Horsetooth

Had a go at lowering my fastest time to the top of Horsetooth today by way of the slightly longer, but faster Southridge service drive. Despite some significant patches of ice and slop on Soderburg and Southridge, I was able to cut my time by 10 seconds on the up and a minute overall.

Today's route is probably the quickest way up the mountain, although there is a third option which is to come up on the backside of Horsetooth on a connector piece of singletrack (Audra Culver) about two-thirds the way up the Southridge route. That stretch has good footing and might be a bit shorter, but it's also pretty twisty. Six of one, half a dozen the other probably. Still, worth a stab if the snow stays away.

I got up and down in 42:51, with a climb of 26:05 and a drop of 16:46. The descent included about 10 seconds at the top getting my breath, and an ass-flop on icy rocks, but it was faster than the 17:37 I did coming down the hiking trail last time out. To beat Jonathan Vigh's fastest known drop of 15:23, I'd need to shave a minute and half from today's time. I figure the conditions were worth a minute both up and down, so I should be able to give it a close run in dry conditions. Beyond that, a goal of sub-40 seems like a good motivator to run hard every now and then through the winter.

Bench - 4:59
Wathan - 19:49
Summit - 26:05
Descent - 16:46
Total up/down - 42:51

Watch started and stopped at trail map by toilets: Soderburg - Southridge - Horsetooth.