Payette Marathon Course Description
Posted on January 27th, 2009
The 2009 edition of the Payette Lakes Marathon ski race/tour will be run on a completely new point to point course. The course will start near the Little Ski Hill Lodge and finish 36 kilometers later near the River Lodge at Blackhawk on the River. The early sections of the course will utilize terrain formerly skied as part of the Little Ski Hill’s Nordic trails. The rest of the course will use terrain never before groomed for Nordic skiing. At times racers/tourers will feel like they are very “out there”, while in other sections they will be amazed at the never before seen views of Long Valley and the surrounding snow covered peaks. Overall, the feel of the course for skiers will be similar to the Boulder Tour but will have a long, gradual climb starting at about 8.5k’s and ending at around the 12k mark. The rest of the course will incorporate varied undulating terrain and the finish section will be along side the North Fork of the Payette River. The grooming of the course will commence on February 12th and 13th and continue through the day of the race on the 21st. We want to encourage the tour skiers to come and participate and we will be setting a classic track to the side of the skate lane to facilitate those skiers that just want to get in on this unique experience. There will also be a shorter race option of approximately 10 kilometers. The shorter course will start and finish near the Little Ski Hill Lodge with those skiers able to experience the finish area festivities after making their way down to Blackhawk. More info on www.mccallnordic.com
