These notes are meant to give racers a general idea
of the traditional race route. The final course will be
described at the Pre Race
Meeting on Friday, March 26 at 11:00 a.m. Due to
weather and snow safety concerns, the course cannot be
finalized until then. Substantial changes to the first
three miles of the course are possible due to private
property concerns. Please check the website (www.elkmountaintraverse.org)
for the most current race course description. All course
updates will be relayed
via the website, and again at the mandatory pre-race
meeting.
Course Description
Racers will depart from the traditional starting line at
the Crested Butte School in town at midnight, where the
pack will head up towards the ski area. Racers will
leave the town ranch and ski to the base of Crested
Butte Mountain where they will pick up the old upper
loop trail, skirt along Hunter Hill Rd and drop into the
T-Bar hill to the base area. Tikki torches and the late
night bar crowds will greet the racers as they pass
through the base area just below the Silver Queen
lift. After this parade review, racers will begin the
climb up and over Crested Butte Resort. The race will
exit the ski area just below the East River lift, cross
the East River valley, turn down stream and then rejoin
Brush Creek Road.
The course follows Brush Creek Road until it turns onto
East Brush Creek, FS Trail 400. The race climbs Trail
400 up past the Friends Hut (first aid station) where
the cut off time is 7:00 am. Then on to Star
Pass for this mandatory time cut off of 8:00
am. Racers who haven’t made it to the Friends Hut
by 7:00 am or Star Pass by 8:000 am
will be required to return to Crested Butte. These
official times will be determined the day before the
race and based on the avalanche safety just beyond the
pass.
From Star Pass the course continues to Taylor Pass on FS
Trail 761.A, and then along the Richmond Hill Road (FS
123) to the Barnard Hut. At the Barnard Hut there will
be a mandatory medical check and 10-minute stop over as
well as a 2:30 pm cut off time. From the
Barnard Hut the race will stay on Richmond Hill Road
(traveling north) until reaching the Aspen Mountain Ski
Area at the Sun Deck (top of the Gondola).You must be
here by 4:00 pm. If you do not make the
2:30 pm cut off time at the Barnard, you will
ski to a pre-determined pick up point, then escorted to
the Sundeck and downloaded on the Gondola. Racers that
have made all of the time cut-offs will then ski down
Aspen Mountain on the Spar Gulch Run to the finish line
at the bottom of the Gondola.
This course will not be marked in any substantial way
except through the private property at the beginning of
the course in Crested Butte/Mt Crested Butte. Racers
must be prepared to find their own route to the aid
stations and mandatory checkpoints. This is a
backcountry race and participants will have only limited
support once they are on the course. Motorized vehicles
are not allowed from Brush Creek to Star Pass, so a
medical evacuation is by sled only. Racers must be
prepared to self-rescue and be self supported in the
event of an emergency. Please read race rules.
Be prepared for the possibility of a GRAND
REVERSE! We will announce the race route at the
Racers Meeting and you will be responsible for staying
on that route. Familiarize yourself with the Trails in
the Brush Creek, Farris Creek drainages.
View
course map
|
