Pike's Peak, near Colorado Springs, Colorado

11/5/06

13 Miles to Peak with over 7,000 Feet Vertical Gain

Planning
When thinking about my fall, I realized I really needed some goals that were fun and challenging at the same time. I was coming to Colorado Springs for a conference at USA Triathlon and had always wanted to run up Pike's Peak. It was only logical that I would plan an ascent up the Barr Trail to the summit of Pike's Peak. What made sense in August, became a lot less practical in late October when Colorado Springs got its third snow storm of the year. The last one dropped over 1 foot of snow on the town, much more up top of the mountain. My plan was looking quite unlikely as the trail would likely be far too snow packed to allow for a successful ascent.

The Run, or more accurately the "Rike"
While I had harbored some thoughts otherwise, once I got to Colorado Springs it was obvious given the snow that was still quite deep at the peak that I was not going to be able to make it all the way up the summit. In the weeks leading up to my trip, I altered my plan to reflect the snow reality. Instead of running to the top of the mountain and waiting for someone to drive me down, I would simply go as far up as I could, turn around and run down. Easy enough logistically and it still looked challenging and fun.

A little after 11am on Sunday, November 5, 2006 I showed up at the base of the Barr Trail, the start of the climb to Pike's Peak. I am excited yet calm. Given that it is about 65 degrees out, I opt to wear long shorts and a sleeveless shirt.

Here I am at the trail marker before heading out.

As soon as I start up the trail, I knew I was not in Kansas anymore as the saying goes. Trails in Minnesota are great but they are not like this. I am at about 7,000 feet and am moving up a grade that while it doesn't look super steep, still averages around 10%. Within 10 minutes, I am more winded that I would like and my calves are already tightening up. There are two main aspects of this run that set it apart from my normal training, the elevation and the grade. I trained for neither of these demands specifically, and this realization hits home far quicker than I thought it might. Oh well, not a big deal as I am only out for a nice afternoon on the mountain. While I planned to run up the trail, I knew quickly that was not going to last forever. As my calves get increasingly tight, I start to power hike. The views are great and I am enjoying myself.

Here is a view down towards Colorado Springs.

The trail up is beautiful, as you can see here.

I am happy to be moving and after awhile, I get my first view of the summit. When you start the trail, you can't actually see the top of the mountain.

The summit is the little looking point with snow on top. It looks a long way away here, and while it isn't that far in terms of miles, it is a long way up the trail.

After proceeding slowly up for about 50 minutes, I hit the first maker of my progress. I've gone 2.5 miles, wow, I can't remember the last 20 minute mile I've done. Not only that, those 20 minute miles brought my heart rate up into the 150s and caused my calves to get sore!

If I thought I was going slowly before, I had more fun awaiting me.

This image is of the first section with significant snow and I hit it about 3 miles into the climb. I'd already gone over some icy sections, but the snow was now a reality. As I move through the snow pack, I realize that I am comfortably dressed in shorts and a sleeveless shirt and it is kind of strange. Intellectually I should be cold but I'm not.

After about three miles the trail levels out a bit. You are still going up but there are now flat sections in the trail and an occasional descent. I use these as chances to run as I've been doing a lot of walking. I know I just can't call this a run. A hike doesn't sound quite right either so I decide that I'm going to call my session a "rike." I'll use the "r" from run and the rest of the word from "hike."

Here are two more great views of the mountain.

In the second photo you can see how suddenly elevation changes things as the dominant type of tree totally changes.

I keep going and am enjoying myself. I am making progress and realize that I should be hitting the Barr Camp pretty soon. I'm getting tired now and while I've been good about taking in calories and fluids via a camelback, I am beginning to think about turning around. My goal was always to reach Barr Camp, which is 6 miles up the trail. I happily get to Barr Camp around 1:40 into my journey. I chat with some of the folks there. This place was a stop over camp established in the 1920s. The camp is cool and I enjoy the stop. I chat a bit with the great lady who manages the camp, and she tells me there is a marker 1 mile up the trail. She hears that the trail really deteriorates after this point as far as the snow is concerned. I take stock of myself after my break. I am tired but feeling much more energetic. I am comfortable in my clothes even though the outside air temp is now in the low 40s in the sun. The one issue of some concern is my hands. They have been cold for awhile and while I've been managing it well, I know that with the elevation and the demands I'm putting on my aerobic system, they aren't getting a lot of blood and they will be getting less as I move up the mountain.

Here I am outside the Barr Camp.

I decide that I'm going to head for the marker 1 mile up the trail. The snow above Barr Camp is a lot deeper and the going is getting a lot tougher. I don't mind this too much. After about 20 minutes of "riking" from Barr Camp, I am hitting a ridge and am much more exposed to the conditions. The wind is picking up and I can feel the coldness moving down my arms. While it had just been my hands, my entire arms are getting cold and as I hit some wind, I realize that I'm now in a place where I need to take some action before things get dangerous. I have not reached the trail marker at the 20 minute marker, I'm now pretty tired and my hands are real cold. I decide to turn around.

Here is a picture from a little of the way down the trail. It is hard to see high I am now compared to earlier views but this is the same direction as the earlier photos towards Colorado Springs.

As I start down the trail, I am certain that I've made the right choice. My hands are not warming up and I'm a little worried about them. I am able to run down the snow trail pretty well. I make sure to slow when I see rocks and just let myself go when the trail looks safe. My feet slid around a good bit but I'm still under control. I work my way down and happily hit Barr Camp again. I go inside again and warm my hands. After a few minutes, my hands are better but they are not normal by any means. There really isn't much to do aside from getting myself off the mountain. I probably should have brought gloves but given how much the rest of my body is comfortable, I am not sure it would have mattered at all.

The run down the trail after Barr Camp was great. I make it the 3 miles of snow pack just fine and I'm having a good time. At one point I'm running along and the realization of how fortunate I am really hits me. I had a health crisis in June of 2006 and as I'm running at one point I can feel the scar on my neck stretch a little. Not painfully or anything, just a reminder that it is there. I am surrounded by the most amazing scenery and can only hear my feet hitting the ground ever so softly and the wind moving branches on some trees. I can't remember exactly what I yelled, but it was something along the lines of "thanks, I'm so happy to be here."

I keep at it and am having a good time. My hands have now warmed up and the flat section of the trail is a treat. All things considered, I am in good shape. With about 2.5 miles to go down, things start to change. I'm starting to get pretty tired overall, "riking" for 2:45 will do that to a guy, and my legs are aching a good deal. While I'm tired, I make sure to keep looking around.

Here is a great view of a rock and the summit from my way down. I don't know how I missed this view on my way up, but I'm real glad I noticed it now.

The last 2 miles of the trail are real steep and my legs are now thrashed. The trail is not only steep, it gets narrower and rockier. I am running still, sometimes fast, but my legs are really complaining. I keep moving figuring that walking will hurt nearly as much and will take twice as long. It is amazing how many more people there are in the last 2 miles compared to the top. I see more folks in last 45 minutes than I did in the whole 2 hours I was up on the mountain. Despite the fact that I want to be done, I keep running. The last mile is tough but I make a point to keep it light hearted and I joke with myself and people I see on the trail.

Lessons
If I ever needed a reminder about how much specific training helps, this was it. I now have my talking point for this issue when I work with clients. There was no way I was going to run up the trail continuously. Despite the fact that I'm pretty fit right now, the demands of the elevation and the grade were too much for me to handle on this day when I had completed no elevation or consistent uphill training. I will remember this as I prepare for next year.

This "rike" was a lot of fun. I will continue to use my fitness to have a good time and to do things that I enjoy. There is no reason not to celebrate and use fitness towards things we enjoy. Life is too short to get too focused on race times and competition. Those things are important, but they are not the be all, end all.

One way I like to judge a trail run is by the status of my shoes and socks after I am done. In general, the dirtier the better.

Here are my feet before I started.

After I'm done, the toll of the run can be seen on the trail. I had hoped for a little more debris but given that so much of the trail was snow packed, the shoes kept getting cleaned off.

This was a great day on the mountain. If you get the chance, find a challenge and take it on. While I did not make the summit of Pike's Peak on this November day, I used my fitness to take on a challenge. I also had a great time. See you out there!