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Ear to the Ground News & notes from the outdoor industry

Photo: Samuel Crossley

Brad Gobright Dies in Mexico

On November 27, 2019 the climbing world lost one of its boldest members, the talented, hyper-driven Brad Gobright, who passed away in a rappelling accident on the 1,500-foot El Sendero Luminoso (5.12d) in El Potrero Chico, Mexico.

Gobright was in El Potrero Chico to do some guiding work and climbing for a short trip. Posting a message on the local climbing message board, Gobright had advertised the need for a climbing partner the next day. Using the controversial simul-rapping technique, something went wrong during the descent from high on the rock face, and Gobright fell to his death while his partner barely escaped with his life.

Known for his dry humor and total commitment to rock climbing, Gobright had become a household name in recent years for his audacious free solos, rapid ascents of El Capitan free routes up to 5.13, and ascents of tough, heady single-pitch routes up to 5.14 in Colorado. The California native and Yosemite local was 31 at the time of his passing.

Gobright was featured in our Feb/March 2019 issue in an article by Chris Van Leuven. Read it at adventuresportsjournal.com/climbing-yosemite-valley-free-soloist-bradgobright/.

Women on Waves 2020 Surf Contest Seeks Public Support for Venue Approval

Women on Waves Surf Contest (WOW) is a biannual amateur longboard surf event and a fundraiser that benefits women-focused non-profit organizations in Santa Cruz County. This unique surf contest is the only all women’s surf event in the area.

In 2018 Ola Chica Surf Company took over production of the contest and is looking forward to bringing it back in 2020, but they might be losing their venue.

Ola Chica founder Aylana Zanville says, “I am very passionate about bringing WOW back on a permanent biannual basis, but as much as the female surfing community and I want WOW to happen, we are encountering hesitation with the City of Capitola. Due to a high number of events in the city and ensuing resident complaints, the City of Capitola has limited the number of permits they will issue.”

You can help by attending the Capitola City Council meeting on March 12. To learn more, visit adventuresportsjournal.com/ the-uncertain-future-of-women-onwaves/.

Take Care Tahoe’s Billboard Stewardship Campaign

A new digital billboard campaign has been unveiled on behalf of over 50 partners who have collaborated on the “Take Care Tahoe” effort to encourage more responsible behavior while in Tahoe. Designed with humorous messaging, the campaign was created to capture the attention of visitors when they are en route to Tahoe to encourage stewardship and responsible recreation during their stay. Thanks to financial support from the Tahoe Fund on behalf of the Take Care Tahoe partners, digital billboards carrying the Take Care™ messaging are visible on I-80 Eastbound in Colfax, California.

“With the ‘Take Care Tahoe’ digital billboard campaign, our goal is to educate visitors before they arrive about how they can take care of the environment when they’re here,” said Amy Berry, Tahoe Fund CEO. “This includes things like cleaning up after their dogs, not leaving broken sleds behind, eliminating the use of plastic straws, and blazing a trail of kindness on public trails throughout the region.” Read more at adventuresportsjournal. com/take-care-tahoe/.

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Six Iconic Cycling Events Unite to Create the Nevada County Cycling Festival

2020 marks the 60th running of the Nevada City Classic ProAm Cycling Criterium, the second oldest continuously running ProAm Criterium in the US. This legendary race is joined by five other Nevada County cycling events the weekend of June 13-14 to create the Nevada County Cycling Festival. Other events include the Rotary Gold Country Challenge road ride, the Big Brothers/Big Sisters gravel ride challenge, the Nevada City Fat Tire Festival, YBONC’s CA Dirt MTB Series and the Nevada City Brewfest — making for a cycling festival like no other. Learn more at adventuresportsjournal.com/2020-nevada-city-cycling-festival/. Photo: Shane Scrimager

New Mountain Bike Trail to Open in Groveland

Groveland Trail Heads, a non-profit mountain biking organization based in Groveland, has been hard at work building the first trail of the Ferretti Non Motorized Trail System in the Groveland Ranger District of the Stanislaus National Forest. The 1.3 mile loop is due to open at the end of March and will give riders a taste of all the forest has to offer. The trail ends with a bike optimized flow section. Groveland is located 22 miles east of Yosemite’s northern entrance. Visit grovelandtrailheads.org for more information or to make a donation toward trail projects. Photo: Groveland Trail Heads

Sea Otter Classic Debuts Gravel Race for 2020

Sea Otter Classic will host a first ever timed gravel race on Sunday, April 19.

The inaugural grinder will feature a 40- mile course that will start at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area and quickly venture onto the roads and challenging trails of the Fort Ord National Monument. There will be UCI professional as well as amateur categories for women and men of all ages. The 30th annual world-renowned festival celebrates all things bicycle from April 16- 19, 2020 in Monterey. Learn more at adventuresportsjournal. com/sea-otter-classic-registration-open/.

Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Resort Voted #6 in North America

Tahoe Donner Cross Country Ski Center was recently voted 6th Best Cross-Country Ski Resort in North America by USA Today. Located in Truckee, Tahoe Donner’s 62-plus miles (100 km) of trails wind through 2,800 acres of terrain. The resort, a favorite among Tahoe-area locals, includes five warming huts, a large variety of modern rental equipment, private and group lessons, and even some fat biking and dog-friendly trails. The resort is open daily to the public and offers private and group lessons, rentals and signature events throughout the season. Learn more at tahoedonner.com. Alta Alpina Cycling Club Debuts Carson Valley Adventure Ride Series

Alta Alpina Cycling Club has put together a series of destination training rides in Carson Valley, NV. The Carson Valley Adventure Ride Series is designed to spotlight why the Carson Valley area is the ultimate destination for mixed terrain (aka gravel) riding. The series is based on five epic mixed terrain loops that surround Carson Valley: The Brunswick, The Leviathan, The Slinkard, The Tahoe Ridge, and The Powerline. Dates for the 2020 events will be announced soon, but you can come year-round to enjoy miles of training and preview routes. Learn more at CVAdventureRides.org. The National Park Service Announces 2020 Free Entry Dates “Across the country, more than 400 national parks preserve significant natural and cultural areas, each one an important piece of our national identity and heritage,” said National Park Service Deputy Director David Vela. “Free entrance days serve as additional motivation for people to get outside and enjoy these places of inspiration and recreation.” There are five free entry dates in 2020, learn more at adventuresportsjournal.com/ national-park-entrance-fee-free-days-2020/.

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Filmmaker Grant Thompson

By Chris Van Leuven

In addition to capturing slacklining, BASE jumping and surfing, Thompson also focuses on unique, non-athletic characters from around the world.

Every time I talk with filmmaker and cinematographer Grant Thompson, he’s in a completely different phase of his career. When we met through mutual friends in Yosemite in winter 2018, he was capturing highliners as the sun crept up behind Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.

His footage showed subjects balanced on a thin strip of nylon webbing over an endless abyss, their arms extended out like bird wings.

Six months later he called from a busy café in Berkeley, where he told me all about capturing Christy Davis, age 66, riding big waves at Mavericks in northern California. In the four-minute working clip he sent over on Davis, the legendary surfer from Half Moon Bay, Thompson shared the athlete’s lifelong passion with the sport. Davis narrates as Thompson’s scenes of bucolic hillsides and splashing waves move across the screen. One clip shows Davis riding a massive groundswell, one wave feeding into the next that he links together effortlessly. The wave is an extension of himself. For nearly 30 years Davis has surfed Mavericks, and he describes being out on the cold, brutal waves with childlike enthusiasm, describing it like walking on water and playing with bursts of energy that have traveled halfway around the world.

Over the past 12 months Thompson continued filming in Mavericks, including the day Davis suffered a near-fatal heart

attack while on the water and had to fight for his life as he paddled back. Since Thompson had been following Davis, he knew his backstory, including how he broke his back and still continued his passion for surfing. Putting it all together, the injury, recovery, then the heart attack, Thompson began to shape Davis’s life into a film. That’s why in January 2020 Thompson released the trailer for the 30 to 40 minute cut. Made with support from Panasonic as well as his own funds, the film has a working title of “A Man and the Sea.” It’s slated for release in 2021.

“This film is kinda bizarre,” Thompson says. “Christy broke his back, recovered in four months, had a season in Mavericks, paddles out and then has a heart attack.

He then has to paddle into shore. He barely survived.”

In the film Thompson uses speed, slow motion and fast motion to draw the viewers close to the subject, taking them on a ride on the gently cutting surfboard, among the crashing waves and the bright yellow light reflecting off the ocean.

Thompson is partnering with Emmy award-winning editor Erik Butts as well as narrator Peter Coyote to make the film. He’s financing the movie from his hired work on other projects. “I make short, powerful films for business owners and artists to communicate their work concisely and deepen their connection and trust with their audience,” he says. Thompson also works as a guest lecturer at the Bodega

OPPOSITE PAGE: GERMAN PROFESSIONAL HIGHLINER LUKAS IRMLER WALKING THE EICHORN PINNACLE HIGHLINE, FALL 2018. THIS PAGE, TOP: CHRISTY DAVIS AT MAVERICKS, JUST BEFORE HIS HEART ATTACK. AFTER HIS SUCCUSSFUL STENT SURGERY, CHRISTY SHOWED THIS PHOTO TO HIS CARDIOLOGIST AND DESCRIBED THE CRITICAL DROP. “DO YOU THINK IT CAUSED THE HEART ATTACK?” CHRISTY ASKED. THE CARDIOLOGIST LOOKED AT THE PHOTO. “YES,” HE SAID, HANDING CHRISTY BACK HIS PHONE. THIS PAGE, BOTTOM: BRADEN MAYFIELD ON HIS LEGENDARY DECADE LONG DREAM HIGHLINE, THE MATTHES CREST. “I HAD TO BILLY GOAT MY WAY IN THE NEIGHBORING ECHO PEAKS TO LINE UP THIS ANGLE. JUST WHEN BRADEN GOT ON THE LINE, THE CLOUDS PARTED, AND THE ROCK LIT UP FOR HIS WALK,” RECALLED THOMPSON.

Bay Marine Lab for a scientific filmmaking graduate seminar at UC Davis. Since we’ve met, he’s obtained work for clients all over the world, including watchmaker Omega, for whom he worked as a camera operator in a hot air balloon that served as a platform for BASE jumpers.

During our most recent call in December 2019, Thompson shared work that follows an entirely different thread. He said he’s making films about indigenous culture in Ireland, Scotland and California. Then he emailed over another clip. In “Skye,” he shows a two-minute movie capturing an old man in Ireland reflecting on life as he walks through the countryside. As it begins, the man says “If you have no past, you have no future,” while Thompson’s dramatic scenes show sea cliffs, a crooked river and water cascading toward the camera. The man compares the rivers to arteries in the heart. “There is life in everything,” he says as he looks off into the distance. Thompson is releasing this short film in February.

Thompson seeks out these stories of fascinating characters. At UC Berkeley he studied Celtic literature, linguistic anthropology and did coursework in journalism. Prior to attending college, Thompson lived in a tent in southwest England for a year and this experience, he says, was the foundation for his studies at Cal. By day he’d shoot and by night, for inspiration, he’d read medieval books by candlelight. While stateside, “I’ve filmed weddings and funerals,” he said. “I’ve shot a hot dog eating championship in Vallejo and an economist for the New York Times. I’ve even filmed school plays,” he said.

“One of the most moving things I’ve seen was while shooting a funeral. I found that to be extremely meaningful.” With his camera on a tripod, Thompson stood still, his mind capturing all the emotions he observed — the tears and laughter — as guests walked on stage to talk about the deceased. That early inspiration shows up in his films. It’s in the way he develops his characters, how he focuses on people’s eyes and emotions.

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STILLS FROM A CULTURAL FILM ON NATIVE SCOTTISH CULTURE, OUT FEBRUARY 2020. “IF YOU GO BACK TO THE DRUIDS, NATURE WAS THE LARGEST PART OF THE RELIGION, AND THEY REGARDED THE WORLD AS A GREAT BEATING HEART.EVERYTHING WAS ALIVE. EVERYTHING HAD ITS OWN SPIRIT, AND ALL THE POWERS OF NATURE CAN BE CONTAINED IN STORIES.” — SEANCHAÍ (A TRADITIONAL GAELIC STORY TELLER) ON THE CENTRALITY OF NATURE IN INDIGENOUS SCOTTISH CULTURE.

Today, now a year out of university, Thompson lives with his girlfriend on the Sonoma Coast.

While he pours his passion into his work behind the camera, that same passion bleeds into his romantic relationship. He shared how he recently brought the two worlds together: “We had a date in a meadow in Fort Ross near 200-yearold apple trees,” he said. “I broke out my camera and filmed it. Instead of telling someone I love them, I can show them. Films are a container for certain thoughts and experiences for the viewer to enjoy.” Today his passion projects and for-pay projects blur together and he travels for months on end from one shoot to the next. His hard work pays off: He’s received awards for Best Slackline Film, where he won $1,000 at the 2016 Adventure Film Festival and another $1,000 for second place at the Montreal Jackalope Film Contest.

Thompson’s most recent projects include working as a cinematographer and editor for a promotional film for Switzerland’s World Heritage Site on setting the hammock world record along a chairlift. Vibram Five Fingers also hired him to make a trail running film in Mallorca.

“Every job I take now I check boxes,” says Thompson. “Is this for money or to advance my career? This way I can create boundaries for my company, and it helps me stay focused.” For his paid gigs, companies hire him to conceive, film and edit a movie, or be a first or second camera operator. For his resume gigs it’s all about choosing projects that sound inspiring. It must be a fun place to be career-wise.

There is a Go Fund Me account set up for Thompson’s film about 67 year old Maverick’s surfer, Christy Davis. To see the trailer and donate to this project, search “A Man and the Sea” at gofundme.org.

THOMPSON ON A SHOOT IN BAVARIA FOR PANASONIC. THOMPSON SAYS, “DURING MOST OF MY TWENTIES, MY INTELLECTUAL INTERESTS AND MY LIFE AS A FILMMAKER WERE ANTITHETICAL. OVER THE LAST YEARS, I HAVE FINALLY STRUCK SOME KIND OF BALANCE, USING MY SKILLS AS A FILMMAKER TO EXPRESS THE IDEAS I HAVE BEEN STUDYING, WHILE CONTINUING TO MAKE OUTDOOR FILMS AS WELL. THESE TWO PREVIOUSLY DISPARATE THREADS ARE BEING BRAIDED TOGETHER TO MAKE A RICHER WHOLE.” PHOTO BY KATIE DUBOIS.

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THE WEED WORKOUT Proceed with caution while using cannabis in the great outdoors

Yes, I’ll admit it – I have gotten high while playing outdoors. A good old fashioned “safety meeting” while snowboarding can in fact take a day on the slopes to an elevated level. Making the sun shine brighter, the snow whiter and the sound of your board carving up the powder truly sublime.

That said, when California legalized “recreational” pot in late 2016 with Proposition 64, it created a lot of confusion. Too many outdoor enthusiasts were smoking (and eating) pot for the first time without any sort of guidance. For some inexperienced weed users this led to some negative situations while participating in outdoor sports and even some actual danger. Weed is not something to be taken lightly, especially in the era of high potency strains. Smoking or eating pot in a cavalier way while pushing our limits outside can be a recipe for disaster. That’s why it’s crucial to treat cannabis like a powerful form of medicine, even if the purpose might be just having fun. When we think of pot as medicine we go through a mental checklist and ask the right questions, leading to better results. Is this the right dosage? Is this the right strain? Is this the right time? Will this help me connect to my friends and my surroundings? Treating weed like medicine will ensure the best and safest results.

Gone are the days of crouching behind a rock or tree – sneaking a toke or two. Now, it’s full on out in the open: people using vape pens, edibles and pre-rolls, to name a few. Everywhere I look – people are getting stoned! Let’s be clear, I am in no way advocating the recreational use of marijuana legal or otherwise in this article. However, with the cultural shift happening as marijuana is now legal to use as a recreational drug, I feel it is necessary to have an open conversation on how the use of marijuana affects the body during exercise. Just like other substances such as alcohol, nicotine or caffeine, consuming too much marijuana could have negative health consequences and even land you in jail. Here are some points to consider when thinking about incorporating marijuana into your sport or fitness routine.

Marijuana stimulates hunger, aka “the munchies.” So, if your fitness goal is to shed a few pounds, think again before taking that hit of weed. Marijuana also has been found to lower impulse control, making that slice of pizza versus a healthy salad mighty hard to resist. Something to consider.

There are many new ways that marijuana can be ingested. But most commonly, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is consumed by inhaling it. Be it a joint, pipe, bong, or vaporizer, inhaling marijuana can cause irritation and inflammation of the lungs and bronchial tubes, which can negatively impact your respiratory function – making your breathing less efficient. This is especially critical when in high altitude environments. So, if you’re already huffing and puffing in your workout, a hit of weed probably won’t help.

For some people getting high on cannabis can increase feelings of anxiety, paranoia or depression. It’s good to be aware that using marijuana could create unpredictable changes to your normal emotional state. Talk to your local dispensary if these are common side effects, as they may be able to recommend specific strains than can lessen these effects with use.

Using marijuana can dramatically affect your motor skills. When under the influence, you may experience changes in visual perception, coordination and reaction times. For some people weed can help them focus, creating an almost tunnel like vision, which can help enhance the flow state we feel when in “the zone.” But over-ingesting THC can create the opposite mood, posing a serious risk to yourself, or others given the inherent dangers of outdoor sports. It’s best to take baby steps. Stick with lighter, easier, known trials, areas, etc. if you’re wanting to experiment mixing cannabis with your sport or exercise routine. Certain strains of marijuana can quite literally put you on your ass, increasing feelings of lethargy and sleepiness, which can drastically reduce your motivation to exercise. If lack of motivation is a key problem to achieving your sport and fitness goals, best to forget the bud and get a workout buddy instead!

Use of marijuana can also impair shortterm memory, and prolonged use could have a negative effect on overall cognitive function. A recent study found that THC significantly impaired recall for two hours after consumption. If your sport requires you to navigate, unless you literally leave a trail of breadcrumbs, you might not recall how to get back home. Proceed with caution if in unfamiliar surroundings.

Those who use cannabis on a frequent basis can build up a tolerance to the THC, requiring greater amounts of the drug to experience the same effects. Even with weed being legal, it is still expensive and habitual use could have a negative impact on your finances, leaving less money for sport related adventures!

Whether you get high or not, marijuana is rapidly becoming an accepted component of mainstream culture. For me, I find using THC in small amounts can enhance my focus and allow me to become more aware of my body alignment and movements, helping me get into the zone better. I don’t use cannabis every time I surf, ride or play. It’s a personal choice, and now it’s a legal one. by Krista Houghton

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Rick Gaukel’s Legacy The AMGA Splitboard Certification and Scholarship

By Leonie Sherman

Rick Gaukel grew up surfing the waves and skating the streets of his hometown, Santa Cruz. He fell in love with the mountains but retained his love of gliding with grace. “Rick was always on a board,” explains his mother Mary Gaukel-Forster. “A skateboard, a surfboard, a snowboard, a splitboard, a wakeboard, a mountainboard … he just loved it. His spirit was to share and bring the joy of the outdoors to everyone.” He found his calling as a backcountry guide when he moved to the Rockies. Gaukel continues to educate and inspire others though he can no longer enjoy the mountains himself.

On April 20, 2013, he and four friends were killed in an avalanche near Loveland Pass, Colorado. He would have been 40 this February. Thanks to the unwavering love of his mother and his wife, Jonna Book — Gaukel’s memory lives on through the American Mountain Guide Association’s Friends of Rick Gaukel Everywhere (FORGE) Splitboard Ski Guide Scholarship.

“I was in labor with Rick for 40 minutes,” Gaukel-Forster can’t help but laugh at the memory. “He came into the world fast and never stopped moving, he was always in motion.” She gestures at photos of her son climbing, skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, jumping off cliffs. “He left us just as fast as he came, and too soon.”

She remembers reading an editor’s note in Adventure Sports Journal soon after his passing. “Something about in order to live your life you have to challenge boundaries. When I read that, I thought of how Rick exemplified the outdoor person who needs a little extra to feel that edge. I might climb a six foot ladder and feel very shaky, or look down after hiking up Half Dome and feel nervous. But Rick needed to be there on the side of it, climbing it.”

Gaukel-Forster pauses. “I’ve learned to find joy in the fact that Rick knew who he was. He had struggled to find his place in the world, but his friends told me in the last six or eight weeks of his life he had finally come to peace with being a backcountry guide. He wasn’t going to own his own

business. He wasn’t going to work in an office. He was going to share his love of the backcountry with others.”

A few tears roll down her cheeks, but she smiles as she looks up. “I could have had him forever if he was a super cautious guy,” she says. “But if he’d been sad, or miserable his whole life or felt restricted and confined, I don’t know that I would be as happy as I am knowing that he found who he was and was doing what he loved.”

The day he passed Gaukel was helping

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“I want people to be safe, but I don’t want them to be fearful. I want people to be aware, but I also want them to know the joy of being who they are.” — Mary Gaukel-Forster, Rick’s Mother

friends with an avalanche awareness fair near Loveland Pass. He hadn’t been feeling well for a few days, but he didn’t want to let his community down. During a lunch break he went off with five other young men to play on some nearby slopes. Only one of them came back.

Gaukel-Forster was at home watching the news when she saw a red banner scroll across the bottom of the screen announcing that five people had died in an avalanche at Loveland Pass. She had a sinking feeling but didn’t realize her son was one of them until the phone rang and a friend of her son in Estes Park gave her the bad news.

“A Rocky Mountain avalanche expert told me they did exactly what you should do in that situation,” explains Gaukel-Forster, who visited the area a few days after the event with the expert. “They were crossing the slope one at a time, it was all planned to be safe, to minimize risk, they were doing everything right. And then there was that sound ...”

She called the coroner in Idaho Springs, Colorado as soon as she knew where her son was being taken. “I told the coroner I was the first one to hold Rick and he would be the last and asked him to please hold my son with tenderness and care.” She wipes away tears. “I just didn’t want him to suffer. I didn’t want him to be in pain, or die alone.”

The whole family could go out to Colorado together. When they arrived at the morgue, the coroner greeted them with a huge hug and told them that Gaukel’s lungs weren’t typical for a suffocation fatality. After the initial shock of the avalanche his heart simply stopped beating. And he was wrapped around his friend Joe. “So he didn’t suffer, and he didn’t die alone,” Gaukel-Forster says with a weak smile.

Family and friends celebrated Gaukel’s life at four memorials; one in Estes Park, Colorado, one in Santa Cruz, one in Pike, New Hampshire and another on his birthday almost a year later. At one of them Gaukel-Forster came up with the idea to offer an annual American Mountain Guide Association backcountry splitboarding scholarship in his memory. “Rick was a pioneer,” his mother explains. When he realized AMGA had a certificate in backcountry skiing but not backcountry splitboarding, he petitioned them to expand their offerings. “It’s thanks to Rick that there’s even a pathway to becoming a recognized splitboarding guide.”

Gaukel-Forster turned grief into action and raised funds to create an annual scholarship for the certification that Gaukel was responsible for creating. “Every year people submit videos of why they want the scholarship,” explains his mother. “And every year it’s been obvious to the six people who make the decision that one of them is channeling Rick’s spirit,” she laughs. “Everyone who has gotten the scholarship has said they are driven by the joy of bringing the backcountry to others. So we say, ‘OK, Rick, we hear you!’”

When Gaukel-Forster heard that another mother who lost her son in an avalanche was going to be at an avalanche safety course offered at Cabrillo College, she had to attend. “I just wanted to give her a hug,” she explains. “She told me, ‘We will do an avalanche training in Santa Cruz every year, and it will always be in honor of your son and mine together,’” Gaukel-Forster says. She finds joy in reconnecting with her son’s tribe as she promotes the event at all his favorite hangouts around town. “Celebrating his spirit right here where he grew up, every year, gives me a way to remember him and pass on his message.”

“I want people to be safe, but I don’t want them to be fearful. I want people to be aware, but I also want them to know the joy of being who they are. As sad and painful as the avalanche was, coming to that moment reflected so deeply on who my son was. He was there to help his friends even though he wasn’t feeling great; he had so much loyalty and commitment to safety and education. I often think ‘Darn you, did you have to be so dramatic about avalanche awareness? There’s other ways to educate people!’”

Roxanne Vogel, Nutrition & Performance Research Manager at the offices of GU Energy Labs in Berkeley, is definitely creative. She’s also fit and smart — and has a technical team that inspires confidence. In May 2019, she climbed Mt. Everest in 14 days, ‘car to car,’ as climbers say — Berkeley to Everest summit to Berkeley. She’s the first person ever to do so. The goal of this “lightning ascent” technique is to reduce the time it takes the body to acclimate to the world’s tallest peak, through training, technology and nutrition.

Berkeley to Everest & Back in 14 Days

By Dierdre Wolownick

Roxanne Vogel, Nutrition & Performance Research Manager at the offices of GU Energy Labs in Berkeley, is a fast climber. In May 2019, she climbed Mt. Everest in 14 days, ‘car to car,’ as climbers say — Berkeley to Everest summit to Berkeley. She’s the first person ever to do so. The goal of this “lightning ascent” approach is to reduce the time it takes the body to acclimate to the world’s tallest peak, through training, technology and nutrition.

Vogel is an accomplished alpinist; before Everest, she had climbed more than 12 summits over 15,000 feet, including five of the seven highest summits on each continent. No matter how accomplished, though, one has to think differently to even imagine summiting Everest in a mere two weeks total.

It usually takes from two months to a year to get ready. Alpinists who prepare for Everest have to train their bodies to perform at a high cardio level without the rich oxygenated mix we breathe at sea level, while carrying heavy loads uphill. They climb mountains — preferably up to or above 20,000 feet — to acquire endurance and experience dealing with the specialized gear and equipment, like jumars, crampons, and ice axes. They take supplements for vitamins, antioxidants and other nutrients that will be lacking during the whole summit experience (no fresh fruits or veggies up there). Not Vogel. Instead of sleeping in a tent on the side of a really high mountain, she slept in her own bed at sea level — but that bed was enclosed in a tent that simulated the conditions at elevation, especially the lack of oxygen. Instead of hiking up and down for months at 20,000 feet, she worked every day at her job in a sea-level office that included a small hypoxia chamber where she trained, with weights, and where she simply did her day job — while breathing thinner air. Many aspiring climbers lose up to 20% of their body weight while attempting Everest. At altitude, people lose lean tissue — their body basically ‘eats’ their muscle tissue. Vogel lost 20 pounds but all of it before she left, and most of it from fat. Sleeping in the tent changes the way the body loses its weight, she says, and she was trained to “fat-adapt” for months before her departure. For the last five years she’s been training hard, and eating a more or less paleo diet.

Part of the difference is gender. “Women,” she says, “are better fat-burners, in general.”

It also takes a certain personality, she adds, to commit fully to the rigors of the altitude and physical training. And time is a big factor. Not many people have the 20 or so hours it requires per week to prepare for lightning ascents of the world’s highest mountains.

Vogel wasn’t always this driven. No one in her family was “outdoorsy,” she says, laughing at the memory. She played the usual sports as a kid, “just for fun.” While she was in college, she discovered some of the joys of the outdoors, but it was in Peru, where she hiked on Incan trails, that she fell in love with the natural world. While going through a divorce, she experimented with getting out of her comfort zone — and wound up at Everest Base Camp. The peaks awed her, and she made herself a promise there. “I need to climb those things,” she vowed. She went on to get her M.S. in Exercise Physiology, then moved to Denver, where she began climbing and making friends with the mountains. When she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, 19,340 feet, in Tanzania (Africa), she discovered that her body does well at “this high altitude thing.”

Encouraged by her body’s ability to cope easily with the demands of altitude, Vogel is on a mission to climb the “Seven Summits,” the highest mountain on each continent.

Still, Everest in 14 days — surely that requires enormous confidence. And support.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GU ENERGY LABS She laughs again at that. “The chance of death was only about five percent.” (I guess that makes some people confident.) “No, my family, all the people who knew me, couldn’t believe it.”

I wondered whether any of them had tried to talk her out of it.

“In the beginning they didn’t realize the extent,” she clarified. “I told them, ‘I’m going for a hike for a couple weeks.’ They didn’t really understand the whole “fast” thing. And I didn’t really try to make them understand!”

I couldn’t help but think about my son, Alex Honnold, not telling me, or anyone, about his free solos before he did them. There are some things a parent just doesn’t want, or need, to know.

Support, though, was plentiful at the GU offices, where everyone is an athlete and understands being driven to accomplish new goals. They encourage all of their athlete/ employees to set physical goals for themselves each year, and they all celebrate when someone achieves one of them.

One of her colleagues, Magdalena Boulet, knows all about setting goals. Boulet is Vice-President of Innovation, Research and Development at GU. Although she grew up as a swimmer, she qualified for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 in marathon running. Originally from Poland, she attributes her own tenacity to “mostly those tough Polish genes.”

Boulet needed help, though, in fueling her activities, and Vogel is a sports nutritionist. The two women have worked to accomplish many extreme sports goals together, including an ascent of the Ojos del Salado, a peak of 22,615 feet in Ecuador.

Everest, though, takes it to the next level. I was curious what drove a petite young woman from the Bay Area to attempt such a goal.

“Deep down,” she explains, “I’m just a big nerd. I’ve always been fascinated with high altitude physiology,

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: VOGEL ON THE SUMMIT OF EVEREST WITH HER FRIEND AND GUIDE LYDIA BRADEY; VOGEL TRAIL RUNNING IN THE MARIN HEADLANDS; A SELFIE FROM EVEREST BASE CAMP

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“Deep down, I’m just a big nerd. I’ve always been fascinated with high altitude physiology, and I guess that just pushed me to make myself a bit of a guinea pig.” — Roxanne Vogel

and I guess that just pushed me to make myself a bit of a guinea pig.”

Besides, she explains further, “I thought it was a long shot. Maybe only a 10 to 30 percent chance of success, even if we stayed longer, 30 days or more. We were watching the weather. It was terrible, and very windy.”

They approached from the north, in Tibet (a contested part of China). Most climbers ascend from the other side, which is where the infamous pictures of the dangerous Everest crowds are taken.

But that long shot paid off, and — to her great surprise — she found herself on the summit of Everest.

“I was so tired!” she recalls. “I had banners, logos, sponsors’ things. But I was too tired to pull them out. I knew none of that was going to happen.

“It was really hard to process,” she continues, smiling at the memory. “I was just so, so tired! And then I looked around, and thought, ‘where is everybody?’ We summited at noon, and there were only four of us up there.

“As we got higher, I remember this outof-body kind of experience. You watch yourself walk, hear yourself breathing hard. Then, above 20,000 feet, you put the oxygen on, and it’s like, ’Whoa! I’m back!’” “Did it change your life?” I couldn’t help but think about all the back-country climbs I’ve done with my son or my friends. Each one changed my life in so many subtle, or not-so-subtle, ways. But this monster ...

Her long pause as she thought about my question said clearly that she probably wouldn’t formulate an in-depth response to that for a long time; but she did try to answer it for me.

“My life is … not very different, but there’s been a fair amount of outreach from the media.” A shrug, another pause. I could see her mind scrambling, remembering, processing.

I left her to think about the rest. The “why” of climbing is never easy to explain.

EARN YOUR BEER Suicidal Tendencies MTB

Words and photo by James Murren Words and photo by James Murren

THE EARNING: MOUNTAIN BIKING PRECIPICE > SIDEWINDER > SUICIDAL TENDENCIES > SIDEWINDER > BARREL ROLL

Afew miles west of St. George, UT on Route 8 is the Santa Clara River Reserve, which has a network of trails open to mountain biking. Local beta from the Dixie Mountain Bike Trails Association confirmed that Suicidal Tendencies lollipop is on the expert end of the skill set needed to ride it.

To get to the lollipop, I headed out from the Cove Wash Trailhead on Precipice which connects right into Sidewinder, a steady incline that is not all that noticeable when eyeballing the landscape, but is obvious when breathing while pedaling a mountain

bicycle. I pedaled for a little over 2.5 miles before the stick of the Suicidal Tendencies’ 4.0 mile lollipop was under my tires, marked by a trail sign.

At the loop-of-the-lollipop junction, I went left. I knew the first sets of switchbacks would be hairy, and they did not disappoint. Without any qualms, especially since I did not see any other riders, I dismounted at a super tight set and then got comfortable and dropped down into a wash, at which point the trail went quickly back up to some precipitous riding. I pedaled with relative ease as the trail went up and up, leading to a spectacular view of the valley floor to the west.

From there, I went down, down, down, passing through juniper trees. The mix of desert scrub and the junipers, with long views of the red rock desert, the Pine Valley Mountains, and all the way to Zion’s walls, had me flying high. Add in the slabby drops and tech-rock riding, and I was in a happy place.

It was not long before I was back at the lollipop junction and heading back down the lollipop stick to Sidewinder, reveling in the fun romping descent. Instead of going back on Precipice, I cut off on Barrel Roll, a different return trail, but characterized the same: flowy twists and turns with a big wide open viewscape.

No doubt, Santa Clara offers up tech mountain biking trails. I barely scratched the surface, putting it on my list for future plans to get back and scratch it some more. blm.gov/visit/search-details/16381/2

THE BEER: SILVER REEF BREWING COMPANY COLOR COUNTRY RED ALE, 5% ABV, BELGO-RED

Now that the state of Utah allows for 5% beer, up from 4%, to be brewed by Utah breweries and sold in-state, a nice session beer is avalailable to enjoy after your preferred way to Earn Your Beer.

In St. George, Silver Reef Brewing Company has a red ale like I have never tasted of the style. Up front, on the nose, there is the classic banana scent of a Belgian ale, which plays with your mind a little when considering that you are drinking a red ale, coppery in color. To be clear, this is not a sour red ale, perhaps of the Flanders style. Instead, it is a classic red ale (Irish/ European) with malt backbone, as they say, and a dash of hops that comes together to make it an easy-drinker, the Belgian yeast flipping things on its head a bit. In the parking lot after my ride, while taking in the view of the stunning red rock desert landscape in the distance with the Pine Valley Mountains rising up from it, I thought Color Country Red was a perfect beer to cap off my southwestern Utah mountain biking experience. That section of riding through juniper forest in the desert was as surprising as the Belgian banana notes of the red ale.

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Protect Our Winters A Voice for Responsible Climate Policy

Words by Leonie Sherman • Photos by Ming Poon

On a balmy February day a few years ago, my best friend and I biked from the valley floor to Glacier Point Road in Yosemite National Park. Badger Pass, California’s first ski resort, was deserted. We sat in t-shirts and gawked at the post-apocalyptic scene: chairlifts creaking in the wind while ravens picked at the grassy slopes. Elite athlete, snowboarding phenom and film star Jeremy Jones noticed the disappearance of winter over a decade earlier and did more than just sit and gawk. He founded the organization Protect Our Winters to unite the outdoor community to come together and fight climate change. “POW activates and educates about what we need to do to win. We are so strong when we work together,” Jones explains.

“My life is shaped around winter, and snow and the environment. I just have a deep love for it,” he says. “I started POW in 2007 because I was seeing changes to the mountains. We are a community tied to snow and the outdoors, and we know our sport is on a dead end path. I’m in a position where I can bring people together

and say ‘Hey, we need to do something about this.’”

At that point he wanted to give money to a group focusing on climate. But he couldn’t find one that resonated with the outdoor community. “Friends kept telling me I should start one. For two years I fought starting it myself. I was not thinking ‘I need more meaning in my life, I’m going to start a non-profit!’” Jones says with a laugh. “But it became really clear that we had an issue and needed to do something about it. The fact is, I’m super fortunate. I’m in this position because people support me and come to my films and have given me this platform. The very least I can do is use it wisely.”

He’s displayed wisdom and humility in the creation of POW, which now employs 12 full-time staff. “Our early ads never had me in them. I tried to do everything I could so it wasn’t a Jeremy Jones thing.” He approached companies that weren’t already sponsoring him and leveraged his extensive network. “I’m not an expert in the field of climate but I learned really early on how to ask people to lend their

expertise and surround myself with really good people.”

One of those good people is current Executive Director Mario Molina. Originally from Guatemala, Molina served as the Deputy Director for Alliance for Climate Education and later worked with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project. A masters degree in Geoscience Analysis familiarized him with current climate science and five years running sustainable travel projects in the mountains of Ecuador made him painfully aware of how rapidly changes were happening. “No model that we have shows climate change happening in a week,” he says with a laugh, “but it’s definitely not going to be the hundreds of years a lot of people told us it would be.”

Molina joined POW because of the people it brings together. “The outdoor recreation industry and profession brings forth some of the best of the best in terms of performance athletes and also the character and values of people involved,” explains Molina. “It’s really encouraging and motivating and humbling to have these amazing people involved.”

POW started their fight against climate change by advocating for awareness and simple personal actions people can take. “Reusable water bottles, changing light bulbs, carpooling, those kinds of things,” Jones explains. “But then we realized, through experts, that we need policy change to see meaningful results.”

POW was influential in lobbying Congress to oppose a rider to a tax bill which allowed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which passed by only three votes. “Before 2016 we actually had some success at the federal level, but after the presidential election we knew we had to shift our focus to the state level,” explains Jones. “We focus on purple states, places that are right on the brink of embracing a clean energy future or doubling down on the fossil fuel industry. We are currently working hard in Nevada, Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Maine, Ohio, and Florida. We aim to get them to embrace clean energy and stop incentivizing fossil fuel extraction.” Both Nevada and Colorado have committed to 100% renewable energy by 2050.