The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Spots on U.S. ski mountaineering team up for grabs
It’s as if Mother Nature wants people to dress up in speed suits and race up and down in the Elk Mountains. As of press time, the Irwin Guides/Griggs Orthopedics Ski Mountaineering race presented by Millet venue on the Irwin cat skiing terrain had just received another four inches of snow for a season total of 63 inches and they are expecting another three-to-six inches to come in the days leading up to the race on Saturday, December 6.
The ski area got a nice blast of snow as well, making for prime conditions for the Crested Butte Vertical race at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) on Sunday, December 7.
“Everything is looking good and probably the most snowfall they’ve had in the five years we’ve been doing this race,” says race director Bryan Wickenhauser.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect too, with spots on the U.S. Ski Mountaineering team headed to the World Championships up for grabs on both Saturday and Sunday.
Thanks to the generosity of Mother Nature over the past month, race organizers will be able to offer everything the Irwin terrain has, with courses set for both the race and rec classes.
The race class will take athletes on a 10-mile tour of the terrain with 5,000 feet of climbing spread out over three separate climbs, including a boot pack section through the cliffs in east Barkmarker. The rec class course will be 6.5 miles long with 3,500 feet of climbing and will also include the boot pack portion.
“It’s a nice aesthetic booter and is a technical element that’s part of ski mountaineering and I think the athletes have fun with it,” says Wickenhauser. “We try to add that element in.”
The vertical race on Sunday is just that, vertical, as skiers will climb 1,500 feet up from the base area to the finish line with not a single vertical foot of descending.
“Basically, go until you black out, feather it back a little and keep it in that realm of nearly passing out but still conscious,” says Wickenhauser.
Furthermore, it just so happens that this is a ski mountaineering world championship year so the U.S. ski mountaineering team is looking for a few good men and women over the course of the next month. As a result, men’s and women’s winners at Irwin and the vertical race at CBMR earn spots on the U.S. team so Wickenhauser expects to see some heavy hitters coming to the Gunnison Valley for the weekend.
“We’re going to see the elite American field out there because there’s a lot on the line,” says Wickenhauser. “That and the fact that it’s a unique setting for a race at Irwin and the conditions will be good. I think the athletes appreciate the uniqueness of the event.”
The race at Irwin will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday and the vertical race at CBMR on Sunday kicks off at 8 a.m. Register for both races at elkmountainevents.com with the Irwin race registration closing Thursday, December 4 at midnight. Registration for the vertical race will be open until Saturday evening.
As always, volunteers are needed to help at Saturday’s ski mountaineering race. If you can help in any way, contact Dave Ochs at [email protected].
