2011 Mt Hood Hell Climb Race Report

The Mt Hood Hell Climb "egg" was laid on August 15th, 2011. For anyone who has ever planned, marketed and hosted a point-to-point triathlon only one month and 10 days after generating the idea, attracting a field of 13 people wasn't too bad!  Was it the Portland Marathon?  No, but I think you could certainly argue that this is harder! To have only two participants shy away from the 40 degree temperatures and rain on the side of the Mountain, they are supposed to crawl up is even better.

I imagined, and planned the most difficult short course triathlon that I could.  In the span of just 12 miles, athletes will swim 1.2 miles in the 60 degree waters of Trillium Lake, ride the bike of their choice from Trillium Lake 8.5 miles and 2200 feet up the side of Mt. Hood to Timberline Lodge and finally transition to what was called a 2.3 mile "run" and is now referred to as a "crawl" up the barren slopes of Palmer Glacier.  This last scramble up the mountain's side encompasses 2700 feet of climbing with a continuous 16% to 20% grade.  The finish... the unmanned top of Palmer Glacier ski lift at 8500 feet of elevation.  As I said, this is the most difficult short course triathlon I could imagine.  God, thought I was getting a bit too cocky and made it even harder....

The Swim

The bike

The run

The run (topo)

Participants began to show up at Trillium Lake Campground boat dock at about 8:00 AM.  By 10:30, ten of us had T1 and T2 setup (with the help of very gracious volunteers) and the 11th, James Williams from Zing 3 Coaching, was just showing up.  If I had planned the race for the 24th, the temperature would be about 65 degrees with white puffy clouds in the sky...  well, I planned it for the 25th - so inevitably we had 48 degree temperatures and rain at 3200 feet of elevation (I quietly wondered how the weather would be at 8500 feet...).  Once our fashionably late, Mr. Williams was ready (yes we waited for him), the swim went off with a ready, set, go!  At this point I am obligated to give Michael McCarthy "mad props and kudos" for entertaining the swim portion without a wet-suit.  Fine Michael, I admit the water was colder than I thought!

Photo by Kroll Images -
Dennis Hahn (our eventual champion)
warming up... sort of 

The swim was unique in a number of ways.  First, the scenery was immaculate, pristine, gorgeous and lush.  With every breath the visual snapshot was a postcard of Oregon's best.  Next, the swim consisted of 4 laps - swim across the lake round the buoy and straight back to the entry point. Once there the swimmer exited the water onto the beach and touched a rock (yes a rock) before reentering the water for yet another lap.  Four entries and four exits - I don't know about everyone else but this certainly served to break up the monotony of a long swim and made it more fun.  Spectators and photographers alike were awarded lots of opportunities to capture dramatic moments and root on the competitors.

The transitions in this race were as much a part of success as the individual legs.  Deciding on what to wear, when to wear it and what to carry with you was a task that took most of the very experienced triathletes 6 minutes or more to figure out.  It was now clear that the weather was not only going to stay bad but most likely get much, much worse as we climbed from 3200 feet to 8500 feet at the finish.  We had no idea how bad it would actually get...

Photo by Kroll Images - Ready to start.

Photo by Kroll Images - Our second place champion
Rob Shultz looking miserable as he navigates the dirt
section of the ride.

The bike leg consisted of an 8.5 mile ride up to Timberline lodge.  One mile of the ride was a dirt and gravel section which caused many of the participants pause as they considered which bike would be best choice.  We had straight road bikes, cross bikes and mountain bikes on course at the same time.  After crossing HWY 26, the climbing began - 5.3 miles and 2200 feet on a paved access road that ran directly through the Mt Hood national forest.  There was no rest, no recovery, no aid stations - just pedal stroke after pedal stroke, inch by inch, foot by foot up the mountain.  This may have been the most pleasant part of the race - sheltered by massive fir trees, there was little to no wind and the rain was consistent but manageable.  It wasn't until racers crested the tree line, entering the parking lot housing T2, that the wind picked up to 15 or 20 miles an hour that the 38 degree temperatures began to take their effect on the racers.

The clouds had descended to blanket T2 and the racers exiting on their way to the run.  Visibility was still reasonable at 300 to 400 feet.  Looking up at the mountain we were about to run up, was intimidating as it was obvious that near whiteout conditions waited for us up ahead.

Photo by Kroll Images - Levi Arzie
hammering up the first major pitch.

I had done all three legs prior to the race - individually.  I was blown away at the increased difficulty of the final leg - brought on by the work accumulated on the lower slopes of Mt. Hood.  Temperatures continued to decline as altitude was gained.  Rain turned to sleet, turned to hail, turned to snow.  Winds increased from 15 mph at T2 to near 30 at 8500 feet.  Temperatures dropped into the 20's and I began to question my sanity.  I knew that I was in 3rd for the Triathletes, 5th overall.  Levi Arzie (Mens Du) had crushed me on the bike, Rob Shultz (Mens Tri), Rachel Wray (Women's Du) and her boyfriend Dennis Hahn (Mens Tri) had all beaten me out of T1 and I had yet to catch them.

Rob Shultz was the first to pass me (on the way down) and informed me that Dennis had been first to finish (with a smoking time of 2:28:57) and met with his girlfriend Rachel and, bless him, turned around to finish AGAIN with her!  Levi was still ahead and as I finally, and I really do put emphasis on the word FINALLY, touched the wall of the lift house for the top of Palmer Glacier Ski Lift - essentially completing the race (with a 3rd place time of 2:57:08).  Dennis (a near Popsicle at this point) gratefully received a pair of long johns and the pair began the decent back down to T2.  Levi and I awaited the arrival of Rhonda Sundermeier (Women's Du) and Michael McCarthy (Men's Tri) who were just just minutes behind me.  Finally Jonathan Puskas, James Williams and Dave Scott (All Mens's Tri) came plodding up the final 20% pitch with cold smiles frozen on their face.

Most races gift their participants with amenities such a recovery drinks, massages, recovery boots and well, the works.  Not here, no way.  You got up the mountain - your cold, your tired - turn around and its 2.3 miles downhill to the warmth of your car.  Remarkably, everyone who started, finished.  No one was injured and everyone had a great time.  The day finished with drinks and Pizza at Ice Ax Grill and Brewery in Government Camp.  Finishers awards (a survival band consisting of 8" of Military Spec 550 Para-cord to be used in case of emergency) and Brooks Podium Tee shirt were handed out and were well received by all.

It was brutal, unforgiving, cold... essentially it was Epic.

Special Thanks To...

• Angel Flight, our first sponsor was instrumental in allowing us to deliver killer swag and a great experience.
• Brian Kroll, our event photrapher from Kroll Images (http://gallery.krollimages.com/mhhc11) Great job Brian!  Thank you!
• My Wife, Shannon Huffman for putting up with me, putting up course signs, risking her core body temperature on a paddle board to place the buoy, being the "bone collector" and clearing the bike course, checking off times/and numbers and all of the 1000 things she did that made this possible.
• Hal Morley, for being a representative of Angel Flight and volunteering at T1 and T2 to help with participants.
• Heidi Shultz, for being the T2 security guard and cheerleader
• Heather Arzie for being the all around helper from T1 to T2.
• Rachel's Dad 
• Brian Montgomery and his Son for putting together the Survival Bands - Great Job!

The volunteers are everything.  Thanks to all!

Results:

MENS TRI:

DENNIS HAHN - 2:28:57

ROB SHULTZ - 2:45:00

JENSEN HUFFMAN - 2:58:57

JONATHAN PUSKAS - 3:04:28

JAMES WILLIAMS - 3:04:28

DAVID SCOTT - 3:24:28

MICHAEL MCCARTHY - 3:02:00*

 

MENS DU:

LEVI ARZIE - 2:05:00

WOMENS DU:

RACHEL WRAY - 2:14:36

RONDA SUNDERMEIER - 2:32:00