The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Hoping for February snow
The first stop on the 2013 Subaru Freeride Series, originally scheduled for February 6-10 at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR), has been postponed due to snow conditions. Mountain Sports International (MSI) made the call due to low snow conditions, and is working with the resort to reschedule the event for the end of March.
“Due to conditions we are forced to reschedule the competition at Crested Butte until snowpack improves,” event director Bryan Barlow announced in a statement. “We are looking forward to a snowy February to make the event as successful as possible for athletes and fans.”
Snow is forecasted for later this week, but according to CBMR events manager Laci Wright, it’s not enough to get the extremes open. “Our mountain takes a lot of snow to fill in areas for the event venues and by postponing the event, this will allow more time for the snow to fall and be able to pull off the Subaru Freeride Series event with great success,” she said.
CBMR is slated to host two events: the 2-star and 4-star Freeride World Qualifiers. Their postponement comes just one year after MSI canceled the Crested Butte stop altogether—again due to unsuitable snowpack.
CBMR public relations and communications manager Erica Reiter says the resort is confident in its ability to reschedule this time around. A few dates have been identified but the resort and MSI are waiting for confirmations to announce a decision.
It’s too early to know what the implications would be if the event were cancelled again. “At this point, it’s too early to tell,” says Reiter. “We will do everything we can to pull the event off, but the only way it’s going to happen is if Mother Nature cooperates and sends lots of snow our way.”
Athletes and spectators can find updated race information at SubaruFreerideSeries.com or www.facebook.com/FreerideWorldQualifier for additional updates.
