Red Bull 5000 Down

6000 feet of climbing during the Gran Fondo and then it was time for 5000 down - Red Bull 5000 Down, from the Peak of Whistler to the Long Horn.

I have to admit it's been a long time since I downhill raced, so taking all things into account, I decided to start slow, stay at the back and then if all went well, pour it on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceC8dM3zvqE&feature=player_embeddedhttp:

I arrived at the Roundhouse just in time to join all the other participants in heading over to the Peak Chair for our final assent. Upon arrival we were greeted by the familiar arch and the unfamiliar white stuff - Snow, yes about 6-8 inches of fluffy, wetish snow.

With no seeding run and no ambition I planted myself firmly at the rear. 130 intrepid dh adventurers were about to commence the first mass start DH on Whistler.

It's nice to take off the performance pressure and just participate, it's kinda what this whole weekend was about for me. 3,2,1 and Go! we were off - slip slidding our way down the mountain. We quickly formed into two lines with very little passing possible. I took a full on header into a snow bank, filled my left glove up, took a couple pictures and generally enjoyed the start. As we picked up speed and my goggles filled with mud I began to wonder at the sanity of what I was doing. People were stretched out all over the mountain and the mass start was over, we were now on course in small groups.

As I cruised down a little farther my hands became increasingly cold until I finally stopped to replace my wet gloves with fresh dry gloves. There is something about thawing fingers that just hurts sooooooo much, but once thawed and into the new dry gloves it was game on. The course was wet, muddy, but very well laid out. I passed a few more lost souls and crossed the line with a big grin.

No practice, terrible conditions, but a great attitude - I was out for the adventure and I had a great time - This weekend of 6000 up and 5000 down really brought to light the 'fun' that can be had - if you sieze the moment and enjoy. Carpe Diem.

Rip it Up
Dre