Date

9/23/17

Avg Temps f.

39/59

Gain/Loss in ft

11,000/11,000

Furthest Aid

~9.5 miles

Highest Elev.

5905 ft

Start

6:30am

Surface

Trail

Time Limit

12 hours

Sunrise/set

6:59/7:08

Longest Climb

3800ft/8.2 miles

Summary: The Whistler Alpine Meadows trail races (WAM) happen on the Northwest side of Whistler, on terrain that has only been opened up in the last two years. Runners will be treated to alpine meadows, waterfalls, wildflowers, glaciers and mountain views. The course is mainly three loops, climbing one big up to start, a small down and up, one big down back to the starting elevation, followed by another big up and back down again. Expect lots of power hiking, steep terrain, technical terrain as you go further up, and beautiful views up top near the glaciers and down again near the meadows.

Race Details

Lessons Learned from Race Reports

Aid stations that are heli-drop are weather dependent, so don’t rely on them and be prepared to not have aid there
Aid stations are cupless
Poles are allowed and used by quite a few runners
Required gear list: Emergency bivy, like this one OR survival blanket, like this one OR TWO space blankets, like these 2) hooded jacket OR rain poncho 3) gloves and toque or buff 4) whistle 5) fire starting kit which can be as simple as a lighter in a ziplock bag 6) headlamp of at least 100 lumens
Start and Finish are close to each other, but still different locations
Terrain looks rocky and exposed in many of the pictures, above treeline and with varying weather. More photos and video here.
Very technical trails with rocks, loose rocks, and twisty single track
Be ready for climbing and for power hiking
Fairly big difference in terrain from the high up alpine (more technical, rocky) to the lower meadows, which has softer and more forgiving terrain and likely faster sections
Trail gets colder and rockier the higher you climb and the closer you get to the glacier
Could be wasps lower down in the meadows