The Grin & Bear It is Crested Butte’s oldest trail challenge. Historically presented as a sprint to Green Lake and back, this classic event has evolved to offer a 25k Loop competition while still maintaining the traditional 15k race.
Coming back for year two, we’re offering a 25k mountain bike race. The bike will be technical and difficult – a great training opportunity for the Summer Grand Traverse.
25 km Course (loop) – Run and Bike
The race starts and finishes at the Crested Butte Nordic Center – 620 2nd. Street, in downtown Crested Butte.
A mass start commences from the Nordic Center, climbing directly up to Journey’s End road, where racers turn LEFT, continuing downhill to the junction with Highway-135. Racers proceed south, paralleling the highway for a 1/4 mile before turning RIGHT off the highway at the Baxter Gulch trailhead. Here, racers are routed onto the single track, starting a series of sharp switchbacks climbing 600 feet through shaded aspens. This climb eventually opens up, transitioning to a climbing traverse. (Don’t forget to look over your left shoulder to view Mt. Crested Butte’s imposing presence over the valley!)
This initial climb tops out at 9,431 ft. before providing competitors a momentary 200 ft. downhill respite. Steady switchback climbing commences for the next mile after crossing a bridge across Baxter Creek. After making a second crossing of Baxter Creek, elevation gain levels off, climbing more moderately through open meadows and surprise views of Mt. Whetstone. Moderate climbing continues until around mile 5.25, where 450 feet is more steeply gained in less than 1 mile. This push delivers runners to a high saddle at 10,700 ft. and a sneak peek view into the adjacent Ohio Creek valley drainage.
Here, the course embarks on a brief .5 mile descent, intersecting the Carbon Trail #436 where racers make a RIGHT turn and begin their final 545 feet of climbing to the course high point at 10,983 ft. Here, racers are treated to panoramic views of the high peaks spanning the Elk Mountain Range to the east, in addition to the expansive valley bottoms of the upper Gunnison laid out below. The trail becomes consistently rougher throughout the next 2.5-mile portion of the course. This section of the trail is either traversing or descending, but it is utterly rock-strewn all the way until it meets the Green Lake Trail intersection.
At this juncture, RUNNERS are routed up a .3-mile spur to the Green Lake checkpoint and an opportunity for a refreshing alpine lake dunk and small aid station. After tapping the towering spruce tree standing on the bank of the lake, racers make an about-face, setting themselves on a 4.5-mile melee descending 2,100 feet back into the Town of Crested Butte.
15 km Course (out & back) – Run
This course starts and finishes in front of the Crested Butte Nordic Center (620 2nd. Street). Departing the open gravel area on a northerly trajectory, the route rapidly transforms into singletrack routing racers onto an elevated traverse in the opposite direction above the Nordic Center. In less than 1/2 a mile, the singletrack intersects the dirt graded – Journey’s End subdivision road. Runners turn RIGHT, again proceeding northerly, following municipal signage pointing to Green Lake. A 1/4 mile up the road, another sign will direct you to turn LEFT at the Green Lake trailhead, where singletrack recommences. Runners switchback their way up through dark timber and a pleasant rolling terrain until being dumped out onto primitive double track where an abrupt climb commences. At the top of this climb, runners intersect a second portion of dirt graded subdivision road.
Here, a sign directs you to turn RIGHT. In 1/5 mile, look for another sign directing you to resume the second half of the Green Lake trail. Turning LEFT, runners wind their way up through more dark timber and intermittent meadows. The trail gets a bit more rugged on the upper portion of the singletrack. Stay STRAIGHT at the intersection with Trail 436. Continue past an initial pond for .3 mile to arrive at the majestic emerald shore of Green Lake. After tapping the towering spruce tree standing on the bank of the lake, racers make an about-face, setting themselves on a 4.5-mile melee descending 2,100 feet back to the Nordic Center.
Finish Approach – Runners DO NOT retrace the elevated traverse on the ‘Canal Trail’ to complete the course. As you turn off the dirt graded Journey’s End Rd., continue straight down the rocky double track paralleling the Ice Rink building, routing directly to the finish line.
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