I have long believed Vail’s Lindsey Vonn is the best thing to happen to American ski racing in a generation, maybe the best thing period. Because of her exceptional athletic ability, dedication and professionalism, she is a fantastic role model. She also has a personality that helps sell the sport and a willingness to do whatever she can to help it, almost to a fault.
Those qualities are sure to make America proud of her at the Vancouver Olympics. But lest you think the hometown reporter is getting carried away, read what Ski Racing magazine chief executive Gary Black Jr., writes about her in the current edition of his magazine, the bible of the sport in the U.S.:
“There is no question that Lindsey Vonn is the best thing that has happened to skiing in the United States. The more-than-talented athlete not only continued tearing up the Lake Louise downhill, scoring back-to-back wins and a silver, but also has become the best spokesperson the sport has seen on this side of the Atlantic.”
We hiked to the top of the Mount of the Holy Cross on 9/16/09 located outside of Minturn, CO about 15 miles southwest of Vail. It was and out and back hike of 12.5 miles with a 6000 ft elevation gain to the top at 14,005 ft. The boulder field seemed to last forever on the way down and my fingers started to swell up a little; a combination of altitude and my backpack restricting the circulation. The view from the top was well worth it.
It’s been snowing for days in the Front Range, and now Arapahoe Basin has begun snowmaking. The operation began at 7 p.m. Tuesday night and continues today. The ski area has not announced an opening date, but the weather of the recent days certainly has brought that date closer.
Gunnison journalist Chris Dickey wrote a beautiful column on Dave Wiens, who finished second to Lance Armstrong recently in the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike race. I wanted to post it for those who missed it.
I share his sentiments. We endurance athletes know it isn’t always about winning, that we all are just trying to be the best we can be on the day. This is a cool read.
– jm
Dave’s biggest win comes in loss
It takes more than winning to become a champion, and in losing Saturday’s Leadville 100 for the first time in seven tries, Dave Wiens notched perhaps the biggest victory of his long and illustrious cycling career. He demonstrated, like he’s done time and again, what athletics, at any level, should be about but too often aren’t: Being the best isn’t what’s important; what really matters is that you have the courage and determination to face the big challenges and get the most out of yourself — out of life — as possible.
There were about 1,400 Leadville 100 participants last weekend who got that message reinforced first-hand. The untold thousands who watched and followed the event were touched by what was widely billed as the rematch of Dave vs. Goliath — Goliath, in this case, being the world’s most famous cyclist, Lance Armstrong, who has sort of adopted Colorado as his home state and Leadville as his local race; and Dave, being our neighbor and friend who has a huge following outside of this valley not for just being fast, but for the humble, gracious and friendly way in which he goes about his business.
When Dave first lined up at Leadville in 2003, it was an “easy” race — if you can call pedaling yourself up 14,000 feet over the course of 100 miles in some of the highest terrain this mountainous state has to offer easy. But there weren’t a lot of expectations. The race was a super low-key affair, made up almost entirely of pretty casual cyclists who use Leadville as a motivator to get themselves in the saddle, to achieve a personal goal or help them overcome some hurdle.
Dave is the first to admit that Leadville has never drawn a deep field, in terms of top-flight, professional-caliber cyclists. But that’s not what Leadville is about.
But in November 2006 things changed. That’s when Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France champion, announced he had Leadville in his sights. He didn’t compete that next year, but fellow Tour de France winner Floyd Landis did. When Dave beat him, a bit of a buzz developed around Leadville. When Armstrong showed up in 2008, that buzz grew into a full-fledged swarm of excitement and interest.
We all know what happened that year. Those two duked it out for about 90 miles, when Lance finally turned to Dave and did something he said he’d never done before or since in his career: He conceded. If Dave can teach Lance Armstrong, probably one of the most competitive individuals ever to walk this earth, that it’s OK not to be No. 1, that’s saying something.
“You go, I’m done,” Lance said in ’08, with the finish line practically in sight.
To which, in typical Dave fashion, Wiens replied, “No, no. Come on, let’s go.”
The rest is, well, you know. … Dave won. Goliath was second. Lance launches his official comeback. Moves to Aspen. Makes the podium at this year’s Tour. And really, really, really eyes a fat tire rematch in the Rocky Mountains, making this year’s Leadville 100 the biggest cycling event in Colorado since the Red Zingers and Coors Classics of old.
And here Dave, who is 44, thought several years ago that he was more or less retired from competitive racing.
A few days before this year’s event, Dave had this to say on his Web site (davidwiens.com): “The 2009 Leadville 100 will be infinitely more competitive and difficult for me than any of the other six that I have been a part of, but that’s why I’ll be lining up on Saturday. Win or not, I dig a tall challenge. If winning was the most important thing to me, I would have taken my ore cart trophy, gone home and called it quits. That’s not why I do it.”
Dave, who is a mainstay in the Gunnison cycling scene and very active in the community at large, didn’t quit on Saturday en route to his second place finish. He admitted, though, that those thoughts run through the minds of even the highest caliber of athletes during extreme tests — just like they do for a novice out to tackle his or her first 100-mile ride. And there are plenty of those at Leadville.
“That feeling is the same,” said Dave, who is always quick to point out that Leadville — and events like it, including his own popular Gunnison Growler race at Hartman Rocks — is more about the people in the back of the pack than it is those elite souls out front. “When you want to quit and you don’t, you push through it, that’s what’s rewarding.”
Dave and his wife, Susan DeMattei — who has an amazing cycling resume herself, including an Olympic bronze medal in mountain biking — have been rewarding the Gunnison community with their many contributions, on the bike and off, for years. In them you simply could not have better ambassadors for the sport of cycling. But don’t take my word for it; ask any lady who’s pedaled along with Susan at a Hartman Rocks “women’s ride.” Or ask my kids, ages 6 and 7, who had “Coach Dave” this summer for a city parks and rec mountain biking class.
Another reason why we are so fortunate in Gunnison, and why this valley is simply tops if you love cycling, at any and all levels, is that these contributions will continue. Dave’s days in the national competitive spotlight, meanwhile, are probably over.
“Yeah, that’s it for trying to focus on being as fast as I can for that race, or any race for that matter,” he said when asked if this was the last time he enters Leadville to win. He’ll enter Leadville and other races again, “but as a participant,” he said. Not as the guy who’s out there to go tire to tire with the best bikers on the planet.
Why? Mainly, because of family. He and Susan have three young boys and Dave doesn’t want to have future experiences with them interrupted by a constant need to train.
“There’s nothing, nothing in the world, no accolades, no pile of money, nothing anywhere that I’d trade to have that time and those experiences with my family,” he said.
There are great athletes, and then there are champions. The former are really good at being better than the competition. The latter not only bring out the best in themselves, but in those around them too — all the while exemplifying what is truly great about sport.
I think we all know in which camp Dave sits.
(Chris Dickey can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or editor@gunnisontimes.com)
Ran into company while climbing Mount Powell the highest mountain in the Gore Range at 13,560 feet. I was on a ledge taking some pictures and heard some foot steps. I turned around expecting to see some fellow hikers but a herd of wild goats was curious. I wasn’t sure of their intentions so I avoided them as much as possible. This delayed things a little but after a while they left me alone for the most part.
Colorado Ski Country USA started selling its 2009-10 Colorado Gold Pass on Monday for $2,750. The pass is good for 21 of the 22 Colorado Ski Country USA’s 22 resorts. The Gold Pass includes Arapahoe Basin, Aspen Highlands, Aspen Mountain, Buttermilk, Copper Mountain, Crested Butte, Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort, Echo Mountain, Eldora, Howelsen Hill, Loveland Ski Area, Monarch Mountain, Powderhorn, Ski Cooper, Snowmass, SolVista Basin, Steamboat, Sunlight Mountain Resort, Telluride, Winter Park and Wolf Creek. However the four ski areas owned by Vail Resorts, Keystone, Breckenridge, Vail, and Beaver Creek are not included since Vail Resorts left the group in 2008.
Mount Quandary is one of the easier fourteener’s (14,265 ft) to climb in Colorado. Unfortuantely many people are unprepared as four rescue operations were carried out in the past week.
We hiked this pass yesterday. Though it is slightly longer than 9 miles round trip it is highly recommended. After about 3-3.5 miles you find yourself in a beautiful alpine meadow with panoramic views all around. An abundance of green is evident because there are no stands of lodgepole pines decimated by the bark beetle and there is still plenty of melting snow to nourish the vegetation. TRAIL DETAILS
