Nearing Star Pass from the north on day 2 of the dual sport races, with Taylor Peak in back.
In the spring of 2021, Dylan and I completed the Grand Traverse Ski from Crested Butte to Aspen. It’s known one of those uber-classic Colorado events and being into it’s 25th year, is the longest running ski mountaineering race in North America. Around a decade ago race organizers decided to add Grand Traverse summer events, namely an ultramarathon from Crested Butte to Aspen which follows a very similar route as the ski race, along with a mountain bike race from Aspen back to CB the following day. Ever since finishing the ski I had wanted to go back for the run and bike races, and finally did so at the beginning of the month.
The Grand Traverse summer route. The only real deviation from the winter ski route is on the CB side where the course wraps around the south side of Crested Butte Mountain rather than around to the north. Click to enlarge.
Truth be told I wasn’t sure if I’d be doing either event until about 2 weeks prior to race day, as life has been doing its best to get in the way of silly things like races this summer. Though fairly well-trained for the bike race, I’d had a pretty meager summer of trail running and arrived on race day to be what I considered the least trained I’d ever been going into an ultra. With this in mind and especially knowing the bike race was the following day, I was determined to take things easy out of the gate and try to place extra focus on nutrition and hydration throughout the day.
At the race start in Crested Butte, 6am, August 31st.
I started near the very back of the pack and didn’t mind when 300+ runners all funneled into a singletrack trail within the first quarter mile of the race, grinding everyone to a halt. Though not the best course design in my opinion, it forced a slow start to day which was fine by me despite the grumblings from other runners around me. In my opinion the race could benefit from starting off along a service road, or else starting runners in waves. That’s pretty much my only critique for what is otherwise a very well-run ultra event.
Heading north towards Brush Creek after looping around the south side of Crested Butte Mountain. That’s Teocalli in back.
Several miles of gradual ascent up Brush Creek, with Star Pass up ahead in the distance.
Star Pass more or less marks the point of no return; once over it you’re pretty much committed to continuing to Aspen one way or another.
Off the northeast side of the pass with Star Peak above.
The long, undulating road along Richmond Ridge.
Once around the corner and up onto Richmond Ridge, it was just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other for many miles on what seems like the dirt road that never ends This part of the day brought back memories of the ski race, with many sections very recognizable from Dylan and I’s slog across the same route on skis. One big difference – from the top of Ajax Mountain, rather than being able to ski 4,000 feet down to the finish line, you’ve gotta do it on foot. I just took it easy, well aware of how much I’d need some life left in my quads the following morning, and eventually crossed the finish line in just under 9 hours.
A little later Anna-Lisa and Parker came and picked me up, after which we headed to our accommodations for the evening in Snowmass Village and then into town for dinner. We hit the sack early after packing and getting our bikes ready to go. In the morning Anna-Lisa dropped us off at the start line, then drove Parker’s truck back to Eagle County. Needless to say, the logistics involved with any of the Grand Traverse races are not what I’d call straightforward.
Climbing the summer service road up Ajax on a fine Sunday morning.
The bike is more or less an exact reversal of the run route, apart from a few minor changes including the ascent up Ajax which takes the summer road to the top. It’s a steep, tough 4,000 foot climb more or less straight up the frontside of the mountain, the silver lining being you get roughly half of the day’s elevation gain over with in the first 5 miles of the race.
Castle Peak from Richmond Ridge.
Parker and I stuck together for the climb up Ajax, intent on beating the 2 hour cutoff to the top which is a bit tight in my opinion but seemed pretty doable. Past the first aid station I could tell Parker had a bit more pep in his fresher legs and decided I wasn’t (couldn’t) going to try to keep up with him. From that point on Parker took off and rode his own race, and I found myself walking my bike up sections that I normally wouldn’t just to give my quads a rest.
Star Pass for the second time in 2 days.
Not surprisingly the route along Richmond Ridge goes much faster on a bike than either on foot or skis. It was nice to crest the various humps along the ridge and bomb down the other side, covering numerous miles in mere minutes. But as soon as the route wraps around Taylor Peak, it steepens and riders are faced with a mandatory hike-a-bike to the top of Star Pass.
Attaining Star Pass was brutal but the reward on the other side is a huge descent all the way down Brush Creek which covers at least 10 miles of ground. It’s basically either downhill or flat all the way to the final aid station south of Crested Butte Mountain. Again, being able to knock out another 10-15 miles of ground in 30 or 40 minutes is something that simply isn’t possible on foot or ski.
Rounding the west side of Crested Butte Mountain with the finish line near.
I got a second wind on the final climb along the Upper Upper Loop trail, and coasted through the finish line not long after to find Parker waiting. Turns out in the end I was only around 10-15 behind him for a majority of the day. He said he had a good race and was happy with his day overall.
Done.
And done.
After some beer and barbeque we rolled on over to my truck, then took the scenic route home over Kebler Pass.
All in all the GT Dual Sport was a great experience. Now having completed all 3 modes of travel, I’d have to say my favorite of the 3 was the bike. It’s interesting how the ski took 12 hours, the run 9 hours and the bike 6 hours. Maybe I’m just all about the fastest way to the beer these days 🙂
Cheers!