14th Annual Elk Mountains Grand Traverse 2011

This short video recaps my adventure with my race partner Jon Gibans in the 14th Annual Elk Mountains Grand Traverse 2011 starting in Crested Butte, Colorado at Midnight March 26, 2011 and finishing ten hours and forty-six minutes, and thirty-eight miles later at the base of Little Nell next to the Silver Queen Gondola in Aspen, Colorado. You could not have asked for better weather. It was dumping snow and the wind was howling when we departed Crested Butte at Midnight. I was worried the race was going to become the Grand Reverse again. When we arrived at Friends Hut about five hours into the race, the clouds parted and made for a spectacular moonlit ascent of Star Pass. Coming down Star Pass with two feet of fresh snow in the dark was interesting. The highlight for me was watching the sun rise as we approached Taylor Pass. When we arrived at Barnard Hut I knew we were close. I was like a horse going back to the barn on Richmond Ridge. We finished strong! Check out my wipeout in Spar Gulch. That’s what happens when you put a snowboarder on skis. Thanks to my race partner Jon Gibans for a great race and Joel Lee at AVP for capturing and editing the footage. Enjoy!