Morin-Heights Viking Loppet

33 km Smith Johannsen Course Description 2010

• The start time for this event is 09:00
• Skiers must report to the staging area at Morin-Heights Elementary School at 7:30 a.m. to confirm their registration, pick up their race kit and ChampionChip bracelet. Skiers must attach the bracelet to their right ankle to ensure their time is recorded.
• The BIB number has to be displayed prominently on the front so that it is easily visible to course marshals.
• All skiers will be shuttled to the starting line from the Morin-Heights Elementary School.  Please do not drive there directly.
  
  The 2008 edition will follow the same route as last year and actually measures 31.5km. This event is a challenging course in keeping with the legendary reputation of Jackrabbit Smith-Johannsen. The course is designed for serious, experienced skiers with strong stamina and solid downhill and climbing skills. Skiers should be capable of maintaining at least an 8-10 km/h pace. Course marshals reserve the right to impose a cut-off if they feel a skier will not be able to complete the course within a reasonable time or that the skier’s health and safety is in question. Skiers wanting to enter the race should be capable of finishing the course in under 4 hours.
  
  The race starts on the pond at the Viking Club and begins with a challenging 9 km loop on the Club's racing trails before returning to the start line. From here the trail crosses Jackson Road onto the Green trail and shortly afterwards meets the first of four feeding stations (10 km). The trail climbs up the Green trail for 0.5 km before turning left onto the Red trail. It is an easy 1.2 km on a very pretty and rolling section of the Red trail with a short steep downhill just before a critical intersection where the 33km and 20km routes split. The 33km route veers to the left and continues south on the yellow trail where it begins a long gradual downhill crosses Jackson Road and continues with a fast, switchback descent to Lac Edouard.
  
  
  Crossing the Lac Rond road, the course follows a wide, graded section of the Crown South for 0.75km until the intersection with the Crown West. Skiers will veer right onto the Crown West, cross a small lake then face a very steep climb. The trail skirts Lac Sylvain and shortly afterwards follows the northern perimeter of Lac Perdu. At Lac Perdu, the course joins the Blue trail and heads north where there are several steady climbs followed by a short but steep and difficult descent to Jackson Road and a feeding station (17.8 km)
  
  

There are two steep herringbone climbs before meeting the Red trail and rejoining the 20 km route. Shortly thereafter the trail enters the Montfort meadow (20 km) and the second feeding station. There are several short, but steep climbs after the meadow to the highest point at 505m. The elevation change from Jackson road to the height of the land is 100 m over 3 km. Shortly afterward the trail opens onto an old logging road where it becomes double trackset and begins to descend for over 2 km. The trail will follow the road and turn sharply to the left onto the Poste trail which later merges with La Promenade where it continues to descend all the way to the Aerobic Corridor (25 km) and the third feeding station. These trails follow wide, open roads located on the North side and there is frequently an uphill breeze, which can make this section bitterly cold, so be prepared!

Skiers must reach this point by 12:45 in order to complete the course with services. A shuttle will be available for those who do not continue.

The course will follow the Aerobic Corridor for 1.5km before turning right onto the Alternatif which it will follow for approximately 2 km. The Alternatif parallels the Corridor but is single trackset with several steady climbs and some very fast descents. The trail will rejoin the Corridor at the JRJ trail but will quickly return back into the woods, so pay attention to the signs.

Shortly after returning to the Corridor at the 2.2 km mark the route will cross Bennett Road (30 km) where a final feeding station is located. The course later crosses Route 329 and 250 meters later will turn right onto Rockcliff road where it leaves the Corridor, climbs a short distance up to the Bellevue Ski Center and the finish line.

With the exception of the Viking racing trails, the Poste, La Promenade and the Aerobic Corridor, the rest of the trails are single track set through open hardwood forest. The course is not closed to the public and skiers will be sharing trails with them as well as skiers participating in other events. There will be major control points along the course, however, due to the overlapping nature of the courses, skiers must pay attention to junctions where there may not be a marshal. It is the skiers’ responsibility to follow the signs for their particular event.

Medical personnel will be present at both the Montfort meadow (20km) and Aerobic Corridor (25km) feeding stations. Skiers can request assistance at any feeding station and medical help will be arranged.

This is a classical event and SKATING is NOT permitted. Skiers caught skating will be disqualified.

- Courtesy of James Jackson