Day 4 – 47 miles with 6,444 feet of gain
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Day 4 began with a the long climb up White Mountain after a short warm-up of four miles. It is the last climb (climb #3) on Day 2 of Everest Challenge. As Paul Sherwin would say, “It’s a beast of a climb”. Generally his exaggerations are a bit much. But in this circumstance it is more than fitting. Here are the stats on White Mountain– 21 miles long with an average grade of 6% and an elevation gain of 6,204′. But even as daunting as a 6K of climbing in ONE climb may sound it still doesn’t tell the whole story. Maximum grade in the lower half is 14% while max in the upper half is 17%. There are lots of 9-12% rollers in the bottom third. The last 3 miles average 10% grade. Now add heat! The last time I did Everest Challenge was 2010. It was ridiculously hot (above 96F). Unfortunately, today was no different, 96F! This IS a beast of a climb!
After White Mountain the CCSD camp had us scheduled to do Glacier Lodge (9 miles long with an average grade of 8% and an elevation gain of 3,860′). But I bowed out of the second climb. I had just the right amount of fatigue, climbing endurance and heat exposure for the day. I felt like I had had a perfect training day. Since I hadn’t been riding very much for the last month coming to a camp and doing over 300 miles for the week (35 miles before camp) and over 30,000 feet of climbing I knew I had nothing to prove by doing one more climb. I actually felt that one more climb in that heat would not add anymore training value to the day. Here is where experience comes into play. A good workout doesn’t necessarily mean total deconstruction, exhaustion and heat stroke! Moreover, I wanted to get back home to see my son and I was still 6 hours away!
Here are two other training days where I have done the Glacier Lodge/White Mountain combo
Above Day 2 of Everest Challenge.
White Mountain Grade Analysis 20 miles 6220 feet of gain!!
Temperature in Big Pine – launching pad for Day 2 of Everest Challenge
White Mountain Detail- Lots of grey lines (crank torque) shooting above yellow line (power) once this indicates the steep ramps and being under-geared (38×28)
Near the summit of Ancient Bristlecone or White Mountain
As you can see White Mountain ranks prominently in the California’s toughest climbs.
Most Difficult Climbs:
1) Onion Valley — DONE 6/10/10 !!
2) Horseshoe Meadows — DONE 6/10/10!!
3) White Mountain
4) Sherman Pass
5) Whitney Portal — DONE 6/10/10!!
6) Mount Baldy
7) Shirley Meadows
8) South Lake
9) Mount Palomar DONE 6/06/10!!
10) Mosquito Flat
Greatest Elevation Gained:
1) Horseshoe Meadows – 6,234 feet– DONE 6/10/10 !!
2) White Mountain – 6,204 feet
3) 190 – 6,199 feet
4) J21/245/180 – 5,750 feet
5) Mosquito Flat – 5,548 feet
6) Dantes View – 5,475 feet
7) South Lake – 5,445 feet
8) Sherman Pass – 5,316 feet
9) Emigrant Pass – 5,309 feet
10) Onion Valley – 5,169 feet DONE 6/10/10!!
Highest Elevation Attained:
1) Mosquito Flat – 10,220 feet
2) White Mountain – 10,152 feet
3) Horseshoe Meadows – 10,034 feet DONE 6/10/10!!
4) Tioga Pass – 9,945 feet DONE 7/27/12!!
5) South Lake – 9,852 feet
6) Sonora Pass – 9,624 feet
7) Kaiser Pass – 9,184 feet
8) Onion Valley – 9,163 feet — DONE 6/10/10!!
9) Lake Sabrina – 9,141 feet
10) Sherman Pass – 9,126 feet
One last word on CCSD – this an exceptional way to get your climb-on and training specificity. The Everest Challenge course reconnaissance is essential for anyone wanting to have a successful attempt at completing the event. Most people cant put their head around a climb that is 22 miles long when that is normally the distance someone would go on a recovery ride. The event was professionally run, well SAG’d, a nightly training lecture provided, and great healthy home made food. I strongly encourage anyone interested to visit the CCSD website a book a camp!
Two different preparations of Salmon, Couscous, Broccoli, Corn, Squash, Spinach Salad, and fresh fruit for desert!
George's Epic Adventures 