Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
I registered for the 10km fun run Saturday, tomorrow morning.
Will then spectate World Championships Sunday morning.
Here’s a highlights clip from XTERRA World’s 2008 on YouTube.
The volcanic surfaces are pretty harsh for the cyclists, as you can see.
by site editor Rick McCharles
I just happen to be in Maui …
As my Adventure Racing team is at U.S. Championships in Texas this weekend, perhaps I shoudl jump in with the best off-road triathletes on Earth.
… What do you think?
At 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 25th, a maxed-out field of 550 international racers will embrace the annual challenge of XTERRA’s most grueling course – and in the ensuing hours put their mental and physical toughness up against Mother Nature’s arsenal of sun, sand, water, kiawe, and lava. …
Athletes from more than 20 countries and 40 states will gather on Maui – the spiritual birthplace of XTERRA – having competed all season long for the right to be at the World Tour’s culminating event. …
$105,000 in pro prize money is up for grabs and for age groupers, the title of XTERRA World Champion. All the action will be filmed for a one-hour TV special, and on race day, friends, family and fans from around the globe can log-on to http://www.XTERRA.TV for live updates from Maui.
XTERRAplanet – Maui
Or, … maybe I’ll sign up only for the 10km fun run.
Starts today.
Good luck to my teammates Jeni, Andy and Dave who are competing at Nationals for the first time. It’s in Texas.
(Me? I’m still in stealth training mode.)
From Jeni by email:
Race start is 7a.m. Friday, and cut-off is 1p.m. Saturday (although many, many of us may still be racing long after this time…). Last year only 10% of the teams finished the race before the 30 hour cutoff…
For those unfamiliar, adventure racing is like triathlon meets ‘Survivor’. There is no course specifically, and you don’t know which events or in what order they will be until start (or even sometime during the race!). Co-ed teams of 3 must navigate their way using only topo maps and compass through approximately 75-100+ miles of rugged terrain using mt bikes, kayaks, and trekking/running.
Often ‘surprise’ events (like swimming with your bike, climbing, solving puzzles) appear along the way just to make sure no one gets bored. Team members must stay within 50 feet of each other at all times, and all members participate in all aspects of the race as one unit. …
Follow the action:
U.S. Adventure Race Nationals – news
Kilian Jornet is the two-time defending champion of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc.
He holds the trail running record for the GR20 traverse of Corsica, one of the toughest tracks in Europe.
In September he took 7hrs off the record for the Tahoe Rim Trail in California.
At only age-21, sponsored by Soloman, you’ll be hearing his name often in future: Kílian Jornet Burgada.
Details on Gear Junkie – Tahoe Rim Trail Run Record
Whitney is the highest mountain in the continental USA.
Fedak linked to an amazing trip report.
By Rick Kent:
I started at midnight. For the first trip I decided to go up the Mountaineers Route. Despite going from Portal to summit (and much of the way back) in the dark I made good time. It helps that I know the route well. I reached the summit at 3:43am (3 hrs 40 mins from the Portal). I was alone on the summit and the hut was empty. I returned to the Portal a little after sunrise at 6:54am for a total roundtrip time of 6 hrs 51 mins.
This quick time had me briefly wondering whether a 3rd summit would be possible. That dillusion was thoroughly dispelled on my 2nd trip up. For the 2nd trip I decided to go for the Main Trail. I took a half hour break before starting. As much as I knew I needed to eat I couldn’t manage to get much down. I started up the Main Trail at 7:22am.
As I closed in on Trail Camp I began to slow noticeably. Both the MT and MR are hard on the calves (too many steps). Going up the switchbacks my speed slowed further. I past a few other hikers but only just barely. By the time I reached Trail Crest my calves were done. From Trail Crest to summit was agonizingly slow and my calves kept wanting to cramp up. For some reason I kept thinking about my first time up Whitney almost exactly 7 years ago. I reached the summit for the 2nd time at 1:11pm. I was thoroughly depleted. Time from Portal to summit was a less than stellar 5 hrs 49 mins. Roundtrip time was 9 hrs 33 mins.
I regained strength on the way down. I did some running but for the most part just took a fast pace. My priority now was to get down in time for a burger at the Portal. I knew this would probably be my last Portal burger for the year so I was well motivated. I reached the the Portal at 4:53pm. …
Although the 2nd summit was a bit harder than I expected both trips together took less than 17 hours combined. This marked my 28th and 29th Whitney summits.
Laura Jones, a reporter from the U.K., hiked a 10 day tour:
… the lovely thing about the TMB is that the drama of those awesome panoramas of glaciers and mountain peaks are interspersed with walking green valleys filled with Alpine flowers, twisty turney streams, chalky blue mountain lakes – and if you’re lucky marmosettes.
The changing scenery that accompanies the ascents and descents kept me hooked.
There were whole days where we didn’t see another soul as we walked ridges running alongside racks of glaciers.
Other days we passed through hamlets, villages and towns and then really appreciated being back in civilisation:
Champex, Courmayer and La Fouly were particularly lovely. …read more – Tour de Mont Blanc
That article links to the most extreme version of the TMB:
… the biggest trail ultra in the world. With 2300 competitors, 166kms of Alpine trails, 9,400 metres ascent and 3 countries to pass through …
Check out TMB information page if you might be interested in hiking it yourself one day.
Fjällräven, a Swedish company specialising in outdoor clothing, sponsors an annual hiking race.
Hiking race?
I’ve never heard of this concept before. And 2000+ partipants attended this year!
The competition element is downplayed, however. It’s not in the same category as most other trail races. In this event, you must carry a pack. And sleep in a tent. Most people do it for FUN.
Under the RULES, it seems littering is the biggest breach – immediate disqualification! (I do like that.)
Participants walk from Nikkaluokta 110km to Abisko. (This is the first section of the famed Kungsleden trail. Of the 2000 racers, some no doubt continue to the end of that 440km (270mi) through hike.)
Medals are awarded: Gold if you finish in less than 72hrs, Silver less than 96hrs, Bronze under 120hrs.
Jörgen Johansson finished fastest in 2009, 13hrs 25min.
official website – fjallraven.com/classic
Johannes Huwe posted a report on his Trailblaze blog. He took home a gold.
Wow.
I was shocked to see Kraig’s headline on the official blog:
Robyn Benincasa and Team Nike Out of Primal Quest Badlands
… the withdrawl of defending PQ champs Nike. Last week, team captain Mike Kloser suffered a crash while mountain biking, which left him with a broken collarbone, a collapsed lung, and five broken ribs, and while he is already on the mend, the injuried will obviously keep him out of the race. The rest of Team Nike reluctantly decided to pull out of Primal Quest rather than look for a replacement on short notice. …
Benincasa was captain of Team Merrell/Zanfel Adventure …
I’m for it, of course.
The greatest backcountry boozer I’ve hiked with is Kelly Mock, then living in Whitehorse, Yukon. It was Kelly that carried a “Bubba” (mini keg of beer) over the Golden Staircase to Happy Camp on the famed Chilkoot Trail in Alaska.
Arriving on the solstice, Kelly bought a round for the house at Happy.
He’s been one-upped.
Michael Popov carried 20lbs of beer up 4,000′ of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental USA. He was doing some kind of loco carbo loading / altitude acclimatization for his record breaking unsupported John Muir Trail run. (4 days, 5 hours and 25 minutes from Mount Whitney to Yosemite Valley)
This is mentioned in Aaron Sorensen’s trip report from both Michael’s and his attempt that year.
Leave a comment if you’ve seen a greater feat of trudging alcohol up hill.
Here’s beer for you wimpy lightweight backpackers. (Treehugger hates this.)
Incidentally, Aaron Sorensen will be starting June 28th an attempt on the Unsupported Record on the Lake Tahoe Rim Trail. No one has claimed this record yet. Aaron is looking at 55-60hrs for the 168 miles.
UPDATE – Team Nike Beaver Creek won the first annual Adventure Sports Week 2-day Adventure Race.
For this race the team was made up of Mike Kloser, Gretchen Reeves and Jay Henry. Congratulations.
The win was far from easy, however. Nike was pushed hard by Team Life Cycle: Jared Hanly, Roger Viollette and Ian Hoag.
=== Original post posted after day 1:
We were thrilled that a Team Nike was willing to race in our first annual Adventure Sports Week. They instantly became the favourites.
But the team, led by Mike Kloser, seemed on day 1 to be cursed. (Or sabotaged, as I joked.)
Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
They had far too much Adventure, not enough Race.
Happily, The Crux and The Crucible Adventure Race this weekend in gorgeous northern Idaho is 2 long days of 13-14hrs.
Nike got out to a better start this morning, day 2, at 6AM. Trail run, lake swim, portage, kayak …
No disasters, so far.
I suspect by late Sunday night they will have found a way to win. Despite all the setbacks.
I’ll update this post with results after the race.
besthike.com 