Where and When
Between Silverton and Durango, Colorado on August 24, 2024, starting at 9 am. Map handout starts at 7 am. The mapped area, which we call the Twilight Zone, consists of forest lands west of Twilight Peak, accessible from Lower Lime Creek Road off US 550 at Cascade Curve) . This event is conducted under a special use permit granted by the USDA Forest Service.
The map locator link in the header above is at the wrong end of Lime Creek Road. Instead, try https://caltopo.com/m/1QUAE
For now, the photos here on ultrasignup are mostly from the 2023 event. There are some pictures from the 2024 Twilight Zone area on the website (skypilots.org)
What
An orienteering version of a Backyard Ultra. Tackle a new orienteering course every third hour until no one else is left!
- All registered runners start in the blue division.
- To remain in the blue division, a runner must choose, start, and finish a new orienteering course every third hour (eight courses available).
- The start must occur exactly at the start of the period (mass start), and the finish must occur before the three hour period ends.
- The blue division continues until there is only one person left, or for 24 hours, whichever happens first. If needed, After that, if a tie-breaker is needed, there will be a one-hour map trek (score o).
- Any runner that falls out of the blue division will automatically be reassigned to the brown division, which is a 24-hour contest
- Brown division runners may request a start at any time other than one of the blue start times, and have no particular deadline for finishing a course other than the overall 24-hour limit
- A brown runner's score is the total number of courses completed within the 24-hour limit
About Orienteering
Orienteering is competitive land navigation using only map and compass.
Beginner courses can be completed by following roads, trails, and other readily-followable linear features. Intermediate courses require some off-trail navigation, but usually provide you with opportunities (if you can recognize them) to constrain the chance for serious error. Advanced courses are usually as off-trail as possible, test a wide variety of skills, and are less forgiving of errors.
For this particular event, the following rules are in play:
- Participants may not use any maps other than the competition map
- Prior to the event, you're welcome to explore the competition area in a limited manner. To ensure fairness, you must restrict yourself to exploring to roads and official trails.
- GPS may not be used for navigational purposes. From a safety standpoint, carrying a phone or other device capable of GPS is a good idea, but please ensure that the device is not providing you with information during competition.
- In the Last Person Standing, working cooperatively with other runners is allowed during the first 33 hours of the event (every runner must punch their own control card at each control point claimed)
- During the twelfth three-hour period, if there is one, runners must proceed individually with no following allowed
The Courses
Eight courses are available. You can only complete each course once. Each course consists of somewhere in the neighborhood of ten or twelve controls. Each course is also rated for:
- Navigational difficulty (beginner, intermediate, or advanced) (this year will have very few beginner courses, lots of intermediate and advanced!)
- Physical severity (green circle, blue square, or black diamond) (these ratings are essentially subjective)
- Distance and elevation gain
- Par time (mostly ranging from 2.5 to 3 hours)
The par time is the theoretical time that a runner-of-a-certain-caliber ought to take for the course, assuming no navigational errors. For comparison, a par runner ought to be able to cover 6.076 km in an hour over perfectly flat and perfectly smooth terrain (this rather weird number also happens to be four-and-one-sixth of a mile). Par times are adjusted for elevation gain, vegetation, and so on, and are validated with field testing.
Completing a Course
To complete a course in the Last Person Standing:
- Depart from HQ with your newly-issued control card
- Navigate to each control point listed for the course (some courses require a specific order, others don't)
- Locate the control flag at each control point (an orange-and-white flag shaped like a triangular prism about a foot across)
- Mark your control card using the manual punch attached to the control flag
- Return to HQ and drop your control card in the appropriate receptacle
About the Competition Area
The Twilight Zone comprises extensive forests and gneiss tablelands. The terrain is much gentler than either of our previous venues for the Lost One Standing (the Ouray Amphitheater and the Ironton Valley). Elevations range from 8,200 to 9,700 feet.
The area is about 85% forested with an average speed of slow run. Lower forests are dominated mainly by spruce and fir, with many small marshes (which will probably be relatively dry at the end of August). The higher tablelands have a mixture of aspen, ponderosa pine, clearings, intricate topography, and numerous rock features.
We anticipate that three-hour courses will make the best use of the mapped area. However, most courses will make very little use of roads and trails, so it's likely that runners will need extra time at night. For instance, the two nighttime periods might allow 4.5 hours each. In that case, there will only be seven courses rather than eight.
Camping
Free camping is available at HQ Friday and Saturday nights. More generally, dispersed camping is also allowed the whole length of Old Lime Creek Road (the southern 3 miles are suitable for most vehicles--4WD medium clearance recommended beyond that).
Event's current local time: 5:38 PM MT
