Skijoring in the Highest Incorporated City in America
Skijoring is not for the faint of heart. It takes unparalleled grit and fortitude to be pulled by a horse at a jarring 40 miles per hour, performing stunts on skis, flipping through the frosty air, collecting strategically-positioned rings for more points while trying your damndest to stay on course.
The skijoring pro circuit makes stops in Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and Idaho. But in Leadville, Colorado -- two hours outside of Denver -- it's an unforgiving pitstop: Leadville is the highest-elevated incorporated city in America at 10,200 feet above sea level. It's so exhausting, the town's shops famously sell 95 percent pure oxygen canisters to go.
The tiny city with fewer than 3,000 residents will swell to more than 15,000, as spectators from all over the country and around the world convene for the 78th annual event that kicks off Saturday, March 7, and concludes on Sunday, March 8.
Harrison Avenue -- the city's main artery that is lined with bars, thrift stores, coffee shops, consignment stores, and boutique hotels, including The Historic Delaware Hotel, where gunfighter Doc Holliday famously stayed to avoid run-ins with his enemies -- shuts down and makes way for a 900-foot-long snow-packed track.
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Leadville's two-day showcase is the longest-running event of its kind in the U.S., featuring pros who descend on one of Colorado's tiniest towns with enough time to acclimate to the harsh breathing conditions. The horses need the breathing room, too.
The first run on both days is at high noon. Pros and novices take turns navigating a course that, this year, for the first time in the event's history, required man-made snow to complete the course after an abnormally quiet snowfall season.
Leadville's Skijoring event is dubbed "The Grand Daddy of 'em All" because it dates back to 1949, when two friends sat in a booth at the Golden Burro Café and conjured up the event after first witnessing it at the Steamboat Springs winter carnival.
But the sport originated in 1924 in Chamonix, France, the site of the first-ever demonstration sport at a Winter Olympics, according to CNN.
The White Turf on a frozen lake in the Engadine mountains of Switzerland is considered the sport's crème de la crème.
Unofficially, Leadville holds the title as the U.S.'s marquee Skijoring event, given its longevity. And the world is taking notice.
Whether it's a trio of college-age gal pals flying in from Connecticut -- with a nightmarish layover in Atlanta -- or a group of wannabe cowboys jetting in from Norway to take part in the actual race for their Norwegian TV show back home, word is spreading about this charming small town embracing the distinction of being the highest city in America that also plays host to the sport's signature event in the country.
Sponsors are also now flocking to Leadville to capitalize on the annual craze, attracting global visitors. One mainstay has been Montucky, makers of the American-style Cold Snack lager. The Montana-based beer brand aptly and prominently features a horse silhouette on its famous baby-blue tall cans. Its ties to Leadville's Skijoring is a natural marriage.
"Montucky Cold Snacks was born in the mountain west, with a love for snow, culture, and an emphasis on not taking life too seriously," says Seamus Gallagher, Montucky's Vice President of Marketing. "Skijoring is such a uniquely western sport that not only celebrates, but captures the spirit of what we love about Montucky's roots. It's something wild and fun for everyone."
Leadville's Skijoring event pays homage to Montucky's mantra about not taking life too seriously. Case in point: the event also features a kids category, which commences after Saturday's race concludes.
But unlike the Open, Sport, and Novice divisions, the kids taking part in the event are not pulled by a horse.
A snowmobile will do.