Rules and Mandatory Gear
RULES
If you think of the words “ethics, respect and safety” in regards to your fellow competitor, other trail users, the land you are on, the event management and other establishments you come across we don’t feel we need many rules but here are a bunch anyway.
Any racer who fails to not meet any requirements and/or fails to comply with the following rules will be disqualified from the event. There will be no refund and you will not be accepted to come back.
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It is mandatory for all participants to be registered, signed off on the gear check, sign the waivers and attend the pre-race meeting before their chosen start to participate in this event.
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Support – No outside support is allowed. A racer may take help from another racer and race officials only while on the trail. A racer may use commercial services they come across only, as well as the Checkpoints. A racer may not take help from another snowmobile rider or trail user. This event takes on the self-supported style of racing.
*Note – If this gets spoiled it will be removed from the future. Family members and/or friends that traveled with a participant may visit the checkpoints. This is to give the companion an opportunity to see the area, something to do, and add a little spectating. Do not give the associated participant anything and do not clog the Checkpoints. Maybe ask management if there is room first and DO NOT visit them on the trail. Thank you for respecting this opportunity to see a person you are rooting for.
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Bivvying / Sleeping – If you choose to bivy while in between checkpoints it is mandatory to remove yourself off the trail and set up. You must also face your safety light towards the trail to let others know you are out there and safe.
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Call of nature – When going to the bathroom please use etiquette. Go off the trail and keep it clean. Enough said.
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Evacuation – If we need to haul you off course for one reason or another it will cost you. It will cost you $250! Yep, come prepared! Hey 60km folks don’t take this “short” distance lightly and please come prepared – this applies to you too!
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What you start with is what you finish with. You can not leave gear at Checkpoints along the way.
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Do not litter, don’t you dare.
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Don’t be a ….!
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Do not interfere with any other trail users.
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Do not ask or get a ride from a snowmobile and leave your bike in the woods unless it is a complete emergency that has you at risk. This will be hard to justify considering you have emergency equipment and camping supplies. Exhaustion or being tired of pushing your bike does not count as an emergency.
WATER BOIL SKILL TEST
The 200km participants must stop and bring 8 ounces of water to a rolling boil at a undisclosed location before continuing on.
• You are only allowed to use the equipment and supplies you are carrying.
• You can use snow.
• If at a Checkpoint you can not use the Checkpoint supplies.
• You can aid from the checkpoint before, during and after your water boil.
• The water boil area will be monitored and flagged.
DROP BAGS
Both the 200k and the 60k will allow drop bags. They will be brought to CP 1 and CP 2 for both distances.
Drop bags should include food only. No additional gear such as batteries, hand warmers, and clothing are permitted in the drop bag. You must start with all the equipment you need as well as finish with the equipment you start with. No dropping of equipment. Drop bags should be packed in a garbage bag with your name and number clearly written on them. When the checkpoint volunteers close the checkpoint and return to the Headquarters they will bring back whatever drop bags were remaining.
AID STATION CUT-OFFS
60k
No cut-off times. That said no bivying or long stops allowed, this is not the multi-day event. If you show me continual and constant movement I will let you keep on keepin' on! Sound good!?
200km
Aid 1 - Friday, 7PM (12 hours)
Aid 2 - Saturday, 7PM (36 hours)
Aid 3 - No cut off time but no bivying or sleeping when you leave this CP. :) You made it this far now finish it up!
**With respect to all the participants who are taking this Pursuit on and knowing the preparation that goes into it there might be flexibility with this. We want everyone to succeed but we also need everyone to be safe, including our volunteers.
Also, understand the Race Director has the right to pull you if you are showing signs of being unsafe or are not prepared/equipped for the weather.
SPOT TRACKING
(This does NOT apply to the 60km distance event.)
Tracking is mandatory. We work with Trackleaders.com for this service.
The cost of this is on top of the registration cost and you will be getting an email from Trackleaders 1-2 weeks prior to the race for this service.
The cost is $20 if you use your own tracking device (SPOT or InReach) and $60 for a rented device.
Reserved SPOT devices will be available for pick-up at racer registration. If you have your own device Trackleaders will be asking participants for your ESN number and shared page link.
The devices for rent are SPOT ‘Trace’ units (smaller and lighter) and operate on 4 AAA lithium batteries that you need to supply.
Trail Guarantee
ALMOST = )
How does the trail get put in and do you groom it?
Let's start by saying the routes of the event are part of a 500+mile trail system that gets groomed by the state. It's a multi million dollar program and there are big PistenBully groomers that go out each evening to groom trail. There is no set schedule as it depends on snow fall and trail usage on where they might go. Some trails get more regular trail grooming over others. The "trails" are the same as the Forest Service "roads" and the grooming is as wide as the road.
I've spent years building relationships and donate money (Thanks to Fat Pursuit!) to the Fremont County Parks and Rec that heads this program up. I put in my trail grooming requests for event weekend and have a finger on the pulse of mostly what is, has been, and will be groomed prior to the Fat Pursuit.
This area gets a lot of snow and wind that can literally shut the trail down to a snail's pace within a handful of hours. Ask veterans, they know. As an event organization we do everything we can to keep the trail "open" and keep people moving. We have learned a lot over the years and have tried all sorts of techniques to deal with unridable trails. Some were better than others. And then we found a tool that literally saved the event one year. This implement can blow a foot+ of snow off trail and get down to the existing firm service allowing a biker to start pedaling again.
After that year so many people were thankful for that implement, gave it a name, and said WOW that thing is amazing. So, we crowd funded and bought our own.
Hence, I now give the "Trail Almost Guarantee," meaning "We will do everything we can within our power with our equipment and our incredible volunteers and their equipment to give everyone the best surface of trail possible."