Salomon/Crested Butte
presented by Salomon USA

This past weekend Team Salomon/Crested Butte secured two of our seasons goals by winning the Adventure Xtreme overall series title and placing first in the season finale, Moab Xtreme Expedition race! After winning four out of five races in the series up to this point, we were motivated to crush the Expedition race.

The race started and finished along the shores of the Colorado River at the Red Cliffs Lodge (think PQ 2006 folks). With a noon Thursday start time the weather this time of the year was not a factor until late Friday night. At this point a weather system moved in and the winds picked up to 35-60 MPH, and the team found ourselves running knife edge ridge tops along the Maniti- La Sal mountain range picking off check points in the dark. Dressed head to toe in down jackets, hats, gloves and head lamps it was hard to tell if we were dressed for Winter in Crested Butte, CO or if we were really in Moab, UT.

After four days of racing over 300+ miles, with nearly 32,000 feet of elevation gain Team Salomon/Crested Butte was the only four person team to complete the entire course. (The rest of the competition was short coursed to an abbreviated route in order to get to the finish line). Another testament to the team's chemistry, fortitude, and horsepower that we have developed.

Dare I say its time to finally start focusing on the COSMIC Ski Mountaineering Series! There is snow up high around the Crested Butte Mountains!!