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Purgatory Mountain Downhill
The Purgatory Village Express Six-pack
will be in operation for spectators Thursday through
Sunday and by far
provides the best and most unique vantage point
as the course runs directly below it. Once
at the top, spectators can walk their way down or download.
Daily lift tickets are $10.
For the first stop, go to the Downhill Start,
about 100 meters below the top of the lift
at the Mountain
Top Schoolhouse. Here racers come out and over
a 6-foot boulder, through a technical tree
section with optional
air, down a steep pitch and into the open. The
views of the Needles and Engineer Mountain
are spectacular
from here.
From there, the course rolls into the Flying Klausman,
down through an open area/speed trap, up a small
berm and then drops off a minimum 10-foot rock
outcropping
into a left-hand turn. The rock drop is beneath
Tower 12, and the biggest crowds will be in this
area. (This
is also the point where the amateur course detours
to the south/skier’s right, where Exodus turns
into Upper Catharsis). The fun continues with the second
rock drop (min. 7 feet) down a steep incline and into
another large, left-hand banked turn, located on upper
Catharsis, about Tower 11.
From there the course gets technical in Pinball
Alley, through a rough rocky section, then into
a technical
tree and rock section, and finally back out into
the open and the true speed trap.
After meandering a bit through the Enchanted Forest,
the pros get as much as 20 feet of air across a
road with a newly installed culvert – through which
the cross country course runs (spectators should be
able to see both races at the same time) – and
directly back into the trees, all under Tower 6. From
there, the riders head into a technical fall-away section,
in and out of trees until coming out just above finishing
pitch.
Riders will come down the last pitch of Tinker’s,
into the mountain cross course and through the
finish.
Cross-Country
In a fine affirmation that organizers
did things right the first time, this course runs over
most
of the 1990
World Championship Cross Country track, starting
right out of the base area at the start/finish
line adjacent
to the NORBA event truck. The first two loops
run through the lower section of the resort, out toward
the Gelande
Overlook and back, and then out Sheol Street
toward
Highway 550 and down to Columbine, up through
the new underpass and right through the Village Plaza.
Riders
then go up the stairs and take off straight
up
Demon, a nasty climb, on the 1990 loop, which
will take them
to the top of Chair 4, quickly over to the
backside and then back around toward the six-pack.
At Tower
6, the course cuts through a culvert underneath
the downhill course and then careens back down
to the start/finish.
The base area will provide the most exposure
as the riders come through several times depending
on class.
The most spectacular shots will be higher on
the
mountain, especially at the Tower 6 culvert
and the switchbacks
and high-speed singletrack that runs out of
that section. The course is approximately 7
miles long
and includes
more than 1,000 vertical feet of climbing.
Short Track and Mountain Cross
Both the Short Track and the Mountain
Cross can be best seen in the Village. The Short
Track will
run
out the first two parking ramps and
directly through the middle of the Plaza, up the
stairs and around
again. These 20-minute heats should
prove to be some of the
most exciting action of the event.
The Mountain Cross starts on lower
Catharsis and runs down banked turns
and over bumps
and jumps
into the
Village finish area. Have a cool drink
on Purgy’s
deck or hike up five minutes and get right into the
action.
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