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Two awesome loops |
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The courses are on a mix of Bolton backcountry and downhill terrain, affording amazing views of Camel's Hump on your climb and the Cottonbrook drainage from the top of the Stowe View trail.
The majority of the daytime loop is in the Bolton backcountry, and the overnight loop is on downhill terrain (you will be skinning up and skiing down on resort trails). The race will start on the backcountry loop (red course) at noon, and it will transition to the overnight loop (green course) around sunset on Saturday night. Once the sun comes up on Sunday morning, you will transition back to the daytime loop in the backcountry. You can click the course map to the right or download the pdf here.
The majority of the daytime loop is in the Bolton backcountry, and the overnight loop is on downhill terrain (you will be skinning up and skiing down on resort trails). The race will start on the backcountry loop (red course) at noon, and it will transition to the overnight loop (green course) around sunset on Saturday night. Once the sun comes up on Sunday morning, you will transition back to the daytime loop in the backcountry. You can click the course map to the right or download the pdf here.
Daytime Loop
The daytime loop is purely amazing. Racers will gain elevation at a moderate grade as they climb the Catamount Trail out past Bryant Cabin before heading up slightly steeper terrain on Heavenly Highway to get to Stowe View. At Stowe View, take in the vista of the Cottonbrook drainage and Bolton Mountain to the north before beginning a slight descent back toward Heavenly Highway and Peggy Dow's. Snow conditions and temperature will determine the best place to take your skins off for the downhill, but it will likely be somewhere between the Stowe View high point and Heavenly Highway/Peggy Dow's intersection.
At Peggy Dow's, begin your descent down Old Turnpike before ducking back into the woods on Snow Hole. From Snow Hole, you'll connect with Gardiner's Lane and World Cup for a quick 100-yard mellow uphill before your final downhill on the "Tele Practice Hill," which will bring you to the start/finish of the daytime loop. The elevation gain of each daytime lap will be approximately 1,055', and the loop is approximately 3.5 miles long. The average racer may complete this loop in about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
At Peggy Dow's, begin your descent down Old Turnpike before ducking back into the woods on Snow Hole. From Snow Hole, you'll connect with Gardiner's Lane and World Cup for a quick 100-yard mellow uphill before your final downhill on the "Tele Practice Hill," which will bring you to the start/finish of the daytime loop. The elevation gain of each daytime lap will be approximately 1,055', and the loop is approximately 3.5 miles long. The average racer may complete this loop in about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Overnight loop
The overnight loop is pretty straight forward, and it was designed to keep racers safe while they ascend and descend using their own headlamps. About an hour before sunset, racers will be diverted to the overnight loop, sending them down Wilderness Liftline. At the bottom, they will begin the uphill via Lower Turnpike and continue on Old Turnpike until reaching the Peggy Dow's intersection. There, they will begin their descent down Wilderness again. The elevation gain of each overnight lap will be approximately 737', and the loop is approximately two miles long. The average racer may complete this loop in about 45 minutes.
