Van Dorp Wins at Aspen Power of Four Ski Mountaineering Race
Wiarton, ON. Jack Van Dorp of Wiarton Ontario and teammate Jari Kirkland of Crested Butte, Colorado won the mixed team event at the 2012 Aspen Power of Four ski mountaineering race on Saturday, March 3.
The pair finished the 43.5 km course in 6 hours, 45 minutes and 12 seconds.
Beginning at 6:30 AM, racers skinned up and skied down four mountains, with a total climb of 11,500 vertical feet.
The steepest climb the team endured was a 4350 vertical feet ascent at the Aspen Highlands resort. At the top Van Dorp and Kirkland skied down a double black diamond bowl and a single track bike trail through the forest to the bottom.
We had many challenges to deal with Van Dorp said. I did a lot of pre-race training near Collingwood, but crosscountry and downhill ski gear is totally different than backcountry gear.
Ski Mountaineering is a backcountry sport where racers ascend and descend mountains on narrow carving skis with special bindings that allow boots to be fixed at the toe for ascending and at the toe and heel for descents. Mohair skins with a sticky back are attached to the ski to provide grip for climbing and are ripped, folded, and tucked into jerseys for descents.
At the second transition, Jari ended up putting my skins on for me while I struggled just to get my boots loosened up for the climb, Van Dorp said. We faced extreme windchill as we approached the 12,400 foot summit of the Highlands Bowl, and I lost a pole tip in the snow on the way down, which made the last climb through the
backcountry more difficult.
Although Van Dorp has a long history of cross-country Skiing with WHSS Nordic, Georgian Bay Nordic, and Queens University, this week was his first experience with high altitude and ski mountaineering. I arrived in Crested Butte last Saturday, did a 3 hour race at Monarch Mountain on Sunday, and spent the week getting acclimatized to 9000 feet, trying to treat blisters on my heels, and figuring things out before heading to Aspen.
Weeks prior to his race, Jack slept in a tent that simulated high altitude to help prepare him for the race. I am really thankful to Altitudetech.ca for helping me get set up with an altitude tent, which I think was a major help in showing up ready for the thin mountain air, and Acli-Mate drinks which worked great to help me adjust while I was there, said Van Dorp. I could really tell that this prep helped out when I still felt strong on the final climb and had enough strength left in my legs for the fun fast 3,000 ft descent to the base of Ajax Mountain. All the same, I was
relieved to be done, felt good about our effort and team work during the race, and look forward to more Ski Mountaineering races in the future!
