At the beginning of the new year, we would like to take some time to reintroduce our staff members and give updates on where everyone is at as we head into the summer season. I'll take this time to reintroduce myself, Gabe Dorn, cofounder of Golden Endurance.
I primarily focus on trail running races and completed my first 100-mile trail race last summer (Bighorn 100). However, this winter, I have taken some time off running and focused on training for ski mountaineering.
What is Skimo?
Ski mountaineering, effectively called skimo, is an event where you use a lightweight backcountry touring setup to hike uphill (uphilling) using skins on the bottom of the skis that provide traction. When you are ready to descend, you remove the skins, set the skis and boots to downhill mode, and ski back down. For those unfamiliar with the sport, there are races.
Upcoming Race: Power of Four
This coming week, I will be racing a partner race in Aspen, Colorado called the Power of Four. The Power of Four takes you up the four iconic ski hills of the Aspen-Snowmass Ski Area:
Start at the base of Buttermilk Mountain, climb and descend Buttermilk to the base of Snowmass.
Climb and descend Snowmass to the base of Highlands.
At Highlands, skin the majority of the climb and then bootpack the Highlands Bowl.
Descend from the top of the bowl, then take a technical single track trail to the backside of Ajax (Aspen Mountain).
Climb 5 miles along a jeep road to ascend Ajax.
Descend the front side of Ajax and finish in Aspen.
Because of the danger of avalanches in the side country, this is a partner race. I am excited to be racing with Johna Iannitto, a good friend and physical therapist who lives up in Summit County.
Transition to Skimo
For me, the transition to skimo has been a fun way to take a break from running while enjoying another endurance sport. I enjoy the early mornings and sometimes late nights skinning up the ski hills, which are much less crowded after hours. This allows me to get into a rhythm, and often, I will have the mountain mostly to myself. My dog Riley will sometimes accompany me, and he is good for one, very excited, lap.
Training Perspective
From a training perspective, I see skimo as a good way to maintain some base endurance. However, it does not translate one-to-one to trail running as the motions and muscle groups used are quite different. In this sense, it is not the best training a trail runner could be doing over the winter if your main event is trail racing in the summer. However, I enjoy the break from running four to six days a week and embrace getting a little bit less trail-fit over the winter months. I believe this is healthy and more sustainable for both my mind and body.
I do not consider ski racing as a primary sport. I train to finish events, not necessarily to compete to my full potential. This provides relief from the grind of dedicating a season to one main sport. I'm happy to say that this allows me to disassociate a little bit and just get out there and enjoy the snow. When spring comes, I am ready to hop back on trails without feeling burnt from long winter road miles.
Despite the specificity not being there, I combine training principles from a logistical and practical standpoint. I try to get up to the hills around twice a week:
Harder Paced Day: One day is a harder-paced, steady-state style effort on the ups, followed by quick transitions and quick descents. This replaces my running workout where I'm working harder one day of the week.
Longer Day: The other day tends to be a longer day, anywhere from three to five hours, replacing my long run day.
Transitioning my two biggest training load days of the week to skimo mitigates some of the risk of injury from a load management perspective while allowing me to stay mentally fresh over the winter months.
Because it is logistically hard to consistently drive to the mountains every day, I only get up to ski about two to three days a week in peak training. The other days of the week, I'm typically doing endurance day runs at a lower effort. So a typical week would look like:
Several endurance runs
One skimo interval workout
One to two long skimo days
Looking Ahead
Because I'm not taking skimo racing too seriously, this structure works for me. If I wanted to seriously compete in skimo events, I would probably have to move to Summit County and train five to six days a week. But the thought of doing that now from Golden, Colorado is not logistically feasible, so I've come to terms with just enjoying being up there over the winter months.
After the Power of Four race, I will transition to training for my second 100-mile trail race, High Lonesome 100 outside of Buena Vista in July. So after this upcoming weekend, the focus very much shifts towards running. I will probably still enjoy getting up to the mountains to do some skimo, but these are lighter days and will substitute for more of my endurance day runs.
By Gabe Dorn
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