Snowman Race 24 Part 5: Race Day 2
A cheerful Bryon Powell just before the start of day 2.
The second day of racing started with an overly chipper Bryon Powell announcing that it was time to get up. His booming and cheerful voice blew in to my eardrums at promptly 4:30 am. Surprisingly I had slept quite well and had very little soreness with the exception of the spot on my left pelvis that I had smashed into the rock in the fall late in yesterday’s stage. I spent 20 minutes re-packing my bag and getting myself sorted alongside my tent mate Cody Lind. Just before 5:00 am we emerged from the tent ready for breakfast, medical and gear checks, and for the start of stage 2.
The second day of Snowman Race would be the shortest of the five; 18.5 miles of and about 5000’ of ascent. It still included a pass over 15,000 feet and an average elevation of around 14,000 for the day. Also, the trail conditions of this day what guarantee to keep the effort honest and difficult.
A glimpse of Leki as we played hide and seek along the first miles of day 2.
The race started out with a similar theme. The male Bhutanese runners and Cody took went off the front, but I was able to stay within visual contact of Leki, one of the Bhutanese runners from the highland community Laya, for the first several miles. He gradually opened the distance until he was no longer seen. I quite enjoyed running along, over, and sometimes in the Pho Chhu River for nearly 10 miles that morning. It is a magnificent river and its power and determination is easily felt.
The magnificent Pho Chhu River.
The route eventually climbed away from the river and started working up towards the small community of Woche. On that climb Pema once again caught me. It felt like she was a ghost silently appearing with no prior warning, and with a shy smile she went by. Just before the village she stopped to eat a snack and we again traded positions. After the village was a traversing, at times slightly ascending section to the next high hanging valley. Pema continued to be near, but did not close the gap. I stopped to fill my water flask as I crossed the stream before the steep climb to the day’s highpoint and was surprised that Pema didn’t catch me. I could not see anyone on the trail sections behind me but did catch a glimpse of Leki high above working his way up the steep ascent.
The mighty Pema Choki.
High Mountain Lake just before Kechi La Pass.
I climbed past a beautiful high lake and then paused at the pass, Kechi La, which was the high point of the day. I could not see any other runners, but could feel Pema closing in on me. From the pass it was a long, at times technical, at times very runnable, trail down to the river below. Once arriving at the river a few slightly uphill miles would remain to get to the village of Ledhi and the end of the stage. I ran off of the pass with reckless abandon. At this edition of Snowman Race, and after the summer of challenges I had with running, I wanted so badly to have a strong physical performance. This would mean taking some risks and running harder than what I would typically judge to be prudent. Needless to say, that descent went fast and very well. I had one delay because of a very large yak that was not interested in yielding the path to some scrawny runner, but with a slight off trail detour I was able to get back to quick turnover and speedy miles.
Kechi La Pass.
The low fuel light came on when I hit the river as I ate the last of the gels I had brought for this section and my legs protested as I continued to push the pace. There was one point when the route crossed below a large waterfall that I paused to feel the cascading water’s energy and the mist on my face. I closed that moment by dipping my head in the icy cold water, and then got back to covering miles. Eventually I climbed out of the river’s flood plain and saw in the distance a large gathering of school kids. They all lined the trail and cheered for me as I ran past their school and emotion overflowed in me as I shed a few tears that rolled over my huge smile. A few minutes later I arrived at the end of stage 2.
At camp I took some time to clean up with a hot water bucket bath and then tried to sneak in a nap. The nap was a fail as each time I started to get comfortable cheers would erupt in camp with another finisher coming in. The energy that is felt at finish lines of hard physical efforts is very special and unique, and I love it. I would hop out of the tent run to the finish, greet my friends a the end of their journey and then go back to the tent. The pattern repeated all afternoon.
As evening started to arrive I took some time to stand at the edge of camp and watch the river flowing about 50 feet below. It flowed in the bottom of a low channel that had been carved by a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Event (GLOF) in the mid 1990’s. That flood broke loose on an October night around 10:30 pm. It tore through the villages killing three people near where I stood. Downstream 30 more humans would die. It was chilling to think that I was standing right where the next GLOF event could occur as there are three glacial lakes at the toe of the glacier upstream from where I was standing that are considered at critical risk for another flood. The risk increases to these people as the rate of melting of the glaciers increases. In other words, daily they live with ever increasing risk of disaster because of climate change.
Principal of Lunana School sharing the most powerful words about climate change I have ever heard.
I was reeling in my thoughts about floods and disaster when a voice called out to me. It was the Principal of the local school and he was asking if he could invite our group to some cultural dances performed by the children of the school. We evaluated the weather, as a solid sheet of rain moved up the valley towards us, and agreed to meet in half an hour inside the school dining hall. Once gathered in the dining hall the principal kicked off the performances with the most heartfelt and poignant plea to us, the Snowman Racers, to share with the world the dangers and changes they are living with in this remote mountain village. I don’t believe there was a dry eye amongst us as he finished his speech. The students did a great performance of several cultural dances, and we were given the opportunity to take the stage and sing or dance. Thankfully Leki volunteered to take the mic and stage where he blew our minds with his wonderful singing voice. I followed Leki on stage and shared a few words of gratitude to the students and principal. I also acknolegded the principals please and committed to all I could to share his message with the rest of the world.
We left the school and walked 10 minutes in the rain back to our camp and in to the dinner tent. At dinner the conversation was lively and exciting as we talked about the ideas for climate action that the principal had inspired. We also laughed and cheered our way through the retelling of the adventures of the day, especially the stay of Clare Gallagher falling chest first in to a sloppy puddle of yak crap.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Clare Gallagher!
Sleep came easy after dinner. The combination of physical fatigue and emotional connection whisked me off to sleep within seconds of crawling in to my sleeping bag.