Course Details

The course is a 4 km (approx.) loop, with 805' (approx.) of climbing per loop.

Open women, junior men, and junior women will run two loops (approx. 8 km). Open men will run three loops (approx 12 km).

Course Map

The letters and descriptions below correspond to the letters on the map above. On the map, the letter marks the end of the section being described below:

1. The course starts at the NW corner of the rodeo grounds, at 6,705'. There's ~250m straight, flat sprint, starting wide, and gradually narrowing to the bottom of the big hill.
2. The first part of the hill is up a steep service road. The second part is up an even steeper ski run. Overall, the climb is ~420' in just over 1/4 mi. This takes you to the top of Howelson Hill, the ski lift and ski jump.
3. After cresting the hill, start down the ridge. Take a right down a very short, steep single-track. Take another right down a gradual descent on a dirt road. Take a sharp left and head up a single-track, climbing ~130' in a little over 1/4 mi.
4. At the top of the trail, take a sharp left and head down a dirt road. Then take a right down a very short and very steep hill. Here the trail meets runners coming down at the end of this section. Take a quick right at the bottom of the hill, and head up a gradual climb, on a wide, smooth path. Here you reach the highest point on the course, 7,230'. There, take a sharp left down the Lupine trail. This is a moderate descent, on a narrow single-track, with some tight turns.
5. At the bottom of the Lupine trail, go right down a short, steep, straight trail. Go right and continue down a couple of steep switchbacks. Continue down a service road.
6. Go left up a ski run, climbing ~90’ in ~150 yards. Go steeply back down the ski run. Go back down the dirt road a short way. Go right, up a short hill. Then go left on a single-track, down a moderate descent.
7. The last short section of the single-track drops very steeply back to the dirt road. The road drops steeply towards the rodeo grounds.
8. Just above the rodeo grounds, take a series of switchbacks, with some moderate downs and ups. There's a short steep drop to the horse track. Then, run down the dirt track to the finish, or next lap. To head out on the next lap, continue past the finish on the dirt track, then go left to the bottom of the steep climb, again.