II Ternua Snow Running Sierra Nevada

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AMAZING

This is the word that defines my new adventure. On 26 January 2013, some  slightly crazy people joined to participate in a snow race in Sierra Nevada. The race started in Pradollano, where the high above sea level is 2144 meters and the highest point is situated in the parabolic antenna, 2764 meters. Headlamps were mandatory because we should have to run during the night. A great amount  of runners had never run on the snow. They were advised to carry a chain under the feet, something that nobody had before tried. Somebody went to Granada to buy the chains, YakTrax Pro. When I talked about the race, I could see a bit of disbelief in his eyes but already I could not back out so that at six on the dot I should be in the starting line.







 

A few minutes before starting the race everybody was chatting about the new experience, thrilled and asked themselves if the chain would work and overall about the weather,  the nervousness was in the atmosphere. The organization said to us in the briefing that in the highest point the wind was be intense and due to this fact the chill will be stronger. Further on, it shows a picture in which the blizzard is well illustrated. This time, my friend of adventures, Mario Linares, better known as "Doc", joined me. Together we have participated in a few races such as the Paris Marathon, "Marcha Cueva del Gato" and have done windsurfing in Pozo Izquierdo.

So after the initial kick, everybody started to run as if the race was just 500 meters. My friend and I could be seen to the right of the picture. The pace was a crazy. Still, it was possible to look the sun and how its rays was shining on the snow.

The picture shows the chain under the trainers. 

After 500 meters, we faced the first hill. The group was slowly stretching and shaping a long queue. The last rays of light were falling over the mountain. In a few minutes the moon would say "Welcome" to us.  Step by step, the end of the slope was closer. In that moment, I realised that skiing is a bit less tired that treking. When I looked behind me, the landscape was beautiful, it was possible to see the city of Granada in the skirts of the mountain. The pity was that I could not relax too much because there were two time controls. The first one, in the third kilometer and the other one in Borreguiles, after six kilometers. The path was falling down little by little. Sometimes the silence, which was just broken by the sound of our steps, was amazing. There were a lot of footprint on the snow which I got used to trod on to help me with my path. 

Suddenly, I raised my head and watched how the moon was appearing behind the mountain. To my right, I could see the last rays of the sun over Granada, but whether I looked at the other side, the moon was lighting my path up.

The night had fallen down over us and I already was almost in the summit of the race. The wind was blowing more strongly and the temperature was decreasing. I had to cover my head and my face. In this point, it would be very risky to stop because I could freeze.

After one hour and a quarter, I had reached the top, the rest of the race was going down. This part was very funny because I was running down on virgin snow, it was very similar to go down a big dune, but a bit colder. I could see the finish line but the organization had kept a secret for us. Five hundred meters before the finishing line we would have to turn and go up a black slope. 

In this slope it was impossible to run, I crawled like a monkey, sometimes, I had to use my hands to advance. After fifteen minutes, I had reached the end of the slope. Now, I would have to go down the another black slope, this was easier. I sat down on the snow and slipped down, my gps watch indicated a maximun speed of thirty kilometers per hour.

After two hours, the target had been reached

Some pictures:

Briefing

Some old friends

Warming up

Doc in the first slope

Reachimg the finishing line

The black slope

The warriors