A new ski event makes its debut at Snowbird this year, and it sounds like a doosy. 12 Hours of Snowbird is a non-stop ski fest where, as the title implies, you ski for 12 hours straight. Plus, it’s a competition that benefits the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center which is reason alone to torture your quads over and over again. Oh yea, and the race happens at night.
12 Hours of Snowbird goes down like this – entrants will begin skiing/riding at 7 p.m. on February 18th and end at 7 a.m. on February 19th. Race organizers put the date during the full moon, so hopefully there won’t be any cloud cover that night. The Snowbird runs where the competition takes place will be announced a few days before the race.
Race entrants will be limited to 20 individual participants and 40 teams of two. According to race organizerts, teams can ski or ride together or take turns. Headlamps will be required as well as helmets and avalanche transceivers. The race will also be using a cool system called flaik™, which is a tracking device that records skier and rider positions on the mountain in real time and their personal performance statistics such as vertical feet, top speed, miles skied, average speed, runs skied and lifts taken.
Once the event is underway, the flaik™ system generates various event leader boards such as individual and team vertical, individual and team top speed, checkpoints completed, individual and team hike times and individual and team horizontal (distance). The leader boards are constantly updating on set intervals throughout the duration of the event.
Below are the fine details from Snowbird’s website:
Date
February 18 – 19, 2011
(weather date, February 19 – 20)
Time/Place
Afore Race Party 4-7 p.m., Forklift Restaurant
Race 7 p.m. (Feb 18) – 7 a.m. (Feb 19)
Event Cost
$275 per person, minimum, to register for the ski/snowboard challenge ($250 goes to the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center). Since the $250 is a donation to the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center, donation receipts will be mailed out. Individuals can also donate to competitors after they have registered. Prizes will be awarded for most money raised in addition to most vertical feet skied or ridden.
Party Only Cost
If you are interested in attending the 12 Hours of Snowbird party only, the cost is $25. This includes food provided by Utah Food Services, beverages provided by Uinta and Pepsi and live music with DJ Knuckles.
Support
Creekside restrooms will be open and there will be port-a-potties at the base of the Peruvian lift. Water and fruit will be available. Participants will be responsible for their own support and food.
Awards
Awards will be presented to the individual and the team with the most vertical feet. There will be a light breakfast for participants in the Rendezvous Restaurant, Level 2, Snowbird Center at 7 a.m. Awards will be announced there.
It’s always exciting to see new ski and snowboard events that the public can compete in, and the fact that all entrance fees go to benefit the Utah Avalanche Center make it all the better. But sign up now, because the limited number of entries means it will probably fill up fast.
For more information or to register, visit Snowbird’s website.
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