The 11th Annual 2015 Kusam Klimb was held 20 Jun. The weather was perfect for the "Grussam Kusam". The skies were overcast at the start but cleared up as the day went on.
There were 529 finishers from 600+ registered which was up from the 2014 458 finishers. There were 316 ladies and 213 men completing the endurance event which climbed up Mt. H'Kusam and down through the Stowe Creek watershed. This was one of the few years that there was no snow to slide down on which really made the downhill feel different.
The overall winner was 2013 and 2014 winner Nick Elson (30-39) from Squamish in a CR time of 2:07:10. Incidentally his father John Elson (60-99) finished 1st in the division with a 3:17:11 and 33rd OA. The top woman was Wendy Simms (40-49) from Nanaimo. She was in with a 2:52:06 and 7th OA.
STARR had 5 runners registered in the event and all finished relatively unscathed after some wipeouts on the technical descent.
- Running In his 5th Klimb, our first STARR to cross the finish line was Mark Ziegler (60-99) in a time of 3:34:30. He was 2nd in the field of 27 and 49th OA.
- Next under the finish banner was Claude Laforce (50-59) completing his 2nd go at the Klimb. He was in with a 4:05:38 and was 14th in a large field of 45 and 101st OA.
- Our next finisher and our only lady was Jackie Eddy (60-99) In her 9th year in the event, she was in a with a 5:01:22 and was 4th in a field of 16 and 226th OA.
- Also in his 9th running of the event was Dan Eddy (60-99). Danny finished with a time of 5:35:16 and was 11th in the field and 275th OA.
- Closing out the STARR field was Vince Trahan (60-99). In his 10th Klimb, he came in with a 6: 39:09 and was 16th in the field and 375th OA.
On completion we all returned to our home for the weekend, the Elk Haven Cottages and enjoyed much camaraderie with the other climbers staying in other cottages. Later in the evening, the Klimb banquet was held in the Sayward hall. It is a must attend as the food is excellent and abundant... no one goes home hungry. It was another tough Kussam Klimb but we were definitely "TOUGH ENOUGH" to finish. See you all in 2016…maybe.