Impromptu Emmitsburg!

Though the original plan was to go camping on the Potomac with Tom, rain forced team NORSA to the Stone-Drinking-Fortress in Emmitsburg without Tom. Ordinarily, NORSA goes to Emmitsburg to ski, but this trip provided an interesting change.

The weekend basically consisted of having dinner at the Shamrock and building a big fire in the fireplace. We got a sampler of Sam Adams and decided which flavor was the best. The next day, the weather improved, so we went to breakfast in Thrumont, and hiked the Catoctain Furnace Trial where we discovered mystical ancient ruins. All in all, it was a really fun and norsariffic weekend.

North Carolina Challenge!

Fellow NORSA member Alan Stewart is in the midst of racing the North Carolina Challenge - a 100 mile unsupported expedition race through the waters of coastal North Carolina.

Follow Alan's Spot Tracker here: http://watertribe.com/Events/ChallengeMapper.aspx. He is listed as "DancesWithSandyBottom."


Alan is racing with his father Paul in a Core Sound 20 they built themselves in their basement. They previously raced the boat to a 4th place finish in the 2008 Watertribe Everglades Challenge.

2009 Nation's Triathlon a Great Success!!

A record-setting 8 NORSA members and affiliates competed in the 4^th Annual Nation’s Triathlon. This was the third consecutive appearance by NORSA-mainstays Steven L., and Adam. They were joined by Matt, Leo and Russ, who each finished their second Nations Tri. Newcomers this year included Mike, Brian and Marie.

The Nation’s Triathlon is a Standard Olympic-Distance race. It consists of a 1500 meter (0.93 Mile) Swim, a 40 kilometer (24.85 mile) Bike, and a 10 kilometer (6.21 mile) Run. The Nation’s Triathlon is one of the biggest triathlons around. While 6000 people registered, 3933 actually competed in and finished this year’s race. The attrition is probably due to the fact that the race sells out months before the competition. When race day arrives, many competitors FTA due to scheduling problems they couldn’t foresee months in advance, as well as regular sickness, injury, etc.

Like last year, all competitors had to go to a few events before the race. Packet pickup was at the Washington Hilton on Friday and Saturday. There is no packet pickup on race day because the logistics of distributing 1000’s of packets in the hours before the race would be mind-boggling. Additionally, competitors were required to leave their bikes at the race site the day before the event. This allowed many competitors to take shuttles to the race site from the host hotel.

The weather for this year’s race was perfect: mostly sunny skies with a high of 83 and a low of 63 for the day. The race was started at 7:00AM, so the NORSAites got to compete in that perfect 70-degree range.

This year’s course was modified slightly from the previous year. Competitors swam in the Potomac under the Memorial Bridge. The water this year was a little browner and a little less clear than in previous races. The water temp was about 71 degrees. Most competitors wore wetsuits, most NORSA members did not.

Between events, competitors had to find their bikes in the mega-massive transition area (see photo). Hopefully, they remembered their row number.

The bike took racers into Rock Creek Park, up the Whitehurst Freeway, then out-and-back on Canal Road, the Clara Barton Parkway, and the Cabin John Parkway. This course was heavily shaded (good), but may have been a little narrow for so many competitors.

The run was around Haines Point and the Tidal Basin. As the race expands each year, there seems to be less of an ability to host it on the Mall. There was no Pennsylvania Avenue Finish this time. However, traffic in the city was significantly less affected and racers were able to finish next to the transition area, rather than miles away as in previous years.

Results:

How long is a race of this magnitude supposed to take, you ask? Well, the overall winner finished with a time of 1:55:59. Mayor Adrian Fenty finished with a time of 2:21:18. The last competitors crossed the line around the 5-hour mark.

Everybody on the NORSA-squad finished with these highly respectable times:

This year, Russ again came out on top, with an overall time of 2:33:23. He was followed by Steven L. (2:40:57); Leo (2:50:08); Marie (2:50:15); Matt (2:52:40); Mike (2:54:49); Adam (2:57:41) and Brian (3:08:51). Complete results with splits are available here.

Congratulations to all the NORSA members who competed in this year’s race and thanks to the family and friends who came for support! I hope you all enjoyed this year’s post, which unlike last year's post, contains more than 2 paragraphs, more than 1 picture, and has hyperlinks, results, descriptions and adjectives.

Pikes Peak or Bust!

On Thursday, August 13, 2009, Team NORSA members Steven S and Emily attempted to bag their first Colorado 14er at Pikes Peak. Named for Zebulon Pike, whose westward expedition first sighted the mountain in 1806, Pikes Peak is the most visited mountain in North America. Many visitors reach the 14,110 ft (4300m) summit by car, by train or by running. The Team NORSA attempt would follow the lesser known Crags Trail, a Class 2 route up the northwest slopes with a total gain of 4200 feet (1280m) over 5.5 miles (8.85 km).

After a day trip through Colorado Springs, the duo drove west past the town of Divide to the the Crags Campground. Down the road from a Mennonite camp, the campground leads to the trailhead at 10,000 feet, near "The Crags" rock pinnacle formations in the Pike National Forest. A dinner of leftover Jimmy John's sub sandwiches was eaten for precious energy, and then it was time to set up camp and rest for a full day of hiking.

Waking up at 5am, the two broke camp, ate breakfast, layered, laced boots, and hit the trailhead shortly after 6am. A local youth who had recently summited Mount Massive had advised to start the hike early to avoid the afternoon thunderstorms that occur in the summer, and to take a slow and steady pace and rest when needed to avoid fatigue. It was agreed to head back down from the summit by noon if possible, and absolutely by one o'clock to be on the safe side.

The mountain had looked formidable from highway 24 near Divide. Now the terrain hid the summit from view and optimism was high. It was a brisk morning, but the ascent began soon after branching off from the Crags trail toward Devil's Playground, and it didn't take long to warm up from the exertion. The trail started adjacent to a creek, through a forest of Douglas Fir and Engelmann Spruce, before reaching a clearing and subsequent switchbacks that left the treeline. At about the 1.5 mile mark and 12,000 ft elevation, one of the most difficult sections of the hike climbed straight up a hillside for a gain of about 1000 ft in just over a half mile. At the top they got their first view of the distant summit.

Hiking along a ridge above a green alpine valley of tundra grasses, they passed through a gate of boulder formations to start the portion of the trail that parallels the Pikes Peak highway. Passing Devil's Playground at around 10am, the clouds above looked ominous, but after stopping at an overlook with friendly tourists, spirits remained high. Steven was feeling more than a bit sluggish with the effects of altitude, but pressed on with determination and Clif bars. Emily continued a strong performance, no doubt due to the foundation laid in the NORSA summer hiking series.

At about 11am, the NORSA hikers passed a smaller peak known as Point 13,363 and crossed the road a final time to reach the base of the final pitch. This quickly became a rock scramble, made more challenging by the altitude and difficulty spotting cairns. Progress slowed to a crawl, but after seeing a group ahead disappear over the top, it was estimated that about 200 feet of climbing remained. The skies were getting dark and it was nearly noon.  A flash of lightning to the east threatened the unthinkable prospect of turning around. A second flash of lightning a minute later gave them a sinking feeling.  It was agreed that they could not continue during a thunderstorm. At just past noon they turned around to get off of the rocks and make the descent.

With the summit now beyond their grasp, the altitude sickness Steven had been fighting became a concern. After passing Devil's Playground again, he was rewarded by emptying the contents of his stomach several times. A quick and safe descent would be the best treatment for the illness, but this was made more challenging by the steep slopes of crushed granite and the intermittent rain. After reaching the treeline again and resting, the worst symptoms went away. The remainder of the hike was completed at a normal downhill clip.

After 10 hours on the mountain, they reached the car at about 4pm. It was a bittersweet drive back to Denver, where a home cooked Italian meal offered some replenishment. But in true NORSA fashion, Steven and Emily hungered for something more - to learn from the harsh lessons of nature and return some day to summit Pikes Peak.

Maybe next year.  Savor the journey and not the destination.

NORSA goes Federal...and International?

Yes that's right folks Team NORSA member and chair of the NORSA Western Region, Michael, has gotten federal funding for what promises to be a new level of NORSAdom. He will be cruising across the Drake Passage not only for recreation, but also for making great leaps in the understanding of Narwhal - Giant Squid behavioral interactions.

Narwhals are known for their unicorn-like tusks and for that reason can be dangerous to interact with, but for the most part they are friendly creatures of the sea. Giant Squid on the other hand are fierce creatures that will leave no food source left alone. Michael and crew will be putting their lives on the line while attempting to study both creatures in close proximity. It's all in the name of science!

The mighty vessel that will support this duty is the National Science Foundation's LM Gould as illustrated above.


Well here's the real story. Michael is not going to be heroically fending off Narwhals and giant Squid at the same time! Rather he'll be working on better understanding of the Southern Ocean interaction with the atmosphere. As any armchair sailor knows the Drake Passage is an unforgiving stretch of water and the task at hand will not be easy. As cool as battling ocean creatures would be the pictures and stories that will come out of this voyage will be worthy of NORSAs time and interest. So with that being said stay tuned to clockworko.blogspot.com and teamnorsa.blogspot.com for updates on how the journey unfolds.

Thumbs up!