Grand Traverse race cancelled due to conditions

“The changing climate is definitely a cause for concern when it comes to the longevity of this race”

By Than Acuff 

 Oof. For the first time in the history of the Elk Mountains Grand Traverse, the race was cancelled due to conditions on course. The only other cause for cancellation was 2020 when the world was in the midst of a global pandemic.

The Grand Traverse ski race starts at midnight in Crested Butte and follows a course over two mountain passes before finishing in Aspen. It’s 40 miles long and involves 7,000 vertical feet of climbing. 

It all started back in 1998 and since then, Crested Butte Nordic has pulled off 26 Grand Traverse races. On six separate occasions throughout the years, avalanche conditions proved too hazardous along the course to send teams to Aspen yet Crested Butte Nordic had a plan B in place, and they managed to pull off a race starting and finishing in Crested Butte. This year, a deteriorating snowpack, open water and other serious concerns left race organizers no other option but to cancel the race entirely.

It all started around noon on Saturday, March 29 as racers were going through their pre-race regimen preparing for the big race. The course starts at the base of Crested Butte Mountain Resort and goes up and over the shoulder of the ski area by Gold Link and Painter Boy lifts before dropping down to the East River Valley floor crossing the East River and then heading into the high country from there. And it was that river crossing that started a chain of events.

“We received word from CB Ski Patrol around 12 p.m. that the East River Bridge was appearing unstable,” says Crested Butte Nordic events director Linsey Bachofer. “About half an hour later we got a photo of the open river showing the wide and deep expanse and icy water. There was no way to construct a safe bridge in time that could support 500 racers.”

Grand Traverse organizers then came up with a Plan B to still send the skiers out in the midnight air bound for Aspen but that too was thwarted.

“Knowing the east side wasn’t an option, we shifted to an alternative route using the south side of Mt. CB,” explains Bachofer. “This route traded river crossings for dirt, which wasn’t ideal, but safer for racers. 

We communicated the route at the 1 p.m. racer meeting with the finish line being in Aspen.”

All winter, Grand Traverse snow safety director Eric Murrow had been at work keeping tabs on the course and when Murrow and the team of Tim Mahan, Eli Weitzman and Jason Holton headed out to the Friend’s Hut Tuesday the week of the race, the next 72 hours proved encouraging.

“My job is to understand the avalanche terrain along the course and to keep track of it all winter,” says Murrow. “Given the forecast for a cool down and cloud cover Friday and Saturday, I was feeling reasonably good about avalanche conditions.”

The team was out the door Saturday morning at 5 a.m. to check on the recent snow that had fallen overnight and were up on Star Pass until 1 p.m.

“When we left the pass at 1 p.m., we felt confident in the safety of sending 500 people off the pass,” says Murrow.

But as the day progressed, new issues arose when race forerunners and sweep arrived at the Friend’s Hut to prepare for the race. The issues were confirmed by a team further along the course as well.

“The sweep and forerunners reported punchy conditions lower in the drainage,” says Murrow. “And the team at the Opa’s Hut confirmed those conditions in the Upper Taylor drainage. A punchy snowpack where transporting someone who is injured or sick would be highly challenging.”

Plan A going to Aspen was thwarted, plan B reversing the race was also off the table and the thought of a plan C was just not possible.

“We were asked why we couldn’t offer a skimo race at the ski resort instead,” says Bachofer. “Ultimately, hosting a skimo race on CBMR would have required additional permits, completed months in advance, as well as additional contractors and volunteers to make this a viable option. Anyone who knows CB understands how small our community is, and asking the small staff that is Crested Butte Nordic and Ski Patrol to pivot and pull off a completely different race is unrealistic.”

As a result, the tough decision to cancel the race was made late Saturday afternoon.

“In the 4 p.m. field teams meeting, teams shared observations of an isothermic snowpack, with snow penetration up to three feet on skis and waist-deep in boots,” says Bachofer. “Daytime temperatures and weather had created unprecedented and dangerous conditions that were no longer safe for race travel. We brainstormed every possible workaround, but race permits and risk management plans require safe evacuation routes that were no longer feasible. For these reasons, our staff, snow safety, medical, and evacuation teams came to the conclusion that sending racers into the field safely in any capacity was no longer possible.”

Pat O’Neill has been in the Grand Traverse all 26 years, has three wins and 14 podium finishes. He figured something like this would have already happened.

“Going back to 1998, I would have thought by 2025 we would have had two or three cancellations,” says O’Neill. “If you look at European races like the Mezzalama, it’s not uncommon for races like this to be cancelled. I trust the volunteers, I trust the snow safety team and I trust the Grand Traverse organization to make the call to keep people safe.”

What does the future hold for the Grand Traverse ski race? Well, that will be the topic of discussion moving forward for Crested Butte Nordic and their partners in the race.

“The changing climate is definitely a cause for concern when it comes to the longevity of this race,” says Bachofer. “This week we will debrief with our field team and discuss the possibility of shifting the race date. Shifting dates does require approval from many partners, CBAC, 10th Mountain Hut Association, Mt. CB, CBMR, Forest Service, CBSAR, Gunnison County, Pitkin County and Aspen Mountain.”

“Let’s go 2026,” says O’Neill. “I’m a pathological optimist.”