Pinnacle series opens with hill climb

“It’s a lung-buster”

The Pinnacle race series kicks off Thursday, July 16 with the classic hill climb, a 4.3-mile-long course that climbs more than 2,000 vertical feet on Crested Butte Mountain. “It’s a lung-buster"

The Pinnacle race series kicks off Thursday, July 16 with the classic hill climb, a 4.3-mile-long course that climbs more than 2,000 vertical feet on Crested Butte Mountain.
The course starts at the base area and follows the summer road up past patrol headquarters, finishing at the top of the Silver Queen lift.
In the past, the fastest times hovered around 33 minutes, with times among the “normal” folks in the neighborhood of 42 minutes.
“It’s a way for people to come out and push themselves,” says Crested Butte Mountain sports director Drew Cesati. “It’s a lung-buster.”
The Hill Climb is one of seven events spread over six Thursdays. While in the past the series was primarily cross-country oriented, this year marks the first time gravity races—i.e., downhill, Super D and mountain-cross—will be included.
“It’s a demographic we were missing out on and now we have the venues,” says Cesati.
On Thursday, July 20 the Pinnacle series will debut said gravity events with a downhill race as well as a cross-country race—a veritable two-fer opening option for all riders in the valley.
“We’re trying to bring these guys in and pull the cycling community together,” says Cesati.
While the cross-country course is still in the works, the downhill course will be on Avery, the same course used during the Wildflower Rush.
Registration for all events will be held the day of the event at the Butte 66 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Detailed information on the Pinnacle race course of the week can be viewed on crankcollective.com.