2012 Sierra Challenge - take 1

I would like to write up a nice trip report for the 2012 Sierra Challenge with lots of pretty pictures and gruesome detail. That won't happen for a while, so meanwhile I will say that I did complete the challenge and it was challenging. I managed 17 peaks total for 2cd for the polka dot jersey - not really contested as Sean could have blown me out of the water any day. I was a very distant 4th for the yellow jersey - only by virtue of completing all of the challenge peaks. I need to stop carrying a dslr and learn to run down mountains if I want to compete in this category.

Sunrise on day 6 - an "easy" day

This challenge started out easily enough but quickly turned rough with a lot of rain and some brutal days at the end. Even the approaches to some of the trailheads were hard.

To make things even more challenging I twisted my ankle on the approach to Mt Carl Heller and then climbed and downclimbed the E ridge and exited George Creek. It was sort of hurting and quite swollen that night. The next (and thankfully last) day involved some 26 miles and 8700 feet of vertical - you see how it was. There were also more early starts - as early as 4 am and plenty of 5 am starts. This did help us to get onto the summits before the rain and more importantly the lightning. The weather did deter me from trying to get more bonus peaks - so did the fact that I got pretty exhausted.

There were many incredible people participating in the challenge. It was humbling and inspiring to get dusted by people many years older than me and those with full time jobs that live near sea level. Still, I think just completing the challenge is a worthy accomplishment.

Because I am lazy I will post some links now...

Bob Burd - the instigator's - website

http://www.snwburd.com/bob/challenge/2012/

He posted some more links here:

http://www.snwburd.com/bob/challenge/2012/reports.html

A thread on summitpost with some trip reports and extraneous chatter

http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB3/http-www-snwburd-com-bob-challenge-2012-t61880.html

Sean's Blog - he describes what he did every day - I was with him for most of day 2 and 9

http://drdirtbag.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/matterhorn-whorl/

Rain on the lake below Mt Mendel - it continued back from here up over Tamarack pass

At some point I'd like to talk about every day and some of the my gear choices - such as using a cotton carrier for my camera, but that will have to wait for later.

Slackline and other fun with the Yogaslackers

Things have been a little hectic and when I finally get around to it I should have some good pics to post. Meanwhile I have a few teaser pics.

From the East Side I went over Sonora Pass to climb a bit at the Columns of the Giants with Ted et al. I did ok, but once I got too tired it was all over. Then I headed up to Grass Valley to join up with Sam and meet Isha, Jenny, and Phoenix. We swam in the beautiful Yuba River, set up some slacklines over the Yuba and a longline in a park. Fun was had by all - although there was some excessive uv exposure too.

Jenny falling off the waterline - some photoshoppery involved with this one

Sam on the waterline - he didn't fall

Here I am on one of the Yuba River lines

Sam leaping onto the longline

Raquel on the longline

From there I headed up to Squaw Valley for the Wanderlust Yoga and Music Festival. We set up a heap of slacklines and taught slackline and balance classes. I also got to meet more Yogaslackers - both old and new. It was fun to hang out with such an entertaining crowd. We also set up a line over a pond which was more fun when you were sort of wanting to get wet than when you were cold. Another entertaining thing was being a small part of a performance during one of the opening acts for Ziggy Marley. 

Teaching at Wanderlust - note Ben & Jerry booth behind - free frozen yogurt samples

Jason's reflection from the waterline (flipped)

Anya on the waterline

Here is a link (or embedded) video from Prana of Wanderlust 2012. There are some good bits of Sam slacklining and you can see a bit of our performance near the beginning.

After the end of Wanderlust I headed to Lover's Leap for 2 days of climbing before moving on to Salt Lake City for the Outdoor Retailer (OR) show. Someday I plan on sleeping too, but the Sierra Challenge is coming up fast.

Sam at the ToeSox booth

Dan and Sam at the Brenthaven booth