The 5th annual Gothic Mountain Tour is this weekend

Click in, skin up, ski down and shuffle out

[ by Than Acuff ]

Believe it or not, the Gothic Mountain Tour presented by CB Nordic turns 15 this year and as many as 200 people will line up bright and early Sunday, February 28 for an amazing tour on skis of the north end of the Gunnison Valley.

And, while it is truly an amazing course that links the Gothic valley with Washington Gulch and then the Slate River valley, it is also hard. Fortunately, there are two options for the seasoned skimo racer and the skimo curious.

The big daddy, that just might have you asking for your mommy, starts behind the school in Crested Butte at 6 a.m. and climbs up and across the base area of Crested Butte Mountain Resort before heading up Snodgrass a bit and then dropping down to Gothic Road. The course then heads out Gothic Road, through the town of Gothic, up 403, over the Top of the World on a shoulder of Baldy Mountain, down to Elkton and then back up over Elkton Knob before dropping to the Slate River valley floor and then out the valley before turning onto Mike’s Mile for the home stretch to the finish line at the Magic Meadows yurt. It’s a 23.5-mile-long tour with 5,130 feet of climbing.

“This is a great way to work out the kinks with your Grand Traverse equipment and your nutrition plan,” says CB Nordic events director Andrew Arell. “It’s a solo race but you could also team up with your Grand Traverse partner to race this together and see what pace works best.”

Then there’s the rec class course, which is nothing to sneeze at either. That race starts at 8 a.m. at the Snodgrass trailhead and heads straight to, and through, the town of Gothic and follows the same race course from there for a total of 17.85 miles with 2,379 feet of climbing.

“The rec course is certainly more palatable but can still put the wood to you,” says Arell. “That one is a great option for anyone looking to test the waters of skimo racing. And both races offer tremendous views.”
Both the race and rec course do have strict cutoff times along the course, it is a backcountry race so safety for participants and volunteers is a huge priority. As of press time on Monday the event had 160 people registered, 29 signed up for the rec course, with the event capped at 200.

“It looks like this will be the biggest one yet,” says Arell.

Now, as we all know, vaccine or no vaccine, COVID protocols will be in place. The race class start will be a series of wave starts of 10 people at a time all seeded by their past times or times from similar races. The rec class will have an open start but everyone must still maintain social distancing. As for the finish area, Arell and CB Nordic ask that participants continue to be mindful of COVID and act accordingly. That is, no milling around in a large group. To help foster that, the Public House in Crested Butte has a free beer waiting for all participants who show up with their bib.

“There won’t be the customary party,” says Arell. “There will be some snacks and soup to help you replenish and then you can go to the Public House for your complimentary beer and carry on as you see fit. We’re lucky to be able to do this so we ask for everyone’s cooperation to keep this event thriving.”

Avalanche rescue gear is required of all racers and everyone must go through a beacon check at the start before heading into the hills.

Registration for the race is open until end of the day Friday, February 26 or until the race is full. For more information about bib pick up, mandatory virtual racer meeting and the course itself, go to cbnordic.org.