The Grand Traverse is a ski mountaineering race, from Crested Butte to Aspen. Beginning at midnight, racers ascend 7800 vertical feet and trek 37 miles... crossing the finish line at the base of Ajax.
Depending on conditions there can be frostbite, dehydration and injuries. Equipment failures and pace problems can force retreat back to the start.
Teams of two are required because of the treacherous conditions of the course,
and mandatory gear like survival tents, avalanche shovels and 24 hours worth of food are required at checkpoints along the way. The number of entries is limited in case emergency evacuations are required. The race filled up within ten hours this year; there are almost 100 teams currently on the waitlist.
There are also ten slots reserved for teams who are using the race as a way to fundraise to support charities.
Snowmass Village residents Jeff Clark and Jack Linehan are one of those teams. Through their Race4Nepalteam, they hope to raise twenty five thousand dollars to give toward reconstructing homes in Lalitpur, Nepal, which was destroyed by an earthquake last April.
The J-Bombers, as they call themselves, train together on the Aspen Snowmass ski areas nearly every day. Skinning up tiehack or the bowl, and then bombing down. And then doing it again, lap after lap, to prepare for the trek across the Elk Mountains.
The pair participated in the Grand Traverse last year — but without a disciplined training regimen. Clark says he experienced an unexpected range of emotions and self discovery.
“I started having these rotating thoughts in my head like ‘why am I doing this? You are such an idiot,’” said Clark. “And then you start going up Star Pass and you’re like this is the worst idea ever and finally you crest to the top of the pass - then the sun is just coming through and I was like ‘best idea you’ve ever had in your life!’”
This year, Clark and Linehan say they have extra motivation because of their charitable cause. They are very aware that they are electing to put themselves in strenuous conditions whereas the families they are raising money for don't have a choice. However hard it feels for them — at least they have a home.
None of the charity team racers are professional athletes. They are not competing to win, and are “working in” their training around jobs, family, and in some cases without mountains to practice on.
Liz Onufer lives in Victor, Idaho, and is racing for Camp to Belong. She is an avid backcountry skier, but after losing a friend in an avalanche… she stopped cold — until this season, with the greater mission of connecting foster children with their siblings.
“There were points over the last few years where I didn't know if i would go back to backcountry skiing which was so hard for me because i absolutely love it out there. It's where i find my true spirit. If these kids can get by and survive literally every day which I know is a challenge for them, then I can push myself back into places where i know that my heart truly is even though it scares me”
Because Onufer works nine to five during the week she is only able to get in a fat-bike ride or a quick run. On the weekends she goes out with her boyfriend and race partner on 7 to 8 hour ski tours in the Tetons. Her boyfriend is a natural athlete. It was only in her early 30s that Onufer began to incorporate fitness into her life, losing 60 pounds. Along with the physical training, she and her boyfriend, are also trying to prepare for the tough moments along the race course.
“The first couple hours i think the excitement and everybody around will kind of fuel us but come 3, 4, 5 in the morning I am a little more concerned. Because we've been out in the dark for a while and it's a few hours before sunrise and that's when it gets really mentally challenging.”
Ron Klabunde began Generosity Feeds when he realized that even in his wealthy community right outside of Washington DC there were children who didn’t have enough to eat.
As he has trained this year for the Grande Traverse, the hardest aspect for him has been the time he’s given up spending with his own children as he travels hours to the closest mountains.
The vast expanses of Taylor Pass, one of the most remote, desolate, and exposed parts of the #GrandTraverse route from #CrestedButte to #Aspen. @fenlonphoto A photo posted by The Grand Traverse (@thegrandtraverse) on Mar 16, 2016 at 11:52am PDT
“I’ve already told my wife and kids when they see me at the finish line that i am going to bawl my eyes out like a baby because it’ll be a half year of pent up emotions towards a major goal and its accomplishment”
Klabunde’s training partner is a decade younger and lives in Evergreen, Colorado. He says they have a mentor-mentee relationship, and are getting mentally prepared for the highs and lows of race day.
“We both imagine it’s gonna be hell. I think the idea of doing it sounds glorious but when you take time to factor in what is truly going on during all of that there’s no question it’s a mentally and physically grueling race”
Kate Koons is racing this year for the Andy Tyson Memorial Fund. Andy is her friend. He and another friend AJ Linnell died in a plane crash this year. There is also an AJ memorial team. In honor of the adventurous spirit of Andy, in combination with her 40th birthday, Koons decided to test herself in the Grand Traverse.
“It’s totally a race that Andy would have done. And he wouldn't have told anybody about it and he probably would have won - we won’t be winning”
Koons is based in Victor, Idaho. She works for the National Outdoor Leadership Schoo, and gets to train for the Grand Traverse through her professional work as a backcountry instructor.
Funds raised for the Andy Tyson Memorial Fund will go to scholarships for people in developing mountain nations to receive professional mountaineering training, such as a NOLS course.
Koons and her partner will be wearing Wonder Women outfits during their descent of Aspen Mountain — a gift from Andy’s wife Molly. The two have been on many adventures together, and Koons says they approach challenge in similar ways.
“Where we keep coming back to is we just share the same mindset. If things aren’t going well it’s not like we are going to be really upset. We are doing this for fun and we are doing this in honor of Andy.”
Earlier this month, locals Clark and Linehan participated in the Audi Power of Four race across all of the Aspen Skiing Co.’s ski areas… a little “warm up” for the Grand Traverse. The event occurred just weeks after Linehan had an emergency appendectomy.
This Saturday, a fundraising event at Justice Snow’s will include information about the community they are raising money for in Nepal, and presentations on ski mountaineering. The J Bombers are more than halfway to their fundraising goal, and feel they are in peak condition for the race later this month.
“But we are very humbled still by the length of it and the conditions because you never know,” said Linehan. “I think this year has taught Jeff and I a lot about preparation so we are pretty confident we can meet that challenge.”
