2011, by powdermonkey

Punctuated by feats sure to make even the hardiest of quads burn and cringe, the annual Sunlight Endurance Challenge wrapped up this past Sunday after 12 hours of uphill and downhill action. Formerly the 24 Hours of Sunlight, the 12 hour incantation of the race still offers plenty of action and lung-burning "fun". Here's a quick recap of the results.

Racing

The Mens Solo race was won by Jackson hard dude Cary Smith with 19 laps (with time remaining for one more) for a total of 28,538 vertical feet skiied (the course is 1,502 feet). That's right, over 28,000 feet in just over 11 hours. That's more uphill vert than many of us get in a month, or a season! He was challenged early on by Billy Laird, the Colorado favorite, who charged out to an early lead with some quick lap times before being surpassed by Cary around lap 6 or 7. Billy hung close but eventually threw in the proverbial towel after 18 laps when he realized Cary wasn't going to let up in the waning moments of the race.

In a testament to the great human spirit of the sport, Cary, who committed to the race two days prior without a committed support crew, was helped throughout the day by fellow racers and bystanders in the necessary handling of skins, preparation of skis, and filling of bottles.

Race veteran and Glenwood Springs local Dennis Webb came in a respectable 3rd with 15 laps. Dennis, a longtime runner whose knees no longer enable him to join that more horizontally-oriented sport, trained long and hard at Sunlight this winter and was a regular part of the scenery. His hard work paid off with a fine amount of vertical skiied.

Gerry Vanderbeek

Gerry Vanderbeek

Gerry Vanderbeek, who incidentally is quickly approaching his 70th birthday, showed that age is no match for will. Last year he completed 7 laps and this year he wanted to do one more. He did just that with three hours to spare. Confessing to poor night vision for the night laps and driving home, he was content to call it a day. Not bad I say for someone eligible to collect Social Security.

The scene.

In the mens duo category The Highlanders, Brian Johnson and Pete Gaston, cranked out consistent and fast lap times throughout the day to complete 23 laps. Brian, an Aspen Highlands ski patroller, joked merrily about the 18 years senior he had on his 23-year old partner. His lap times were no joke as Brian completed his first 6 laps in 31 minutes or under and his partner managed to stay in that coveted range well into the day. A longtime veteran of this race in both its' 12 hour and 24 hour formats, both solo and duo, Brian professed his belief that this year he was "taking it easy." Look for him at the annual Elk Mountains Grand Traverse in late March.

Coming in second was yours truly, Mike Schneiter, with partner Bob Lowe on the Glenwood Adventure Company team. We decided to do the race less than two weeks before because it seemed like it would be fun as well as a good opportunity to train for our other athletic endeavors this year. No stranger to the race, we were both pleasantly surprised by our times and our ability to complete 21 laps.

Me and my support crew.

Getting support from my crew.

Hot on our heels, in the Coed Duo category was the impressive husband and wife team of Christy and Ted Mahon. Both accomplished runners and skiers, this was their first foray into this type of event and they crushed! Christy, the first female to ski all 54 of Colorado's 14ers pulled off quick times all day and her husband Ted might as well be called the human metronome as he seemed able to ski the 32/33 minute lap time all day long, which he did.

Bob Lowe, finishing lap 21.

Bob Lowe, finishing lap #21 at night.

Not far behind was another fast Coed Duo team, Adam Frisch and Lyndsay Meyer, who also skied consistent times all day long to stay within one lap of the Mahons for second place. The lone women's solo competitor, Jasmine Pierce, finished seven laps to stand alone on the podium while a number of individuals competed in the Team Firedrill category. This category asks teams to compile total laps simultaneously and some of those competitors completed an impressive number of laps individually. Veteran locals such as Mike Simpson, Jenny Barsness, and Charlie Wertheim ticked off a number of laps and would have fared well in any category.

With a lively band in the lodge to finish the night, competitors knocked down some beers and sucked down some much-needed pasta as the annual event came to a close.