Jimmy Chin set the bar at 10 hours for skiing the Grand Teton last winter, and now Dan Kaslow and Luke Lynch have set the bar (as far as I know) for most laps on Glory. I was informed of this feat yesterday morning when I was directed to TheSnaz.com, who broke the story on their micro-blog. Turns out Dan did 10 laps in 11 hours, and Luke did an amazing 12 laps in 13 hours…for a total of approximately 19,900′!
I sent out a few emails and Dan got back to me with some specifics.
It was just a fun day hiking The Pass. The snow was great, which was a huge influence on our motivation. Our original intentions were to try to do 12 laps in 12 hours. Our allotted time period was 6am-6pm. After losing some time right from the start due to breaking trail on the first run, we were able to make up some time through lap 5…but eventually began to fall behind schedule. Time became less of an issue, but continuing on efficiently was still enjoyable. Every hike was from the parking lot to the summit…every run was on Twin Slides…and every lap we stopped to hydrate and eat at the car. One complete lap (hike, ski, feed) took about an hour.
After 10 laps my thermostat broke and I couldn’t keep warm even when hiking in a down jacket, probably due to dehydration and the mass quantities of ham and cheese sandwiches I ate containing maybe a little too much salt. The Hammer Gel and Triple Threats became unappetizing after lap #4. The legs were tired, but not sore or non-functioning…just lacking spring.
Luke, although acting a little strange, wanted to push on for 12 regardless of time and lack of any more blueberry danishes. Thanks to some great friends Marc and Mugsy, who met up with us in the late afternoon, Luke had some company to finish off a dozen by 7pm.
Neither of us were very sore over the next two days, just slightly exhausted and hungry. Although it’s still a little soon to even look at Glory again, I would like to try again for 12 in 12 with the bootpack ready in the morning. Just a silly idea played out with great friends and perfect snow.
-Dan Kaslow
Though these kinds of things are silly to some, I enjoy hearing about speed and record setting achievements in the mountains, and no doubt this one took a huge effort. I think the most laps I have ever done in a day on Glory was 5, and I remember feeling it a bit… physically. Congratulations to Dan and Luke!!!!
As a competitive athlete, of course I have to question and study this one. Here is something to put it into perspective though. Last year, at the 24 Hours of Sunlight Race, 5 racers skinned over 25,000′ in the first 13 hours of the event. So I guess the question is…is skinning quicker than booting?
that is so awesome. 19, 900 feet of perfection. it inspires me to do more than 3 one of these days.
Awesome job, guys. Gets my pulse going thinking about taking on the challenge. Steve and I just might have to throw down to keep things interesting. Stupid to some but fun for us.
A few observations on the Sunlight vs. Glory thing:
Seems like Luke and Dan have good motors so there is negligible time loss there. The boot pack is more steady uphill than Sunlight which has long flatter sections. Sunlight is 1502 ft vs. Glory at 1670 ft. The downhill at SL is super cruiser, no brainer and fast. For the racers, there is nearly no transition time at least part of the time when they jump out of one pair of skis and into another.
Clearly, the most time is lost on the descent and then in the transitions. Optimal conditions and some planning could see the 12 in 12 become a reality. Stay tuned…
[…] The skiing was phenomenal and the snow was like velvety butter. I was feeling tired after the fifth lap and wondered how on earth those guys did 12 laps (or was it 13) last year. I’ve often thought about seeing how many I can do, but it is obvious that I would want to lighten up the load even more to have a chance at coming close. […]