the day before you do a big hike or suffer the consequences.  (Said suffering was alleviated somewhat by judicious application of G&Ts at home Sunday evening.)

brighton ridge run

Three years ago, we did a great hike up at Brighton, running around the ridge and picking off six peaks all above 10,000 feet.  Last year, we climbed Clayton Peak (a/k/a Mt. Majestic).  This year, we hadn't been hiking all that much and I was really jonesing for a decent hike.  I thought we could link the two together and really make a good walk out of the so-called Brighton Ridge Run.

Unnamed peak; hiker name: H

We were on the trail at 7 a.m., enjoying the cool air and the almost-but-not-quite-at-peak wildflowers on the lower ski runs under the Majestic and Crest Express lifts.  We encountered just a couple people before the Dog Lake turn-off and then no one (other than a fair number of unwelcome but slow-moving mosquitoes) as we made our way up.  That trail through Brighton's bowls is just wonderful.  It climbs steadily but is smooth and gentle underfoot, hard-packed dirt and pine needles - super-cushy.  The last bit to the summit is steep with small boulders to scramble; cross-sounding pikas scolded us as we made our way up.  Then it was summit #1, Clayton Peak, at 10,750 feet above sea level.

Lakes Mary and Martha from Pioneer Peak

There was no time for lingering, however, because this summit had taken us longer than I thought it would (failure to adequately research falls on me).  We also weren't sure how to get to our next summit and had to descend much further than I had hoped before finding a dirt access road which would take us up.  This "ridge run" does have a trail but it is faint and fades in and out; a recurring theme for the hike would be losing and re-finding the path.  We made our way up through the wildflowers to the ridge behind the top of the Crest Express lift and started around.

Catherine's Pass/Lake Catherine and Tuscarora

That first summit is apparently unnamed (elevation 10,315 ft.) and the trail is barely there either.  It's easy to know where you're going on a ridge, however, so we picked our way through the boulders until we found the trail again.  There is a fair amount of up and down on this hike, as we descended to the low point and then scrambled up to Pioneer Peak (10,447 ft.).  From here, on our left a gorgeous green drainage fell away towards the Heber Valley, and to our right, the Brighton lakes were as full as we've ever seen them, compliments of all the wonderful snow we got this past winter.

Last summit: Mt. Wolverine

From Pioneer Peak to the popular Sunset Peak is probably the sketchiest part of the ridge run.  We lost (and found) the trail several times; the footing is extremely sandy and loose; and the ground falls away very steeply, so that whole section is absolutely a "no-fall" zone.  It is also a no-other-hikers zone, which is always a treat in the increasingly busy Wasatch.

Wolverine Cirque

There were, however, scads of people atop Sunset Peak 10,648 ft.), as we knew they would be.  Lots of hikers will nab that summit as it is an easy extension from Catherine's Pass, whether you've come up from the Alta side or the Brighton side.  We left the crowds behind us as quickly as we could, pausing for snacks at Catherine's Pass (where we grievously disappointed the resident chipmunk who had been hoping for dropped goodies) before continuing on.  Again, there was a bit of route-finding as the trail faded in and out, but we eventually found ourselves at the summit of Mt. Tuscarora (10,654 ft.), a popular winter summit for backcountry skiers.  We had to cross a bit of snow on our way down and back up to Mt. Wolverine (the high point at 10,795 ft.), and then the footing was a bit precarious in spots - narrow, rocky, loose - as we skirted Wolverine Cirque.  We even encountered a skier, resting a bit before his second run down the cirque.  When asked how it was, he said, "It's a little wavy.  But it's good for July," and then grinned at us.  Wish we'd gotten to see him ski.

I love this map

We continued around the ridge, picked our way down the boulder field to Twin Lakes Pass.  Here, two things were evident: the wildflowers are truly on the verge of peak gorgeousness; and there is so much water in the reservoir that Twin Lakes is just one lake right now.  It's great to see.  From there, it was basically a long slog out via the ski resort's access roads.  It was hot and the gravel footing is looser than I like since my hiking boots tend to slip on the loose stuff.  But cold beer and sandwiches were waiting for us at the car and that's good motivation.

Pretty sexy profile there

When the stats were pulled together, we ended up doing 10.64 miles with 4,100 feet of climbing (4:37 hiking and 1:19 stoppage time meant about six hours on the trail all told).  That was a longer hike than I had envisioned [see above re poor research skills] but it is such a beautiful hike, and manages to avoid the teeming hordes even located where it is.  Totally worth it, every time.

crushed it

The day of the Crusher in the Tushar itself, all the cyclists in town were up and about early, milling around the staging area before 7:30 a.m. All shapes and sizes of riders were in attendance but it was clear that most of them were riding gravel bikes, although we did note a few more MTBs and hydration-pack wearers than we originally expected. H had waffled about wearing his hydration pack but the ability to carry more water (and tools/tubes) outweighed the weight of the pack.

Pre-race, clean and smiling

 After announcements, the start was at 8 a.m., with this start order: pro men; all women (and there were more women than I thought there would be); 45-49 men; 60+ men; 40-44 men; single speed/tandem riders; 50-59 men; 29 and under men; 30-34 men; and last, 35-39 men. H looked very focused as he rode past and I spied our motel neighbor Dan in there too.  It was still cool as it neared the start but the day would get much, much hotter.

Pro Men lined up, Dave Zabriskie on the left

 When the final group left, the PA system played the Benny Hill theme and the William Tell Overture to see them off (which I thought hilarious). I walked to El Bambi for breakfast, sitting at the counter and eavesdropping on locals who were talking about the bike race: "Why would anyone want to do that?!?" I stopped by the room for a little while and then, around 11:30 a.m., drove to the finish line. 

H's group starts

The Crusher in the Tushar has been described as "apocalyptic" and "a suffer-fest." Two-time Crusher winner Levi Leipheimer ranks it up there with the Leadville 100 and the best (worst) climbing days in the Tour de France. Simply put, the 69+ mile pavement/gravel race is just brutal.  Here's the course profile:

 The first ten or so miles are not so bad, on pavement, climbing gently out of Beaver. Then first dirt starts, climbing aggressively and topping out at over 10,000 feet. (Elevation in town:  5,902 feet.) Next is a very steep, washboarded, switchback-filled, loose descent, losing nearly 4,000 feet of elevation.  The pavement kicks back in at mile 31 and continues downhill to Junction, then mostly flat to Circleville.

Lonely road, final stretch (that's not H)

 After that respite, the route gets dirty again at Doc Springs Road - which has been called the Sarlaac Pit due to its hellish steeps and loose sand and gravel. The grind continues up the Col d' Crush (most steep, more sand, more loose gravel), topping out at the KOM/QOM around 9,400 feet.

 That's how steep the Col d' Crush is

(photo credit: tusharcrusher.com)

There's a bit of flat as the road goes by Puffer Lake and then it's back on the pavement for the final four miles to the finish at Eagle Point. The TOP of Eagle Point, mind you, with a finishing elevation just under 10,500 feet above sea level.  There's really no way to explain just how difficult this route is.  The dirt sections, although not technical singletrack, were loose gravel and sand, rarely nicely hard-packed dirt, with switchbacks, swooping curves and ruts.  The grades ranged from the gentle-but-constant 2%, on the initial stretch up the canyon from Beaver, to a brutal 14% on the Col d' Crush.  The temperature swing was mind-boggling as well, from the hot, dry, exposed 100 F sections down in the valley, to the cold, rainy 40s up in the mountains.  The Crusher is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one but boy, the physical bit is no joke.

When the weather rolled in at the top

H had some goals for this ride.  The first one, the one he was most anxious about, was making the cutoff: if riders hadn't gotten to the second aid station (approx. mile 25.5) by 11:00 a.m., they would be yanked from the race and sent straight to the finish.  Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.  If he made it past the cutoff, he figured he could - at worst - do the ride in 9 hours with a 5:00 p.m. arrival.  If he really pushed it, he thought his best possible time might be 7 hours 45 minutes.  The plan was for him to text me at various intervals to let me know where he was along the route although I was skeptical that there would be enough cell signal to get through.  He did send me a bunch of texts (15 miles to go at 12:54 p.m.; passing the KOM at 1:26 p.m., etc.) but I only got the first - and most important - one: he made it past the cutoff with thirty minutes to spare.  For the record, I had always been sure that he would make the cutoff.

The Big Flat (cyclingtips.com)

Photo: Catherine Fegan-Kim.

Without any way of knowing where he was after that point, I didn't really know what to do with myself up at the finish line.  The organizers had a great set up with tents and beer and food and volunteers and bathrooms; the ski lodge was open too.  I had brought a book with me, thinking I could find a spot to sit overlooking the finish and keep one eye on the road while I read.  Spectator parking was at the resort's lower lodge, with shuttle buses running back and forth on the 1+ mile between.  I opted to walk and when I got up there, it was gorgeous, sunny and very pleasant.  Then the clouds started building and the wind started picking up.  It got dark and cold and started to sprinkle.  (I had not bothered to bring a raincoat because it hasn't rained in about two months.)  We spectators managed to ignore this until the organizers announced that there was lightning within one mile of our location.  They shooed us all into the ski lodge while keeping a skeleton crew of volunteers outside to help the riders as they came in.  There was lots of thunder and wind and it just poured rain for quite some time, the temperature plummeting.  Unfortunately, I had left my additional layers in the truck since my backpack was full of dry clothes for H after he finished - they weren't doing me much good down there.

Descent to Junction (cyclingtips.com)

Photo: Catherine Fegan-Kim.

The storm finally/mostly blew through and we spectators moved back out to watch the riders struggling and/or charging up the final pitch.  Where it had been around 100 F in the valley, it was now in the low 40s - more pleasant for the hard-working riders, less so for the chilled watchers.  It was still sprinkling off and on so I found a place below the finish line, on the side of the road under some trees where I could see the riders from a distance as they approached.  This turned out to be a great spot until a DNR truck drove up and parked right at the bend in the road.  Now my view of the coming cyclists was blocked until they were right upon us.

ALMOST FINISHED

A little bit before 3:00 p.m., just when I was thinking of leaving my spot to go find a snack, I peeked around the truck.  OMIGOSH! THERE'S H! HE'S ALREADY HERE!  Pedaling steadily, face in a breathing and/or grimacing rictus, two hours early.  I grabbed the camera and ran (sort of) up to the finish, pack bouncing, to get a photo of him as he came in.  He looked so strong.  As soon as he crossed the finish line - with a time of 6:56.03!!!! - volunteers came up, wrapping him in a space blanket against the chill and putting his bike in a rack for him.  He sat in the riders' tent for a while, drinking a Coke and trying to wrap his head around the fact that he didn't have to pedal anymore.  Some of the riders were animated, commiserating with each other about the hellacious ride they'd just finished; others just sat there in a daze.

Finished! Here comes the space blanket

Before H could get chilled, we went to the beer tent (free Epic cans for riders!) and went into the warm lodge.  With some sugar, caffeine and beer in his system, H bounced back quickly, telling me highlights of the ride while he changed into dry clothes.  He was pretty hungry - he can have a difficult time with nutrition on long rides because his stomach can get upset - so we went to the food truck (free veggies and rice and protein for riders!) and he wolfed his portion down.  The organizers were getting the finishers' list up quickly so we kept scanning it for our new friend Dan.  His name wasn't on there though, and by the time the very last rider came in, just a couple minutes under nine hours, we knew that Dan must have bailed out.  We caught the shuttle bus down to the lower lodge and stopped in at the bar/grill for a beer.  The Renegade Lounge bartender and her husband were working, so we were able to say hello to them both.  As we sat at the bar, we talked with another rider and his wife for a bit before heading back down the canyon.

Post-race, not at all clean but still smiling

I was (and am) so proud of H's accomplishment.  He beat his projected time by a substantial amount, even on a heavy MTB, carrying a pack.  He never had to stop or put his foot down, other than at aid stations.  [Note: a word about the aid stations.  All the riders had nothing but effusive praise for the nutrition and hydration available, as well as the outstanding volunteers.  People would fill their water bottles, hold their bikes if they need to use the portopotties, spritz them with cold water, crack open a PBR for them.  Kudos and big thanks to all the Crusher volunteers!]  He managed the heat, the steeps, the ruts and loose rocks and just didn't stop pedaling until he was done.  The Crusher in the Tushar is a diabolical race and many people say never again once they're done.  H didn't go so far as to say that and, what may be even more telling, was back on his bike half an hour after we got home midday on Sunday, saying, "No sense in stopping now."

Quick recovery

Summary:  H finished 315 out of 682 total riders and 58 out of 140 in his age group (per the start list); 6 hours 56 minutes 3 seconds; 69+ miles and 10,400 feet of climbing.

More Crusher coverage, if you're interested:

• cyclingtips.com
• cyclingutah.com
• cxmagazine.com and also here
• gravelcyclist.com - this is a great write-up, very thorough and entertaining

And here's a short video that gives a pretty good idea of what the Crushers went through: