Friday, February 19, 2016

Gore-Tex Kahtoola Uphill at Arizona Snowbowl - Updates from the day before

I just got an email from the race organizers and I'll share some of the most pertinent information with you here:


o   CARPOOL and arrive no earlier than 4:30pm to allow the parking lot to clear out from guests skiing during the day. If you arrive early it is possible you will be held at bottom of mountain.
o   Pre-Race meeting takes place at 5pm in Hart Prairie Lodge.  
o   Race starts at 5:15pm from the KU arch at the base of the Sunset Lift.
o   Headlamps and water bottles are highly recommended.
o   No pets or alcohol on the race course.
o   Racers will be chipped for timing purposes. YOU MUST go through the FINISH ARCH to have your time recorded. 
o   Agassiz Course. AZSB reports that the upper mountain terrain is open with natural un-groomed snow.  The route is technical and hazards do exist for skiers. Skin and ski with caution and know your limits. AZSB reserves the right to make the Agassiz Course “traction only” based on changing conditions.

Additionally, in a few more risky sections they've set up gates with skiers to the left and foot traffic to the right.



I'm packing my gear this morning. Here are some weather screenshots:





Thank you Weather.com. The snow report from Arizona Snow Bowl HERE says that it's spring conditions, which is usually a euphemism for rough and variable, with slush during warm hours and chopped frozen slush in the cold hours. That ties in with the report from Kahtoola.

Note: I tagged this with vertical k, even though it's not, because it has some of the same characteristics and I've done a VK there in the past on the same course, and will do one again this fall.

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