25th annual Quadrathlon at Mt Taylor (Grants: yard, bikes, county)

[Solidwood]

Saturday, February 16th,

2008 Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon is a 42 mile race to the top (and back) of the highest peak in Northwest New Mexico.

Mt. Taylor is 11,301 ft. high. The race constists of 4 parts; road bikes, running, cross crounty skiing, and snow shoeing. If this is your first visit, here is a description of the race:
Bike:
Racers begin with a 13 mile road race through the streets of Grants and begin the 1,800 foot climb from desert cactus to ponderosa pine.
Run:
At the end of the paved road, bikes are parked and racers must run the next five miles on gravel roads. The road generally starts out dry but usually turns to snow pack. This part of the course will climb 1,200 feet in elevation.
Cross County Ski:
Runners then turn to cross-country skis to challenge the next 1,200 foot climb of the mountaineering ski course that covers two miles. During the final yards of this course you must face the notorious "Heart Break Hill" that lies waiting for weary racers.
Snowshoe:
The remaining one mile climb on snowshoes gains 600 feet to reach the 11,301 foot summit of Mt. Taylor where a person can see for over one hundred miles on a clear-sky day. That's half of the race over. Turn around and go back down for the rest.

[mortimer]

Solid wood posted about:

"Heart Break Hill"

I've always called that the Endless Meadow, but I've only gone up it without the snow. It doesn't look like much in these shots (four pictures down):
https://home.att.net/~mortimer531/mt/taylor_03.htm
Don't be fooled.

Your description of the event makes me nauseous just reading it. What incredible shape one has to be in just to make it.

For the pictures above, us wussies drove up to the trailhead.
Thanks for the comedown.