Mt Evans Ascent 2010

This year I got a really cool father’s day present from my son, Jubal. He volunteered to help me with the Mt. Evans Ascent, a race held each year about the same weekend as Father’s Day, which starts at Echo Lake, CO (elev. 10,600’) and runs 14.5 miles up the Mt. Evans Highway to the summit at 14,264’. This year was my first time running the race. What a great race it is, but more on that later.
On top of helping with the race, my son also volunteered to help make my day a little longer by ferrying the car over to the Guanella Pass trailhead so I could continue on from the summit of Mt. Evans and traverse over to Mt. Bierstadt via the Sawtooth Ridge. That was the special part of my Father’s Day present; that and being able to spend some quality time with him too.
We left Colorado Springs fairly early by racing standards; 4:00 AM. This is not so early for alpine climbing, where 4:00 AM might seem luxuriously late to others. However, the race wasn’t due to start until 7:30 AM. Maybe that is one of the luxuries of a running race; you get to the top of what you’re climbing a little faster than just plain hiking. It was still a little early when we arrived at Echo Lake; maybe just a little past 6:00 AM. Since we were not going to be parking our car at the start area, the nice folks at the race let us pull up temporarily right at where check-in table was set up.
So, we dallied for just a little while at the check-in area; picking up my packet, snapping a few pictures, and putting my drop bag into one of the 15-passenger vans that would be taking them up to the summit and then shuttling racers back down to the start after finishing the race. My drop bag looked a little out of place as it had crampons and an ice axe attached to it. I wasn’t planning on being shuttled back down from the summit.
Soon Jubal packed up into our vehicle, and we said our goodbye’s as he began the 1 ½ hour ride over to Guanella Pass. I felt a little nervous/committed at that point because there was going to be no chance to contact and tell him if my plans changed for some reason; injury, missing a time cut-off, bad snow conditions, etc. So, I had to make the traverse over from Evans to Bierstadt, no other options were practical.
Other pre-race activities had still to be taken care of, so I didn’t have a lot of time to sit around and worry. I stood in a short line for the porta-potties, stretched, and then went for a warm-up run on the Echo Lake trail. Maybe it was only for a few minutes that I had run down the trail before I realized I would need to make one more stop at the porta-potties. By the time I got back, the line had quadrupled in size, to the point I wasn’t sure I would get another chance to go before the race started. However, the time in line was well spent as a few of us socialized and realized that our paths would cross again in just a couple of weeks for the Leadville Trail Marathon.
Just as the race director was starting to yell at us through his megaphone about the race starting without us, I got into the porta-potty only to find there really wasn’t much toilet paper left. Other folks were frantically running back and forth outside asking if there was any toilet paper left at all. Some of the porta-potties were completely out. That was my only real gripe with the race; they could have had a few more facilities available at the start, and they could have been a little better stocked too.
Soon enough we all lined up at the starting line. The race director pointed out that he had not taken a lot of time to mark the course, only that it “went that way.”, as he pointed up the highway in the general direction of the summit of Mt. Evans. Just as the last of the spectator cars got through the fee station, the race started, and we were off!
My first impression, and one that still sticks with me, is that running the Mt. Evans Ascent is just like running Ridge Road back home, if only for 14 plus miles! If you have ever run in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, then you can probably relate to what I am saying. Since Echo Lake is at 10,600’ in elevation, it isn’t long until you break out of the tree-line and the views really start to open up. Hmmmm…. Up? Well, that seemed to be the mantra of the day. Shuffling along at a pace that wasn’t pegging my heart rate, I managed to actually run. I kept telling myself that I would run the next mile and then evaluate just how hard running at this altitude was going to be.
Many peaks have I hiked and climbed, but I have never purposefully run at this altitude. So, I really didn’t have a lot of experience to fall back on. Mile after mile started to go by. The race director was right; the Mt. Evans highway goes to the summit of Mt. Evans, and the mileage is marked very mile of the way. So, I guess he was serious when he said he didn’t go to a lot of effort to mark the course.
Aid stations were situated about every 3 miles or so along the race course. I made a point of walking through each one, making sure to grab a cup of water and a piece of a banana. They had some electrolyte drink available, but after working on my nutrition plan with one of my running partners, who is a graduate student at UCCS in the nutrition department, I have realized that something like HEED doesn’t sit well in my tummy if I drink too much of it. This is especially true when combining it with other sugary things, like energy gels. In fact it doesn’t sit there too long either as this combination has led to some major GI distress and many epic trips to the woods in some recent events. However, today my tummy felt perfectly dialed in, and I was happily sipping water and munching bananas and the occasional gel.
Up and up and up I ran. The only downhill section is coming into the aid station at Summit Lake, around mile 9. Time-cut offs are enforced at Summit Lake, where you have to make it there by 2 ½ hours after the start. I think I made it to the lake well within 2 hours. Continuing to take it easy with my pace, I was able to make it to just past mile 10 before I had to stop and walk for a bit. From there on to the finish, I used a strategy I had picked up at the point of exhaustion during the Wyoming Double Marathon, where I would walk to one of the reflectors along the side of the road, and then run to the next one, and then repeat the process all over again.
After Summit Lake, the highway really starts to gain some elevation. The views get more incredible as each bend in the highway gives way to next
. Way up above, I could see runners progressing towards the finish. Way down below, I could see the same. Finally the mileage signs started to count up to the finish. Miles 11 and 12 felt pretty long
. Mile 13 flew by for some reason. Then the sign for mile 14 went by, and I was able to kick it in for a slow, but purposeful shuffle to the finish. There I even broke into a short sprint; 2 hours 59 minutes, and 44 seconds after leaving Echo Lake. My finish was nothing to write home about, but at least worthy enough to spend a few lines on for this blog, eh? In the big picture for today; my place was exactly in the middle of the pack, right where I always am (147 out of 300 plus runners and 18 out of 36 in my age group).
At the summit I grabbed my drop bag and told the race folks about my plans to traverse over to Bierstadt. I wanted to make sure they weren’t trying to account for everyone, and that I wouldn’t cause any problems. Off to the side, I changed into some pants and a windshirt and put on my climbing face. Quickly I climbed to the last few feet to tag up with the summit, and studied my route as the West Ridge of Evans fell away to the Sawtooth.
Roach’s climbing guide said the West Ridge was only 0.7 miles in length, which I imagined would go by pretty quick when analyzed with a glass of wine while comfortably situated at home. Reality in the mountains is that few things are as straight forward as one would like them to be, and the ridge was no exception. The scrambling was nice, but very blocky, and I took a little extra time because I was in my running shoes, and didn’t want to slip and fall. Fortunately the snow wasn’t a problem with only a patch here and there, even a few spots had boot prints where I could take some comfort in that I was staying on the right course. Peeking over the edge of the north face of Evans at one point, I spied a couple of skiers delicately traversing over to the top of a hidden couloir, getting ready for a descent back to Summit Lake. To the other side, I could see several groups of hikers coming up from Mt. Spalding, just finishing up with the West Ridge and getting close to the summit. Lots of folks were out for a good day.
As I began to drop down off the ridge itself following a series of large carins, my iPod started playing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, which seemed to set the perfect mood for the moment; the Sawtooth was ahead, Bierstadt was off to the left, and I was alone and in the mountains, in my happy place. Immersing myself in the music and the moment, the West Ridge was soon past. I began to traverse the large open slope that forms the top of the Sawtooth Ridge.
This was a point I had worried over a little bit, as this part of the route is fairly broad, open, and lacking in distinct features. If traversing from Bierstadt to Evans, following the Sawtooth is perfectly obvious. However, coming from the direction of Evans to Bierstadt, a crucial piece to the puzzle, a narrow ramp system that allows access through the sheer cliff at the end of the Sawtooth is unobvious, hidden from the eye of climber. Instead, a collection of large cairns must be found that mark the beginning of the descent on to the ramp. Fortunately, by angling slightly upwards as I traversed across the open slope before me, I totally nailed the start of the ramp, intersecting the end of the slope where the chasm of the Sawtooth drops away within 100’ of where the cairns were to be found. With relief I began to drop down onto the ramp, also feeling good about the lack of snow that I was encountering, as I was not having to put on crampons or break out the ice axe.
At the end of the ramp, I crossed back over to the opposite side of the Sawtooth, encountering what was probably the most technical section on the route, a short bit of 3rd or 4th class down climbing. I probably made it harder than it had to be, but the act of actually climbing and not just scrambling was fun. At the bottom of the Sawtooth there remained only a long snow slope ahead, separating me from the summit of Bierstadt
. Looking up I could clearly see someone on the summit; was that my son Jubal?
Because I was wearing my running shoes, and didn’t feel like putting on crampons, I did my best to stay in the series of rock bands to the right of the snow, which formed the summit ridge of Bierstadt. Maybe the snow would have been easier to slog up, and the rock was a little more technical, but I was enjoying every moment as the last of the mountain surrendered itself to me. Dodging back and forth across the sides of the ridge, gaining height towards the top, the wind began to increase whenever I was on the west side of the ridge.
Soon it was blowing hard enough for me to barely be able to keep my balance as I crossed the last few feet of the ridge. At the same time I also noticed the figure on the summit beginning to wave at me; it was Jubal! I waved back, pumping my fist in the air, as happy for him as I was for myself. It was the perfect moment, and also his first 14teener, which he had done all by himself. He was excited too, and we gave each other a big hug when we met on top. The wind was blowing something fierce. I knew Jubal had to be pretty cold. He told me he had been on the summit for about 1 ½ hours while waiting for me. The emotions I was feeling made this one of the best summits I have ever stood upon. Quickly we snapped a few pictures and began the descent back down the west side of Bierstadt towards Guanella Pass.
Getting from the summit of Bierstadt back down to Guanella Pass is listed as being slightly less than 3 miles in several of the popular guide books to Colorado’s 14-teeners. However, it seemed to me to go on for so much longer. Descending from the summit at first involved lots of steep, down-stepping, which was starting to feel a little hard on my legs and feet after having been on them for so long. Parts of the trail were pretty muddy too from all of the recent snow melt, which meant trying to pick a way through without getting my running shoes absolutely filthy. My son Jubal admitted that he was pretty whipped too, and that his hip flexors were really sore, since he hadn’t been out recently practicing a lot of hiking or climbing uphill. Fortunately the weather was continuing to hold and wasn’t going to be a problem at all.
After much hiking down the side of Bierstadt, we finally crossed Scott Gomer Creek, which left us only 1 mile through the willows to get back to the trailhead. By this time Jubal was really starting to slow down, so I got ahead of him by a pretty good ways and waited at the trailhead, reflecting on the day’s events and soaking in the views of the Sawtooth and Mt. Bierstadt. It had been a good day and some good training too. Soon enough Jubal got to the trailhead too and handed the keys to me, asking me to get our vehicle from the upper parking lot and drive back down to pick him up. In back of the vehicle I had packed a cooler full of good things for us to have a victory picnic of sorts. Jubal was a little too gone at this point to want to hang out and eat at the trail head, so we packed-up and headed back to Colorado Springs. I munched on some of our goodies while I drove. Jubal alternated between eating a few bites and passing out into a comatose like state of sleep.
Overall the Mt. Evans Ascent is a great race. The support for the race is really good with the way the aid stations are stocked and manned. The contents of the swag bag handed out at the check-in almost paid for the race entry fee; a bag of coffee beans, 3 energy bars, dried plums, Enduralyte caps, and a $35 card for downloading music from the Internet!