The Gear Junkie: Ultimate Mountain Challenge Race II
The Teva Mountain Games' Native Eyewear 10K Spring Runoff is touted as one of the most challenging footraces in the nation. Indeed, the course goes up Colorado's Vail Mountain and includes 6.5 miles of
trail that climbs and climbs for 1,800 vertical feet.
On a Sunday morning in early June, I ran the 10K as part of the Ultimate Mountain Challenge, a four-event race series.
At the start line, I pocketed a single energy gel--a $4 Enervit Enervitene Cheerpack--and laced up my Teva X-1 Evolution trail-running shoes. With four major climbs, the precipitous course dispersed the race pack in a hurry. The elite runners galloped uphill like mountain goats. People at the back of the pack walked on the initial ascent.
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The Gear Junkie: Ultimate Mountain Challenge Race I
The alpine wilds of Vail, Colo., are an ultimate testing grounds for outdoors gear. Earlier this month, as part of the Teva Mountain Games festival, I raced in an event aptly called the Ultimate Mountain Challenge. It included trail running, kayaking, mountain biking, and a road bike time trial past 9,500 feet on Vail Pass.
In addition to a few months of training, I banked on new trail running, cycling and kayaking gear to help me through the challenge. The competition--which adds your cumulative score of all four events
to crown a winner--began with a kayak sprint race down Gore Creek in Vail.
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June 05, 2009
Teva Mountain Games Update
The 2009 Teva Mountain Games started yesterday with Bud Light and Jackson Kayak's Steep Creek Championships. Mike Dawson and Nikki Kelly, both Kiwis, won the sixth annual event on Homestake Creek. Dawson edged out last year's winner Tao Berman on a section of Class V whitewater that drops 480 feet in a quarter mile. His winning time of 3:41.63 was less than a second faster than Berman, while Kelly, the women's winner, edged out Tanya Faux by a twentieth of a second. A round of the pro-freestyle kayaking event is being held this afternoon and the preliminaries of the women's bouldering competition ended this morning.
But this year's festive mood has been tempered by the death of Drew Hunter, 29. Yesterday, the kayaker was paddling a Class IV section of East Vail Creek when he swam from his kayak after being pushed into a sticky hydraulic. He was reportedly unconscious when his friends tried to rescue him with a throw bag. Authorities recovered Hunter's body this morning and a memorial service will be held in his honor at Vail. For more information, check out the Vail Daily.
--Kyle Dickman
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Teva Mountain Games: Eric Jackson Interview
The Gear Junkie put up an interview with freestyle kayaker Eric Jackson from the Teva Mountain Games.
When asked what makes Teva Different from other competitions, Jackson said:
Most major kayak competitions aren’t multisport like the Teva Mountain
Games. This event has so many great people there, and many sports to
watch that assures that when you have a moment to break away from your
own events, you can watch other sports. Great organization is always a
strong point for this event as well.
For more on Eric Jackson, check out Katie Arnold's feature Alpha Geek or our online video Meet the Jacksons. Read the full interview here.
--Joe Spring
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June 09, 2008
Teva Mountain Games: Day 4, The Final Fete
Alas, the games are coming to a close. The weekend is over, the spectators worn out, and many of the athletes—i.e. the kayakers—are recuperating from a little too much fun (ahem).
The final day saw Todd Anderson and Emily Jackson take home the 8 Ball kayaking titles, Gretchen Reeves and Josiah Middaugh get crowned the Ultimate Mountain Challenge champs, and Rickey Gates and Laura Haefali win the 10k Spring Runoff.
The games, now in their seventh year, have clearly picked up steam. Crowds mobbed the events, and even some of the lesser-known competitions, like Dockdogs Big Air, were well attended—but really, what better way to waste a Sunday afternoon than watching dogs jump into a vat of cold water with a PBR in hand. The final day was preceded by a final night of partying for charity, and from the bleary-eyed looks of everyone it appears that most people were feeling rather charitable.
And while the games are over, it’s also a sign that summer is here. Now I just need to let my liver air out.
—Ryan Krogh
(photos by Jan Balster)
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Teva Mountain Games: Mud Bogging
Fun to run. Fun to watch. The 5k Mud Run is fast becoming one of the Teva Mountain Games’ most popular events. And it’s no wonder. There’s no better reason to dive in a cold mud pit, cover yourself in slime, and run for three miles at 8,000 feet. Seriously.
Competitors ranged the gamut from serious runners to a loving couple in prom attire. There was even an overzealous—and under-clothed—bloke wearing a coconut-shell bra. The mud proved the most flattering for him.
(photos by Jan Balster)
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Teva Mountain Games: Problem Solving
Last night American climbers got a taste of World Cup bouldering on U.S. soil for the first time in nearly twenty years. They walked away more than satisfied. Alex Johnson won the women’s competition and the Americans took home the team title.
A crowd of more than 5,000 thousand turned out for the finals, roaring every time an America climber solved one of the four “problems.” The cheers were almost deafening when Johnson solved the third problem on her first attempt. No other competitors made it to the top of the wall on the same problem, essentially giving Johnson the win.
Standing amongst the mob, it was hard not appreciate the lure of bouldering and the years American fans waited for the event. Hopefully it won’t be another twenty before the World Cup comes back.
(photos by Jan Balster)
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June 08, 2008
Teva Games Day 3: McNasties Served Here
World-class kayakers treated onlookers to a healthy serving of McNasties today in Vail Village during the Kayak Freestyle Finals.
In the "men's" division, 14-year-old Jason Craig won the crowd over. The teen held his own and then some against pros as much as three times his age. He wowed spectators assembled on boulders and bridges above the Eagle River with a number of front loops, catapulting out of the rapids and flipping his kayak over his head. After many of his moves, he came up out of the whitewater smiling.
World champion Eric Jackson and pros Dustin Urban and Nick Troutman responded to the youngster's display with impressive acrobatics of their own. Urban took first with a dramatic series on his final run. Eric Jackson took second and Canadian national champion Nick Troutman took third.
It was a family affair for the Jackson's as Dane competed in the men's semifinals and Emily won the women's final - for the fourth time. After clocking the lowest score of all the finalists on her first run, she responded with a series of aquatic spins and flips that left the other women in her wake.
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June 07, 2008
Teva Mountain Games: Day 2
Day two at the Teva Mountain games saw the usual bumping and grinding, both from the freestyle kayakers below International Bridge and World Cup climbers on the bouldering wall, and from eager clubbers at the less than elegant—but still modish—Mountain Ball.
Ozomatli rocked the stage after a day of qualifying events for IFSC World Cup bouldering and Teva’s freestyle kayaking event, dominated by Eric Jackson. Saturday’s events include a fly-fishing skills competition, sprint kayaking, the SoBe X-Country mountain-bike race, and the finals for bouldering. Updates and results to come…
(photo by Jan Balster)
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June 06, 2008
Let the Games Begin
The 2008 Teva Mountain Games are under way. Rain and wind and chilly temps put a damper on the opening ceremonies, but despite the weather, more than a hundred revelers turned out for the Jerry Joseph Band, who opened the games at Check Point Charlie.
The 7th annual games began Thursday morning with the Dagger Steep Creek Championship on Homestead Creek. Tao Berman won the men’s event for the second year running; Tayna Faux took home the women’s comp. The day ended with the usual schmoozing and requisite boozing at Vendetta’s, but the scene was a little subdued. Seems most are saving up for the weekend.
The games continue today with qualifying events for both freestyle kayaking and the IFSC Bouldering World Cup. Tonight Ozomatli has a free show, followed by the Mountain Ball at Samana Lodge. We’ll have updates as the games continue, both on the sporting front and—possibly more important—the social scene.
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