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Andrew McNab

North Americans win the Atomic Waymaker 2013: Interview about their experience with this new format of ski mountaineering racing

April 11, 2013 By Stano Faban 4 Comments

Big congrats to a team of three North Americans that won the first ever Atomic Waymaker challenge that took place over the weekend of April 6-7, 2013.
Reiner Thoni, Andrew McNab (both Canada), and Mark Smiley (US) named their team The United States of Canada  and went to take on nasty weather and other seven teams.

Reiner, Mark and Andrew with the big cheque!
Reiner, Mark and Andrew with the big cheque!

Atomic Waymaker – atomic what?

Before we dive into the interview let’s define what the Waymaker did and what it didn’t aimed to be.
“The aim of the Waymaker is a perfect ski touring day” – claimed the official website. The format was refreshingly new.
It was a two day backcountry ski touring competition very different to any skimo race before.
Eight teams of three were let to tour freely within a predefined area. Each team submitted their own route plan, which they were expected to stick to, unless unpredictable conditions would render the route too dangerous.
The winning team was determined by a jury that assessed each team’s performance based on the following criteria:

  • Skiing – descent
  • Touring – ascent
  • Mountaineering – climbing
  • Data
  • Overall route

» For more details on how the Waymaker worked see this document – Atomic Waymaker 2013 rules and regulations (PDF).
And what Waymaker wasn’t?
The Waymaker was not a timed mass start race where the first guy/team across the line won. The route was not marked and there really were no check-points.

Interview with the winning team – Reiner, Mark and Andrew

Q: Only eight teams were going to be accepted to participate in this first ever Waymaker. How did you guys get in?
We applied with a short resume about our skimo racing and general ski mountaineering experience, as well as why we felt we would be good for the event.
Q: Where did this first edition take place? How big was the area where all teams were let to roam freely?
It was in the Dachstein region of Austria.  The area of the competition for day 1 went from the Odensee Lake in the east, then across the Dachstein Plateau to the Krippenstein Lodge.
Day 2 went from the Lodge into the peaks of the Dachstein and then out to Gosausee Lake to the west.
atomic-waymaker-fixed-rope
Q: It was a two day event. Were you sleeping in the backcountry or in a village?
On the night of day 1 we stayed at the Krippenstein Lodge at 2100m. The other nights we stayed at the sports complex in Obertarun.
Q: Did each team submit two routes (one for each day) or more?
One for each day with the ability to change the route depending on conditions.
On the Friday before the race we had to submit our plans for both days, but were able to change them in the field if we felt the conditions were not safe or if we did not think we were going to make it in time.
Q: Could your planned route be as gnarly as you wanted or the organizer had some input in that?
We could plan as gnarly of a route as we wanted, but points would be docked for taking excessive risks beyond a teams ability levels.  So it was not in your favour to go for anything too ridiculous.
On the Friday, we had to submit our route plans to the judges/organizers for review, if they felt that things were too risky they could say so and suggest changes.
waymaker-on-the-ridge
Q: Did you choose your route only based on a map or did you get to know the area before?
For the few weeks leading up to the event we spent sometime looking at the area on Goggle Earth, as well on a topo map, which gave us a general idea of what the area looked like.
We came over to Austria on the Monday before the event and then spent the 3 days leading up to the event exploring the area as best as we could.
For the first 2 days we had very poor weather and could not see very much. But we gathered as much intelligence as we could and were able to come up with a pretty good game plan for day one, which was in the mellow terrain of the Dachstein Plateau.
We got lucky on our third day of recon. We had blue bird conditions and were able to get out into the Dachstein Peaks, which was awesome!  That really made the difference for us because we were able to find some really sweet lines and able to put together a good plan for the second day.
Q: What did you feel were your strengths compare to other teams?
We felt that between the 3 of us we had a very diverse skill set.  From strong being skimo racers to strong alpinists, all with solid endurance and good photography/story telling skills, and great passion for adventuring in the mountains.
We also spent a lot of time leading up to the event studying all the documents the organization had sent us, so that when it came time for us to do recon we knew what were looking for in terms of meeting all the outline judges’ criteria.
Q: What gear did you choose to complete your planned route with? Skimo race gear or other?
There was a mandatory gear list. We also then chose gear that we felt would make our team the most efficient at accomplishing the criteria the judges were looking for, as well as for moving the most efficiently through the mountains.
Mark and Reiner were on race skis to gain the advantage of efficient travel. Andrew was on a wider ski which worked well for trail breaking and for being able to ski strong which helped for photos.
Overall we tried to run as lite as we could and split the team gear the most efficiently to get the job done.
Q: Did organizers equip you with any other gear or tracking devices?
Yes, the organizations gave us:

  • 2 radios
  • 2 SPOT transmitters for emergency use
  • 2 Android phones with GPS tracking apps running which transmitted out location to the live tracking software
  • 1 Sony smart phone for taking pictures that was also linked to the GPS tracking app, so that we could up load our photos while we were racing to the live GPS tracking system

The photos that we took were used by the judges to evaluate our route and the lines that we choose, i.e. looking at the snow conditions and technical skills used.
The photos were a very important part of the competition for they are what told our story of the day.  The more creative and better the photos were the easier it was for the judges to understand our idea of what our “ideal” day of skiing touring was.
On day 1 we were also given 3 Go-Pro cameras and on day 2 we had 2 Go-Pro cameras.  They were for capturing images for the film crew to use in the video that they are going to make of the event.
We were also all give a Sunnto Ambit GPS watch, which was also used to track our movements in the mountains.

Waymaker jury closely following each team in real time.
Waymaker jury closely following each team in real time.
Q: Did speed matter as well for the overall rankings or the jury wasn’t taking that into account much?
Distance and elevation gain was one of the 5 points that the judges looked at, but was not the most important aspect.

Day 1

Q: How was the start? All teams together but each running in their own direction?
The start was done in 1 min intervals. 6 teams went a similar way, up the first climb. We went a different route, up through the trees, but all ending up at the same first high point, and then we all went off into different directions again.

Team United States of Canada climbing strong on day 1.
Team United States of Canada climbing strong on day 1.
Q: After couple of sunny days some nasty weather came in for the first day of the Waymaker. How was your navigation? Did you have a designated navigator or all of you were involved?
We were all involved in the navigating and the route planning.  We had 2 GPSes of our own (one of which was a Google Earth based system) as well as a 1:25,000 topo map of the area.
At times the navigating was very challenging because the terrain was rather rolling and undulating, with lots of little gullies and large winded features. Trying to navigate through this terrain with anywhere from 5 to 50 feet visibility was very challenging and rather draining.
Q: Approximately, how many kilometers and vertical metres did you travel on day 1?
About 30 km and 3100 m in 8.5 hours.
Q: How many ascents and descents did you do? Any steep or technical passages?
Five main descents and 6 climbs.  The second last climb was done up a fixed rope section on the Damuelkogel Peak, every team had to do this route in their day.
Mark on the fixed rope climb.
Mark on the fixed rope climb.
Q: What were the biggest challenges you faced during day 1?
Whiteout navigation. All the rest went pretty smooth.

Day 2

Q: Due to bad weather the Waymaker got terminated after few hours into day two. What were the weather and snow conditions like?
The race was cancelled after 6 hours of racing because on the final descent the visibility was approx. 1 metre and the snow was getting too warm and unsafe.
Q: How far did you get on your route that day?
We got over half way through our planned route.  We had attained our main objective, and were en-route to climb the main peak of the region when we were turned around 200 m from the summit.
Q: How did the termination work out with 8 teams out there? Were you picked up or they told you were to go?
We were told by radio that the race was over and that we were to return to the Krippenstein Lodge, where we had started that morning.

What did you think of the Waymaker?

Q: You pulled off a massive feat by winning it. Did you think you will be in the mix or was it a complete surprise?
We went into the event with the plan to have a good time and give it our all, with no real expectations or personal pressure.
Being that it is a judged event and a brand new format in a mountain region that we were not that familiar with it was pretty hard to tell, really, how it was going to all pan out.
Q: Going through it all (pre-race meeting, route planning, going out there…), what do you think of the Waymaker format and overall experience?
It’s a good format and worthy of replicating.  It felt like a good nature progression of the sport.
Q: Would you return?
For sure!
waymaker-team-climbing
Q: Obviously, the free use of terrain is very exciting; however, that severely restricts the number of participants. Because of that, do you think this format of “racing” is tough to grow? What is the real goal of the Waymaker?
By being a restricted entry it makes for a more elite field of competition, so that will help it grow.
Part of the reason for the Waymaker was to help bring the Atomic brand more into the backcounrty touring market and to create a new way to showcase the sport of ski mountaineering/backcountry skiing.  It has a lot more potential for media growth and exposure than a typical skimo race.
Q: Was there a sign-up fee or the big sponsors paid the bill?
Sponsors paid the bill.  Everything was covered. It was awesome; they took really good care of us, with great food and accommodation.  All the organizers were super friendly and welcoming.
Q: North America has amazing terrain for such event. Do you think the Euros might bring it here? Or should we attempt something similar on our own?
The organizers have dreams to hold this event again and would like to have it in different locations each year.  North America definitely has the terrain for such an event but it might be a lot more of a challenge to have it in NA due to litigation issues.
As well there is a lot more infrastructure in the mountains of Europe, which makes hosting of such an event a lot easier.
Q: Can’t end this without asking about Kilian Jornet who participated in one of the teams. He is The face for a lot of Atomic and Suunto advertising, two big sponsors of the Waymaker. Do you know, was it his idea for such an event?
The original idea for the event came from Heli Putz, whom was the head judge/chief organizer, as well as from Patrick Tritscher, who is the main man of marketing for Atomic.

Kilian Jornet with his teammates on day 1 of Waymaker.
Kilian Jornet with his teammates on day 1 of Waymaker.
Q: Another big sponsors were Artic Cat and Red Bull. Did they make you ride sleds and drink vodka fueled Red Bulls?
No sled rides but as many Red Bulls as you could handle.
Q: Do you think that such a format requires a much bigger organizational undertaking than a skimo race?
The overall costs of an event such as the Waymaker (therefore the organization of sponsorship and funding sources) are probably larger than a typical skimo race.
The organization of the event itself is probably at the same level of a skimo race. Because in a skimo race you need to have people setting a track and out on course to ensure that racers are staying on a course.  In the Waymaker, the only real reason that there were people on course was for media i.e. photo/cinematographers.

Would you try the Waymaker format?

Thank you for making it all the way here.
And what do you think of this new “racing” format for ski mountaineering / ski touring competition? Leave your opinion in the comments below.

Filed Under: Reports & Results Tagged With: Andrew McNab, Atomic Waymaker, Mark Smiley, Reiner Thoni

Face shots at ROAM Randonnee Rally – ski mountaineering race at Whitewater (Nelson, BC)

February 29, 2012 By Stano Faban 2 Comments

With Whitewater’s excellent ski resort terrain, backcountry and an original vibe it is only logical that it hosts an event from Canada’s skimo racing calendar. The race is also one of many events that take place over the weekend-long annual Cold Smoke Powder Fest.
And why ROAM? Simply, ROAM (Rivers, Oceans and Mountains) is a great store with the best outdoor equipment in the center of Nelson, BC.  It is one of the main forces behind the whole festival and the skimo race, to which the store lends its name.

The race the strongest man won

After about 30h of snowfall, combined with a newer (longer) course, the race was set to be a “skins’ glue game” and a great endurance challenge. These conditions also meant that the pack of front hounds was kept somewhat together until the second to last descent.

ROAM randonnee rally race course 1
This shows the first loop of the course dominated by a long traverse on a wide ridge leading over the top of White Queen. The descent (marked red) under the big alpine basin brought racers back to the ski area.
From the very start Andrew McNab took it by the horns. Only on few occasions I (Stano Faban) was able to bridge up to him and break the trail. Others were always very close; among them Canada’s fastest girl Melanie Bernier.
First climb was a short 3min sprint up a cat track road. Then a quick treed descent onto cross country trails for about 5min of on-and-off skating. After that a long climb (500m) in the trees took us up on the shoulder. We followed it up and down (about 200m) for another 20+ minutes. Then finally a proper descent with lots of face shots brought us to the heart of the ski area.
Andrew left this bottom transition with 1-2 minute lead with another 5 of us closely together. From here on he marched like a man possessed. I managed to keep his lead in check and shed the others but only by following in his tracks. This climb (about 350m) was split with a tough boot-pack and delivered us on top of a great powder run called Elevator Shaft.
ROAM randonnee rally skimo race course 2
The start/finish are was just below the skins-on transition Andrew left with some lead. Course lead up Mother Load, boot-packed to the ridge, ski down Elevator Shaft and the drainage below. Then back over the long ridge, ski down through the saddle and Mother Load to the finish.
Throughout the whole race, especially on the last climb (about 500m), Andrew did huge amounts of work and even though I caught him before the top I was totally happy to let him ski for glory from this last top transition. And that is not to say that he needs any head start when it comes to skiing 😉
Behind us, over the last hour of racing, positions were exchanged regularly until the very end. Peter Knight bested Melanie Bernier and Nick Elson to the line and rounded the men’s podium while Melanie took the women’s top prize in front of Julie Matteau and Alexandra Dubois.
The race was long (new snow and 1610m of climbing in total) with Andrew winning in 2h 47min and the rest of us trickling in behind him in about 1-2min intervals.

Full results

» Men’s Race course
» Women’s Race course
» Men’s Rec course
» Women’s Rec course

Filed Under: Reports & Results Tagged With: Andrew McNab, Julie Matteau, Melanie Bernier, Peter Knight, Stano Faban, Whitewater ski resort

ROAM Randonnee Rally: Nelson's rando skimo race on Feb 25, 2012

February 20, 2012 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

ROAM Randonnee Rally ski mountaineering race (6th annual) is only one of many events and festivities taking place during the annual Kootenay Coldsmoke Powder Fest.
The festival starts on Friday, Feb 24 and goes on until Sunday, Feb 26. It is a great mix of clinics, demos, comps, fun and parting on the slopes of Nelson’s, BC Whitewater ski resort.

Randonnee Rally quick facts

Schedule:

  • Race Meeting: Friday, February 24 – 5:00 PM – ROAM Shop – 639 Baker Street Nelson, BC.
  • Race Sign-on: Saturday, February 25 – 8:00 am Whitewater Ski Resort
  • Race Start Time: Saturday, February 25 – 9:00 am by the bag piper at Whitewater Ski Resort

Two race courses: Open course (about 4500 ft of climbing) and Rec course (about 2000 ft of climbing)
Categories: Men, Women, Vet 50+ can choose to race as Race, Recreational and Splitboard Rec
Entry fee: $35
» More info and registration: online or on site
» First timers might want to check out this article: 6 tips to get you ready for your first skimo race
See why you should check out Whitewater:

Filed Under: Events & Races Tagged With: Andrew McNab, Melanie Bernier, Nelson, Nick Elson, Peter Knight, Stano Faban

2012 North American Rando Ski Mountaineering Championships in Crested Butte

February 4, 2012 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

This is article was submitted by Melanie Bernier – an elite skimo racer and a member of the Canadian National Ski Mountaineering Team. Read her previous article here – Grand Teton: adventures are essential for skimo training…
Last weekend (Jan 28-29, 2012) saw the biggest event of this winter on the North American skimo racing calendar. Six of us, part of the Canadian National Team, traveled to Crested Butte to compete in the first ever official North American Championships.
We arrived few days earlier to have a chance to get somewhat used to CB’s high elevation (CB is at 2,715 m) and explore the race routes. The “No Climbing Uphill Policy” at the ski hill got in the way of our course scoping but we were blessed with beautiful sunny days so we were able to at least have a great visual of the individual’s race course.

Sprint race – day 1

On Saturday morning, we woke up to a very brisk -30 C for the sprint race. The venue was mid-mountain near a beautiful restaurant where racers gathered to keep warm until the start.
The course started on a flat groomed sections changing quickly to switch-backs in the trees then flatter terrain before gaining the first transition to the first descent. Through gates, over moguls, racers had to zigzag back down for a second transition. Then to a short boot-pack and skin again to reach the final descent.
The women were the first out of the gate going at 30 seconds intervals. Sari Anderson was the first one to go, I was second, Janelle Smiley just after…
My race went very well as I closed the gap on Sari at the top of the second climb and completed the course in 5:39 which was enough to win the race.
Top 3, top North American and all Canadian women:
1. Mel Bernier (CAN)
2. Janelle Smile (USA)
3. Sari Anderson (USA)
6. Julie Matteau (CAN)
Our Canadian men did very well too! With a strong Italian presence, the Canuck boys rose to the challenge. Manfred Reichegger (Italy’s top racer) topped the podium as expected. Behind him, our unique “Reinerian” earned second ahead of Lorenzo Holzknecht (Italy) who was followed closely by our Andrew McNab. It was very impressive to see them all run and give all they had.
Top 3, top North Americans and all Canadian men:
1. Manfred Reichegger (ITA)
2. Reiner Thoni (CAN)
3. Lorenzo Holzknecht (ITA)
4. Andrew McNab (CAN)
5. Jan Koles (USA)
6. Travis Scheefer (USA)
12. Ian Gale (CAN)
27. Steve Sellers (CAN)
» Sprint race full results

Individual race – day 2

The following day, in friendlier temperatures, we gathered at the base of the mountain for the individual race. The course was not so impressive for its vertical but for its challenging route.
We climbed a groomed run for a thousand feet before getting into what seemed like 100 switch-backs with a single skin track. From there, it was skis and poles on the pack, jacket on, and via-ferrata and ascender on the rope – we climbed the “Guides Ridge” to the summit of Crested Butte at just over 12 000 feet.
From there, we ran down the other side of the peak, then skis on, we descended to the bottom of Paradise Bowl, from there we climbed 1000 through the trees and on the rocky ridge back to the top transition. We had to complete this same lower loop twice before going down a single track in trees, steep icy moguls to crazy fast groomer to moguls again and high speed rollers to finish with an excruciating skate ski.
My race – I guess my strategy was not quite right for this race. I was holding back at the start a bit too much and got stuck behind at the switch-backs. Then by the time I got to the ridge there was a big bottle neck.
Here the race got stopped twice because of rock falling and miss communication between the race marshals which resulted in an hour spent on the ridge getting cold and waiting to move forward at a turtle pace.
Fortunately, the view was pretty nice and people around me were friendly so it was quite pleasant and relaxing… but not much of a race at that point.
When finally at the summit, I literary sprinted down the bootpack and skied like mad to try to catch up. At the first lap up paradise bowl I left the transition way too fast and forgot that this was not a great idea while racing at such altitude – I burned myself solid for the second lap and I was barely hanging facing the “Bunk Wall”.
Finally at the top of the last climb, I knew I could gain some time and positions with a fast descent. Reaching the final section I completed the skate with below zero juice in the tank. It was a great learning experience as I have never (or not in a long time) reached such low energy levels while racing.
For few other Canadians the race went rather smoothly. Reiner Thoni and Andrew McNab escaped the bottle neck and had a fantastic race while the rest of us were still on the ridge those two were batteling for 3rd and 8th place respectively.
A big congratulation to our Continental Champs Reiner Thoni and Janelle Smiley.
Top 3, top North Americans and all Canadian women:
1. Janelle Smiley (USA)
2. Sari Andreson (USA)
3. Stevie Kremer (USA)
5. Melanie Bernier (CAN)
7. Julie Matteau (CAN)
Top 3, top North Americans and all Canadian men:
1. Manfred Reichegger (ITA)
2. Lorenzo Holzknecht (ITA)
3. Reiner Thoni (CAN)
4. Luke Nelson (USA)
5. Jason Dorais (USA)
8. Andrew McNab (CAN)
18. Ian Gale (CAN)
28. Steve Sellers (CAN)
» Individual race full results

Filed Under: Reports & Results Tagged With: Andrew McNab, Ian Gale, Janelle Smiley, Jason Dorais, Julie Matteau, Luke Nelson, Melanie Bernier, North American Skimo Championships, Reiner Thoni, Sari Anderson, Steve Sellers, Stevie Kremer, Travis Scheefer

Grand Teton: adventures are essential for skimo training… because every journey counts

January 26, 2012 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

This is a second article submitted by Melanie Bernier – an elite skimo racer and a pillar member of the Canadian National Ski Mountaineering Team. Read her first article here – skimo racing experiences from Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee.
At 3am on January 14 two alarms went off in our host attic. After 8 nights of sleeping in our small camper we finally gave in to a short but restful night in a real bed, the reason being a grand ski plan for the day.
With a high-pressure system hitting the Tetons, our nice local tour guides and friends decided that it would be a good idea to climb the Grand Teton – one of the most dramatic mountains in the South Rockies.

Grand Teton winter sunrise, skinning in the morning.
The magic of the day begins.
Still sleeping, we literally jumped in our prepared clothes, swallowed our pre-cooked breakfast and jumped in Nathan’s big diesel truck. On the way we pick upped Zahan and headed to Teton National Park.
Armed with our headlamp, heavy backpacks but light race gear, we were skinning the sleeping forest just before 5am. We were making good time traversing the flats and zigzagging in the trees to gain the meadows.
Approaching the Grand.
At the break of dawn, we were standing just below the headwall looking up at both the Grand and the Middle Teton. The breathtaking dramatic scenery and multiple ski couloirs were highlighted by the ever so stunning sunrise.
As we gained a plateau, below the Lower Saddle, the winds started to pick up. They were only breezes compared to what was waiting for us higher up.
Winter scramble up Grand Teton.As we reached the col where climbing gear was waiting for us we found out that crampons were missing and so we had to do with what we had.
By that point, we were barely able to stand due to ever so increasing winds. We took a little break to plan and to put on all warm layers we had to keep warm.
We started our trek (without skis) along the ridge leading to Owen Spalding route. We had to use all of our strength to stay up right fighting consistent 75-100 miles/hour winds.
Then a simple walk on rocky ridge changed to scrambling and boot packing on supportive wind packed snow.
We gave ourselves a time limit to reach the Upper Saddle because we knew it would be very difficult to get any higher safely because of the winds.
At this point, both Nathan and Zahan, having climbed “The Grand” multiple times, admitted that they have never seen winds to this magnitude up there.
We finally turned back at the Balcony at around 13000 feet, just below the Upper Saddle. From there, we climbed down and fought the winds all the way to the Lower Saddle where we retrieved our skis. Thankfully, we anchored them good enough to find them there.
Winter sunset over Grand Teton.We skied down in very strong wind gusts but beautiful sunset. Back to the flats, we crossed the frozen lake and looked back at the only peak standing in the lowering sunlight: The Grand.
We may have not made it to the top that day but we sure discovered an area where we would like to return to. Some other day we will stand on the summit… today wasn’t it. In this case it was the journey that made the day incredibly special.
A big Thanks goes to Nathan and Zahan for such a great day!
This was one of the highlights of two weeks of exploring Jackson and its surrounding areas. Now back on the road, time for some Ski Mountaineering Racing in Colorado!
Andrew bootpacks up Grand Teton.

Filed Under: Trip Reports & Conditions Tagged With: Andrew McNab, Grand Teton, Melanie Bernier

Two races down on our US rando skimo racing and touring road trip

January 11, 2012 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

This article was submitted by Melanie Bernier – an elite skimo racer and a pillar member of the Canadian National Ski Mountaineering Team. She will be contributing to Skintrack’s pool of quality content with tips, race reports and her skimo trips.
Melanie is one of the most enthusiastic and hardworking skimo racers you can ever meet. With her on board Skintrack hopes to further inspire people to seek challenge whether in the backcountry or on “a race track”.
She is writing from a 3-week long road trip with her boyfriend Andrew McNab (also a Canadian Team member):

Melanie Bernier in Jackson Hole.
Andrew and Mel under the Jackson Hole tram.

Were the snow forgot to fall

Of all the events on the North American calendar, the Jackson Hole US Ski Mountaineering Championships and Grand Targhee Ski Mountaineering Classic races have been on my radar for a long time.
And having never skied in the States besides racing at Montana’s Whitefish Whiteout three years in a row, coming down to Wyoming and Idaho for these two events seemed like a great road trip idea.
We left Revelstoke where the snow was amazing to drive down south where it seems like mother nature forgot to leave a white present over the holidays.
It seems to be the case when we travel for racing – a similar thing happened last year when going to Claut, Italy for the World Championships.

Altitude realization

Still smiling about the whole situation, we got to Jackson on Thursday night before the race, had a great long night of sleep to get ready for a weekend full of action.
On Friday, we decided to go for a quick ski but since Jackson Hole ski hill does not allow uphill traffic we walked up Snow King and did a few intervals. By that point, it was clear to Andrew and me that racing in the following days would be quite challenging. Living at 500m and coming to race between 2000m-3000m would certainly add to the level of difficulty.

Jackson Hole race – Mel’s POW and 4th place finish

On Saturday morning it was great to see a lot of familiar faces. It really seemed like Europe out there with about 100 racers on light equipment and skin suits. Also, it was very encouraging to see the level of skimo popularity down here which makes me believe that there is a future for great ski mountaineering racing in Canada as well.
After warming up and getting in as much liquids as possible, we lined up at the base of Jackson Hole for the start of nothing less than 8000 feet of vertical climbing!

The first climb was really what set the pace to the whole race. We climbed for 900m over steep to moderate terrain to the first top transition. I kept looking at my watch to see where I was at, then tried to keep my head up and the amount of pain down but it was very obvious I was not getting enough oxygen.
The first descent was really rough going through moguls, rocks and ice. By that point, I was thinking to myself that I would race my own race and try to keep energy in the tank till the end no matter what the outcome would be.
I got to the bottom transition with Janelle Smiley just ahead and a couple of other girls just behind. Sari Anderson, Stevie Kremer and Gemma Arro Ribot were already ahead at that point.
The second climb was quite slippery on a single skin track. I picked a high glide skin set unfortunately so I was working extra hard to move forward. The climb brought us up to the first boot pack where I started to pick up a bit of momentum and pace.
At the top of the boot pack, we had to do a quick flat traverse then rip the skins and try to control our speed down a rather steep icy face. From there, we traversed towards the famous “Corbett” climb which we contoured and ended up boot packing on the ridge leading to the top of the tram.
From there, a 1000m descent on moguls, icy chunks and crusty conditions was waiting us. If our legs were not punched by this point then they were getting toasted here for sure!
The descent led us to our final climb which was nothing but the hardest. We zigzagged on an icy slope “American Style” – meaning as steep of a skin track as could be! I have never seen anything quite like it. 🙂
I kept on looking up and seeing Gemma just ahead and I tried as hard as I could to keep the momentum and close the gap. But by that point, I started to get leg cramping and just could not push as hard.
Finishing in 4th place, I had mix feelings about the race. I was for one really happy to be done and happy to had a chance to race in such a well-organized event but I was a bit disappointed to see the limitations of my body when it comes to quick elevation acclimatization. In hindsight, it’s something that I did not have control over and I’m just glad I gave it all I had at the time.
Andrew had a difficult race as well. In addition to the elevation factor, he brought from Canada a nice flue. While traveling, he tried to get better as much as possible. He was on the fence about racing until the last minute and decided to go with it since he was feeling slightly better on Saturday morning.
I could see him from the distance during the event and he did not have his strong McNab “go get her” look! Never the less, he did not abandon and finished the race in just over 3 hours. As for Niall Gleeson, also from Canada, he decided not to finish the race since he was really sick.
Congrats to Luke Nelson and Sari Anderson who both had pretty solid races and won the US National championships.

Onto the Grand Targhee Classic – Mel’s race and her 2nd place

Melanie Bernier second in Grand Targhee.
Mel came in 2nd at the Grand Targhee Classic - a reason to return.
After really generous award ceremony we met few friends for some stretching and hot and cold recovery at the pool. We then relaxed with a hot beverage before going out for some great food.
After dinner we decided to drive to Grand Targhee that night just to be able to sleep in a little more before another race on Sunday. We had an interesting night of sleep up at 2400m and woke up to foggy conditions for the race.
At 10:30am, racers crossed the start line to head up one of the steepest climbs I have ever done. No switch backs, straight up a groomed run for about 600m. As we got to the top, I gained a bit of mojo and started sprinting to get ahead of a few people. But this first climb just about killed me!
We skied down really gnarly conditions (mix of crust, ice and rocks) to the first transition. I managed to pass a couple of people here so I was thinking to myself: “I’m still in the race!”
Mens podium at Grand Targhee Ski Mountaineering Classic.
Luke Nelson 2nd, Jason Dorais 1st, Ben Parsons 3rd at Grand Targhee Classic.
Fortunately, the second climb was not as steep as the first one as we made our way up on a cat track leading to zigzags in trees. From there, a quick skins-on traverse brought us to the boot pack where I passed Amy, then gave it all on the descent to catch up to Sari.
I knew Gemma was far ahead so I kept my head down and crested the last ascent just behind my sweet heart Andrew. As we reached the top a nice shot brought us back down to the groomer for a fast rip to the start/finish area.
Andrew completed the event in just above 2 hours and I was a couple of minutes behind him to take the 2nd place in women’s category.
Congrats to Jason Dorais and Gemma Arro Ribot for the 1st place.

Road trippin’

Road tripping in the States and exploring what Teton Pass has to offer is on the menu for the weeks to come. Our aim is to get used to elevation in a hope that racing in Colorado at the end of the month will end up feeling normal again. 😉

Filed Under: Reports & Results Tagged With: Andrew McNab, Melanie Bernier

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