Descending 30,000 feet at the Chomolungma Challenge
Originally posted on August 24, 2012 at 18:32 pm
By Justin Steiner, photo courtesy of Snowshoe Mountain Bik Park
We’ve packed up the van and we’re on our way to the Chomolungma Challege – the race to descend nearly 30,000 vertical feet. That’s the height of Mount Everest, from which the event draws its name.
Snowshoe Mountain‘s western territory drops 1,500 feet with each run, meaning riders will be racing to complete 20 laps over a variety of terrain. Solo, two person, and four person team options are available, with solo and team riders confined to their own courses.
Course A will be Snowshoe’s challenging Pro DH track, while course B is the fast, jump-filled Ninja Bob to Ball ‘n Jack to Powerline. Racing will begin just after 8 a.m. tomorrow, with solo racers on track A, team racers on track B. At noon, racers will switch tracks for the remainder of the day.
I’ve been stoked about this race since the very day it was announced, and look forward to testing my fortitude over 20 runs. I’m sure it’ll be far more difficult than I’ve projected, but it’ll also be incredibly fun.
Snowshoe has outlined a bunch of prudent rules (.pdf) around the race, perhaps most interesting that riders must complete the race utilizing one bicycle frame.
I sure hope I can hold it together for 20 laps!
Check back for a race report next week.