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Sierra Classic 2015 – Day-1 Sprint Event

Northstar California Resort

Date: (Fri.) Sep. 18, 2015
Location: Truckee, CA
Event Directors: , - 925.516.7622
Course Setter: Deron van Hoff
Type: A; First day of the Tahoe Area 3-day A-meet: Friday afternoon Sprint at Northstar

Related Event Information

Main Event Page Registration List, Start Times (https://www.orienteeringusa.org/eventregister/a40/reglist/home/2015-sierra-classic) Event Directors' Notes Day 2 & 3 Course Setter's Notes


Course Setter's Notes

By Deron van Hoff

(These Notes will be in your registration packet. They are also available as a PDF file.)

Welcome to Northstar California Resort and the first day of the Sierra Classic 2015! The Sprint courses are on our Northstar Village map, which was also used for A-meets in 2011 and 2008. The mapping is in accordance with ISSOM specifications. The terrain is pine forest and developed areas, with moderate to gentle slopes.

The courses are roughly half in forested terrain and half in urban terrain. Because the courses include crossing decorative concrete pavers, shoes with metal spikes or cleats will not be allowed. Rubber cleated shoes are fine. Also, please be aware that certain map symbols on sprint orienteering maps indicate features that are forbidden to cross. These include impassable cliffs, impassable walls, impassable fences, landscaped areas (olive green), out-of-bounds areas (purple vertical lines), temporary construction areas (purple shading), and through dark-gray colored buildings. Not that you would choose to cross these anyway, but Northstar wants to make sure that you are aware of these rules. You are allowed to cross through light-gray colored portions of the buildings, which indicate building canopies. Also, some landscaped areas or planters are used as control locations. Those controls are at the edges, so you shouldn't have to set foot in the planters. (Note that "impassable" feature refers to the respective map symbols, not your assessment of your ability to cross the feature.)

Within the forested terrain, there are a couple of things of particular note. First of all, Northstar is a downhill mountain biking park during the summer months. The first part of the courses is within the bike park. Northstar is closing some of the biking trails for our event, while others will be open until 5 PM or so. The course leg at which you will need to cross an active bike path is shown in the course statistics below. The biking trails will be obvious—on the map as an unpaved track and in the woods as a highly rutted track with banks and jumps. Please be aware of, and yield to, downhill mountain bikers. The trails should be lightly used while we are there. You shouldn't have to worry about encountering bikes on the minor trails and footpaths. Secondly, there is some deadfall within most of the forested terrain that will slow you down from top running speed. The vegetation warrants wearing either gaiters or long pants to protect your lower legs.

When you arrive, please follow the orienteering signs to the designated parking and registration area. (It is a different parking lot than used at past events.) If you choose to go to the Village before your run, you will be on the course, so that is discouraged. Portable toilets will be available in the parking lot.

The course statistics are as follows: 

                                            First Leg at Which You Might
    Course    Distance   Climb   Controls   Cross an Active Bike Path
    White      1.1 km     20 m      16                 5 → 6   
    Yellow     1.3 km     20 m      12                 1 → 2
    Orange     1.8 km     40 m      14                 4 → 5
    Brown      1.7 km     35 m      14                 4 → 5
    Green      1.9 km     50 m      17                 2 → 3
    Red        2.3 km     55 m      20                 2 → 3
    Blue       2.9 km     75 m      24                 2 → 3

The Starts are a 500-meter, slightly uphill walk from the parking lot. The scale of the ISSOM map is 1:4000; the contour interval is 2.5 meters.

There will not be toilets at the Start.

There are two Finishes for the event. The White, Yellow, Orange, and Brown courses finish in the event arena. Green, Red and Blue orienteers will likely pass through the event arena partway through their course and finish further along. From that Finish, it is a 400-meter walk back to the download station and event arena.

Please hang around the event arena after your run, and cheer on your fellow competitors!