by Stever- report by SherpaJohn,
June 22, 2008
 click to enlarge
Chris and I at the finish with race director Andy Weinberg (new assistant swimming coach at Middlebury!). After 15 hours and 53 minutes of competition.
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So this is what Mike and John and I trained for. The Death Division. It lived up to its hype minus the fact that nobody died. I felt like I was going to from exhaustion several times though.
Thanks to Andy and Joe for their hard work and efforts in organizing and running the race. Thanks to all of the volunteers and landowners in the town or Pittsfield. So many people helped mek the event happen.
Below is a detailed version of the experience from a competitor named SherpaJohn. It is pretty accurate. He didn't finish so he could not really comment on how brutal the hike up the ravine and the rock pile station was. Those two events eliminated all but 8 racers out of the 29 that actually started at 3 am.
SherpaJohns report includes the "pre- race" test and details on the whole race. The pre-race test was meant to break competitors mentally and physically by keeping us out on the mountain with our gear in the rain.... from 10 pm until 2 am. This was before the race even started at 3 am! Yup we were cold, tired and hungry before this thing even started. So for sure check out the last part on the race report.
Race Results.
- Yes I tied with Chris. After battling each other for hours we realized that we were greatly reducing our chances of even finishing if we kept trying to out-testosterone each other. So we did the next six or seven hours at an even pace encouraging each other (we could not physically help each other though) and shouldering the mental weight of the tasks together. After the support we gave each other and exhausted state we were in it really seemed like the best thing to do would be to share the win. Honestly we both probably would not have been able to finish or could been severely hurt trying to beat each other out. A huge bout of respect goes out to Chris from me.
Special thanks to Chris's Wife Heather who hiked next to us for most of the whole day and to the finish. She even ran back down (20 minutes each way)to get some more food and water for Chris and brought me up two snickers bars and a red bull. That was so appreciated. Thanks Heather!
1 - Stever Bartlett - 15:53
1 - Chris Mitchell - 15:53
3 - Thomas Williams - 17:16
4 - David Pope - 17:17
5 - Ri Fahnestock - 17:17
6 - Scott Langlois - 18:13
7 - Spencer Easton - 18:44
8 - Patrick Harner - 18:47
I have some details listed under the captions of the photos after the race report.
more pictures at http://deathdivision08.site.shutterfly.com/16
The 2008 Death Division
10:11 PM on Jun. 22, 2008
Race Report: Pittsfield Peaks Death Division June 21, 2008
By Sherpa John, a competitor who didn’t make it to the end but stuck around until the end of the event to cheer on others and help the organizers. Thanks for the support Sherpa John. can be found on Peak.com under blogs.
3 Am Start Why am I still alive?---------------------------------The Pittsfield Peaks Death Division is designed to be a one of its kind race and perhaps the toughest race in the entire world. This weekend, 8 men showed that the race is far from as tough as we hoped it would be. I decided I would give it a try, toe the starting line and see for myself what it take to complete the event. I had no time goal, no expectations and certainly had no plans of finishing. Just have fun...We were told to show up at The Original General Store at 9pm with all of our gear for a mandatory check in and pre-race meeting. In the months and weeks heading into the event, the race staff was sure to keep what was to take place secret from me. But I know these guys well and I had a feeling the race was going to start at 9 instead of the 3am advertised time. I had all of my gear with me in my old hiking pack which included: Tape Measure, Ball Point Pen, chisel, hammer, knife, duct tape, rope, water shoes, life preserver, bike helmet, hatchet, winter hat and arm sleeves, 3L of water, 2 hand held bottles with Gatorade in them, electrical tape, hand pruners, work gloves, first aid kit and an Egg I had wrapped in foam and placed in a small box filled with packing peanuts. My pack weighed about 30 Pounds. I got ready to run as torrential rains and thunderstorms moved overhead. I checked in to the race, completed an interview on TV which included me waiving my rights to sue race staff in the event of death or injury and made my way to the pre-race meeting. It was here that we had to surrender our eggs which many of the racers had packaged up in many thoughtful ways to ensure the egg didn't break. Once we rounded everyone up, Joe said, "Take your gear and follow me." I was right.. we were heading out into the night.As we got outside the rain had stopped by the fog had moved in. It was muggy and humid, the kind of air that soaks you just standing in it. As we made it outside, I ran to Andy Hawley's house for a hand saw before returning to the meeting. We were told to pick up a bundle of wood. I looked around at the 30+ bundles and chose the one I thought was the smallest. Three pieces of wood.. and I was wrong. The pieces were saturated and heavy, awkward to carry and then Joe said "follow me". Its 9:30pm and we are now going for a long walk. 29 of us follow Joe up Route 100, all of us carrying a bundle of wood. We had to carry with us all of our gear and these bundles of wood and as we made it to the Aimee Farm, we crossed the road and walked down into a ditch. The ditch was about 5 feet wide and was filled with waist deep mud and water. On the other side we bushwhacked uphill through thorns and hobble-bush stopping many times to make sure everyone stayed together. It was a long cold walk and we had a long way to go. When we finally made it to Colton Camp, we had to drop ONE of our logs and wait for instruction. Race staff stacked the wood we all gave up and told us to head up the hill. So with all of my gear still and two heavy logs which I managed to tie up with some rope with one hand, I slowly climbed the mountain at Colton Camp. The torrential rains had made the hill a slick mess. Every 3 steps up was followed by some sliding back. As I finally reached the top of the hill, I was given an egg and told to head back down. From this moment on, if we broke our egg ANYWHERE.. we needed to return to the Colton Camp hill to get a new one. We'll just say that a few folks made 3 or 4 trips.At the bottom of the hill Joe was waiting for us and we headed off into the woods on a bushwhack. I fell a few times but managed to keep my wood in hand and egg unharmed. Soon we reached a residency with a chilly mountain pond in the back. We were told to put our wood and egg down, empty all of our gear out and get into the pond. We had to get in the pond with all of our clothes on including headlamps. We stood in the frigid water for more than 15 minutes as I started to shiver. We all counted off to ensure our safety. Something swam in the water and it looked like a snake. It moved all over and then towards us. We then thought it was a turtle which was great because if it was a snake.. I was getting out. We found out that it was nothing more than a moth. And then... "Everyone get under!" I ducked under water as my breath was taken away. As we emerged from the frigid pond, I began to shake uncontrollably. I had a dry shirt in my bag so I took the wet shirt off and put the dry one on. We then had to quickly re-pack our gear then take our wood.. and egg.. and follow Joe again. We walked through the woods, on trails, bushwhack.. you name it for a long time before returning to the Aimee Farm. BY the time we got back it was 12:30am. We had been repeatedly told that "this is a test.. the race starts at 3." Some test huh! Back at Aimee Farm my arms are dead tired from carrying those logs over 6 miles through darkness.. up and down mountains. I'm tired and ready for bed.. but we're not done. We turn in our egg, drop off our wood and are allowed to take our gear off. We are then told to line up near this barbed wire contraption and told what was next..."You are going to crawl UNDER this barbed wire (About 1 foot off the ground) and while staying under it, you'll crawl up that hill of rock and mud under the crucifix and down the other side." As we crawl through the cold and soupy mud, It was hard not to get cut and pinched by the barbed wire. Everyone was moving the wire so they could get under, and as one guy moved the wire came down on someone else. This really was hell. Up the small hill and down the other side into a steep hill side of Briars, thorn bushes and blackberry bushes.. "Stay on your hands and knees! Stay on your hands and knees!" was yelled. As I stayed on my hands and knees I could feel as the thorns ripped my flesh, stuck into my hand and broke off. It was unreal.. painful and idiotic. I knew I wasn't going to finish "the race," my goal was now to finish "The Test." Once at the bottom of the hill we had to stay on our hands and knees and crawl through a river. Over head was more thorns and more barbed wire. At times, trying to crawl under the wire was only done by me shoving my head into the muddy stream. I am covered in mud, soaked and bleeding. We then had to crawl through a 50 yard culvert, then under 9 huge logs which had been laid over the stream on the other side... then finally out from under it all... hands in knees in a stream under more barbed wire. We then turned up hill and had to stay down as we crawled up hill through more thorns and briars. As we emerged out on top we got to see the kid who showed up late. His name was Eric and he was 18 years old. His punishment for being late was to start sawing through a 4 foot wide downed tree. They gave him a tiny hand saw and a wedge as he got to work. He had only been sawing a few hours and his progress was slow. Our next test was ahead. We broke into teams of 3. I was with a 65 year old man.. and Ri Fahnestock. Ri is the ONLY person going after the $10,000 for finishing all 6 of the Peak Races and we knew this race was the deal breaker or maker. One of us had to get the buckets... so I went and got 3 buckets. Ri went and retrieved a 95 pound bag of cement. Then, the 65 year old and I out 1/3 stone, 1/3 sand and 1/3 of the cement Ri got into two of the buckets. I then took the 3rd bucket and had to go down through the steep hill of briars and thorns to get water out of the stream.. then hike it back up. I made two of these trips. We mixed and mixed until we made concrete. As we needed more water, I found a cone and scooped muddy water into it from a puddle. We had to fill the 3rd bucket with the same mixture. When we finally got the OK from a race official, we all carried a bucket that was being used to make a foundation. Our "Test was done and it was now 1:50am. We were told, "Great job, you all passed the test... now get plenty of sleep the race starts at 3am."Are you kidding me?! That was JUST the test... and I barely survived. My arms are dead tired. I tried to lift that bag of cement early and I couldn't even get it to budge. I carried all that wood 6 miles.. I'm soaked, muddy and cold. I went to the fire. A few of us talked.. well.. I mostly listened as I tried to gather myself from the biggest ass kicking I've ever received... and wondered what I would do. I all ready wanted to drop out of the race and I told Andy W and Joe D that I was thinking about it. I opted to skip out on the sleep and concentrate on eating and drinking something. All I could drink was water, I was all ready nauseous. There was NO eating during the test... I couldn't put the wood down long enough to get a snack. And soon enough... the race was going to start. We found out only ONE person had dropped after the test.
After all of that the race finally starts at 3 am.
.We were told at 2:50am to get all of our gear and retrieve our bucket we had used for the cement. Put 20% of our body weight in the bucket and go weigh in. I went to the sand pile and put 30 pounds of sand in the orange bucket and went to the scale. I stood on the scale without my gear and weighed in. "2 pounds over, dump some out if you want." I left it thinking, "How hard can it be?" I went to the start. Andy Weinberg came over and told us what to do... "Ok.. just like before but only now WITH your gear and your bucket of sand.. go under the barbed wire, over the mound and down through the briars, get in the stream, crawl through the culvert and under the logs.. then head to the river. You'll then go down river about 2 miles to the Marble Shop and that ends Task 1. Then while there you'll complete task 2. Sounds like a blast...I stood there and watched as all of these crazy fools crawled through the frigid mud... very systematically trying not to get cut while dragging their bags of gear and shimmying their bucket of sand. I wanted to quit. I got under the barbed wire and pushed my bucket forward.. I'd stop and reach for and pull up my pack of gear... wiggle under more wire and repeat until I got to the mound. Near the top of the mound I almost dumped my sand out.. and the race would have been over. Over the top and down through the briars using the bucket as protection. I then got in the stream with my bucket and bag. As I crawled under barbed wire my bag kept getting caught. I pushed my bucket and got onto my back and tried hugging my gear through. At the Culvert I pushed the bucket ahead and had to pull my pack through.. it was terrible.. how was THIS fun? On the other side a man told me to get out and head for the river. I put my pack on and started carrying my sand..As I got to the river I all ready needed a rest. My hands killed from carrying the bucket of sand and I was sore all over. My arms were deflating and I waited for the two women from NY (originally Europe) to show up. Then Julian told us all.. "Ok, welcome to the river. Just head that way about 2 miles and you're there." We all stood there and asked... "You mean.. IN the river?" "yeah... just get in and head that way" as he pointed North. We all got into the freezing cold mountain river and headed North carrying all of our gear and our bucket. Not far in, one of the woman dropped her bucket as she stumbled on the slimy rocks and water filled it. Her sound now weighed twice as much. I kept moving. Many who have run with me know I have ankles of Steel... but what my ankles went through in that river is unlike anything they have ever been through. Every rock was covered in brown slime. I tiwsted and turned, stumbled and water splashed into my bucket. It now felt like it weighed 100 pounds. My gear pack is soaked and now weighs more as well.. this is hell. Fog rose from the water and as the sun started to rise I could see bats swooping down to eat bugs off the top.I kept going eventually catching up to another runner who thought he was lost. I knew were were going the right way and my hands started to cramp. Finally as the river went from shin to knee deep, I discovered I could float my bucket and give my arms some rest. I could only float it for short sections as the river varied from ankle deep to knee deep to waist deep back to ankle deep etc. As the sun rose my headlamp was useless and I could barely see the bottom of the river. I fell down... I was starting to shiver as hypothermia set in. I started thinking... knowing Joe and Andy, we'll have to chisel into the marble and then put it in our bucket... turn around and go 2 miles back up river. The I saw Joe coming up stream looking for us, "Anyone behind you? You're taking too long and you're going to miss the cut-off." I didn't know about the cut-offs.. and there were some 6-8 people behind me still. I kept moving and eventually saw the front runners coming back up stream. As I shivered and my teeth chattered.. I knew I couldn't come back into the river. I was too cold, my ankles hurt and with the VT100 next month.. I didn't want to get hurt.Finally I made it to the end, struggled to carry my bucket up over the river bank as Pete laughed at me. I got out of the water and carried my bucket of sand to the marble shop. Task 1 was complete. I watched as Joe had pullled all those behind me out of the river and told them to quit. We all were still going to chisel into the marble. I got my chisel and hatchet out and was given the instruction for Task #2. Dump your sand into your garbage bag and use it to support your marble so it doesn't break. Then, the stone master drew my race number "737" into the marble and I began to chisel away. At the very least I was learning something very cool and was going to walk away with a memento. After carving the number we had to "cross hatch" it to make it stick out. As I finally finished and got the OK to go.. I looked at the river.. then at Joe.. an I quit. It was 6am.WOW... what an experience. I think in the future I'd like to train specifically for this event and try again. What was next was unreal and I am certain that I am not built to accomplish the many tasks that those with more upper body strength did. I also have no interest, currently, in doing so. I did come away with something though... I made it through the entire night without needing a nap or falling asleep. IN fact... I didn't go down for a nap until 9am making it more than 26 hours without it. This is a hug accomplishment for me. I am also pretty proud of how far I did get in the race...
The rest of the race:Take your empty bucket, your gear and your marble slab and head 2 miles back up river, back through the culvert, stream, uphill through briars and back under barbed wire.Once at the Aimee Farm (AF), retrieved a pallet from under the barn, then head to the wood pile. Now you must cut 10 logs in half and 10 stumps into quarters and then stack them on your pallet.Then, get your bucket and refill it with sand up to 20% of your body weight, then go back under the barbed wire, briars, culvert to the river... where you will get in and go 1 mile up to the Borden Farm.At the Borden farm you must completely submerge yourself (except head) in the river for 3 minutes. Then, dump out our dirt onto a tarp and roll around in it. Then pick a number from a bowl. The number on the paper matches the number on a log. Find your log in the pile of logs and saw through it with a hand saw in three pre-marked places. (some went through knots). Then, run 1 mile up Lower Michigan Rd to the Sheep Farm.Once at the sheep farm you will fill your bucket with sheep crap and hay, and run it to the dump truck, climb the ladder and dump it in the truck. You must do this 30 times. (thirty). Then, once that is done, run the mile back to Bordens, get back in the river and go in the river one mule back to the AF where you will do the culvert, thorns, barbed wire etc.Once here, all of the wood you chopped earlier, plus 3 large stumps, needs to be carried to the fire pit.Now.. refill your bucket with sand up to 20% of your body weight and get two log fence posts. Create a crucifix with your fence posts using duct tape.. and get a new egg. Then, crawl back under the barbed wire with your crucifix, gear egg and bucket (with sand in it) , over the mound, down the briars.. and skip the culvert and go OVER the river onto the snow-mo trail. Head south on the snow-mo trail to the base of Joe's hill. Once there, bring all if your gear, bucket and cross up a brush chocked water cascading ravine to the top of Joes Hill(VERY STEEP). Five plus miles. Then dig a hole on the top of Joe's and plant your crucifix on the hill. Drop your sand, egg and gear then, head back down the mountain about 20 minutes to an old rock pile. You will then carry pieces of the stone wall equalling your body weight back up to the top of Joe's. Take as many trips as you want, leave your gear... thanks to Chris Mitchell.. here is the rest... "After we brought our body weight in rocks up to the top of the mountain we then had to go down the back side of the mountain with our bucket and egg. There we had to traverse a second barbed wire field longer than the first. We filled our buckets with water in a virtually empty stream and had to come back up through the barbed wire without spilling water. And arrive with a full bucket or go back down to get another bucket full. At the top, we emptied the water on the cross, filled our buckets with 20% of our body weight plus and additional couple of rocks from Joe and THEN returned to the start/finish line." 29 Starters. 8 finishers. Race winners time 15 hours and 53 minutes.
Entry to the main check in part. Everytime we came back here to check in we had to go under this barbed wire and up this mound, with whatever they told us we had to carry. Every time we had to at least have our bucket with 20 % of our body weight. That
Yes there was some incentive to this race. 1000 dollars to each of the top 5 finishers who finished in under 24 hrs. I made a pact with myself that if I finished in the top 5 that I would donate half to the Shelley Glover Foundation.Check is in the mail
Two mile river run. 3 am. Over the course of the day a total of 8-10 miles of river running with bucket and sand. Ankle deep or deeper in the water.
Marble carving. Had to carve our race number out of marble. Carve so the numbers were elevated. I had a nice curvy number. 505. 111 would have been nice!
Mike moving the logs he sawed and split. Saw ten logs with hand saw. Split 10 logs in to 4 pieces. Then carry it all to the fire pit later.
This was the stage the had us sit totally submerged in the icy river for 3 minutes.
We had to saw this by hand into three pieces.
This was the cross that we carried under all that barbed wire and then up the steep and brush filled waterfall/ravine. 5-6 miles straight up hill. Oh yeah we had our bucket, sand, marble stone and pack with us too.
Co- race winner Chris Mitchell. Very fit and tough dude.
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