New Put In For Water Events at Teva Mountain Games

Photo (C) 2009 Shane Macomber
The old bridge used to access the historical put-in is visible in the background.

As the rivers slowly rise here in the Vail Valley many competitors for the Teva Mountain Games are looking to pre-run courses in preparation for next weeks event. With that in mind we wanted to communicate a slight location change for the put-in for both the Bud Light Lime Down River Sprint and Maui Jim SUP Surf Sprint presented by C4 Waterman.

Please note that the Pedestrian Bridge where we previously had the start for both events was washed away in last year’s run off. The Town of Vail has yet to rebuild a new bridge and as such we have moved the put-in for both events 100 yards further upstream.  The new start will be located at the end of Aspen Lane, at the “T” intersection of Booth Creek Lane near a mechanical easement. This small shift does not change the characteristics of the run.

We hope to pre-run the course and post some video early next week as the flows increase. If you are planning to pre-run the course please note that there is no parking at the put-in.


NEW COURSE INFORMATION:


View Gore Creek at the Teva Mountain Games in a larger map

Read More

Course & Snow Updates for Teva Mountain Games

We’ve had an amazing winter here in Vail. Actually it was record breaking. Vail Mountain broke their single season snowfall record racking up 511 inches before closing day. Since the lifts stopped spinning on Vail Mountain it has continued to snow. It is after all springtime in Colorado. Just about anything can and does happen.

The current snowpack situation here in the Vail Valley has prompted a lot of questions around where we will be running events at the 2011 Teva Mountain Games slated for June 2-5. To date we have been unable to produce official course maps or elevation profiles for many events that take place on or around Vail Mountain/Vail Pass. We hope to have official maps and race information published soon, however, in the meantime wanted to communicate where we are as of today.

The good news is that snow is melting fast and crews have been busy for some time prepping areas on Vail Pass or Vail Mountain for the Teva Mountain Games. We feel good about where we are today and where we need to be for the event.

VAIL PASS COURSES:
Vail Pass Half Marathon
Korbel Road Bike Time Trial presented by Thule

CDOT has been busy plowing these courses. Throughout the Town of Vail the course is ready to run. As you head up Vail Pass on the old Highway 6 there is still a lot of snow. CDOT has taken a road blower (think snow blower the size of a semi-truck) all the way to the top of the Pass and we anticipate both the Road Bike Time Trial and Half Marathon courses to be ride able/runnable by early next week. The picture above was taken yesterday. It will be fun to see bikers and runners competing with snow banks along the course (but not “on” the course).

VAIL MOUNTAIN COURSES:
Volvo X-Country Mountain Bike presented by Korbel
Volvo 10K Spring Runoff presented by Garmin
Eukanuba RockyDog Trail Run presented by Ruff Wear

Vail Resorts has been hard at work on Vail Mountain. Heavy duty equipment has been clearing Vail Mountain service roads for weeks and they recently dispatched crews to begin clearing single track. We are in the process of evaluating the trails over the next couple of days and will be bringing in additional labor to ensure we have solid X-Country Mountain Bike and 10K Spring Runoff courses. The service roads are currently runnable but we hope to have single track clear for the event as well.

EVENT BASE AREAS:
Mountain Plaza/The Vista Bahn and Golden Peak
Bouldering Events, Slopestyle Biking & Dog Events

The lower flanks of Vail Mountain including Mountain Plaza/The Vista Bahn and the Golden Peak base areas are melting out nicely. Vail Resorts cleared both areas a couple weeks ago and as of today we have a snow free footprint for the Teva Slopestyle presented by Chipotle event. We have been receiving dirt deliveries over the past couple of days and will begin shaping the Slopestyle course on Monday. Both Mountain Plaza and Golden Peak are wet and muddy right now, but should dry out nicely. Construction on the Climbing Wall will begin late next week.

A special thanks goes out to Vail Mountain, the US Forest Service and CDOT for all their time and effort.

Read More

Top 10 reasons why the Teva Mountain Games will rock your face off

Photo (C) 2010 Zach Mahone

Let's just say it is going to be an interesting year for the Teva Mountain Games. Record snowfall in Vail (511 inches and counting) has us scrambling at the Vail Valley Foundation to clear courses or adjust on the fly. Not to fear. We also do ski races and if there is one thing we are prepared to handle it is snowfall.

With that being said we've been having some fun with the Top 10 Reasons the Teva Mountain Games will Rock Your Face Off. It's going to be bigger than ever and if you have something to add to this list please leave us a comment!

Drum roll please....

10.) Snowballs. We are pretty sure that you will be able to make snowballs this year somewhere at the Teva Mountain Games. When life hands you a lemon make lemonade. Or in this case maybe bring ice cream cones and make snow-cones.

9.) Free event WIFI powered by CenturyLink. This year we will have a free WIFI signal throughout the Town of Vail for the event. Check your email, post event photos to Facebook and go nuts. You're friends at home will be super jealous.

8.) At Your Fingertips. The Teva Mountain Games new mobile app (dropping next week) will help guide you through the event. Detailed schedules, daily deals, and interactive maps will show you where you are and where you need to go next. Super cool.

7.) River SUP. If you missed it last year don't miss it this year. Seeing huge stand up paddle boards throughout the Town of Vail is a sight to be seen. Seeing them on the river is even better.

6.) PM events. We've bumped a couple events back in time to jump-start the Teva Mountain Games' lunar scene. Both the Teva Slopestyle and IFSC Bouldering World Cup powered by GoalZero will take place late in the afternoon. Bring your cameras for the events themselves or for what we hope will be a beautiful alpenglow experience.

5.) 10th Anniversary. To celebrate our 10th year of the Teva Mountain Games we will be having some fun with 10th place finishers and playing up the number 10. 10 athletes will receive free Teva Gnarkosi shoes in their athlete bags and we will be handing random 10th place finishers 10 bucks. Who said 10th place does not pay?

4.) Dogs. We often wonder what the dog to human ratio is at the Teva Mountain Games. This year with a new event like the Eukanuba Rocky Dog presented by Ruff Wear we expect more dogs than ever before.

3.) SWAG. There is lots of it at the Teva Mountain Games. Come prepared with a bag and spend some quality time in Gear Town. Who knows what you might come home with.

2.) Winter Teva Mountain Games Presented by Eddie Bauer. If you have not heard about it you will at the Summer Games. We will be releasing some additional information and an initial slate of events for the inaugural winter event. 

1.) Rock Out... For Free. We have two great free concerts lined up this year for the Teva Mountain Games. The Dirty Heads will kick things off on Thursday night followed by Xavier Rudd on Saturday night. Who does not like a free party right?

- Paul

Read More

Celebrate the Beat "Makes Me Feel Like Somebody"

I arrived inside the Vilar Performing Arts Center to the sound to a loud, energetic piano and clapping hands. In front of me were thirty kids spinning, jumping, stomping their feet and smiling big as they rehearsed for the Celebrate the Beat End-of-Year performance. This was my first time to see the program in action, and my first time to meet Tracy Straus, founder and artistic director of the nation-wide Celebrate the Beat after-school program. I was so impressed by her enthusiasm and obvious passion for children and dance, and was equally impressed by the quality of performance the students gave.

Jocelyn Sanchez, a student at Avon Elementary, approached me just after dancing on stage. Catching her breath, she was able to articulate just why Celebrate the Beat has meant so much to her over the past four years. "My favorite part about CTB is how you get motivated and active and how you get to show how you feel inside. It makes you feel like you're somebody, not somebody else in the dark shadow."

Just those few sentences from Jocelyn proved to me why this program is so valuable to our community, and more importantly, to the lives of each of these students.
-Melissa

Watch the quick interviews with Tracy Straus and Jocelyn below.

Read More