Year In Review / 2023 Edition
The phone buzzes and I roll over, reaching for it. A push notification for breakfast. “View Your Year in Sport!” 2023 was the first full year I’ve tracked using a watch, in the interest of better understanding progress and recovery I caved. In the end, tracking in a relaxed way is not as big a deal as I had made it out to be.
Metrics (clearly) don’t capture what the full experience, but in this moment I’m a little excited to see what the numbers say. But more than the numbers, it prompts a moment of reflection on memorable moments from the past year.
Some of these I’ve shared here, and others are still in the backlog, waiting for the right day to make it in. A few were big objectives I’m still processing. Others were relaxed days typical of a life with easy access to wild terrain.
As for the numbers, it worked out to about 70% running, 14% skiing, and 12% strength and mobility training over 420 hours and 12 minutes. Total distance was 2,066 miles with may being the biggest month, at 343 miles. Total elevation gain was 287,965 feet with May again being the biggest at 48,622 feet. Total days active totaled up to 249. Out of all of these, that’s the only one I really care about and want to increase going into next year. Consistency. Recovery days can still be spent doing 20 minutes of stretching, etc…
Below are summaries of select days, some with links out to stories already written, others as a little tease of the backlog.
Charlton Peak in the San Gorgornio Zone
February 12th (Backlog)
All time conditions in the Eastern Sierra meant a similarly exceptional season down south. Alex and I had met down in Los Angeles several years ago through a mutual friend who co-published an arts publication. I had gone to an exhibition of his ceramic work at the MAK Center (Schindler House) in Los Angeles, but beyond this we hadn’t overlapped much in the past few years.
When he saw I had begun ski touring this past season he reached out, having spent winters as a kid in Colorado touring with his family. I mentioned a trip down to Los Angeles, and he invited me on a tour of the North side of the San Gorgornio zone, which includes several peaks.
This was a standout weirdo tour of the season. Dropping off the top of top of Charlton you could see the expanse of Los Angeles directly to the south. I was going to remark how poor the snow was. Crusty sastrugi in spots, blue ice in others, but before I could Alex goes “this is great!”
And he was right.
Random Backyard Tours in June Lake
On evenings when snow was making travel impossible a group of friends would get together a stones throw from my place at June Lake Brewing. We’d scheme about the next morning, and areas of low risk to cruise around while waiting for the snowpack to stabilize and heading towards more technical terrain.
It’s pretty fun being able to toss the planks on at the front door and get in some turns. These mornings stand out for how mellow they felt; low risk, total joy, taking it in.
First Turns on the Negatives
March 25th (Backlog)
A real highlight of backcountry touring in the June Lake area (a zone called the Loop) is the Negatives. A series of chutes that drop off the backside of Carson Peak with easy lift access off J7 from June Mountain. Sasha was kind enough to invite me out one morning, and I was extremely excited to go. This was my first season skiing, and after a few months of getting up to speed the Negs were a primary objective for the season.
This was my first decently sized truly alpine tour above treeline. No doubt I was hooked at this point. We exited Devils Slide, a prominent chute seen from highway 158—two objectives for the price of one!
Mammoth to June via San Joaquin Ridge
April 13th (Published)
A very memorable day traversing a north-south ridgeline connecting Mammoth to June. Another big objective for the season. Huge shoutout Kim and Nick for the invitation! We exited the north bowl of Carson Peak, which I never would’ve guessed I’d hit this first season. Mega.
Mount Wood
May 3rd (Published)
Without a doubt the highlight of this ski season. I stare at the south-east face of Mount Wood out my kitchen window when making coffee each morning, and it’s the backdrop of my working hours behind my screen when sitting at my machine.
An absolute dream come true. Huge shoutout to Lucas for the invitation.
Mono Lake Circumnavigation
May 11th (Backlog)
In addition to skiing, I had been running continuously throughout the winter, often short distances (about 6mi) on mornings around the loop when not touring later that day.
This had me in relatively good running shape going into spring. The first big project of the running season was truly that; big. This was a lifetime objective. Mono Lake is an extremely special place, both personally and otherwise. To run its entire shoreline would be to leave a special line on that landscape.
In total the run was 42.2 miles, and took the better part of the daylight hours. Huge thanks to Ethan for running the full loop together, and Lucas and Spot for running the first half and providing support on the second half.
Looking forward to publishing the full write up soon. It’s taken me some time to process.
Bishop 50k Ultra Marathon
May 20th (Backlog)
Racing has never appealed much to me. The competitive aspect isn’t a motivator. Movement for movement’s sake—a focus on environment and perception. Still, I was curious to experience a race. It helped that Evan nudged me to register. Thanks, Evan!
I had a few big days before the race, and knew it was going to have an effect on my performance. If anything, the race was helpful in further revealing inner motivation. Skipping these big objectives for better performance at a race didn’t feel aligned with those motivations.
Still, I had a great time. I took my time at the aid stations, chatted up the volunteers, etc… If anything, races for me seem more like social events. If I want to make an effort at a time I’ll do it when there aren’t snacks tempting me every few miles.
San Fransisco Loop
May 26th (Backlog)
Had a brief stop in San Fransisco for a few days and was able to squeeze in a nice long dérive.
I knew I wanted to run from my hotel in Embacadero and across the Golden Gate Bridge, but beyond that I had no plan. Ended up seeing Mount Sutro and Twin Peaks once at the bridge, and looped it out by connecting it all together. A really fun improvised day, clocking in at a total of about 24 miles.
Days With Friends
I enjoy traveling solo. Being uncompromising in pace and decision making. But I find extreme fulfillment in sharing special places with friends new and old. Seeing their eyes light up and hearing the wows. The meandering conversations that flow along as the miles pass.
A few standout trips were those with Kate, Jon, Alex, Calvin (pictured above on the backside of Baldwin), Michael, Kevin, Ethan, Ari, Lucas, and all of the other eastside homies.
You’re the best.
Mount Shasta East Face (Attempt)
June 10th (Backlog)
My first volcano tour! An extremely pleasant spring day with Kate cruising up the east face. Ultimately we had some issues with AMS, and decided to lounge around and eat all the snacks with about 1,000ft to go. Hard to complain when we still had about 5,000ft of corn below.
Tioga Pass
July 6th (Backlog)
I’m not much of a cyclist. I appreciate the mechanical simplicity of feet on turf. Skis are about as complex as I’m willing to take it. But when Ethan invited me to go ride up Tioga Pass I couldn’t pass it up. Each spring there is a narrow window between when the road is fully plowed of snow but has not yet open to cars.
We ended up riding all the way up and over the pass, past the gate to Yosemite, and into Tuolumne Meadows. A total of 32.62 miles and 4,049 feet of elevation gain. I was super gripped on the descent, ha!
This was a very memorable one, and gets me excited about cycling more later in life when looking for lower impact options.
Lots of Driving
Big driving days all up and down the west coast with Kate. Three times between northern Idaho and the Eastern Sierra. Living in a remote area requires a decent amount of time in the car. Even then, I’d estimate it’s less than the daily commute to and from an office every day.
These long days are slogs like any other. The endurance necessary for a 14 hour drive is fun in its own way. Yellow line syndrome and all. Gears start turning during these long spans, and led to several new projects kicking off.
Very thankful for all the friends who extended invitations and joined along on days both short and long. For the safe travel to and from these places. Looking forward to 2024!
