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Black Dome’s Asheville Outdoors Guide » Hiking

Black Dome’s Asheville Outdoors Guide

Serving Asheville & Western North Carolina

Archive for the 'Hiking' Category

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Black Dome starts the season off with a strong showing at CheckpointZero AR

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008

Team Black Dome / Sport Factory takes 2nd at brutal CP0.

The weather was the story of the weekend at the 2008 CheckpointZero 30-Hour Adventure Race. sub-freezing temps, high winds and snow made mincemeat out of a highly competitive field. Several of the top ranked teams never saw the finish as the conditions forced withdrawal after withdrawal.

“The paddle was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.” said The Dome’s Dwight Shuler…”Definitely on my list of shit I don’t ever want to do again.” said Team Black Dome 2’s Jay Curwen.

Both Black Dome teams saw each other off and on all weekend with each fighting for a place at the front of the 77 team field… Eventually, some mistakes and miss-fortunes conspired to knock the team of Curwen, Chris Brown and Michelle Hobson out of a possible podium spot. But, they were able to link up with the team of Shuler, Paul Humphries and Erinna Wever to give what support they could in an effort to place one of the teams as highly as possible.

Stregth and determination took the day as Black Dome / Sport Factory (Shuler/Wever/Humphries) overtook all but the out-of-this-world Team EMS (1st) to take 2nd overall…The other Black Dome team was still able to crack the top 10 with a 7th place showing.

Check www.checpointzero.com for full results.

…and www.trailblazerar.com for stories…

Posted in Hiking, Adventure Racing | No Comments »

2008 Black Dome / Sport Factory Adventure Racing Team

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Black Dome is proud to partner with Roswell based coaching service, The Sport Factory as well as manufacturers like Inov8 Footwear, Patagonia clothing, Native Sunglasses and Princeton Tec lighting systems, to present the 2008 Black Dome / Sport Factory elite AR squad.

Made up of some of the south’s top adventure athletes, Team Black Dome/Sport Factory hopes to not only be a factor at regional races, but to cap the 2008 season with a powerful showing at the USARA National Championships, held in Blue Ridge, GA.

Meet the team:

Jay Curwen - Former navigator for Team Litespeed, Jay comes from a professional triathlon background and has competed for the United States at several world championships. Jay was the navigator for Team Litespeed during their 2002 USARA National Championship win. The Hawaiian Ironman, Mild Seven Outdoor Quest and Beast of the East are just a few of Jay’s past events.

Jay’s blog.

Chris Brown - One of the best navigators in the sport, Chris has raced with Team CheckpointZero and Racemetrics…always at or near the top of the podium. Chris began his career as an elite level mountain biker. His AR resume includes top finishes at all southeastern races as well as a finish at Eco-Challenge Borneo.

Michelle Hobson - Michelle comes to Black Dome as a hired gun…she regularly races for CheckpointZero…but, when allowed out for fun, she hooks up with her old teammate, Chris Brown. Michelle is one of the strongest women in the south and is obviously a sought after addition to any team.

Dwight Shuler - A stellar athlete, Dwight brings enthusiasm, strength and raw determination to Team Black Dome…Dwight saw 2007 as one of his best seasons yet with strong showings at Xterra events, trail & road races and adventure races alike…

Erinna Hegarty - “Rinna” comes from an endurance mountain biking background and has won multiple 24 hour titles…She has also competed at an extremely high level in the AR world with Team Bear North. Most recently, Rinna scored a top 5 podium spot at the 40 mile Mount Mitchell Challenge.

Her Biowheels profile

Monica Curwen - With elite level skills and a background in competitive cycling, running, triathlon and adventure racing. Monica is a welcome addition to any team. She was a staple of the team prior to 2008. And as Jay & her new baby (Gibson) becomes less dependent…she will step back into a lead roll…

Paul Humphries and Kylie Krauss - Paul, a kiwi, by way of Atlanta, brings true international experience and brute strength to the squad…While Kylie has been honing her skills as one of the top collegiate mountain bikers in the US…She was the 2007 Division II National Cross-Country champ while racing for Warren Wilson College.

Posted in Hiking, Adventure Racing | No Comments »

2008 Mount Mitchell Challenge and Black Mountain Marathon

Monday, February 25th, 2008

The 11th running of the BMM&MMC was again favored with some amazing weather!

The 7am start saw 40 degree clear skies…with the finish line sunny and warming into the high 50’s by mid-day! The Summit, however, was not as kind. Mitchell, the 6684 foot highest point in the East, is an unpredictable mountain and black clouds could be seen rolling in over the ridge line of the Black Mountain Range all day. The summit was socked in with howling winds and temperatures in the high 30s…Epic for sure!

The pre-race story revolved around a number of no-shows…both from the flu that has hit so many this season…as well as some runners trapped by snow in northeastern airports…In a sold-out race with 300 registrants…Race morning only saw 267 starters.

The men’s marathon was all Jared Crave…An Asheville resident, Jared comes from a serious road running background and took command early to win the marathon comfortably in 3:16:42. Former Challenge winner Annette Bednosky, recovering from a slight injury, stepped down to the shorter distance this year to win the marathon in 3:54:58. Master’s winners for the marathon were 11-time competitor Mike Beamon (3:41:51) and Caroline Veronee (4:12:46)

In the 40-mile Challenge, new faces dominated the men’s race. Jason Bryant from Elkin, NC, Kevin Lane from Swannanoa, NC and Frankie Adkins from Asheville all looked strong entering the single track on Mitchell after passing the marathon turnaround. Bryant topped out first after running a slightly longer route to the summit, but was caught by Adkins, an ultra rookie, on the descent. The lead was changed again when Adkins faltered slightly at the 4 hour mark, but the gap was only 2 minutes with 4 miles to go. In the end, experience beat raw foot speed as Jason Bryant was able to pad his lead in the closing miles for the win in 5:16:49…Adkins held on for a strong 5:22:12 in his first ultra. Kevin Lane and Matt Kirk came in arm and arm for 3rd and 4th(5:29:07), while perennial top finisher Drew Shelfer battled bronchitis to hang on to 5th in 5:33:00.

The women’s Challenge had no such drama. Asheville’s own multiple national champion and USATF ultra-runner of the year, Anne Lundblad, took control of the race from the gun and absolutely blistered the course, ripping close to 12 minutes from the course record. Her 5:38:55 was 30 minutes in front of second place Cynthia Arnold (6:08:16). Liz Bauer-Walker (7:14:35), Zsuzanna Carlson (7:39:51) and Erinna Wever (7:55:04) rounded out the top five open women. Master’s crowns this year went to Byron Backer (5:45:24) and Susan Donnelly (8:15:21)

Full results, newspaper article links and race photographs can be found at www.blackmountainmarathon.com.

On behalf of the sponsors – Black Dome Mountain Sports, Black Mountain Savings, the Town of Black Mountain, Mt. Mitchell State Park – Thank you! We are always pleased to host this event and are proud of the challenges and victories it presents.

The BMM&MMC is proud to say that among other charities, a portion of proceeds always goes to the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy - Protecting the lands we love to play in…

Congratulations again…And we hope to see you for 2009!

Posted in Hiking, Trail Running | No Comments »

Ice report…

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

Fox Mountain Guides reports some ice coming in around the area…Hwy 215, Whitesides and Linville Gorge…all are seeing some extended cold…

From www.foxmountainguides.com on January 21st:

Karsten Delap Reports: At Hwy 215 today the ice was the best it has been. The high got to around 30 while we were up there. I think the next few days will be great even though temps are rising a little the rock has had time to cool. Daniel Counsel Reports: John’s Rock was still running with water (Ripp Off). Josh Whitmore Reports: Led Starshine at Whitesides today early. Good ice top to bottom. 16cm screws going all the way in. Steep section on 2nd pitch very drippy, with 2-3 inches of that fine little wet icicle crap on the surface. Had to chop through to more solid ice underneath. Passed another party as we were on our way out (they were on their way to Starshine) and saw another party in the parking lot who had been climbing the gullies above the main Whitesides trail. Stuff will probably be good thru tomorrow but warmer temps expected on Wed. I went down to Linville Gorge with Kyle, parked at the bottom of the hill and hiked into the Amphitheater. Even though the temps were around 13° and went down to 4° on the drive over RT 181 there was not much ice to speak of, very wet and partly formed at the back of the Amphitheater. Climbed out the Prow and found a nice 50ft overhanging mixed section at the top and left of The Prow. A good morning but as Kyle put it “basically we drove and hiked all the way out here to climb The Prow on the coldest day of the year!“

Posted in Hiking, Climbing | No Comments »

Rumbing Bald Guide Book!

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

The long anticipated Rumbling Bald Guide is here!

Everything you want in a guide…route beta, photo/topos, maps…etc. Author Chris Dorrity has taken his time and produced a must have resource for The Bald…

Thanks to the Carolina Climbers Coalition for tireless work in securing access to this classic bouldering area.

to donate: www.carolinaclimbers.org

Posted in Hiking, Climbing | No Comments »

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