John Gaston

Date of Birth:
February 17, 1987

Hometown:
Aspen, CO

What is your primary means of adventure, AKA what gets you most psyched?
Ski mountaineering training and racing in the winter, mountain biking in the summer, and trail running in the fall. I just love exploring the different ways to move fast and light through the mountains year round.

Invent your dream adventure by combining five places, disciplines, pitches, peaks, environments, etc. and stacking them together into a combination. Why did you pick each part?
I did a “casual” race a couple years ago put on by the guys at Cripple Creek Backcountry that combined my two favorite sports in a pretty rad way. We rode from Carbondale to the foot of Mount Sopris, transitioned to skis and boots and then raced up to the peak, before doing it all in reverse. It ended with some sweet single track back on the mountain bike. I think races or adventures like this are a really natural fit for many of us, especially in Colorado, and it got the gears in my brain turning. I have a number of “human powered” FKT’s on my mental checklist that I want to start ticking off using a combination of riding, running, and skiing.

Describe 5 climbs, trips, or moments that have defined you as a mountain athlete:
For me, it’s mostly been races because that’s when I’ve had to dig the deepest and really search for the extra motivation to keep pushing towards an ultimate reward or goal. I think this will definitely change as I mature in these sports, and down the road I see a lot more adventure goals rather than race goals. But for now, I would have to say:

1. 2012 Power of Four, Aspen: My first race win, and with my twin brother Pete. Up until this point I don’t think either of us had ever experienced the kind of suffering and mental anguish that we had to endure to pull this off. It opened a lot of doors for me as an athlete and paved the way for my skimo obsession.
2. 2013 Jackson Hole individual Race: My first big individual win, against the fastest guys in the country. It was the culmination of months of hard work and the first time I proved to myself that if I actually focused and worked at my weaknesses, I would have the potential for some genuine success.
3. 2014 Highlands Bowl Record: This was a personal project that I knew one day had to be happen. A simple objective: how many laps could I do in the bowl during regular operating hours. Something anyone could attempt on any given day. Finishing 11 laps was as hard as any race I’d ever won, and it’s a benchmark I’m super proud of. It still gives me goosebumps recalling how mentally tough that day was on the last few laps, trying to stay on pace for the 2:30pm gate closure.
4. 2014 Sopris Sprint: Setting Carbondale – Mount Sopris – Carbondale FKT with a mountain bike and skis, that I still look back on with pride. This was a proper adventure complete with bushwacking, route finding, and a mega huge single push climb and descent (7k’)
5. 2015 Verbier Individual World Championship: This was the first time that I really felt I competed at a higher international level. The result wasn’t particularly amazing (27th), but I was able to break through some mental barriers and maintain a really high pace that I had previously never though myself capable of.

Describe your most memorable night in the mountains:
Pretty much any hut trip I’ve been on. Unplugging and being surrounded by enormous peaks, in total silence, is an amazing experience and one that I find always resets my priorities and attitude towards life.

What has scared or intimidated you as a mountain athlete?
Avalanches.

What would your adventure partners be most surprised to learn about you from before the time when they met you?
I really hated endurance sports growing up. My dad would take my brother and I mountain biking every weekend, and while I loved riding technical stuff and ripping downhill, I absolutely dreaded every climb, no matter how short. It used to baffle me when I would see people riding (or running) up mountains for “fun.” Obviously that’s changed quite a bit over the last six years…

What are your top 5 all-time favorite pieces of CAMP equipment?

1. G Comp Warm glove
2. Rapid Racing pack
3. Speed 2.0 helmet
4. Alp Racing harness
5. Matrix Comp via ferrata

Why are you a CAMP athlete?
They’re the leaders in dedicated fast and light gear designed by and for ski mountaineers, and tested by the best athletes in the world. You know without a shadow that anything they bring to market is going to be bombproof and up for the challenges ahead.

Tick List

It meant a lot to me when I climbed:

1. Fall Line – a 5.13- new route at Trout Creek, Oregon
2. Pretty Hate Machine, a V8 I completed in one session
3. Conde Dracula, an 8a/.13b I climbed first go, my first flash at that grade
4. The West Face of Mt. Bute for the FFA, with Madaleine Sorkin – I’d been dreaming about visiting the peak for a few years
5. The North Ridge of Mt. Stuart wth my wife Allison

The adventure, route or race I had to train the hardest for was:
Full Amandla, Index

The adventure, route or race that wrecked me the most was:
Climbing a 24-hour multiple peak linkup in Rocky Mountain National Park with Scott Bennett

I most want an all-expenses-paid trip to:
The Trango Towers – with bodyguards and camp/travel sanitation crews also provided.

My short list of climbing or adventure goals this year:

1. Return to the Bugaboos and make a free ascent of Sendero Norte on Snowpatch Spire.
2. Freeclimb El Capitan
3. Climb harder routes in the North Cascades