Baldy Blitz - New Year's Eve Super Tour

The first annual Baldy Blitz starts at 6 pm in Breckenridge on New Year's Eve. Do something fun this New Year's and come ski a great loop with friends - no entry fee, no numbers. The only required gear is a HEADLAMP WITH NEW BATTERIES AND A BACKPACK. The course climbs 1,200 feet, the fastest skiers will finish in about an hour.

We're calling it a Super Tour: all the climbs are winding single skin tracks and the downhills are jeep road width or wider. Yes, you can race, but beware of heavy handicapping (thus the need for the backpack). Let's just say the faster skiers will be gaining extra items during the tour that will slow them down.

Start: 6 pm at the Sally Barber Trailhead on French Gulch Road.

Directions to Start: From Hwy. 9 traffic circle in Breck, go north 1,000 ft., east at the 7-11 stoplight on Huron Rd, go 1,200 ft then bear right on Reiling Rd, go approximately 3/4 mile to stop sign, go left (east) on French Gulch Rd about 2.5 miles to trailhead on the right.

Course (1,200 ft. of total climbing): From Sally Barber Rd, go 200 ft. and the road turns sharp right; the skin track starts 25 ft after the turn on the left (east) side of the road. Follow pink ribbons southeast and climb gradually to the Nightmare on Baldy trail, follow flat traverse to power-line (50 ft. after the wood fence/no motorized chicane), descend the power-line to Sally Barber rd. Climb right (north) 150 ft. to the Sally Barber Mine, climb the new Nightmare trail (300 ft), again descend the powerline then climb back to Sally Barber and descend the road to the trailhead.

AT / Tele / touring gear (all with skins) are recommended - pretty much anything that you're comfortable skiing downhill, whilst trash-talking the cheater ahead of you, with a headlamp - is good. One could almost manage this with xc touring gear and kickwax, but the poling lanes are bottomless, it's not quite wide enough to herringbone and it keeps snowing - it's more fun on skins.