Hardrock 2015

No race report this year.  Hardrock is not a "race" anyway.  For the first time in 4 years I did not get a spot in Hardrock.  But as I would learn, you don't need a spot in Hardrock to be a part of Hardrock.  I was left behind at the starting line, geared up and ready to go (#2 on the waitlist).  After experiencing this event as a spectator and pacer for the first time, however, I feel I may have learned even more than if I had run it.  I can't wait for the next opportunity when it comes.  Until then, I will just keeping coming to Silverton to be a "part" of Hardrock every year.

Congrats to Adam Wilcox on a great race just 2 weeks after a strong Western States!  I had a blast sharing his adventure from Ouray to the finish line.

Congrats to all who kissed the rock in 2015!

Watching the action at Grouse Gulch

Adam picks up Kristel at Grouse



Approaching Kroger's Canteen around midnight

A quick bite for the pacer in Telluride



Sunrise on the descent from Oscar's Pass



A beautiful morning climbing out of Chapman



Final grunt up to Grant-Swamp Pass



A still frozen Island Lake below



Descending the Putnam Ridge

Adam getting congrats from an excited AJW.  Western/Hardrock complete!

Long overdue!  Kari crushing her 1st Hardrock! 5th place female!

And a finish to Hardrock we will never forget:  video here

'Tis the season

'Tis the season to get into the high country.  A great start to summer in one of my favorite places, the Comanche Peak Wilderness (and the Northern tip of RMNP) .

Pikes Weekend

I would have guessed it to be more like April than June up on the mountain, but I still always find it more than worth the trip to this prominent peak 100 miles south of Fort Collins.  All the reports were telling us it was probably too much snow to the get to the top, much like the whole Front Range right now, but Kristel and I were hopeful.  We at least knew we would get more time at altitude than we have been able to get all this year, a good thing with Hardrock potentially on the horizon for both of us (still moving up the wait list).

As expected, the snow was pretty substantial above 11,000 feet.  We were lucky though to catch the snow in just the right conditions to give the summit a try.  Of the many Pikes Peak summits I have done, this was by far my most enjoyable.  We saw nobody else on the mountain above timberline, until we got to the summit house.  Pretty crazy seeing all the tourists getting off the Cog Railway wearing flip flops.  They all looked at us like we were pretty crazy too.  Kristel's first 14er!

We rounded out the weekend with another climb to the A-Frame shelter at timberline (12000 feet).  With the bright sunshine all morning, we got reports from a couple of climbers coming down that the snow was getting really soft.  We decided one summit was good enough for this weekend.  We also had a good time hanging out at Barr Camp.  Great to see Neal and Theresa back running the camp, at least until the next caretakers come in this summer.  Also spent some time on the mountain with soon-to-be Leadman Shad, soon-to-be Hardrocker Kircher, and JT (no "soon-to-be" because he's already done all that).  Good times!  Didn't even feel like a near 50-mile and 14K climbing weekend, but it was.  I guess that is why I love Pikes Peak.

 

Snow in the Canyonlands

I'm a bit late posting this, but the annual late winter trip to Canyonlands National Park was a little more wintry than last year.  The snow certainly made the slickrock a challenge at times, but the beauty more than made up for it.  Kristel and I spent two days this time exploring the Needles district of the park and still have not hit all the trails there.

Day one:

Day two:

87

87 summits of my backyard peak this year.  A far cry from my 164 last year and not even close to Clarkie who was near 200 this year.  At least we will be tied starting tomorrow.  I always like the vertical I get when I am chasing summits, but there are just too many great (and lesser-travelled) trails out here that frequently steer me away from the Horsetooth Rock.

These last few months of 2014 have been filled with some great Fall running from the Wasatch Front in Utah to the Appalachian Trail in Maine, and of course the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.  Mild weather and snow-free trails had been the norm around here, at least until the last week.

2015 will potentially have me running three of the most rugged and remote mountain ultras in Colorado: Hardrock 100,  Never Summer 100K, and the Beetle Kill 200K (all within a 5-week period).  Should be fun!

(Update: Unfortunately, Beetle Kill 200K is not happening this year, so I'll be doing the Ouray 100 instead.)

Some highlights from the last few months:

 

The Hardrock Wait List (Do I train for this thing or not?)

Now that the suspense of the Hardrock lottery is over, let the suspense of the Hardrock wait list begin.  Here is some info that may be of interest to many of you (my fellow wait-listers) who are wondering if it's time to start training for Hardrock or not.

Last year's Veteran category:
35 spots

I didn't find the number of wait-listers for last year (I think it was around 10), but I do know that everyone on the Veteran wait list ended up getting offered a spot in the 2014 Hardrock.  There has been some concern that 20-time Hardrock finisher Kirk Apt won't be able to run in 2015, but at #6 on the wait list, I'm pretty sure he will get his shot at kissing the rock a 21st time.

Last year's Never category:
35 spots

This wait list went 13 deep last year.  Now there are 47 "Never" spots and, therefore, I expect the wait list will go a little deeper.  I personally hope it goes at least 19 deep.

Last year's Else category:
70 spots

The final spot in Hardrock 2014 was given to #16 on the "Else" wait list just hours before the start.  Let's just say that my Hardrock training has already begun and I will be in Silverton this July.  My wait list spot?  Number 16.

 

Hardrock 2015 Odds

 

It is that time of year again.  Hardrock lottery on Saturday!  The revised lottery system is now in its third year and the good news for those that have never run Hardrock, there are an extra 12 spots for you this year!  The bad news is that the you're still gonna need some very good luck to get your name drawn.

 

For the math geeks, the statistical method is summarized here.  So here is the breakdown for 2015.

 

The "Never Done Hardrock" category:

1146 applicants

4105 tickets

47 spots (plus I assume an extra 5 get in off wait list)

 

1 ticket: 1.3% chance of getting in

2 tickets: 2.6%

4 tickets: 5.1%

8 tickets: 9.9%

16 tickets: 18.8%

32 tickets: 34.1%

64 tickets: 56.7%

128 tickets: 81.5%

 

 

The "Veteran" category (At least 5 Hardrock finishes):

42 applicants

375 tickets

34 spots plus 5 off wait list (last year's winner Darcy Piceu already has a spot)

 

5 tickets (fewest held by a Veteran): 76.3%

23 tickets (most held by a Veteran): 99.95%

 

 

The "Everyone else" category:

178 applicants

617 tickets

69 spots plus 10 off wait list (Kilian Jornet already has a spot)

 

1 ticket: 15.8%

2 tickets: 29.1%

3 tickets: 40.3%

4 tickets: 49.8%

5 tickets: 57.8%

6 tickets: 64.5%

7 tickets: 70.2%

8 tickets: 75.0%

9 tickets: 79.0%

 

Good luck!