FKT: Nicole Mericle - Tenmile Traverse (CO) - 2020-06-27

The plan was to run the Ten Mile traverse from Frisco to Breck and set a fast women's time - supported since I would be accompanied by Aaron Newell. We just happened to run into Aaron's friend Joseph around Peak 1, who we convinced to join us for the rest of the traverse. The weather conditions were perfect and allowed us a late start around 9:30am. I started out a bit quick before Aaron reminded me it was a long run. I felt good making it to Peak 1 in 1:18. The terrain there to peak 4 was slower, but went by faster than I expected with minimal trouble route finding. From there it was easy cruising over flatter, but somewhat rocky terrain. Aaron struggled with the altitude up higher as he was coming from sea level, so I ended up waiting a bit at each peak. We regrouped around peak 9. Joseph sprained his ankle and cut down at that point while Aaron and I scaled the scree field to the top of peak 10. We opted for the fun and slightly more direct way down the snow, connecting with the service road. We probably turned off the service road a little too soon and wasted some time trying to navigate a stream bed and mossy rocks. Getting lost after running for 5 hours and depleting our water was a bit frustrating, but we focused on getting down to the bottom. After stopping every few minutes to look at our phones and try to connect with a ski slope, we made it to the base of Breckenridge and subsequently bought all the drinks we could find. The descent took a little over an hour, which could certainly go faster with better navigation. It was a beautiful day on an awesome traverse. Aaron and I agreed we wish the techy section from peaks 1 to 4 was longer. So fun!