My 14er record attempt

[Neil]

By my admittedly better morning math, Homie needs to summit Handies by 9:00 to stay on Cave Dog's pace. Cave Dog summited Handies at 6:17 a.m. Given Homie's +2:45 start time, that would be the equivalent of 9:00 for Homie. We can still run side-by-side metrics, since Cave Dog and Homie have largely taken the same route to this point (the only changes being some MINOR variations in Chicago Basin and Homie doing a traverse from Kilpacker Basin to ROA TH vs. Cave Dog doing a r/t from the old Silver Pick TH). Anyway, the order will probably get more scattered after the San Juans and Sangres, so it's fun to follow split and total times now while we can!

[djkest]

Oh man! Homie has decided to ascend the West Face of Handies instead of taking the trail. He's been going for 70 minutes and is about 13,000 feet right now. The west face is very steep and holds some loose rock near the ridge crest. Still, this should be shorter and may help him make up some time.

[dnye]

A question from a mortal:

Is Homie running most of the time he is on the trail? or does he run the flats/downhills and agressively climb the uphills? I have no clue how one would pace themselves for basically 11 days of continuous hiking. Obviously, "pace" is a relative term when you are talking about an athlete like Homie compared to someone like me.

[dnye]

Speaking of craziness, based upon his tracking progress he has gone from 11,500' to basically 13,500' in 50 minutes on Handies....haha what?

[Jeff Valliere]

I would suspect that the majority of the uphill consists of fast hiking and then jogging much or most of the down. For an effort this long, it is all about not reaching LT and constant forward motion (albeit pretty fast constant forward motion).

[unclegar]

Can't help but notice how this only serves to emphasize how incredible the current record is...

My thoughts exactly. Whether he breaks the record or not, I think a lot more people will have a better realization of what Cave Dog actually accomplished. I know I will.

Sippin' coffee, watching Homie and feeling absolutely slothful. Cheers headed your way!

That makes 2 of us.

[Neil]

Wow, so this is getting pretty real right now. In order to match Cave Dog's time to the top of Handies, Homie would have to summit at exactly 9:02. Homie was crossing the 14,000 ft. contour at 8:57. Neck and neck. Man I'm glad I don't have much to do today.

[djkest]

Looks like John "Homie" Prater just hit the summit of Handies at 9:04 AM. I think the SPOT location is a little off.

[Trenhes]

What I find so amazing about this attempt is the mental attitude and focus it must take. The physical part of this is unbelievable in itself, however training can prepare for that aspect of this feat, although it would be a rare few who could accomplish something like this. I'm sure he will be fighting thoughts and all kinds of mental anguish during this endeavour. Not only the drive to keep going, but the focus to keep safe while moving fast over these mountains all in a time where sleep deprivation has to be a critical factor. Just unbelievable!
I thought he would have several pacers with him trading off during different ascents. To do these alone in the dark and during bad weather at this pace just blows my mind. I wish him all the best.

Good luck and be safe Homie!

[Neil]

Unreal. He just checked in (meaning summited Handies) at 9:04. Two minutes later than Cave Dog's time. Two incredible athletes essentially tied after 24 hours. The check in shows him on Handies's east slopes because he's probably too fast for the SPOT, as has been mentioned. So, it looks like he's heading down Griz Gulch. This is better than ANYTHING EVER on TV.

EDIT -- Agreed djkest. Just saw your post.

[dnye]

This is better than ANYTHING EVER on TV.

+1

[SnowAlien]

It is going to be on TV soon.

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