Countdown to the 2012 Elk Mountains Grand Traverse

New course, new start time, same old pain

For those of you who don’t know, the Gore-Tex Elk Mountains Grand Traverse presented by Outdoor Research and Dynafit is Friday, March 30.
It is the 15th running of the Crested Butte original that has taken hold in the world of extreme endurance athletic sports. In its simplest form it goes kind of like this: First, find a friend who likes to ski. Bring enough gear to last 24 hours in the high alpine winter environment. Start skiing from Crested Butte at night and finish sometime the next day in Aspen.
Of course, it’s a bit more involved than that and has morphed over the years to change courses a handful of times, this year included.
This year, the Grand Traverse will start at the Crested Butte Community School, as always, and head up to the base area of Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR). While none of that is different from the past several years, racers will be treated to some serious stoke at the base of CBMR this year. KBUT is hosting its annual Soul Train Night at Butte 66 the same night, making for a raucous crowd to send the legion of skiers into the night.
Race co-director Bryan Wickenhauser expects the lead teams to ski through the base area at around 11:30 p.m.
There has been a course adjustment on CBMR. This year, skiers will climb from the base area to Painter Boy, up Painter Boy and down Gold Link to the CBMR cat barn and then descend to the East River Valley floor via the Indian Summer Trail.
“That will all be groomed to the Pump House,” says Wickenhauser.
They will cross the valley floor there, cross the East River and climb about 200 vertical feet off the valley floor before turning right and contouring to return to Brush Creek Road and the old course.
“As of Saturday the river was still frozen,” says Wickenhauser. “It’s all in an effort to avoid private property.”
Race organizers estimate that the new route will add just under a mile to the course. That means an estimated additional 45 minutes for the top teams and well over an hour for the middle of the pack to the back of the pack teams.
As a result, the start of the Grand Traverse has been moved up one hour to offer said middle and back of the pack teams the chance to reach a major cut-off point in time.
“We still want to give everyone the allotted time to get to the turnaround point at Star Pass,” says Wickenhauser.
The new time also means an extra hour in the dark for everyone, with the lead teams skiing a majority of the course in the dark.
“Make sure your batteries are up to snuff in your headlamp,” advises Wickenhauser.
As for current course conditions, there are rumors circulating that the top of Star Pass is completely bare, as is a portion of Taylor Pass. Nevertheless, the course, as designed, is still a go.
As of Tuesday, the weather forecast was calling for sunny skies and warm temperatures through the weekend, which may force organizers to go with Plan B for the start. If a majority of the course from the Community School to the base area does melt out, the race will start at the base of CBMR.
“It’s still weather dependent and snow dependent of course,” says Wickenhauser. “That’s the nature of Mother Nature.”
Race organizers have a host of events lined up for the week prior to the big race. It all starts on Thursday, March 22 when three-time Grand Traverse winner Pat O’Neill will give a talk about the race at the Alpineer at 7 p.m. Then on Tuesday, March 27 race organizers will host the Dynafit Nachtspektakel at 10 Peaks on top of Painter Boy. It’s an evening of Grand Traverse story telling, food and ski touring culture starting at 5:30 p.m. It’s $30 and the first 25 folks to sign up are in.
In an effort to instill additional ski mountaineering (skimo) stoke, there will be a skin with the pros event on Thursday, March 29 from 4 to 6 p.m. at CBMR, presented by Dynafit.
There will be Dynafit equipment for demo and Gunnison Valley skimo athletes will lead small groups on the CBMR segment of the course while sharing some of the finer points of transitions and nutrition, as well as clothing choices for the race. Thursday evening concludes with a backcountry film fest from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Mountaineer Square. All events are open to the public.
If you’re hoping to catch the winners as they come down Aspen Mountain into the finish line, the Crested Butte team of Travis Scheefer and Ethan Passant won the race in a time of nine hours and 14 minutes. But, that was last year and every year of the Grand Traverse is different.
“All of the past heavy hitters are signed up,” says Wickenhauser. “It should be a great race.”
For additional information and scheduling, or to find a race spot that may be up for sale, check out www.elkmountainstraverse.com.