West Yellowstone Distance Race Moves to Plateau

The following is a press release from the West Yellowstone Festival director, Moira Dow, on the status of the upcoming SuperTour opener. Check back on FasterSkier for more information regarding SuperTour options in West Yellowstone and Bozeman, Mont.

Thank you all for attending this year’s Fall Festival, and thank you for your patience while we explore our best options for hosting this seasons scheduled races. With the uncertainties of the weather combined with our desire to host the best possible SuperTour and Junior’s events, we are proceeding as follows:

FOR SURE: Friday, Nov 23rd we will have a SuperTour freestyle distance race on the Plateau. The course will be point to point, approximately 9K on the Whiskey Trail, starting at the lower access and finishing just below the upper junction with the groomed S. Plateau/Black Bear trails. The coaches meeting for this event is Wednesday night at 5:30 PM, at the WY Chamber of Commerce (Race Headquarters).

We have moved the Thursday deadline for canceling the Saturday races to Friday at noon. We anticipate that the Plateau will have sufficient snow to host a Saturday race, and if we have enough new snow on the Rendezvous trails by Friday at noon, we will race on our homologated freestyle sprint course with morning qualifiers and afternoon heats.

THE UNKNOWN: At the end of the Wednesday 5:30 PM coaches meeting, we will discuss our options for Saturday’s race, and by the end of the meeting, based on coach input, we will finalize the decision on one of the following options:

1. Cancel all Saturday races based on hosting the SuperTour sprints the following week in Bozeman and lack of interest in having a Junior’s race.

2. Cancel the SuperTour but host a 5K Junior’s race on the Whiskey Trail course.

3. Host a SuperTour freestyle prologue on the Plateau, but with considerable logistical problems and a decidedly poor alternative to a sprint with heats in Bozeman, with no Junior’s race.

4. If we host a SuperTour freestyle prologue on the Plateau, also having a Junior’s race following the SuperTour using the same course and technique.

Please attend the Wednesday 5:30 PM coaches meeting and offer your input! While pondering all of this, also realize that there is a possibility that Bozeman may not have sufficient snow to host the sprints or their scheduled classic events either. It’s been very warm, and who knows what the next week will bring? We’ll hope for the best, but let’s plan for what we know we can do for sure.

NOTES: Please be considerate of volunteers working today and tomorrow preparing the Whiskey Trail for racing.

Please also be considerate of the travel restrictions on the Plateau road. They are there to create a safe environment for moving everyone to and from the venue, and to still allow our crews to prepare for races and to groom the trails. While we cannot do much to regulate the public on a public right of way, we can and will sanction coaches for violations of the travel restrictions. This morning 4 team vans were traveling up the Plateau road just after 7AM, beyond a closed gate. Fortunately, they met the groomer at the bottom, because had they met it further up the road, they would’ve had to be able to back down the road in concert at over 10mph, because the groomer driver doesn’t have a high tolerance for that kind of selfishness. I (David) will contact the head coaches of the teams involved in this incident. Please be respectful of all of the things we’re trying to juggle to make this event work for everyone involved!

RACE SCHEDULE: Biathlon had been cancelled, SuperTour and Junior’s races as follows:

Wednesday, Nov 21: 5:30 PM at the WY Chamber of Commerce race HQ – Friday 9K Supertour Freestyle Coaches meeting. Saturday’s race format will be decided at the end of this meeting

Friday, Nov 23: 10:00 AM – SuperTour 9K freestyle race start, Whiskey Trail course

12:00 PM – Deadline for cancelling the Saturday races due to lack of snow, or for moving the races to the Rendezvous trails due to lots of snow (let’s hope).

5:30 PM – Coaches meeting for Saturday’s races, format TBD at Wednesday’s coaches meeting.

Saturday, Nov 24: 10:00 AM – Race start

TRANSPORTATION TO THE SOUTH PLATEAU VENUE: More information about transportation to the South Plateau for racers, coaches, and the public for Friday, and possibly Saturday, will be released shortly.