![]() I downclimbed to the knotted lines and hand-over-handed down them. I asked what was going on and he said, "I just figured you'd be faster on the descent." Well, okay then. He summited with me right on his heels and then he hesitated. I closed up right behind me at the hand crack, but there is no way to pass there. I rapped off quickly and closed on rookie Jacob "I'm Not" Winey. I close on the easy Royal Arch and he gaps me again on the tricky, steep downclimb. He sneaks through the slot efficiently and I take some time, as worried of bashing myself in that tight fissure. ![]() He gaps me on the descent, which is surprising, as that is frequently my only advantage. I catch up to Sometimes Great at the Regency and we battle all the way up it. He's lean, wearing a heart-rate monitor and I feel out of place waddling on by. I know he's injured, but I'll take any advantage I can get. I pass Maury first, then Max, then, surprisingly, Muffin Top. They soon move ahead, but once the trail goes up, I reel them in. Chatting! I can't spare oxygen for such prattle. Maury and Brian and jogged along next to me chatting. After I bit I look behind me to see if I am last and there are two trailers. I have to something in retirement.Īt gun I'm not far enough back and I'm a bit of a bottleneck on the singletrack start. I think I'll keep it up until I'm well into last. It's obviously my future, if I keep doing this. These days I live in fear of being the caboose. I wondered who my new rivals would be, if any. At least I did it once, because I'm sure that was a one-and-done achievement. It was his first stage ever and had some route-finding trouble on the way out. It was the only stage in which I'd ever beaten Derek. We'd done this stage once before, in 2017. We climb the Regency to the Royal Arch to the Fifth Flatiron to the Hippo Head (aka The Fist). It was up, up, up, and then down, down, down. Unlike other stages that mix in descents between rocks, this stage had next to zero rest before starting the next one. This one is such a continuous sufferfest. But that doesn't matter, because we have critical mass.Ĭritical mass is when everyone across the field feels like they are in the midst of the battle, when the energy is high and the distance between each Minion is close enough to trigger a chain reaction that yields a megaton of thermonuclear fun. Even in the Minions, frankly, as only about a quarter of the members compete. The mix of climbing, running, and the ability to have fun racing at such a thing is apparently pretty rare. Even with the high density of climbers and runners that exist in Boulder, I don't think the area is big enough (and we draw from Golden and Denver) to support a larger group. I don't think so, despite having more than 100 Minions in the club. A Minion asked me if I ever seeing this growing to 100 participants. It's definitely a fringe event and one that can only be held in Boulder due to the unique nature of the Flatirons. It's strange because to the people that do this, it's among the most fun their ever had racing. Is there anything else like this? Perhaps not.
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