SkiO Weekend Day 0: Night Ski-O at a new venue

NOTE: Due to the lack of snow in Missoula, we have relocated this event to the Sundance Conservation Easement trails, outside of Ovando.

Come test your orienteering and skiing skills with an exciting new event from GrizO! Details below.

Ski Orienteering, You Say?

Yes! In ski orienteering, participants use specially designed maps to navigate between a series of checkpoints on cross-country skis. Check out this brief video of a ski orienteering race.

Time

For those interested in the more competitive side of things, there will be a mass start between 5:30-6:00pm. If you want to be in the mass start, please be ready to go by 5:30pm. Note that this venue is about an 80-minute drive from Missoula. Anyone else can start any time between 6:00pm-7:00pm. Sign up for a preferred time slot during registration.

Location:

Please park along Cooper Lake Road here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gS5i9D9gcCFJGgRT6

Equipment  We will provide specially created maps with pre-printed courses for each participant. We will also provide loaner compasses. Please return these when you are done. Any skiing style is permitted. All checkpoints are located on or near groomed ski trails, but occasional shortcuts through terrain or smaller trails may prove advantageous. As this is a night orienteering event, please provide your own headlamp.

A limited number of Ski Orienteering map holders will be available for borrowing during the event. Please email grizorienteering@gmail.com to request one ahead of time.

Courses You will be able to select from three different courses for the ski orienteering event: Short (~2.5km), Middle (~5km), Long (~7km). The courses are measured in straight lines. You will definitely end up skiing quite a bit further than the straight-line distance.

Beginner Instruction Beginner instruction will be provided by several experienced orienteers. If this is your first event, take a look at the "Newcomers" section of our website to get an idea of what to expect: https://www.grizzlyorienteering.org/newcomers .

Start and Finish You will need to check in with one of our volunteers at registration  before proceeding to the start. Our volunteers will provide you with the  appropriate map, a loaner compass if needed, and a loaner electronic  timing chip and will keep track of  who is out and doing which course. When you have found all the controls  on your course, return to the finish and check in with a volunteer  there. Even if you decide to quit your course before finding all the  controls, please check in at the finish so we do not go out searching for you.

Electronic "punching"

An e-punch records your race. At each control, you’ll dip the e-punch  into an electronic box, which will beep and flash as confirmation.  After you finish, you’ll download the e-punch at the download tent and  get a receipt that shows which controls you visited and how long you took  between each; these are your “splits.”

Part of the fun of orienteering is comparing your splits with people  who completed the same course, and discussing the routes you took!