The Grand Traverse

BY BETH BUEHLER

The Grand Traverse takes backcountry skiers from Crested Butte to Aspen through dark, cold and snow.

It takes major chutzpah to compete in the Elk Mountains Grand Traverse, a high-intensity race across rugged terrain from Crested Butte to Aspen. But it seems many people think they have what it takes, making the Traverse one of the most sought-for backcountry ski races in the country.

Registration for the March 25-26 event sold out online this year within 30 minutes, queuing up approximately 135 teams of two who will follow historic mail routes connecting the former mining towns.

Kicking off at the stroke of midnight on March 25, the Grand Traverse is a one-of-a-kind test of endurance and smarts, requiring avalanche awareness, backcountry athleticism, winter camping knowledge and map reading skills all wrapped in one two-person team package. The unusual start time is scheduled so that entrants will reach the high point of Star Pass at 12,303 feet before the warmth of the day increases the likelihood of avalanches.

The 40-mile course starts at nearly 9,000 feet at Crested Butte Community School after racers wearing headlamps are blessed by local minister Tim Clark. The first leg of the journey takes the competitors to Crested Butte Mountain Resort, where cheering crowds, torches and a fireworks display speed them on their way as they pass through the base area. After conquering two mountain passes, the teams finish at the base of Aspen Mountain ski area on March 26.

“The Grand Traverse is not a Nordic or downhill race, but instead tests skiers’ overall skills and goes from town to town, covering 40 miles of rugged trails in the Elk Mountains,” says race organizer Jan Runge. “When the Grand Traverse began 14 years ago, it was fashioned after similar events in Europe that connect various villages.” Jan was one of the people who helped dream up the concept of the Grand Traverse and has been at its helm ever since.

Last year, for the second time in the race’s history, the start time was delayed until 6 a.m. by more than a foot of new snow and a wind chill of 40 below on the high traverses. Along with the start time, the course itself was altered to become the “Grand Reverse,” following a course up to the Friends Hut and back and finishing in Mt. Crested Butte instead of Aspen. The distance was still approximately 38 miles including the vertical 7,000 feet, which is comparable to the usual course, but the finish times were 1.5 to 3 hours faster than usual.

“It was kind of a letdown, but the organizers need to keep people alive so we can keep doing this race,” says Janelle Smiley, a six-time competitor who won the co-ed division with her husband, Mark, in 2010.

There have been a handful of fair weather races, but they are a rarity. “I remember having lounge chairs on Taylor Pass, but for the most part it has been a nasty race weather-wise,” says Bob Wojtalik, a longtime emergency medical technician and volunteer firefighter who was one of the original founders of the race. He oversees the Taylor Pass to Aspen portion of the route.

The race was initially created as a fundraiser for the Crested Butte Nordic Center but now benefits a variety of charities. “The organizing body that had the gall to put a race like this together in 1997 was pretty ambitious,” stresses 2010 Grand Traverse winner Bryan Wickenhauser, who was teamed up with fellow Gunnisonite Brian Smith, a two-time champion.

They might have had gall, but the founders of the race were not newcomers to the route. Chris “Buck” Myall was guiding the route for Crested Butte Mountain Resort ski area’s former guide service, taking clients on three- to four-day adventures. “The Friends Hut had just been built,” he recalls. “I probably had the most time of any of us on the route.”

Runge also has skied every inch of that country and remembers biking the route in the summer of 1997 to scope it 
out. The race founders were not the first to connect Crested Butte and Aspen by their route, either. In the Friends Hut, there are articles posted on the walls that talk about the old mail route that followed almost the same path, including one by a man who shared his great-grandfather’s diary entries. After arriving in Crested Butte from Illinois in the 1880s, this great-grandfather hired one of the skiing mailmen, Fred Johnson, to take him to the mining camp over the hill (aka Aspen) where he could set up a hardware store. The route they took was the same as the Grand Traverse, except for their alternate path over Pearl Pass to Ashcroft.

“This guy had never skied before, had a big pack of hardware, goes over Pearl Pass and straight-lines down the other side into Aspen,” says Myall. “That embraces the whole spirit of our event.”

The Western State College Nordic ski team began traversing a 28-mile course in the 1950s led by legendary coach Sven Wiik. A recent article in The Aspen Times described the route as going over East Maroon Pass, down Conundrum Creek and through East Maroon Creek , taking anywhere from 9.5 hours to 17.5 hours.

It may have been around for a while, but that doesn’t make the route of the Grand Traverse easy in the least. You have to be tough even to make it to the end. For many of the competitors, staying fit and working out in the backcountry is a way of life. “I’m always going to Aspen via the mountains — skiing, hiking, running and biking — so the Grand Traverse is not shocking to the system,” Wickenhauser notes.

“The people who compete in the men’s, women’s and co-ed divisions are the best of the best from Crested Butte, Gunnison, Aspen and the Front Range,” says Runge. “Ninety percent are from Colorado, but we are getting more and more from Jackson Hole, Utah and bigger ski areas. We thought there would be a lot of Europeans participating, but they have a hard time handling the elevation.”

Five-time Traverse champion Mike Kloser of Vail, who like Wickenhauser has participated in adventure races all over 
the world, says he started competing in the event approximately 10 years ago as it 
was the closest thing to a real true adven-ture race, and loved the racing-through-
the-night aspect of the event. He’s had 
his share of interesting happenings and 
intense battles over the years, with a few of them coming down to the wire.

Wickenhauser especially remembers 2003, which has become known as the “frostbite year,” when he saw many top competitors need to stop and go into the Friends Hut to warm up. Four years ago also stands out because he and teammate Eric Sullivan had a 17-minute lead and ran straight into a ground blizzard. “For me, it was scarier than the frostbite year because it was a life-threatening scenario,” he says.

Because of the remote route through the Elk Mountains, each team is required to carry enough food and supplies to sustain themselves for 24 hours. Before the race starts, a team’s packs are checked for essential gear, such as bivovac sacks, a stove, fuel, avalanche beacons, rescue gear and first-aid and repair kits. Carrying a compass also is advisable in case global positioning systems are inoperable due to whiteouts.

It’s not unusual for 20 to 35 teams to get turned back because they are ill-prepared, a team member doesn’t feel well or checkpoints are not reached in time, especially during bad weather. Racers have to reach the Friends Hut by 7 a.m. and be at the top of Star Pass by 8 a.m. in order to continue the race.

The winners do not receive big prize money, just bragging rights, trophies made by Crested Butte students and artists and gear from race sponsors. “Th ere are no cameras, hype or big dollars; it’s an old-fashioned ski race,” Myall says.

Though old-fashioned in spirit, the race still requires a high level of organization and preparation. Not only do race organizers manage 120 volunteers, they work with two counties, two communities, two forest services and two ski areas to make the race happen, in addition to dealing with avalanche and weather danger.

“It’s a big undertaking,” Runge emphasizes. “Just the fact that we’ve kept everyone safe through adverse conditions, that’s the most important.” Myall, a meteorologist by trade and snow safety supervisor for Crested Butte Mountain Resort, flies over the route early in the snow season to view possible avalanche paths. In early February, he takes a four-day trip to do a baseline reading and heads out for a week to 10 days before the race to ski around the route.

“It’s a really unique forecast challenge, having very few of the tools ski areas and guide services use,” he says. “I can’t think of a better way to apply my knowledge.”

Search and rescue professiona ls, ski patrol and emergency medical technicians also pitch in to help, as do other locals who help break trail, sweep every section of the route and handle various other duties. Pilots assist by air-dropping supplies.
Strong competitors, rugged terrain, hundreds of volunteers and historical depth make the Elk Mountains Grand Traverse one of the most exciting and difficult endurance events in the nation.

As Jan Runge confirms, the race “has always lived up to its legacy,” a legacy that continues with yet another amazing competition this March.

Beth Buehler, a writer and editor based in Crested Butte, enjoys skiing and hiking the backcountry but won’t be doing the Grand Traverse!