July 22, 2013

Redefining Downhill at Bogus Basin - Results July 20, 2013

Our unusually large turnout can be attributed to the efforts of our club president, Jeff Black. Last week he conducted orienteering training for what he described as an unusually enthusiastic group of Boy Scouts. The father of one of the Scouts told Jeff that his son described orienteering as geocaching on steroids. All of the Scouts who came up to Bogus on Saturday opted for the beginners' course which offers useful practice in handling a map and compass, but seems to fall short of the "steroids" description. We hope we will see them again on one of our intermediate courses where we can deliver a challenge to fully meet the expectation.

The Morgan family closing in on one of
Sergey's cleverly placed controls.

Bogus Basin was a little cooler than downtown, but not much. And even though the courses were designed to minimize uphill routes, the terrain proved challenging. It doesn't seem like 5.7K downhill should consume much energy and time for our exceptionally fit advanced orienteers. One look at the winning times and you know there is some rugged terrain and challenging navigation out there. Add in the summer heat and you have a course to be approached with respect. Ben Brock once again demonstrated his excellence with a winning time of 1:27:30. Greg Davidson acquitted himself very well and seemed quite pleased with his performance, as indeed he should have been. We were pleased to have Joseph Burkhead and his family join us. Joseph is from Michigan, where he is a regular at orienteering meets and has competed around the USA. As for the two guys on the tail end, you know it's a tough course when Jeff and Bill pull up the rear.

 
Check out the father and son team of Jeff and Ian Mullens taking first place in the Intermediate Division. They are relatively new to this sport, but they are advancing quickly. We won't be seeing the Mullens family during the winter. They are avid Alpine skiers and Ian is a top competitor. It seems they are making the most of the summer version of their winter turf, which must seem largely unrecognizable in July--an alien planet, huh guys? We are highly impressed by the watermelon they brought, second only to Ian's improvised gaiters. Karen Didisse, a seasoned orienteer who can be counted on to claim she's out of shape, followed closely on the Mullens' heels. What should we expect when she is in shape? And Kerry Davis, who's done most of her orienteering in Kansas before moving to Boise last year reminds us how lucky we are. In Kansas they stop orienteering before the summer arrives. No, Dorothy, it's not tornadoes. It's ticks and poison ivy. We understand now why all of that benign Bogus brush doesn't phase her. Thanks, Kerry, for giving us perspective and the gratitude that comes with it.

If you are curious  how a world class orienteer would run the Advanced Course, you can read Sergey's comments and enlarge his map to view his route selection. Or, for the more discerning, Melanie graced us with a touch of class too often missing from our ranks. Thanks, Melanie.


Melanie models Orienteer chic.
 
 For those who are interested I logged 1:00:02 for advanced course. That included taking controls out and carrying them in my bag so should be close enough to compensate my intimate knowledge of the map and course J I only stopped watch once for a minute or 2  at the water control to collect all the staff.

  
My splits:
1:21 1:17 1:39 1:25 2:14 2:45 4:39 4:01 1:51 2:14 2:12 3:19 5:45 2:27 2:43 3:15 0:39 2:28 5:44 2:52 1:25 2:47 0:49
 
Please click on the image of advanced course with best route as I saw and ran it. So mostly it should have been nice and easy trail/road run with short 100-200m attacks for controls.
 
 Karen Didisse directs our
next meet on Sunday, August 25 at Herrick Hills.