So Close...

Stefan Griebel and Charlie Nuttelman finished the Longs Peak Triathlon in 10 hours 36 minutes—that's about six minutes shy of the fastest known time for the round-trip from Boulder to the northernmost 14'er in the Rockies by bike, running, and climbing, set by Neal Beidleman and Kevin Cooney way back in 1990. The two lost time because of big crowds on the Diamond during one of the last perfect weather days of the season, along with the tactical goof of stashing climbing shoes on Broadway, part way up the east face of Longs Peak, instead of the base—Nuttelman was forced to solo the 500-foot North Chimney (up to 5.6) in his running shoes, slowing him considerably. Despite running down from the summit to the trailhead in 1:09 (!!!), they couldn't make up enough time. Still, the two were philosophical about the effort. In a great trip report posted on his blog, Nuttelman said, "This journey will remain vivid in my memory for the rest of my days. More importantly, I knew that we had left everything we had on the table; record or no record, there is much satisfaction out of knowing that you tried your best and gave it your all."

In the photo: Charlie Nuttelman (left) and Stefan Griebel relaxing at the end of the Longs Peak Triathlon. Photo by Bill Wright.