Author Archives: Jld

2010 marks the third year of the La Sportiva Mountain Cup trail race series. With the goal of the Cup being to support and promote trail running in North America, La Sportiva is extremely gracious for the support from the Cup’s associate sponsors, Fleet Feet Sports Boulder and W.L. Gore & Associates, makers of the GORE-TEX® brand. The Cup’s emphasis is on fun, fast (or in my case, slow) beautiful trail races in North America-distances vary from 5 miles up to a marathon. The series features ten trail races in North America, offering $25,000 in prize money. To enter the Mountain Cup all you have to do is sign up for a participating race, and cash and prizes will be issued at the end of the series.

As this summer’s seventh La Sportiva Mountain Cup race coincided with Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City, we thought it would be an appropriate culmination to finish the week (filled with many discussions about La Sportiva’s new Spring 2011 MorphoDynamic™ Technology) with a big run. So, along with 6 very motivated and talented journalists, La Sportiva North America teamed up with W.L. Gore & Associates to host a media trip that centered around running a 16 mile mountain race. Yes, Park City’s Jupiter Peak Steeplechase, an endurance race for the trail warrior, is a 16-mile +/- trail running loop on challenging single track trail with 3,000′ of elevation gain. So on Friday afternoon, when everyone had already departed home for their weekends, our group packed up and headed to Park City for a little more work.

After checking into Park City’s famed Sky Lodge, we decided we weren’t in a bad place to conduct some post-OR show work after all. Named as one of the seven best resorts in the world by the Robb Report in 2008, the Sky Lodge didn’t let us down. Upon seeing our rooms, I realized we could have probably fit the whole group in one room? And, I kind of wished I could sleep-in and enjoy all the luxurious amenities, rather than getting up and running a 16 mile mountain race. What was I thinking? I took it in stride though, and decided, “This is how La Sportiva rolls.”

Time to get to work though, La Sportiva North America’s President, Jonathan Lantz, gives us the lowdown on the new MorphoDynamic™ Technology which debuted at Outdoor Retailer and will start to appear on trails nationwide in 2011.

Courtesy of W.L. Gore & Associates, and their gracious host, Cynthia Amon, our media group was treated to a fabulous dinner at Robert Redford’s own Zoom restaurant, on Park City’s Main Street after our 2010 line presentation from La Sportiva. We scheduled the dinner for 6pm, with the goal being to load up on protein (and ice cream) and still have time to digest before the big race in the morning.

Thanks again to the six journalists who stuck around after OR to join such a grueling press trip! Their work can be seen in such media outlets as Backpacker, Competitor, Explore, Gear Junkie, Outside, Running Times, Trail Runner and Triathlete. And a big shout out goes to media partner, iRunFar.com, who has covered the last two years of the La Sportiva Mountain Cup with race results, informative interviews, video excerpts and contest giveaways. While we know they are all great journalists, would they be up for the La Sportiva Mountain Cup Challenge? Race day would be here soon.

La Sportiva's Marketing Manager, Claudio Angaran, made the trip from Italy to compete!

La Sportiva media group sporting their new running Gore-Tex® jackets shortly before the race

And we’re off!

All attending press were provided the La Sportiva Wildcat GTX with GORE-TEXr brand.

La Sportiva’s Bernie Boettcher improved on his third place finish from last year’s race to win this year. He worked his way up from an early fifth position into the lead before running away from the rest of the field. He won in 1:52:12, more than 5 minutes ahead of second place, David Derkacs (1:57:31).

La Sportiva’s Megan Kimmel led from the gun to repeat as the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase women’s champion. She ran 2:12:45, which was just a few seconds off her time from last year. The race puts her in a good position to repeat as the women’s Mountain Cup series champ, as well.

The champions together!

And no, we don’t really have to talk about what time I crossed the finish line.

Let’s just say, I needed a shower and a ride back to the Sky Lodge after it was all over! Thanks Gore!

Tune in to iRunFar.com as we gear up for the finale of the 2010 La Sportiva Mountain Cup with the Up and Over 10k race next weekend in Taos, NM. Additionally, make sure to check out Steeplechase race reports from iRunFar.com & the Gear Junkie.

Photos courtesy of La Sportiva’s own Giulia Delladio and Broudy/Donohue Photography. Thank you both!

Time to start getting ready for my next La Sportiva Mountain Cup race….

Last week, Backbone Media partners Black Diamond and La Sportiva played host to a group of 6 journalists for some product testing in the heart of the San Juan Mountain Range, in southwestern Colorado.  While the underlying premise of the trip centered around introducing the journalists to the new S11 Pack Line from Black Diamond and the S10 FC ECO Series from La Sportiva, we were lucky enough to receive additional product support from other Backbone partners and friends including:  Honey Stinger, Hydrapak, Outdoor Research, Polartec® and SmartWool®.  Thanks to all the manufacturers for your support as it really made for a great trip for everyone!

Warning:  The photos you are about to see include images of highly skilled “chossaneers”  performing their passions with top secret product to debut at this summer’s Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Please do not attempt to repeat any of these stunts without the guidance of Clint, Bean and Cory at the San Juan Mountain Guides, based out of Ouray, Colorado. And of course, without getting a great night’s sleep at one of Ouray’s finest lodges, the Box Canyon Lodge.

Some “motley” members of the testing team preparing for duty.

On the way up the Queen of the San Juans, the 14,150-foot Mt Sneffels.

The climbing was interesting near the summit of the SW Ridge of Mount Sneffels.

The obligatory summit pose…with cardboard sign that we borrowed from another peak bagger.

The clouds were rolling in as we descended into the valley below.

Day two included an ascent of the 14,017-foot Wilson Peak.  Entering the land of the choss!

And another meeting on the summit about to begin…

Most people are over it…I know.

Forecast is calling for snow in Carbondale tomorrow, yet for some folks that doesn’t really matter.  They’ve said goodbye to “Old Man” winter and have signed up for spring.  It’s time for shorts &  flops, longer days, outdoor BBQ’s, float trips, bike rides and of course, weekend trips to Fruita and Moab.  I’d bet the chances are good that these same people will be clamoring for winter come July?

Instead of fighting the tide, I decided to join some friends recently on an atypical spring pilgrimage to the desert.  With temps at home flirting near 70 degrees, I packed up my skis and all my warm clothes and headed for the La Sal Mountains.  The La Sals are located near the eastern border of the state of Utah, rising above the town of Moab. The maximum elevation is at Mount Peale, reaching 12,721 feet (3,877 m) above sea level. The range contains three clusters of peaks separated by passes. The peaks span a distance of about 18 miles (25 km).  Having spent a majority of my winter preparing for the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse (for a race report), always having some sort of training objective in order, it felt great to be headed to the La Sals with only a few goals in mind:  to explore a new mountain range & have fun skiing with friends.

OK, I have to be honest, we had some goals.  Our first one was Little Tuk – 12,048 feet.  Not the tallest peak that we climbed in the La Sals, but in my opinion one of the nicest ski lines.  And then off to Mount Tukuhnikivatz – 12,482 feet (3805 m) – aka Big Tuk.  Can you say Tu-kuhn-ik-ivatz really fast 10 times?

And lastly, it was off to Mount Mellenthin – 12,645 feet (3854 m), the second highest peak in the range.

For sure this was my best trip to Moab ever.  And I was skiing.  So cool to be looking at the desert floor from the peaks above!  So for all of you like me, still clinging on to “Old Man Winter,” if it’s getting a little to warm where you are…keep an adventure like the La Sals in mind.  Time to plan for my next ski trip on Saturday.  Sounds like we will have some fresh POW…

Jonny, Micah and Wade

Words cannot express how we feel about your sudden departure.  There is a huge void right now.  We will miss you and look forward to the next time we adventure together.

See Renan Ozturk’s Video:  Huge Loss of Wade, Micah and Jonny in Sichuan Mountains of China

Just getting back from an awesome week with some great “peeps” in eastern Utah’s San Rafael Swell. Our team of twelve assembled near Goblin Valley to do some testing of the Black Diamond Spring 2010 pack line. The deep, narrow canyons of the Swell were excellent testing grounds, giving us the opportunity to explore some of the most incredible terrain anywhere.

Breakfast Pack Discussion-Day One

Let the games begin.  Art or no art?  Time for some cairn spotting…

Mapping out the route ahead

Making sure not to disturb the “crypto,” our first “tour de jour” included Swell classics Little Wildhorse and Bells Canyon.

Black Diamond intern and Colorado Rocky Mountain School “graduate-to-be,” Hayden Kennedy.  Feeling energized, Hayden is psyching himself up for his next jaunt to Hanksville with jLd.

When we exited Little Wild Horse, the clouds rolled in and thunder storms skirted to the east.  The weather was cooperating though, as the clouds kept things cool on the hike out.

Heading out of the slots

Our next day we headed to Upper Chute Canyon.

Penn looking back through the keyhole slot.

Kristin rocking the full body stem, with Ryan and Justin wondering whether they should do the same?

At every turn, a new corridor…a new space to explore.

Resting for the final push out from Upper Chute Canyon.

Desert flowers.  And some more sun…we were leaving the slots behind.

A self portrait wraps up another great day with friends in the Rafael Swell.

May 18-21, 2009