2009 - Year 8 - Spring Mountain Highway Madness

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Or so it felt as we assembled under the Kintec tent at the start of the 8th annual Mountain Highway Madness.  Global warming?  What global warming?  Yes, Mother Nature threw another late-season curve ball and gave us the most snow in the history of this event.  

In summary, the event was a disaster for those hoping to set a course speed record or get in multiple loops.  For those who toed the line in the snow, however, our run turned out to be an unforgettably beautiful group run in the untracked powder. 

The Mountain Highway Madness course takes a summer access dirt road from a residential neighborhood to an old quarry on the side of Fromme Mountain on Vancouver's north shore.  There was a dusting of snow at the start, but as soon as we passed the first of several switchbacks, it was deep enough for me to use my snowshoes.  As we climbed the mountain, the snow got progressively deeper... and deeper... and deeper. 

Rob Ruff did an excellent job of breaking trail through the powdery snow which, near the turnaround, was almost knee-deep.  A reluctant sun peeked from behind the snow-laden pines from time to time.  Apart from our heavy breathing and a weird sound that we later determined was from trees rubbing together, it was totally silent. 

As has been the case in previous years, the runners beat the snowshoer both up to the turnaround and back to the start.  Since most of us ran as a group, we opted to go for a coffee in front of a fireplace rather than run another lap.  As we walked back to our cars, Laddie pointed out that it was 17C for one of the first spring Mountain Highway Madness runs. 

Thanks to Kintec and Trail Runner magazine for the prizes.  It was tougher than normal to award them.  I am pleased to announce that none of the starters of this year's event got lost.  I am also thankful that there were no "purple heart" awards handed out to recognize outstanding injuries incurred during the run.  Thanks to all who made the time to search in the snow for trash to pick up, I had some bonus points to award.  Special mention goes out to the 3 runners who wore shorts and persevered the snow without whining. 

I hope to see you all back in September for the fall version of Mountain Highway Madness so you can compare the experience and your split times with and without snow.

Ean Jackson
Host of the Mountain Highway Madness

PS If you participated in the run, please take a moment to fill out the Club's Post Event Survey. You can also leave your comments, impressions from the run and feedback via the comment link below (you need to be signed in for that) or in your CFA blog.

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Preliminary Results. Please check for missed times/names/distances and forward corrections to the EH via the comment form below or email.

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