Summit junkie!

Ave Twin Peaks with MattW:

First summit in 2014 and we picked a fantastic day to be above the cruddy inversion. We put it in cruise control most of the way and just enjoyed good conversation and some laughs. I did hit some solid ice and took a spill about a mile in and landed on my hip hard, but nothing serious. On top we spent more time than usual taking in the views and enjoying the warm temps. It was incredible up there today.

American Fork Canyon with Je10 and CraigL:

This might have been the best run of the winter so far. I was supposed to lie and say how bad it sucked so we can keep the masses off of that incredible track, but I can't lie, it was phenomenal. The only negative at all was the weather and it was negative. I think it was around 0 degrees when we started and it only got colder as we climbed up the trail. The road we ran on has been groomed by snowmobiles and it was very smooth to run on. This is almost a perfect run because there is a lot of elevation gain, but you can run just about all of it. We ended up very high in the mountains on the other side of Alta/Snowbird ski resorts and the views were SAWEEET! We had to do a tricky stream crossing and up near our turnaround spot the temps were sooooo cold and when the wind gusts came through it was bone chilling, but we were all still smiling and laughing the whole time.

The run down was at times fast, but I really enjoyed pushing it a little and it seemed like we were back down to the cars quicker than I expected. Please do not (all 3 of you that read my blog) spray about how incredible this track is. If the word gets out it will start looking like the City Creek BST.

Weights at the gym for an hour with Kristina. She kicked my butt. I wussed out and wanted to stop after 45 minutes, but she shamed me into continuing, but finally I had enough and went upstairs to watch the TV in the cardio room.

Ave Twin Peaks with Je10, CraigL, MattW and Tara:

Fun group! It seemed balmy this morning compared to our run on Sunday. Je10 and Craig motored ahead most of the morning while Tara, Matt and I kept a more rational pace and enjoyed some good conversation all the way up. We never pushed it very hard, but on the way back we picked it up a bit. I took a nice digger after slipping on the ice and Matt couldn't stop laughing. It wasn't very graceful. It was a really good time with great friends. I guess I better get some new goals for 2014.

Insanity class at the gym. It was me and 10 ladies. It was insaaaaaaaaane!

View Benchmark with CraigL:

I met Craig at the trailhead on Vintage View at 5:45 AM. It was warmer than it has been the last few days, but very windy for the first mile. There was fresh snow on the trail, but a bike with one of those fat tires had been through and put in a small track that we used up to the Connector trail. From there we put in our own tracks and then when we hit the VB trail there was a decent track up to the ridge and then from there we were breaking trail up to the summit.

There was a thick fog in Utah County that stopped at the point of the mountain and it was really cool to see that thick soup covering the valley with the lights showing through. It was kind of surreal and looked like something you would see on a movie and then if you looked north the Salt Lake Valley was all lit up and clear. We were pretty slow out there because of the conditions, but it was a great workout and a fun morning.

Lake Mountain with Je10:

I love early Sunday morning runs. Je10 and I had a blast running up Lake Mt. The weather forecast was ominous the night before, but it ended up being decent most of the way. We had a really good run/hike/chat and kept up a decent pace until about 1/4 of a mile before the saddle where the snow got deeper and we slowed down a little. The wind was also picking up and I knew the final push was going to be gusty.

From the saddle to the top was horrendous. The wind was howling and blowing snow across the slope. We were post-holing in thigh deep snow at times and then it would be so windblown that there was almost nothing. Eventually we got off the 'trail' and just went straight up the windblown slope. It reminded me of Everest with the wind and snow and we didn't spend a lot of time on top. I tried to get my camera to take some video, but my phone shut down, but I did snap a few pics.

The run down was fast (for me) and fun. We did 2-3 sub 7 miles and we even raced for a few hundred yards. :) Je10 is FAST! Lucky for me she waited for me and we ran back to the car together. Fun!

Weights at the gym for an hour with Kristina. I spent about 15 minutes in the crossfit room with some friends doing some crossfitty crap. I'm tired, so I guess it was good.

BST from I Street with MattW:

It was soooooo nice out there today. Wow. Matt has been dealing with some back pain, so we decided not to hit any peaks or run too fast. We just did a fun 3.5 miles out and then back on the BST from I Street. This run was just about perfect.

Ave Twin peaks with MVH, Craig and MattW:

5:30 AM start at the Capitol building. This was a really fun group and we had a great time. Matt is nursing a sore back, so we weren't speedy, but that's ok. The trail was pretty icy so we all wore micro-spikes and they were a big help.

Squaw Peak with CraigL and NateY:

I've lived down in the bubble (Utah County) for 12 years now and I can't believe I have never summited Squaw Peak. I deserve a big kick in the nuggets for that one. Craig and I met Nate at 5:45 at the Rock Canyon trailhead. The first half mile was a sheet of pure ice, so it is a good thing we brought spikes. The boys had a pretty good pace running up the steep hill and I tucked in behind them while they chatted away. After about 1.5 miles we took a left turn and wound our way up the back side of the mountain on a very steep, but well packed trail. Spikes were pretty essential and Je10 we saw cougar tracks. :)

About 3 miles in the full moon came into view as we popped out into an incredible meadow. We could see Timp, Cascade and Provo Peaks behind us and the valley floor below and everything was lit up by the bright moon in the northern sky. The last half mile we wound our way up the back side of the peak and topped out in about 1:10. Wow! That is a fantastic view. If you live down in the bubble you need to hit this one.

We picked up the pace and had a really fun run back to the cars. The spikes gave me more confidence and I ran faster than I normally would on the slick snow. As it got light the views of the canyon were sweet. I really enjoyed that trail and I will definitely be back.

I just completed my 2013 recap. Run on over (pun intended) to the Refuse2quit blog to check it out:

http://www.refuse2quit.com/2014/01/2013-year-in-review-by-scott-wesemann.html

Ave Twin Peaks from I Street with MattW:

Shorts, t-shirts, sun and blue sky. It was a pretty amazing day out there above the valley crud. We weren't super fast, but had a very fun run to the top of the Ave Twins.

Tibble Fork with CraigL:

We did this run a few weeks ago with Je10 and had an incredible run, but today Craig wasn't feeling great, so it was a bit slower, but I still enjoyed every mile. On the way up Craig wasn't as chatty as he usually is and we hiked a few times so he could take some gel and try and get out of his funk. We went up 6 miles and then decided to turn around. We got high enough to see Devil's Castle and it looked absolutely stunning. Going down was more fun as Craig felt a little better and we talked all the way back to the car. It was bitter cold up high, but it heated up the last few miles. This is a really fun track and I'm sure we'll hit it again in a week or two.

Weights at the gym for 50 minutes working my upper body and core with Kristina.

Ave Twin Peaks with MattW from I Street.

Once again we had a blue sky, fresh air, shorts and t-shirts were all we needed. As my grandma would say it was a lovely run. It was a tad icy and a bit muddy, but nothing serious. We met a really talkative dude on the summit that was blabbering on about political crap. I enjoyed it. It was a fun run down and a pretty awesome day.

Ave Twins with Je10:

We had a really good run from the state capitol building up to the Ave Twin Peaks. The air down in the valley was disgusting, but as we climbed higher the winds picked up and by time we hit the summit we could see the mucky crap blowing out of the valley. It was actually pretty cool to watch.

The lower section of trail was solid ice in places and I took a digger, but not a digger. We both put on spikes and wore them the rest of the run.

Hidden Peak from Tibble Fork with Je10, Neasts, Craig and Leslie:

This was one of the best runs I have done all winter. We have been running this route from Tibble Fork for a few weeks now and earlier in the week some of the group had tried to go all the way to Hidden Peak, but they couldn't get up the final steep slopes because they didn't have micro-spikes. We started around 9:00 PM in the dark and ran the graded snow covered road for 9 miles into Mineral Basin. The bottom half of the road isn't in very great shape because of all of the snowmobile traffic, but it isn't too bad. There are just a lot of moguls and bumps, but the last half is phenomenal.

We kept a pretty good running pace up hill all the way up to Larry's Hole which is a lift area on Snowbird property in Mineral Basin. The snow making machines were on and there was a shack there with two Snowbird employees that seemed rather shocked to see us there. They told us that we could go all the way to the peak if we wanted, so we all put on our micro-spikes and took a very direct route straight up the steep slope. After a few minutes the angle of the slope became steep and I was a little worried that we were going to run into some solid ice, but it never got too bad. It was just a touch sketchy. :) We ended up in a gully that we ascended and eventually ran into the track that had been graded by a snowcat just near the summit and we jumped on that for the final few switchbacks to the top. WOW! What a view. Hitting an 11K ft. peak in the middle of the winter is quite a rush and I felt a surge of adrenaline that prompted some high fives and hugs.

On the summit there is a ski patrol shack and thankfully it was open. The lights, water and heat were on, but nobody was in the main room, so we helped ourselves to some water, the toilets and the much needed heat. We took a group photo, grabbed some calories and then it was back out into the cold. We took the snowcat track all the way back down to Larry's Hole because we did not want to get back on that steep slope to go down, plus the running was much better. It was a blast running fast down the track and within minutes we were back down to the Larry's shack looking back up at the peak.

From there a few of the crew went sliding down on their butts and Leslie broke out a sled that she had hauled up the mountain and she took a few really long runs down. It looked like fun, but I wasn't in the mood for any butt busting, so I just ran down. The run back down to the car was fun. We were all pretty tired and the last few miles were tough, but we got it done. What an adventure!

Weights at the gym with Kristina for an hour working my upper body/core. Meathead.

View Benchmark with Je10 and Craig:

We ran from Ann's trail via Vintage View. The trail was actually in decent shape with only a little bit of ice, but it was very runnable. We had a very solid run up to the peak without stopping much and then had a good cruise down.

Ave Twin Peaks with Tara, CraigL and Toly:

We met at the Capitol building at 5:30 this morning and it was pretty warm out and as we ran up City Creek Canyon and got out of the muck it heated up even more. I probably should have shed my jacket, but I didn't want to stop and mess with it. I wasn't feeling all that great this morning. No energy. Luckily Tara was nice and hung back with me while the other two blasted up to the top.

I wore my micro-spikes most of the way because there was still ice on the trail, but there was a lot of dirt too and it was kind of annoying having them on. I never felt great, but it was still fun to get out with good friends and get in some miles.

5 at the gym and then an hour of church ball where I fell on my arse and sprained my ankle. CHURCHBALL!!!