The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Whose turn is it to win this year?
As many as 260 skiers will head out in teams of two from the Crested Butte Community School at midnight on Friday, March 25 for the 14th annual Elk Mountains Grand Traverse.
Last year, the race was turned around at the Friends Hut due to weather and avalanche conditions. Local skiers Bryan Wickenhauser and Brian Smith made the most of the situation to take the win, edging out victory over Ethan Passant and Travis Scheefer.
But this year, pre-race prognosticators are stumbling when it comes to predicting a winning team with Smith off to compete in the World Winter Triathlon Championships, and Vail athlete Mike Kloser, who has been a part of five wins with different partners, not competing.
It’s anyone’s guess but one thing is for sure—there’s a good chance the finish is going to be very close.
The Grand Traverse is a one-of-a-kind test of endurance and smarts, requiring avalanche awareness, backcountry athleticism, winter camping knowledge and map-reading skills all wrapped up in one athlete. This unusual midnight start time is scheduled so entrants will reach the high point of Star Pass at 12,303 feet before the warmth of the day increases the likelihood of avalanches.
The 40-mile course starts at 9,000 feet at Crested Butte Community School and traverses to Crested Butte Mountain Resort, where cheering crowds, torches and a fireworks display greet the racers as they pass through the base area just below the Silver Queen lift. After conquering two mountain passes, the teams finish at the base of Aspen Mountain ski area.
“The Grand Traverse is not a Nordic or downhill race, but instead tests skiers’ overall skills and goes from town-to-town, covering 40 miles of rugged trails in the Elk Mountains. Every event dishes up new surprises for the contestants and the organizers,” says race co-director Jan Runge.
There are a couple of new things this year.
Every year that skiers make the trip to Aspen, they get beat down by course conditions as snowmobile traffic leaves miles of whupdeedos on the final section on Richmond Ridge.
This year, race organizers have a helicopter dropping supplies off at the Barnard Hut, the final checkpoint before Richmond ridge. Race co-director Lisa Cramton thinks that could have a positive effect on course conditions on the Richmond ridge section.
“We usually need about 20 snowmobile trips to get all the stuff to the Barnard Hut so the whup-dees should be in much better shape,” says Cramton. “That’s just a theory but it’s a good one.”
In addition, Runge will be asking several of the top teams to carry Spot devices so they can be tracked throughout the race.
“The whole race can be watched on our website, www.elkmountaintraverse.org,” says Runge. “You can turn your computer on at 6 a.m. on Saturday and see who just came over Taylor Pass.”
If you are competing and you’re sitting somewhere reading this, put it down, stuff your face with food and do what you can to get some rest.
If you’re not racing, do what you can to get out to the start at midnight and send these brave souls into the midnight air bound for Aspen.
If you want to catch the winners as they cross the finish line in Aspen, weather-dependant of course, get over there early. Previous winning teams have completed the course in the neighborhood of nine hours.
This year could be faster, could be slower—it all depends on the weather.
“The weather is what it is, it’s the same old story,” says Runge. “Typical Grand Traverse week of unsettled weather.”
