New ski-O map! Remember orienteering at Burton Creek State Park last summer? Well, we're using the same map, updated for full-length, point-to-point ski-O courses at Tahoe XC. Brenda Giese has designed the following courses to challenge your ski-orienteering skills:
Course Level Distance/Climb/Trails Start-O Young children 0.5 km (in view of parents) White Beginners 4.0 km distance, 50 m climb, beginner ski trails Yellow Advanced beginner 5.5 km, 75 m, beginner/intermediate ski trails Orange Intermediate 8.5 km, 150 m, beginner/intermediate ski trails Green Moderate advanced 14.0 km, 300 m, all types of trails, including expert Blue Tough advanced 26.5 km, 625 m, all types of trails, including expert for Blue, bring water and start early if possibleThe courses will remain open even during a snowstorm unless the resort closes. We will use e-punching on the Orange, Green, and Blue courses, so bring your finger sticks, or rent one on-site.
When you arrive at Tahoe XC, go inside the lounge, register and pay your orienteering fee (normal event fees) at the BAOC table. You will then receive a ticket entitling you to a discounted trail pass (the discount is substantial), which you take to the Tahoe XC counter to get your trail pass. Discounted adult ski passes are $12 and discounted junior and senior trail passes are $9.
If you need to rent an e-punch stick, the fee is $2.
Our starts are located 0.25 km up the main ski trail from the trail head. Follow the orange ribbons to the start area. When you get there, go up to the person managing the starts and ask for a start time. You will be assigned an individual start time. When that time arrives, pick up your map and begin doing your course.
You have three hours or 2:30 pm (whichever happens first) to do your course and return to the finish area (same as start area). You MUST check in at the finish whether or not you complete your course; else, we have to initiate a search-and-rescue effort.
When you finish an e-punch course, you need to go to the download station in the lounge to transfer your control punch information into our database. We check your e-punch data to verify that you visited each control correctly before adding your course time to the results. People on e-punch courses will be able to compare the time they took to find each control with everyone else on the same course.
This is also the final event in the 2001 California Ski-O Champs, and special awards will be presented to the top male and female for each course in the 3-event series.
To get to Tahoe XC at Burton Creek State Park: