The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
New this year, the Golden Ticket
Much has changed since the days when local postal carrier Al Johnson delivered the mail from Crested Butte to Crystal and back in the dead of winter layered in wool and wearing leather boots strapped to a pair of 11-foot wooden skis.
These days, skis range from 160-190 cm in length, Gore-Tex has replaced wool and mail carriers drive through or around mountains rather than ski over them.
Yet, the citizens of Crested Butte haven’t forgotten what Al Johnson did. Every spring, the town honors and celebrates his determination and adherence to the post office’s motto “neither rain, nor snow, nor dead of night shall keep this carrier from his appointed rounds” with the Al Johnson Memorial Uphill/Downhill Telemark Ski Race.
Now in its 36th year, this year’s Al Johnson Memorial Uphill/Downhill Telemark Ski Race is slated for March 21, 2010 continuing the tradition of an event that is part circus sideshow, part athleticism and all Crested Butte.
Sure, competitors don’t have to ski on 11-foot wooden planks or steer with a tree branch, although some still do in honor of Al, but that doesn’t mean the race is easy.
Starting from the base of the North Face Lift, competitors must skin 600 vertical feet up Schofield Road to the top of the North Face lift. Once there, they pull off the skins, toss them to the side and then “point it” descending any way they can through 1,200 vertical feet of bumps, rocks and trees to the bottom of Last Steep before one last short climb to the finish on Black Eagle.
All competitors must finish with all of their equipment, operational or not. It’s a test of endurance, heart rate and steep skiing ability where only the fittest and most skilled prevail.
New this year is the Golden Ticket in the tag team race. Every year the uphill racer must pass an envelope to their downhill partner. This year, one of the envelopes will contain a Golden Ticket good for a spectacular prize surprise.
However, the greatest thing about the “Al” is that it’s not always about winning. For many participants, it is all about “letting your freak flag fly,” and fly it does. In years past, competitors have dressed as go-go dancers, Energizer Bunnies, packs of cigarettes, and in at least one case of marginally questionable taste, Al’s Johnson.
The prize booty is notorious for being an incredible array of gear and gift certificates donated by local businesses as well as big name outdoor companies.
The annual Al Johnson begins with the tag team race at noon on Sunday, March 21 at the base of the North Face Lift, while the individual race will kick-step off at 1 p.m. The best viewing is from either Black Eagle by the East River Lift or anywhere along the course in the North Face area.
After the event, join racers and race fans for one of the biggest parties all year, the Al Johnson awards banquet, at Butte 66 at the base area at 4 p.m. For more information, check out www.aljohnsonrace.com.
