Mt. Hood Meadows and the Mountain Shop are bringing back the Ram’s Head Randonee this spring with a more challenging course for uphill/downhill racers.

Last year’s Ram’s Head Randonee topped out at the top of the Stadium lift, with three separate (and fairly short) climbs and descents. That made for a lot of applying and removing of climbing skins (which was just fine for those of us in need of oxygen). This year’s race will start with a climb to the top of Stadium, followed by a descent to the base of Shooting Star, a long climb up Shooting Star Ridge, and a descent to the base area with a quick uphill boot stomp along the way to the top of Roach Bowl, for a total of 1900 vertical feet.

To see a map of the 2014 course click here. 

The event also serves as a fundraiser for the Northwest Avalanche Center, a crucial community resource that has been hit by recent government budget cuts.

The Mountain Shop is offering demos of super-light randonee gear for anyone interested in finding out why the sport has become such a hit in Europe. But you don’t need specialized gear to compete. Last year’s race featured Nordic and Alpine skiers on a variety of boards, snowboarders in boots, telemarkers with skins, skate skiers without skins, and one lunatic who sprinted up and down in sneakers and shorts while carrying a hockey stick.

The variety of competitors was one of the things that made last year’s race so much fun. There was also a ton of free stuff from the Mountain Shop and other sponsors like CAMP, La Sportiva, Scarpa and Dynafit. Not to mention great barbecue and beer from Meadows and Everybody’s Brewing.

The racer to beat if he enters this year will be Sam Cordell, a top-level biathlete and skate-skier who dusted the field last year by an intimidating margin.

To register for the race in advance for $30 click here. You can also register on race day for $40.

Registration will run from 8-9:30 am in the Snow Blaster room at Meadows, and the race will start at 10 am.

Last modified: April 23, 2014