Lecht Skimo

-
After some more wet and windy mild weather we did finally get some snow, and pictures of the snow conditions looked great at the Lecht on the 27th Dec. I missed the chance to get out as I was on a cyclocross mission with Gary Mac - linking Glen Creran to Glencoe via a route I've wanted to do for a while.

 https://www.strava.com/activities/457309432

Unfortunately the mega thaw was set to come in on race day for the Lecht 2090 Skimo race - the first of the 2015/16 season.

And thaw it certainly did. Arriving at the Lecht there were two immediately obvious issues - a) there really wasn't very much snow and b) it was really very windy. Despite these fairly major issues Di and the Skimo Scotland team battled through Plan A, B and C to come up with a race course.

https://www.strava.com/activities/458215985

All pictures: Mr Drew Photography

Around 29 racers set off on the muddy soggy bootpack across towards the Buzzard tow, then skis on and up a short and steep climb to another transition. Then it was down a dwindling-before-our-eyes piste to the bottom of the bootpack again. The race was in a laps format over 90 minutes - I did 12 laps in total, although I had lost count after the first few. Because they were such short laps (between 7 and 8 minutes for myself) there were only a few minutes between each transition and I was drawn into working really hard as I knew I was getting a (brief) rest each downhill, which was never far away. Skins got soaked, as did boots. Despite real worries about catastrophic skin failure, I raced the whole thing on one pair which thankfully held out - although I had another 2 sets spare, and emergency tape too.



The downhill was pretty comedy. You had to skate against the howling wind to get going, then basically straight line it until you started to slow as the heather patches got bigger and the snow receded. By the end it was pretty muddy and grassy down at the bottom! The marshals were amazing as it must have been pretty cold and grim watching us all loop around forever.


We had managed to start a little early so got finished just before dark. Then it was straight in for some much needed food and a generous prizegiving. Everyone seemed to still be smiling.



So, the race conditions were certainly extremely Scottish! I would love to have seen the look on a French or Italian Skimo racer's face if they had turned up. A few things that were highlighted however were that light race kit and skins are fairly adaptable and resiliant even in pseudo conditions, and that it doesn't take much actual snow to have an enjoyable and successful skimo race!

Hopefully we will get some more of the white stuff for some touring and adventures before the next race in January at Glenshee.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cairngorm 4000ers Record

-
Image
There were two factors that both worried and excited me in equal measure as I set out to attempt the Cairngorm 4000ers record. The first was the weather: it was fairly blustery and a familiar wall of cloud hugged the plateau around Braeriach, as it often does. Cairngorm itself was clear and despite a few very light showers I hoped the cloud would blow off before I got across the Lairig Ghru. The other factor was that I didn’t know exactly what Ally Beaven’s 2017 record was, having been unorganised and then suffered in the morning from the frustrating technological calamity known as “the internet is broken”. So I set off with Paul Raistrick’s split times and the knowledge that Ally had broken this 2007 record by several minutes, exact quantity unknown! I last ran the route in April 2017 when there was a fair bit of spring snow still around. This made several parts slow going, and some sections of whiteout navigation from Cairn Toul onwards had augmented this. Still, I felt pretty p
Read more

Welsh 3000ers Record

-
Image
For me a good challenge involves pushing myself in the mountains. For it to be really engaging it would need to involve at least some technical ground - rough tracks, scree runs, a wee bit of scrambling. It would be about speed but also stamina, a route that would push me hard. Racing is good, but an ‘against the clock’ solo adventure is often better. You’re still racing your biggest rival and harshest critic. As an example, when I first started reccying the Cuillin Ridge Traverse in 2012 I had no idea if the record was even possible for me. I’d have guessed my chances were below fifty-fifty. The unknown factor is key to the allure: daring to try, trying in the face of possible failure. Records have a magic about them too - a lifetime of experience, often days of planning, hours of exact physical and mental execution summarised to just a time. A time to strive for; to beat. And of course, the older the record the bigger the draw. With time grows a mystique: both enticing and cautionar
Read more

NEW Cuillin Ridge Traverse record

-
Image
On Saturday 12 th October 2013 I had one of the most memorable runs of my life to give a new Cuillin Ridge Traverse record of 2hrs 59mins 22 seconds. This traverse, in perfect running conditions, was my fourth this year. As before, the definition followed was that of previous records and took in the 11 Munro summits, plus the Sgurr Thearlaich and Bidein Druim nan Ramh tops, and the four main ‘climbing’ sections (the TD Gap; Kings Chimney on Sgurr Mhic Choinnich; the Inaccessible Pinnacle; and Naismith’s Route on the Bhasteir Tooth). I started on Gars-bheinn at 12 noon and finished on Sgurr nan Gillean at 2.59.22pm. On Gars-bheinn a few minutes before setting off... (pic: R.Wild) Last week I was chatting with friends and psych reached boiling point as we realised that conditions for the weekend were looking good. Very good. My dad, Roger Wild, was more than happy to accompany me for an attempt during this October weather window so we headed up to Glen Brittle on Frid
Read more