By Paul Knopf and DuWayne Jacobsen
June 2011 – Race planners for the 23rd annual Cook Sanders Associates, Inc. and The Spence Law Firm High Uintas Classic Stage Race have established the best possible option for the Bald Mountain road race stage should Bald Mountain Pass be closed on Saturday, June 18th because of snow.
The Uinta Mountains have experienced record snowfall during this past winter season. There is a reasonable chance that Bald Mountain Pass, elevation 10,700 feet, might be impassable on June 18th. In the 23 year storied history of the High Uintas Classic, Bald Mountain Pass was impassable only once in 1995.
Should the Pass be closed on June 18th, a new course could await competitors in the first stage of the High Uintas Classic. The road race stage would start in Evanston at the Wyoming State Hospital. The start time would be moved back to 10 a.m. to allow competitors time to travel to Evanston on Saturday morning.
Competitors would race south along the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway to the snow line on the North Slope of the Uinta Mountains. This would be a rare opportunity for racers to climb up what they normally hammer down. After turning around at the snow line, racers would finish at the same locations as in previous years at Christmas Meadows or the Wyoming State Hospital.
For more information about the High Uintas Classic and timely updates about snow conditions, please visit www.evanstoncycling.org.
