VertFest 2012

VertFest was looking to be an icefest one week out, but then the forecast got better and better.  On the morning of the race, we found over a foot of fresh greeting us at our house!  It continued to puke the rest of the day, adding another foot plus by the end of the day.  About 160 people were at Alpental, getting ready to race. It seems that VertFest just keeps growing every year, which is awesome to see.  

I noticed many light ski set-ups outside the lodge, including a pair of La Sportiva carbon RSR skis (very light, very expensive), so I knew that there were some fast people there to race.  Among the competition were the always dominant Traslin brothers from Canada, pro bike racer Andrew Pinfold (also Canada), Brad LaRochelle (past US national team rando racer), Brian Harder (fast rando racer from Jackson) and local fast dudes Seth Davis, David Brown, and Lowell Skoog.

[They're off!]

[With so much snow, it was a funnel to a single skin track.]

[Brandon out front]

Due to all the fresh, deep snow, the strategy of the day would be to avoid too much trail-breaking and ski down fast.  However, since I am not a great downhill skier, I decided that my only chance to compete was to try to get some kind of uphill gap.  So, I ended up out front most of the time as the slow pace of following was driving me nuts, and nobody else wanted to waste their energy.  The uphill portion of the race went well. I didn't have any skin issues for the first time in a race.  I also didn't really feel gassed at any point, even with being dumb enough to break trail most of the time, so some actual race-specific training paid off.  

[B rounding Chair 2 with La Rochelle & Pinfold following]

[Andy Traslin chasing]

The first descent started out good. I was holding second place until I found some deep snow to get stuck in, then repeated that five more times (including one near suffocation incident), and I managed to pull into the second lap transition about two minutes behind the rest of the lead group.  

A quick transition put me out in front of Mike Traslin, and within a couple minutes I regained the lead group.  Again, I took over trailbreaking, and at the top of the second lap, there were 7 of us all ripping skins at the same time.  

The last downhill was a full-on race for the Traslins and Seth Davis, with Seth just beating out Andy for the win and Mike Traslin in third.  My goal on the last lap was to slow down, and thus not crash, and hopefully not lose two minutes digging out.  

I ended up in seventh place, which is not a great finish but, until I get better at the downhill portion, I think this is how it will go.    

Heather did not compete this year since she wasn't feeling well. Instead, she snapped pictures, skied some pow and managed to help out at the Snake Dance gate.  Our friend Melissa did great with a 2nd place finish in the Womens Rec. race, very close to the winner Holly Davis.

[Melissa cruising on her way to 2nd, even with the heavy ski/binding set-up.]