Skin to the Summit

Skin to the Summit

Part of the Queenstown Winter Festival

NEW venue!  This year The Remarkables will be hosting Skin to the Summit.

Drag yourself out of bed for the most amazing dawn experience. Headlamps and determination are essential as competitors ‘skin’ from the Base Building through a challenging course that will be determined closer to race start date. 

Make your friends jealous with the gorgeous sunrise photos you will capture. There are great prizes for the speedy and not so speedy, so come and join in the fun.    This is a challenge for true mountain champions!

 

Skin to the Summit

The advertising sounds great and some ‘touring’ on Coronet Peak in May on new equipment had me excited about this race. Some long poles and a early alarm clock and up and away. The advertising said 0700 so that means a real early start (0540 alarm)  Away by 6 with only a mouthful of muesli. It is hard to race with much in the stomach ( I need a good two hours to digest)

So here we are a 0630 in the carpark - boots on and throw the skis over the shoulder and up to the base building. It’s still dark but a light sensor turns the lights on. The rego folks are sitting upstairs in semi dark with the lights just triggering on and off as someone moves  -  but strange not so many here yet. Anyway as I register the lights come on finally and a few more turn up. Not much sign of ‘racing’ as 7 comes and goes.

It’s an 8 o’clock start - great - what the hell am I doing up here so early.

(sure enough when I check later the printed info it does say 7 o’clock but somewhere in between a decision was made to change that to 0800)  OK fine. 

8 o’clock outside into blowing snow and a cold wind, but stripped ready to race. But it’s 10 mins of standing in the cold before - time gentlemen  - start your engines and beeeeeep - we are off.

A couple of them run out of the start line and of course i’m dragged along with them but after 50-70 meters of that everyone - all 4 of us decided that long strides are a little easier and we settle in. Boy that guy has a long stride and mine are a bit shorter so two of them pull away.  Then a couple more pass but thats enough. A quick glance around as we head up a bit higher assures me that no one else is even close.

 The breathing is fine and as we ascend I drop the bindings up and down to adjust for the angle but this always costs a stride or two and I settle for 6th in line with a good gap to the front. But two of them are on split boards and I know they will change slower.

 Curvey Basin top - rip the skins of the skis and stuff down the front, turn the binding and clip my heels in. Off.  Drop into a semi tuck in the semi light. With the knees pressed forward I don’t realise until I hit a bump that my boots are still in touring mode  - so guess I will just have to 'stand on them’  We whistle past racers still on the way up - some a long way down the hill still.

 

A short skate over the top of the Alta lift top and another snowboarder clipping in.   hi Josh!   We descend hard lumpy snow to the next ascent up Calypso toward the top of the Shadow Basin Chair.

 A quick chat as we remount the skins and away. What have you been up to over the summer / how the kids / did you get any skiing done / hows the house and such like. Without realising we are actually climbing now but Josh just moves away  - not much I can do about it.  Guess now that I could have tried harder -  but that’s now. No taste of blood in the mouth from memory so can’t have been trying at all.

 But at the time I seemed hard enough. The slope pitches up and requires a little concentration - push with those long poles - weight back on the heels, make the skins bite, but still one slides out  - I catch it but have to concentrate to keep the grip. No wonder Josh looked like he was working hard.

  

The last slope to the top and the leader whistles past followed a minute or so later by a second skier.

 I reach the top as Josh is just clipping the board together and buckling in. The official asks something but my reply is just really just a grunt as I concentrate on the change over. Remember this time to do the boots up - yep got that and off.

 Shit - didn’t realise it was snowing that much. Clear glasses fogged up while I was stationary and plastered on outside by snow flakes.  Can’t see a thing. Whip them off and tuck them down the front - shit thats even worse with snowflakes driven into the eyes as I assume a flying wedge tuck sort of thing. 

 Where was that steep part?  I increase the wedge and take the glasses out and sort of wipe them with wet gloves and get some visibility back. Whoops there it is.  Down into the murk guessing the terrain and using the tips to feel it. The small rocks on the return road give at least some definition - move over coming through.  A couple skiers just starting up towards Shadow. They are going to be a while.

 Off the end of the road you have to cut across to the ‘beginners slope’ area as as I drop off rocks. a hollow, free flowing creek appear - 'hold on tight' and I’m through - just had to lift one ski over a rock. 

 Finish line if sight,  and someone with a bib on in front slowly zig zagging down. I can catch him, I know I can, and do just a meter before the line (even though he was only in the recreational division and had done only one climb)

 They even have results a little later inside after coffee (well make that two coffees) and a pain au chocolate - mmm

 The results would show I am 3rd but think I was 4th.   Anyway here is what they show. 52 mins for the two ascents / descents. Bib no 100