“Ring of Fire” Training Week 2 – Northeast Shoulder of Teewinot

Northeast Shoulder of Teewinot Mountain

My goal for week 2 is ascend 25,300 vertical feet.  To kick the week off, I wanted to get into the Tetons.  I have always wanted to ski the East Face of Teewinot Mountain.  The weather forecast was a little discouraging, but it had also been wrong all weekend.  The forecast called for 6-8 inches in the mountains above 8,000 feet and clearing at 6am.  Before I went to sleep that night, I decided that if it did snow 6-8 inches, I would ski the Northeast Shoulder of Teewinot instead of going for the East Face.

Skiing Pow on the Northeast Shoulder of Teewinot

The forecast was actually right.  It did snow 6-8 inches over night.  Waking up to see snow on the ground, I decided to go for plan b, the northeast shoulder.  I had heard that it offered amazing skiing and decided it would be safer than skiing the East Face of Teewinot.

Alex Weston and I Boot Packing Up to the Highest Point on the Ridge

The weather forecast was correct on the amount of snow, but the skies did not clear at 6am.  Eric, Alex, and I spent the morning skinning up the mountain in pea soup.  It was hard to gauge where we were with limited visibility.  As we reached the top of the ridge, the clouds started to break up and the view was outstanding.

Alex Weston Enjoying the View Across Cascade Canyon

The morning stayed cold and we weren’t to concerned that the snow would heat up.  We hiked to the top of the ridge and enjoyed a snack while waiting for the clouds to lift.  The skiing down was awesome.  We skied 8 inches of pow down a steep forested slope.

Eric Seymour Enjoying the Snow

The snow at the bottom was a little thin and we had a few creek crossings by the moose ponds that added to a great day.

Creek Crossing in the Moose Ponds

The best part of riding your bike to Lupine Meadows is that on the way back to the Taggart Lake Parking lot, it is all down hill.

Alex Weston Pulling into the Taggart Lake Parking Lot

I would highly recommend the Northeast Shoulder of Teewinot.  The skiing was awesome, think 25-short on steroids.  It is also a safe alternative to the high peaks if you are concerned about the snow conditions.

“Ring of Fire” Training – Week One 21,285 Vertical Feet Ascended

Volcano Training Program Week 1: 21,200 Vertical
Total Vert Skied 21,285
Day 1: Taylor Mountain 3,000
Day 2: Buck Mountain: 6,000
Day 3 – Tapped. 0
Day 4 – Jackson Hole Mountain Resort 4,139
Day 5 -Jackson Hole Mountain Resort 4,139
Day 6 – Glory to Taylor Approximately 4007

Skinning Up Taylor Mountain

I am really excited that achieved my goal for the week.  I know there are people who hike twice as much in a week, but for me it was a start and I’m feeling pretty good about it.  I had a friend send me a facebook message:

“Thought you lift riders might appreciate a roommate I had who in one season averaged over 7,000 vert/ day for over 120 days in a row. His name was Sick Bird and he skied in Lang boots.”

I am thoroughly impressed.  Yet I am a lift rider.  I haven’t skinned once this year until last monday.  So for a lift rider, I am feeling good about my 21,285 vertical feet for the week.

I started with Taylor this week and finished with Taylor.  An elite endurance athlete told me that one of his favorite training routes was to boot pack up Glory, ski down to Coal Creek, and then skin up Taylor.  It sounded like a great idea, so that is what I did.  And he was right.  It’s a great training route.

Taylor Mountain

The boot pack up Glory is a great way to get your heart rate up and always fun to push yourself to see how fast you can reach the summit.  All of this training is starting to pay off.  I hiked Glory faster than I ever have!

Busy Day Up the Glory Boot Pack

The ski down from Glory was perfect corn and super fun!

From Coal Creek we skinned up Taylor.  The day was beautiful and we were all happy to reach the summit!

PYT, Eric, and Jess on the Summit of Taylor

We were worried that the snow might be too soft because it was late in the day, but to our surprise the skiing was great!

Dropping In off Taylor Mountain

Ripping Corn On Taylor Mountain

And of course the standard hitch hike back up to the top of Teton Pass.

Eric and I Catching a Ride

Pete Leitton Feeling Pretty Good About His Day.

It always feels good to achieve a goal.  I’m going to enjoy a day off and will be back at it on Monday.  My goal for week 2 is 25,300 vertical.

“Ring of Fire” Training Day 5 – Almost There!

Ring of Fire Training Program Week 1: 21,200 Vertical
Total Vert Skied 17,278
Day 1: Taylor Mountain 3,000
Day 2: Buck Mountain: 6,000
Day 3 – Tapped. 0
Day 4 – Jackson Hole Mountain Resort 4,139
Day 5 -Jackson Hole Mountain Resort 4,139
Vertical Left: 3,922

I only have 3,922 vertical left to ski this week.  I wish I could say that it doesn’t feel like I have skied 17,278 vert in the last six days, but I could definitely feel it going up the GV today.  My legs felt a little heavier than usual. Luckily, I kept going because the skiing was really good at the village today.  There was about three inches of new snow on Rendevous Bowl and perfect corn down Ampitheatre.  Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is starting to flatten out with a little help from the warm temps and lack of skiers.  I had a great day once my legs warmed up.  One more day and I get a day off!  Yahoo!

“Ring of Fire” Training Day 4 – Respect

I have so much respect for the athletes in Jackson who ski every day in the Tetons.  Their day to day lives may be more intense than my training program.  Day three I was so exhausted that I drove to the parking lot, looked at the mountain for a while, and then drove home.  How do they do it?

My excuse is that I have a cold.  Feeling under the weather I decided to ski Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for a couple of reasons.  I am still trying to to achieve my goal for the week.  And I am so happy I decided to go to JHMR today because I learned a lot.

As I pulled into the Parking lot of JHMR, I ran into a friend who is an elite endurance athlete.  He had heard about my training program and had a few concerns.  My friend asked, “So how are you feeling? Your training plan is aggressive.  Three weeks is a really short amount of time to train for a trip.  Typically the last three weeks of a training cycle is used for recovery.”

I didn’t really have a good reply.  ”It’s all the time I have,” I shrugged.

“So how are you feeling?” he asked.

“My body feels great, but I have a cold.” I replied.

“Your cold could be an indicator that your not recovering fully.  Buck is a big day and you may need more than a day to recover.  Make sure you listen to your body. If you aren’t as motivated as usual, you may be pushing too hard,” my friend advised.

I felt so redeemed.  Yesterday I felt like such a failure as I drove away from the parking lot deciding not to ski.  In hindsight, I knew I was catching a cold and I was tired.  So maybe I did listen to my body.  My friend also told me a trick to see if  I am recovering.  He instructed me to check my resting heart rate every morning before I get out of bed.  If my heart rate is elevated, I’m not fully recovered.

Feeling better about my “rest” day, I put my skis on and headed to the top of JacksonHole Mountain Resort.

“Ring of Fire” Training Day 3 – Listen

My alarm went off at 5:00am.  My plan was to take advantage of the nice weather in the morning.  A thunder storm was predicted to come through the Tetons around 1pm.  I planned to ski Ferry Peak.  It is one of my favorite descents in the area and if the thunder storm came in early, it would be easy to bail and get back to the car quickly.

As I opened my eyes, I felt a tickle in my throat.  The first sign of a a cold is typically a tickle in your throat.  And I have to admit, I was exhausted after skiing Buck Mountain the day before.  I turned my alarm off and rolled over deciding to sleep in.  Two minutes later, my guilty conscience started, “Get out of bed.  How are you going to get ready for this trip if you can’t even get out of bed?” So I rolled out of bed and headed for Ferry Peak.

The sunrise was beautiful and my stoke level was high as I headed down the Snake River Canyon to Ferry Peak.  I was worried about the out of Ferry Peak because it has been so hot in Jackson lately.  I wasn’t sure there would be a lot of snow to ski out.  I was right.  I stopped at the river bed which is the ski out for Ferry Peak and it was bone dry.  I walked up to get a better look up the river and saw no snow in sight.

I continued on to the parking lot to begin the hike for Ferry and again there was no snow.  I pulled into the parking lot.  Usually the first step to going on an adventure is showing up.  In this case, I had shown up.  I just couldn’t open the car door.  I sat in my car staring up at the massive dirt peak in front.  Then I turned the key in the ignition and  drove home feeling like a failure.

Day 3 – 0 vert

“Ring of Fire” Training Day 2 – Buck Mountain

“Ring of Fire” Training Program
Week 1 Vertical Feet Goal: 21,200 Vert
Day 1: Taylor Mountain 3,000 vert
Day 2: Buck Mountain: 6,000 vert
12,200 vert left for the week!

Buck Mountain, Grand Teton National Park

Perfect Corn on the East Face of Buck Mountain

There is an amazing corn cycle happening in the Tetons.  I thought I wanted one more mellow day under my belt before heading into the high peaks, but after looking at the weather forecast I knew I needed to make it happen sooner than later.  With rain and snow in the immediate forecast, it was time to to get into the Tetons.

Buck Mountain, Grand Teton National Park 11,938ft

Buck Mountain has always been on my hit list.  Everyone morning when I open my eyes, it is the first peak I see.  It has been called one of the best ski descents in Tetons.

Boot Packing Up the East Face of Buck Mountain

In one phone call, I had a crew who was fired up to join me.  And what a crew it was.  You know you are with good people when everyone has a nickname: Wild Bill, Jason Extremo, and Big Al Weed Whacker were at the parking lot a 5:30 am sharp and frothing at the mouth.

Enjoying a Beautiful Sunrise with Wild Bill.

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning.  The snow was perfect for skinning.  We spent a little time finding our was through the thick trees looking for Stewart’s draw.  My only advice for first timers, is that Stewart’s Draw is further from the parking lot than you might think.

Base of the East Face of Buck Mountain

We followed Stewart’s Draw, sticking to the North side of the draw, to the base of the East Face.  The snow was still firm enough to boot pack up the East Face.  I was psyched I had crampons!

Boot Pack up the East Face of Buck Mountain

We reached the summit at 10:30 which was perfect timing.  The snow was just turning to corn.  The view from the summit was beautiful.  There was no wind and crystal clear skies.  We stayed at the summit for a few minutes, but didn’t want to wait to long.  No skier would ever waste perfect corn.

Summit of Buck Mountain

Getting Ready to Drop In!

The skiing was awesome!  The top of the East Face rolls over to a nice 45 degree pitch.  You are definitely skiing above exposure, but it wasn’t death-defying.  It was just good old fashioned fun!

Alex Weston Enjoying the Summit

Needless to say we all had huge smiles for the rest of the day!

Love this Guy - "Wild Bill"

The forecast is calling for Thunder showers tomorrow starting at 1:00, so it may be a village day for me.  Only 12,200 vertical left for the week!

“Ring of Fire” Training Program – Day 1, Taylor Mountain

Taylor Mountain, Teton Pass WY

It is hard to believe that Jackson Hole Mountain Resort closed yesterday.  I feel like winter just started.  Although when I look back at my winter, I realize I was really busy.  After three flights to Europe, a road trip to Canada, cold smoke pow in Alaska, and three separate weeks in Telluride, my winter was action packed.  Luckily, it’s not over.  There may be green grass in the valley, but there is still snow in the Tetons.  And for the first time this winter conditions are looking good and safe!  And I have an objective!

The Spyder Team is going on the road.  I have been invited by Chris Davenport along with Darron Rahlves to ski as many volcanos as possible in Oregon and Washington in 20 days.  I was elated to get the invite until I realized that I haven’t skinned once this winter.  I have been lucky enough to be ushered to the tops of peaks by chairlifts, snowcats, and helicopters.

I have one month to get fit enough to climb and ski as many volcanos as possible in 20 days.  Sounds easy, right.  Maybe, unless you are trying to keep up with Chris Davenport and Daron Rahlves.  Daron Rahlves, who is the most decorated American downhill and super G skier in history.  Not too mention an all around badass.   Chris has skied all of the 14′ers in Colorado, climbed and skied Everest, and is currently climbing and skiing the Wrangle Mountains in Alaska.  And those are just a few of his recent accomplishments.  So yes, it’s time to get in shape.

Mountain Athlete to the rescue!  Rob has designed a plan to kick my butt for the next three weeks.  In his words, “This is a very ambitious training cycle.  You will train 6 days/week, often 2 x a day, skinning in the morning and training at mountain athlete in the evenings.”

Week 1 – Skin 21,200 Vertical Feet

Week 2 – Skin 25,000 Vertical Feet

Week 3 – Skin 29,000 Vertical Feet

As for what happens within the walls of the Mountain Athlete Gym, well….. you’ll have to go see for yourself.

Day 1 – Taylor Mountain

There are people who ski Taylor Mountain before work at 9:00 in Jackson.  I’m not one of those people.  I am usually standing in the tram line hoping for first tracks down the Bowl.  I’m sure people will scoff, but Taylor Mountain seemed to be a good place to start.  Taylor is 10,200 feet and 3,000 vertical feet of climbing.  So I only have to ascend 19,200 vertical feet for the rest of the week.  One step at a time, right?

Taylor Mountain, Teton Pass WY

The skiing was awesome on Taylor.  We skied at 11:00am.  The snow had turned to smooth corn and it was one of my best descents I have ever had on Taylor.  Let’s just say, training can be fun too!

Perfect Corn on Taylor Mountain

You can still ski all the way to trailhead, but the snow is getting thin.  I have a quick break to enjoy a cup of espresso and then off to Mountain Athlete.

Lucky Girl!

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