On Sunday, September 22, we will run the full set of 7 courses with a hard yellow course as an extra. The hard yellow course will be more technically challenging than the regular yellow, but less than orange, and at the same physical level as yellow. E-punch will be used for the 4 advanced courses, paper punch for white through orange.
Three beginner courses will be held on the Skyline Ridge map, including a non-standard `harder yellow' course for those who are feeling a little more adventurous. The courses all go through the `Christmas Tree' plantation; the cultivated areas are shown as a yellow area with dark green stripes. The direction of the stripes indicates the direction of planting.
Distance Controls Terrain White 2700m 18 Trails Yellow 2225m 13 Mostly Trails Harder Yellow 2525m 15 Mostly Trails, Optional X-country
The remaining five courses will be held on the Montebello map. The walk to the start is approximately 1.5k from the parking lot - mostly downhill. Allow about 15 minutes.
Distance Controls Climb Navigational Physical Difficulty Difficulty Orange 3275m 12 225 Moderate Moderate Brown 3850m 10 275 Hard Moderate Green 4550m 12 300 Hard Hard Red 6150m 14 400 Hard Very Hard Blue 7200m 16 475 Hard Brutal
Registration and the download station will be at the parking lot we always use. Start and finish for the white, yellow and hard yellow courses will be close to the parking lot. There will be a remote start for orange and advanced courses, about a 20 minute walk from the parking lot. The finish will be at the usual place.
White, yellow and hard yellow will be on a new map and will use the trail network on the west side of Skyline (where the parking lot is). Their start and finish points will be close to the parking lot.
Orange and advanced courses will use the existing map showing the east side of Skyline. The finish will be at the usual place, but the remote start will be a 20 minute walk in along the White Oak Trail.
The Montebello map will be printed at 1:10000. All symbols are standard. Some gullies have been mapped using the IOF symbol for `erosion gully' (a thick brown line) whilst others have been indicated by use of contour lines. The control description sheets use the symbol for gully, even if the feature is shown as a long narrow re-entrant on the map.
Red and Blue courses have one very tough climb, which could be debilitating in very hot weather. Competitors on these courses are here reminded of the high level of physical fitness required to complete these courses and are referred to the comments below on the importance of adequate fulid intake.
Poison Oak is light and avoidable on all courses. However, the star thistle is bad in places and full body cover (including gaiters) is highly recommended. Significant portions of the advanced courses cover open ground and are subject to the full glare of the sun. Staying hydrated will be especially important if the weather is at all hot. Please ensure that you take on board adequate fluid for the conditions on the day of the event, both at the start and at the water stops on the course. Those of you who normally use Sun block are advised to bring it to this event!
Finally, several controls (entire legs in fact) will be visible from the finish area. Once you have completed your course, sit back with a pair of binoculars and watch your fellow orienteers in action on the slopes of Montebello.
Skyline Blvd entrance: Take Page Mill Road from 280 to Skyline Blvd. (about 10 miles), and turn left at the stop sign. Go about one mile down the road and turn right into the parking lot for Skyline OSP. Park in the lot to the left (the equestrian lot).
From 101, take the Embarcadero Road/Oregon Expressway exit and go west on Oregon Expressway until it becomes Page Mill Road at El Camino Real, then continue on Page Mill Road until it undercrosses 280 and you can apply the directions above.
Montebello is getting close! Helpers are needed for starts, finishes, beginner clinics and everything else! Please send a note to debraellaearthlink.net if you would be interested in helping.