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The annual Vail Mountain Winter Uphill Race returns!

Join us on Sunday, Feb. 9, as skiers, snowboarders and winter runners tackle 2,200 vertical feet of groomed trails to reach Eagle’s Nest at the top of the Eagle Bahn Gondola in Lionshead. The event will conclude with breakfast and awards at Eagle’s Nest, provided by Vail Resorts and US Foods.

This event honors the memory of Vail local Lyndon Ellefson who was instrumental in starting the U.S. men’s mountain running program, with some of the entry fees supporting the U.S. Mountain Running Team.

For the past seventeen years, the Vail Mountain Winter Uphill has proven to be a challenging midwinter competition for some, and a fun, non-competitive community hike for others. It presents an opportunity to support a worthy organization, while also paying tribute to Ellefson, a trailblazer in the sport of mountain running who lost his life in a 1998 accident near the Matterhorn while training for a mountain race in Italy. Ellefson was the foreman for the Lionshead Gondola. Ellen Miller, along with fellow mountain runner and Vail local Hooker Lowe, started the race in 2008 to spread their passion for mountain running and uphill skiing (skinning) and to pay homage to Ellefson.

“The Vail Mountain Winter Uphill is a meaningful event for our community. We started it in the memory of Lyndon Ellefson and it has always been a fundraiser and a tribute to the US Mountain Running Team, of which Lyndon was a pioneer. This is a fun hike up Vail Mountain for people of all ages and abilities. I am thrilled that Vail Rec is operating the event this year!,” said Miller, Vail Mountain Uphill founder.

Discounted rates are available for youth racers

Check out the race webpage for more information and to register!