Go Light, Go Fast by CAMP

TEAM CRESTED BUTTE TRAINING VIDEO BY SCARPA

Thanks to Team Crested Butte and Scarpa for these segments on Randonee Racing. It is a growing sport state side, but we Americans are still definitely learning the ropes as evidenced by the romping we took at the ISMF North American Championships in Crested Butte last week where two Italians absolutely mopped up. Hope these training videos help motivate!

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COSMIC SPRINT RACE AND SIA UPHILL/DOWNHILL CHALLENGE - JANUARY 30TH

Location: Winter Park Ski Resort, CO

Start Date: Jan 30 2012

Winter Park COSMIC Sprint Race/"Elite" SIA race

2012 - Monday, January 30th 2pm

It's Monday at the SIA On-Snow Demo and the US Ski Mountaineering Association fundraiser race. A climb up Winter Park to the Sunspot Lodge, a trip down the legendary Outhouse bump run, then back up for a final descent. Now it's time free beer and the season's best raffle. All proceeds go to the US Ski Mountaineering Association.

Start in front of the SIA Uphill/Downhill teams race. Entry to the event is free but it's a fundraiser for the US Ski Mountaineering Association. A contribution of $5 - $25 to the USSMA is encouraged!

COSMIC racers will do the same first climb as the SIA event, but at the Sunspot lodge, descend Outhouse, then skin up the Mary Jane run back to Sunspot to rejoin the SIA course and descend Balch to the finish area. Course is approximately 2,400 ft. of vertical, see attached map.

http://www.ussma.org/race/cosmic/2012-01-29/cosmic-sprint-race-and-sia-uphilldownhill-challenge

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2012 ISMF NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS - JANUARY 27-29

Location: Crested Butte, CO

Start Date: Jan 27 2012 - Jan 29 2012

The 2012 Crested Butte Ski Mountaineering Race is also the ISMF North American Championship. Racers from Canada and throughout the US will compete for the title of North American Champion. This year's course includeds a technical climb, please note required gear. Info:http://www.skicb.com/cbmr/info/things-to-do/skimo.aspx.

Registration: http://www.zapevent.com/ListActivities.aspx?eventid=1803

http://www.ussma.org/race/cosmic/2012-01-28/2012-ismf-north-american-championships

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RACE 290

HYPERLIGHT. TOTALLY INNOVATIVE. The XLC 390 has reigned supreme as the lightest 12 point crampons in the world for almost 10 years. So it is no surprise that when we set out to create the new lightest crampons in the world, it would be our own record we would have to beat. What it took was the optimal combination of design, materials and unique innovations like a Dyneema® linking strap and the first Tech-Style (think Dynafit®) bindings on crampons ever. The Race 290 is the new lightweight leader in mountaineering certified crampons--compare with our own XLC 390's and these babies shave a full 25%! 10 minimalist points (including front points) combine with an innovative Dyneema® linking strap (think packability) and all aluminum alloy main body construction for a true step forward in crampon design ... PRODUCT SPECS

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CRACKED!

CRACKED!

A broken ski could’ve spelled disaster for two rivals turned partners at the COSMIC Five Peaks Race in Breckenridge. Instead, it became a strategy that drove them.

By Bryan Wickenhauser

AS I RACED down the first descent on wind-hammered sastrugi snow, I found myself drifting into a tailspin.

“What the hell is going on!” I thought, “I am a solid downhill skier; this cannot be happening.”

I skid to a halt on the frozen off-piste, still in disbelief about what had just happened, and watched the second-place team from Aspen pass by. Now I was annoyed. That’s when I noticed the large crack behind the heel-piece in my right ski. Now I was frustrated AND annoyed! It looked bad, and seemed like it would surely deteriorate to the realm of unusable were I to keep pushing it. The ski was doomed, and therefore so were we. That’s when I looked up and saw Mike.

SKI MOUNTAINEERING is often considered an individual pursuit, but for safety reasons it’s best to go at it with a partner who shares your same sense of risk versus reward. It’s also more fun.

Mike Kloser is a rival and friend and both interpretations of our relationship are equally accurate on any given day. I have chased Kloser on a bike for more miles than I care to count, often coming up short at grand-scale events like adventure racing world championship races. Other times, I have found myself grinning with wide-eyed satisfaction as Mike takes his place below me at some of North America’s most challenging ski mountaineering events like the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse. Of course even here, Mike has ascended the podium one step higher than me.

Though beating him is one of the most satisfying things I can imagine, there is no one I’m more honored to lose to than Mike Kloser. In short, Kloser is my nemesis. Anyone who grew up reading comic books knows that the superhero is only as strong as his nemesis is great.

This potential to create a dynamic duo that would kick the crap out of the diabolically strong competition is why Kloser and I originally decided to join forces for the Five Peaks race—an epic battle involving 80 other teams that go up against 8,000 feet of vert and multiple ascents in the Ten Mile Range behind the Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado. We saw the opportunity to combine our skills, gumption and raw physical power into an unstoppable force.

Okay, we are also friends. But this is really beside the point because neither of us is tending to a friendship when racing. We were there to WIN.

We had summited Peak 9 in first place, battling the elements on what was supposed to be a “spring-like day.” In Breckenridge, this can mean colder than a nude dip in the Arctic Sea and today the moniker of “Breckenfridge” was more appropriate. Kloser and I had charged this first peak like machines, and after a smooth transition, we were on our way down. That’s when everything went wrong.

Beyond all understanding, my ski had somehow broken. It was difficult to know what to make of this because it wasn’t supposed to happen. I yelled across the slope to Mike and told him to keep going as I picked myself up off the snow. I was ready to give up. How does one summon the motivation to continue fighting a battle that just can’t be won?

I made my way down to Kloser. The descent was slow and cumbersome on the broken ski. I arrived at my partner and he said nothing. He simply stared and waited with the tight-lipped reserve of a Roman general. His eyes: understanding, driving. In them I saw a mutual chord about to be struck. It was enough to simply think back to all the adventure races that we’d endured together as both competitors and partners. The teams and racers who manage diversity best, win. Those who crumble under adversity, don’t.

The goal became clear, if admittedly absurd. Punch it with reckless abandon until the ski breaks completely. Even then, don’t stop going—not until the officials drag us away from the race like captured wild animals lashed to the backs of snowmobiles. That was the mentality, anyway. Any time we would lose on the descent we could try to make up for on the way back up. This meant a total disregard for pacing and strategy. It was a go balls-to-the-wall till the ski snaps strategy.

Because in the back of my mind I was sure the second outcome would occur long before the pain of charging so hard would take hold, our “strategy” was easier to accept, at least mentally. But to our surprise, the strategy began to work and soon we were swapping leads with the Aspen team on the second climb. As expected, they pulled away in dramatic fashion on the descent. Then, Mike and I clawed our way back to match them on the third uphill. There was no dialogue between Mike and me—only this faint glimmer of hope that each of us mutually shared. It kept us going harder than either of us could have alone.

Sadly, the writing was on the wall. Without being competitive on the descents we had no hope of ultimate victory as the course finished with a long, technical descent off Peak 6.

Second place is losing no matter how you slice it. But we were flying high in morale. These are the kinds of epic mishaps that lead to breakthroughs in our understanding of what’s possible—something we’d never have experienced had we just thrown in the towel or simply finished the race.

If anything, the race taught us one thing: if we have the opportunity to team up again in 2012, no one will stand our way. No one!

--

The FIVE PEAKS is one of many races that make up the USSMA Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup (COSMIC). If you fancy yourself a backcountry skier and enjoy the adrenaline of racing and you've not checked out this scene, get on it. COSMIC races have a similar pulse to cyclo-cross. A crazy crew ready to strip the gear to nothing and endure the burn as they charge the ups and rail the downs with abandon only to say they did it.

As a founding sponsor and leader in lightweight rando gear, CAMP will be present at COSMIC races this year with demo gear and prizes. We are also proud to stamp our name as title sponsor on the FIVE PEAKS race in Breckenridge, one of the few team events in the series ... a race sure to become a classic like the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse.

Check out the 2012 schedule at http://www.ussma.org/cosmic. We hope to see you soon!

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COSMIC HEATHEN CHALLENGE - JANUARY 14TH

Location: Sunlight Mountain, CO

Start Date: Jan 14 2012

Registration is now open for the sixth annual Heathen Challenge. Please fax or scan and email the attached form.

Race date for the 2012 Heathen Challenge is Saturday, January 14th. More backcountry this year; we'll be skinning more outside of the "ski area" in the permit area and using the ski area runs for descents.

- Friday pm registration is at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs from 5-7pm.

- 8 AM START, late registration, number pick-up in Sunlight Mt. base lodge from 6:30 am.

The RECREATION course will be approximately 2,500 ft., the RACE COURSE 4,000+.

http://www.ussma.org/race/cosmic/2012-01-13/heathen-challenge

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Blake Herrington New Route Featured in AAJ Online

http://blakeclimbs.blogspot.com/2011/12/aaj-routes.html

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NEW PRODUCTS IN THE OUTLET AREA

Get 'em before they're gone! Highlights include harnesses, winter gloves and apparel!

http://www.camp-usa.com/products/categories/CLOSEOUTS.asp

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BACKPACKER MAGAZINE OFFERS RAVE REVIEW OF X-ALL MOUNTAIN ICE TOOLS

Testers loved the tools for everything from hard cold ice to slimey limestone hooking. We agree and that's why we called the ALL MOUNTAIN ... it truly climbs everything.