Forty-seven down, seven to go. The clock is ticking for Aspen ski mountaineer Chris Davenport in his attempt to become the first person to ski from the summit of all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks within a calendar year. But after knocking off the difficult and fickle Kit Carson Peak (14,165 feet) in the relatively snow-parched Sangre de Cristo Range on Wednesday, Davenport is feeling optimistic.
As noted on Davenport’s project website, www.skithe14ers.com, Kit Carson was the last 14er in ski pioneer Lou Dawson’s successful quest to become the first person to ski all the Colorado 14ers. The peak near the southern edge of the Colorado Sangres took Dawson several attempts and marked the culmination of a 14-year project. With a little more luck on their side, Davenport and his partner, Ted Mahon of Aspen, managed to summit the peak and ski more than 3,000 vertical feet of predominantly good snow on the southeast face in their first attempt this season.
Because of sparse snow last winter, several of Davenport’s seven remaining peaks are located in the Sangre de Cristo Range. With more snow, he hopes to ski the remaining mountains – Blanca, Little Bear, Humboldt, Crestone Needle, Shavano, Princeton and Longs Peak – in the next month.
Although scheduled to begin Jan. 1, 2006, the project technically didn’t get underway until Jan. 22, 2006, so Davenport still has a little time remaining in his schedule. Although he’s still committed to skiing as many of the 14ers as possible by Dec. 31, completing the quest by Jan. 21, 2007, will still qualify under Davenport’s ethics. “Beyond that, Mother Nature willing, I’ll finish them off as soon as possible,” he states.
CYCLING: Overend triumphs
Durango cycling legend Ned Overend (Specialized) added another feather in his cap after winning the master men’s 50-54 division as a surprise starter in the 2006 USA Cycling National Cyclo-Cross Championships last weekend. Stuck in the middle of the pack at the starting line, Overend quickly showed start position is irrelevant to the former world mountain bike champion, taking the lead after only half a lap on the Providence, R.I., course. There, he and Specialized teammate Henry Kramer worked together to distance themselves from the chasing field.
With two laps to go, Overend displayed the power that has won him so many races and rode away from Kramer and the rest of the field for his first masters title.
Katie Compton of Colorado Springs also added to her trophy case over the weekend by winning her third overall national title in the women’s competition. The Spike Professional Team/Primus Mootry rider sprinted ahead of reigning U.S. national mountain bike champion Georgia Gould after the second turn of the first lap and never looked back.
Centennial’s Danny Summerhill (TIAA-CREF/CLIF Bar) showed the field that last year’s victory in the junior men 17-18 division was no fluke, following it up with a convincing win over New England native Ethan Gilmour on Saturday. Teammate Taylor Phinney, son of former cycling star Davis Phinney of Boulder, battled his way to third in the race.
In the weekend’s marquee event, Ryan Trebon of Ventura, Calif., won his first national cyclo-cross title in the men’s pro division after attacking the lead group in the hills of the race’s first lap.
Other notable finishes in the event included: Amy Dombroski (Excel Sports) of Boulder, first in women’s U23; Danielle Haulman (Hot Tubes) of Denver, first in junior women 17-18; Dennis Farrell (Red Rocks Velo) of Littleton, second, and Karl Kiester (Spike Professional Cycling Team) of Denver, fourth in men’s masters 45-49; Gary Thacker (Chipotle-Titus Mountain Bike Team) of Boulder, fourth in men’s masters 50-54; Grant Berry (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory) of Durango, third in men’s masters 30-34.
(COMPILED BY STAFF WRITER SCOTT WILLOUGHBY)
