Irwin skimo race set for December 6. Conditions improving

Punch your ticket to the ski mountaineering world championships

While most people are still milking the long fall for some phenomenal late-season bike rides, others have turned their attention to the coming winter and the onset of the randonee or ski mountaineering or skimo racing season. The race circuit comes to the Gunnison Valley the weekend of December 6-7 and is an opportunity for a couple of skiers to qualify for the U.S. Ski Mountaineering team headed to the world championships in Switzerland, February 5-12.
The Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup race series (COSMIC) is slated to kick off on Sunday, November 23 with the Wolf Creek Ski Mountaineering race on and around the Wolf Creek ski area. Following that, skimo racers will come to the Gunnison Valley for the second stop of the series, the Irwin Guides/Griggs Orthopedics Ski Mountaineering race presented by Millet on Saturday, December 6. Organizers added a second event that weekend, a vertical race, at Crested Butte Mountain resort on Sunday, December 7.
The race at Irwin is unique in that both the rec class and race class courses take place in the backcountry, seven miles from Crested Butte on the Irwin cat skiing terrain. Access to the race is by either snowmobile or snow cat.
It’s the fifth year for the race at Irwin and competitors have been subjected to a variety of conditions over the years. In the race’s inaugural year, nearly 16 inches fell the day leading up to the race and skimo athletes were treated to unbelievable conditions.
The following year, the start to the winter was slow yet there was enough coverage to pull off the race. The mantra that year was, “If it looks thin, it’s probably thin. If it looks good, it’s probably thin.”
Year three proved dry through the early part of the season and race organizers were forced to cancel the race all together. The race got back on track last year as a series of October and November storms laid down enough of a blanket to host the race.
Sixty-five racers lined up for the race and predicted sub-arctic temperatures held off to make for some light snowfall and perfect temps for skimo racing and the participants were blessed with quality skin tracks for the uphills and soft conditions on their descents.
“Conditions were amazing,” says race co-director Bryan Wickenhauser, “everything you expect and anticipate out of Irwin.”
But the start of the 2014 winter has been slow once again, so far. While some intrepid skiers have been treated to turns up high on north-facing slopes, a majority of the terrain where the race is held is thin in spots and bare in others.
But, and that’s a big but, weather models are looking good. This week saw another winter blast of snow and the forecast is favorable for the next couple of weeks.
“It would be good to get at least 24 to 30 inches over the next couple of weeks bare minimum,” says Wickenhauser.
As for the race this year, provided Mother Nature comes through with decent snowfall for the next three weeks, the courses will stay relatively the same with 5,000 feet of climbing and descending for the race class and 3,500 feet of each for the rec class. Both will be treated to the boot pack section through the cliff band.
If snow doesn’t pan out as hoped, they do have a back-up plan.
“We do have a ‘B’ course but it compromises a lot of the downhills, probably have people skiing down the cat roads instead,” explains Wickenhauser. “It winds up being a delicate dance to where the snow is.”
But the racing doesn’t stop there. Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) and Griggs Orthopedics will also host a vertical race, basically an uphill sprint, at the ski area Sunday, December 7 before the lifts open.
“This year is a world championships year and one of the disciplines is a vertical race so we’re trying to establish a U.S. Ski Mountaineering team,” says Wickenhauser.
As a result, men’s and women’s winners at the Irwin race and/or at the vertical race at CBMR will punch their ticket to Switzerland. Others can gain points toward reaching the goal of making the U.S. Ski Mountaineering team.
Registration for the race at Irwin is $65 if you do not need a snow cat ride or $115 if you do. Space is limited for snow cat rides so register early. Due to the backcountry nature of the race, there is a cap at 85 athletes. The fee for the vertical race is $15. For more information or to register for the races check out www.elkmountainevents.com.