Limber Pine Outdoors (creators of the White Pine 50) is excited to announce a NEW hundred-miler connecting the iconic elkhorn arches located in Afton and Jackson Hole Wyoming! Each winter, thousands of elk, the “Monarchs of the Mountains” travel a hundred miles or more to descend out of the nearby mountain ranges to elk feeding grounds in Star Valley and Jackson Hole. In the spring, the bulls drop their antlers before returning to their lofty haunts high above the valley floor. Both towns have erected massive arches made from these elk “sheds” in honor of this annual feat of biology. If you qualify (keep reading), we invite you to make the journey yourself through the terrain these elk navigate between their summer and winter ranges and back.
Cowboy Up!
For the first year of the Elkhorn 100, the race will be partially crew supported. Don’t expect aid stations every seven miles. Do expect minimal course marking. All entrants will be required to have a crew vehicle to meet them at various crewed aid stations. You may share a crew vehicle with someone else (recommended actually) as long as you’re planning on sticking together for the most part.
The required gear list includes water filtration/treatment, a survival bivy, navigation device and a GPS tracker. If you don’t have your own tracker, we have partnered with Trackleaders.com for GPS tracker rental, a $40 add-on when you check-out (but come on, just buy one already!). This is for your safety, and your crew’s convenience.
Not your first rodeo
You can tell by now this race is going to be no joke! The course offers very few aid station opportunities (roughly every 13 miles or more) and climbs over 20,000′ of vert between 6,000 and 10,000′ above sea level. The trail is just a suggestion in many places. Expect bushwhacking, scree & snowfields, the potential of severe weather, possible altitude sickness, and long dry sections where you’ll need to carry extra water. As such, we are only accepting veterans of tough mountain ultras this year. You will have to have successfully completed “Hard Rock qualifier” (or a 100 mile race with at least 19,000′ of vert) to enter the race (or provide some other evidence of verifiable insanity/trail running/badassery/thru hiking accomplishment).
This makes the rules pretty simple:
1. Don’t get lost
2. Leave no trace
3. Finish by the cut-offs
4. No whining
The race will start under the Elkhorn Arch on Main Street in Afton on Friday at 6:00am. Finish by 10:00pm on Saturday in Jackson Hole, and you’ll get hearty a slap on the back, priceless memories and a fancy belt buckle for your efforts.
Payin’ er forward: For this year there won’t be a trail volunteer requirement due to the short notice of the event, but expect one in future years. A generous portion of your race entry will go to support area high school student athlete scholarships!
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