Janelle Smiley defends home hill in skimo race

Marshall Thompson carries local flag among the men

Even without the Guides Ridge included, the course put the smack down on several racers at the 2013 Crested Butte Ski Mountaineering (skimo) race Saturday, January 26.
The Guides Ridge was the crown jewel in the race last year but low snow and sketchy conditions prevented skimo competitors from making the spectacular ascent to the summit of Crested Butte Mountain.
As a result, race organizers, resort officials and the Crested Butte Professional Ski Patrol designed a course that would put the wood to racers in a different way, length.
The course for the race division was 16 miles long and included a tour of Snodgrass, the Headwall and Teocalli Bowl with over 7,000 feet of climbing rife with an egregious number of switchbacks.
“In true CB Fashion, it was more technical than any other course,” says local racer and third place finisher Marshall Thompson. “Going up the Peel with that many kick-turns was brutal.”
While a course like that would obviously humble even the quasi-fit skimo athlete, some of the leaders even showed the wear and tear of the slog. One skier sitting in seventh or eighth place, i.e. very fit, even paused as he climbed up the Headwall Ridge late in the race to ask, “Is this the last climb?”
You know that guy was hurting.
Janelle Smiley won the women’s race and while she’s had a pretty smooth season thus far, including winning the National title in Jackson, Wyoming, the Crested Butte race was tough.
“I think the course was extremely hard,” says Smiley. “Harder than the Jackson race. Doing 600,000 kick turns is pretty tiring.”
Smiley had a rough start despite her strategy to start out slow as she headed up the Snodgrass climb with Eva Hagen on her tails.
“I thought I might not win the race,” says Smiley.
She turned it around once she started climbing back up Painter Boy and found her rhythm heading up the Peel but still couldn’t shake Eva.
“She was so strong,” says Smiley of Eva. “ I decided I better pick up the pace on transitions and the downhills.”
Smiley finally built a gap on the way down to the Headwall and by the time she was done boot-packing her way up the Headwall, she was comfortably in front.
Smiley carried her lead down into, and up out of, Teocalli Bowl, along the Headwall Ridge and came across the finish line with a time of 3:32:31. Jari Kirkland ended up catching Hagen after the Peel climb to move into second place overall and Hagen rounded out the women’s podium.
“I think it took longer than any of us expected,” says Smiley.
The leaders for the men put up otherworldly splits along the course. A lead group including hometown competitors Marshall Thompson and Brian Smith made it from the base of Crested Butte Mountain, over the top of Painter Boy and across the valley to the fence by the Snodgrass Trail sign in 25 minutes. Not the fence by the road, but the fence at the top of the first hill where the singletrack starts in the summer.
The leaders did the full Snodgrass tour, up and down, in 40 minutes flat and remained on the throttle for the entire race.
John Gaston out of Aspen and Thompson were dueling through the mulitude of switchbacks in the Peel when Aspen racer Max Taam used his technique to reel them in.
Thompson remained in the mix the entire way but could not make a move with the course conditions the way they were.
“It was really hard to power through, make a move and pass,” says Thompson.
Two hours and 40 minutes into the race, Gaston and Taam were leading the charge along the Headwall Ridge for the top of the High lift before the final descent with Thompson 15 seconds back.
Taam would take the lead on the final descent to finish in a time of 2:54:43. Gaston came in second place and Marshall Thompson finished in third place with a time of 2:55:47.
Both Thompson and Smiley will take their skimo talents overseas to compete as part of the U.S. Ski Mountaineering team at the World Championships in France February 9-15. Smiley will then remain in France to compete on the World Cup circuit.
“I’ve never raced over there but looking at past results gives me an idea that it’s gonna be tough,” says Thompson.
“I’m hoping to have it together in two weeks,” says Smiley. “When I get over there, it’s go time. I just want to thank the Crested Butte community for all of the support. It’s just amazing.”