High Pass Challenge

A couple of friends talked me into riding the High Pass Challenge with the Cascade Bike Club. It was 114 miles with 7500 ft of vertical and goes through the Mount St. Helens blast zone with the highest point at a St. Helens overlook. This was the first my 100+ mi ride ever, and my first trip to the mountain since watching the big May 18 eruption in awe from the roof of our house not far away in Vancouver, WA, many years ago. Finished the ride surprisingly intact in 6:59 including stops for lunch & snacks, pictures, and down riders. The last photo here is of the first rider back down the hill who somehow lost control and went through the side of the bridge. He fell about 30-40 feet onto big rocks and logs. He's getting loaded into a basket here on the way to getting airlifted out. The list of injuries was long including fractures and lacerations, but, amazingly, was expected to make a full recovery.

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