Backcountry randonnee ski race set for Irwin this December

Registration opens Friday, October 22

Cat skiing operation C.S. Irwin and local randonnee, or ski mountaineering, race enthusiasts are pulling together to offer a randonnee race on Saturday, December 11.

Every winter, the COSMIC (Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup) race series hosts randonnee races throughout Colorado, typically taking place on ski resorts with a modicum of backcountry terrain included.
Over the past four winters, COSMIC organizer Pete Swenson expanded the race venues to include more backcountry terrain, starting with the San Juan Rando race off of Molas Pass and the Five Peaks race in Breckenridge.
Local COSMIC racers Bryan Wickenhauser and Jake Jones have participated in the series for the past four winters. Last year, when C.S. Irwin opened up for cat skiing with their friends Alan Bernholtz and Billy Rankin working as mountain operations director and snow safety director, they got an idea.
“We thought, why don’t we approach Alan and Billy about doing a venue up at Irwin,” explains Wickenhauser. “Those guys were totally accommodating.”
A day of “research” last year proved fruitful as the four figured out a way to make it happen.
The course will include 5,000 vertical feet of climbing in the race class, less in the recreational class, and will include a boot-packing section for both classes. The course is laid out into three loops, two for the rec class, that all start at the C.S. Irwin Movie Cabin above Irwin Lake and head up to Scarp Ridge before dropping back down to the cabin.
Registration for the race is $50 and will open up on Friday, October 22 at zapevents.com. For detailed photos of the terrain where the race will be held check out csirwin.com.
When Wickenhauser and Jones approached Swenson with the idea, he jumped on it. Typically, the COSMIC series doesn’t get going until January but with C.S. Irwin’s historic snows, Swenson saw the opportunity to start the COSMIC series a month earlier.
“I’ve been pushing for some kind of December event,” says Swenson. “People are ready to race in December.”
 The tricky part will be getting racers to the venue the morning of the race. Participants have two options—well, three, actually. They can take a snowmobile to the race venue; ski tour to the race venue; or, for an additional $40, they can get a roundtrip ride in the C.S. Irwin snow cat to and from the venue.
In an effort to keep it as smooth as possible, the event will be limited to 50 racers total this year but potentially more in the future.
“It’s the first year and we want to make sure we have our logistics in order,” says Wickenhauser. “We want to make sure we do it right and maybe we’ll open it up to more in years to come.”
Bernholtz looks forward to hosting a COSMIC event during C.S. Irwin’s first full season of operation.
“We’re excited to offer a race to the local community as well as attracting people from around the country in our first year,” says Bernholtz.
 “I would call this a signature event,” says Swenson. “It’s an experience we want people to have at a ski mountaineering race.”