Registrations for the 2009 Boulder Mountain Tour have dropped off somewhat from previous years.
"It's a combination of the late season start and the economy," said Backwoods Mountain Sports owner Andy Munter, who sits on the event's organizing board of directors.
But fans of the 32-kilometer race need not be concerned—organizers say the first wave will take off as planned on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 10 a.m.
The course, which begins at Galena Lodge northwest of Ketchum, is gently rolling and drops about 1,100 feet over its length.
Organizers expect that about 700 skiers will have signed up by the time registration closes at midnight on Feb. 3. That means there's still plenty of slots available, said Kevin Swigert, race director for the tour.
"There's room in the Boulder for those last-minute people," he said.
In the run-up to this year's event, tour organizers went through the race budget line by line, Swigert said. He said they also decided for the first time to limit the number of entrants to just 800 skiers.
In years past, many more racers came to the Boulder, especially in 2003 and 2004 when more than 1,000 people registered.
Swigert said organizers were really concerned about the number of entrants in this year's race when the price for a gallon of gasoline topped $4. The steady drop in the price of fuel since then means racers from Salt Lake City and Boise—the tour's biggest urban draws—will have an easier time coming to the race.
Despite the state of the economy, race organizers are dreaming about a bright future for the tour. Swigert said they're even thinking about making the tour a weeklong event.
He said they've discussed with Blaine County Recreation District and local chamber of commerce officials the possibility of adding additional events to coincide with the main race.
Swigert said the idea is to schedule a longer list of events "that showcases what this area is all about."
Get race information at www.bouldermountaintour.com.
Jason Kauffman: jkauffman@mtexpress.com
Registrations for this year’s Boulder Mountain Tour are down somewhat, event organizers are reporting. The poor economy is responsible for much of the decrease in skier numbers, they say. Photo by Willy Cook
