The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Grab a handful of throttle and hang on”
Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) is closing out the 2012-2013 season full throttle. After two years of planning, CBMR is hosting a weekend of snowmobile races on closing weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 6-7, dubbed Roost the Butte.
Two years ago, CBMR vice president of marketing and sales Scott Clarkson wondered, “How can we get business here when we still have tons of snow on the ground?”
Being a snowmobiler himself, Clarkson thought, “What about a snowmobile event?” Discussions at the X Games in Aspen two years ago steered him in the direction of Joe Duncan. Duncan has an extensive history with snowmobile events, having coordinated the original X Games Snocross here in Crested Butte and continuing to do so for the X Games throughout its run, including in Aspen.
“I’m the one that put snowmobiles in the X Games in Crested Butte,” says Duncan. “It’s cool to bring it back to the place where the X Games started.”
According to Clarkson, there was an event scheduled for Pocatello, Idaho on the same weekend that got cancelled, so he saw a chance to bring in racers from outside the valley looking for an event to fill the gap.
Duncan has four events planned over the two days, including Hilldrags, with riders lining up and punching it uphill for 500 to 600 vertical feet to a finish line. There will be a Hillcross, which is part hill climb, part Snocross.
“You gotta get from the bottom of the hill to the top of the hill as fast as you can,” explains Duncan. “Grab a handful of throttle and hang on.”
Snow Ovals, where snowmobilers race around on an oval track, typically brings out some classic old machines.
“If you got a ‘76 Polaris sitting in your garage that’s running and the brake works, bring it out for that and run it against a ‘72 Skidoo,” says Clarkson.
There will also be the traditional Snocross race, with three to five racers at once working their way around a course complete with bermed turns, bumps and tabletop jumps.
“The four events will be open to the kind of sleds you typically see out here, mountain sleds and trail sleds,” says Duncan. “You don’t have to have a specialty sled.”
There will be separate classes to divide up the riders accordingly in each event, and Duncan invites all snowmobilers in the Gunnison Valley to come out and compete.
“Run what you brung,” says Duncan. “It’s about coming out and having fun.”
All riders must have a helmet, snowmobile boots, safety vest and a tether switch to participate.
Registration and information for the races will be held on Friday, April 5 from 8 to 10 p.m. at the CBMR base area. Races are slated to be on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. A specific location has yet to be finalized but event organizers and resort officials are leaning toward the Ten Peaks area, utilizing the snow that is piled up in place for the existing terrain park under the Gold Link Lift.
Duncan expects to see anywhere from 60 to 100 participants this year.
“We’d like to keep it small and local so we can work out the bugs,” says Duncan.
Both he and Clarkson have big plans for the future and hope to bring back the event with more riders and a higher caliber of talent next spring.
“We may see some of the big names here next year,” says Duncan.
Clarkson hopes to host the event next spring over four days, the weekend after the ski area closes.
“Let’s get something in here that will give the local economy one more week of winter,” says Clarkson.
It should prove to be an exciting weekend, with the Slush Huck Pond Skim scheduled on Saturday, April 6. Duncan predicts that the two events may see some crossover.
“Don’t be surprised if you see a snowmobile skipping across,” says Duncan.
