After suffering through several frustrating false starts this winter, Mount Hood’s 200-plus PACRAT racers will finally get to run some gates Sunday at Meadows.

The forecast is calling for powerful sunshine and unusually high temperatures, which should make for some interesting ruts.

But at least the race is being held. Two previous races — a Nastar Open and a PACRAT race both scheduled for Skibowl earlier in January — were cancelled due to lack of snow. Several early-season club races also have been cancelled.

The race will be held off the Easy Rider lift at Meadows. Pacesetters will begin testing out the course at about 9:30 am Sunday, with racers following at around 10. There will be an 8 am captains’ meeting upstairs in the Comfort Zone (formerly known as the Cantina) and an after-race pizza party at the same spot for $20 for beer-drinkers and $15 for non-beer-drinkers.

Discounted racer lift tickets are selling for $49.

PACRAT racers spending the weekend in Government Camp are also invited to the Huckleberry Inn’s annual Crab Feed party, at 6 pm Saturday in the Huckleberry’s Steakhouse, the back room behind the main cafe. The cost of the crab feed is $23 for prime rib only; $34 for crab only and $29 for prime rib and half crab. Oyster appetizers will be served.

PACRAT Sponsorship Director Barb Pressentin-Parshall also has the new Mt. Hood Passport for sale for $10 each, with offers from restaurants and shops on the way up the mountain and in Govy. Anyone interested can contact Barb at [email protected] for more information.

PACRAT racing has been around for 30 years on Mount Hood. The races are usually head-to-head dual giant slalom courses, scored on a point system that rewards steady improvement, and racers compete in teams of up to 10 skiers or snowboarders.

The Ruttin’ Rats of the Schnee Vogeli Ski Club have won the overall PACRAT season title for the last  four years in a row.

Last modified: January 22, 2015