Three years after a DNF at the 2022 PTL, Nate and I returned with a third team member, Pollee, to form Le CSZ (Cascadia Seduction Zone). Every run, fastpack, race, and alpine adventure I have experienced since then was executed with a successful return to PTL in mind. On August 30, 2025, we crossed the finish line in Chamonix with well over twenty hours to spare.

The key strategy we brought this time was maximizing sleep. The theory was that our bodies could fully recover on two-to-four hours of rest at a time; allowing us to move quickly on the course. It was a gamble which could have cost us time, but it worked like magic. In 2022, I had slept fewer than six of 142 hours, and were unable to finish. This time, I slept for over twenty-two hours for a 131-hour finish. Combined with better training, equipment, transitions, strategies, and fast democratic decision-making with three team members, we absolutely crushed it and had a blast doing so.

The first two pushes of PTL 2025 were the full-value alpine experience which pushed physicality and technicality. Then storms came in and the course had to be rerouted for safety. The result was a course which was less technical with slightly less climbing than planned, but a little bit longer with energy-sapping, violent storms to brave. The difficulty was essentially a wash the end. 191 miles with 74,000'+ elevation gain/loss is nothing to sneeze at.

Coming into PTL so well-prepared in 2025 completely changed the experience. It was outright enjoyable. I rarely felt pushed to my limits--the reward for putting in the work. It was a truly fulfilling adventure.