Ragnar Trail Rainier 2017 Runner's Packet Hey There Ragnar Trail Rainier Runners!!! Looking forward to Ragnar Trail Rainier 2017 at Crystal Mountain Resort!!! This is going to be an awesome race and we hope you're just as excited as we are!!! This Runner Packet is here to help you navigate the venue and all the most important moving parts that make up Ragnar Trail Rainier. As the race gets closer this packet may morph to reflect changes and additions to the race. The link you clicked on to get here will always take you to the most up-to-date document. Venue Description The venue for Ragnar Trail Rainier is Crystal Mountain Ski Resort which is the largest ski resort in Washington State with a total of 2,600 acres and over 50 named runs. Puget Sound skiers and riders flock to the slopes during the winter months to enjoy breath-taking views of Mt. Rainier and to ride some of the best terrain in Washington State in the heart of the Cascade Mountains. Crystal also operates the Mt. Rainier Gondola for scenic rides during the summer so that guests can enjoy the beautiful views of Mt. Rainier all year long. The resort is less than 2 hours from Seattle and Bellevue and just 1 1/2 hours from Tacoma. 2017 Course This course is TOUGH!!! with the steepest climbs and most elevation gain of any race in the 2017 Ragnar Series. But the views, the trees, the trails they surpass as well. The Green and Red Loops start with a steep half-mile mile climb and while Green heads back down to meet up with Yellow and finish, Red continues up and up to the ridge and a ride back down to Ragnar Village on the Gondola. The Yellow Loop rides the Gondola to the top and then runs down, down, down for almost eight miles though amazing stands of big beautiful pines on awesome single track. Directions to Crystal Mountain Address: 33914 Crystal Mountain Blvd. Crystal Mountain, WA 98022 From Seattle: Drive south on I- 5, take exit 142A to Auburn, follow Hwy 164 to Enumclaw and Hwy 410 east for 33 miles before entering Mount Rainier National Park. Go six miles up Crystal Mountain Boulevard to the resort. From Tacoma: Travel east on Hwy 512, or north on I-5 to Hwy 167 to Hwy 410. Just 33 miles past Enumclaw, turn left onto Crystal Mountain Blvd.
From Portland: Follow I-5 north to Hwy 512. Follow Hwy 512 east to Hwy 410. Thirty-three miles past Enumclaw, turn left onto Crystal Mountain Blvd. From Bellevue: Drive south on I-405 to Hwy 169 (Maple Valley/ Enumclaw exit). Follow Hwy 169 through Maple Valley into Enumclaw. Turn left on Hwy 164 (Griffin Ave) and follow through town to Hwy 410. Follow Hwy 410 east 33 miles to the turnoff to Crystal Mountain Blvd. Hotels, Condos, Gear Rental There are four lodges at the base of Crystal Mountain. All about a 5 to 10-minute walk from Ragnar Village at the base of Crystal Mountain Resort. Links to the lodges can be found here: https://crystalmountainresort.com/plan-your-trip/lodging/lodging-overview/ If you are going to rent a room or condo, we would suggest that you and your team set up a campsite in Ragnar Village as well so you can enjoy the full Ragnar Trail Experience. So id you don t want to fly your gear all over the planet and want to rent camping gear, REI s mothership store in Seattle or their Spokane store have great prices on rentals. Note that you can only rent gear from REI 30 days in advance, so plan accordingly. Their rental webpage is here: https://www.rei.com/stores/rentals.html#washington Gear and Passenger Drop Cars will be queued up in Lot B and will be allowed to drive to the Gear Drop in groups of ten at a time. Drivers will drop their passengers and gear and be directed to return to Lot B where they will park and walk back up to rejoin their friends and teammates in the Team Camping Area. If you come with minimal gear please just park in the parking area and hike on up to the venue.
Lot B Arrivals Teams will be allowed to enter Lot B at Crystal Mountain Ski Resort at 4:00 PM on Thursday afternoon. Please do not arrive before this time, as there is no place to wait until we open at 4:00 PM. Cars will be allowed to proceed to the Gear Drop area starting at 4:30PM. Parking and Gear Drop will remain open until 11:00PM on Thursday and will re-open at 7:00AM on Friday morning. Parking Lots and Gear Drop
will be closed overnight. If you cannot get to Crystal Mountain by 11:00PM on Thursday, please plan to arrive on Friday morning. RVs, Pop Ups, Etc. There are seventy sites for RVs and Pop-Ups along the west bank in the B Lot. Details can be found HERE. Note, there are no reservations for these sites and they are all first-come first-served. Anything other than a tent will not be allowed in the Ragnar Camping areas. Camping/Check-In/Thursday Night Fun Runners will be allowed to camp at the venue on Thursday and Friday nights. Camping is tight at Rainier so please keep your team's footprint within a 300-square foot space. Find our suggested packing list here! PLEASE NOTE: There is no camping allowed on Saturday night at the venue or in the parking lots. Check-in will open on Thursday night from 5:00PM 10:00PM and re-open at 7:00AM on Friday. If you don t have time to check-in Thursday night, no worries, as check-in will flow smoothly until the last team starts on Friday during the day. Before you are allowed to check-in, your whole team must watch a 12- minute safety video. After your whole team watches the safety video, only one member of your Team will go to HQ to pick up your Team Bib, Friday Night Meal Tickets, Shirt Tickets, and other goodies. Volunteers and staff will guide you through this process in the Village. Thursday Night Event This year we're adding some additional events to, well, to our event! Thursday night we're going to have an active village from 5:00PM until Midnight. Here is the basic Thursday night schedule, with more detail coming as the race date approaches: 5:00PM 11:00PM Gear Drop, Parking, and Camping Areas Are Open (Gear Drop and Parking will close promptly at 11:00PM) 5:00PM 10:00PM Safety Video and Check-In Open in Village 5:00PM 10:00PM Village Open - Music, Games, Food (more info soon), Vendor and Sponsor Booths Active. 7:00PM 11:00PM Bonfire, Smores, and Hot Chocolate Available Free of Charge 10:00PM 12:00AM Movies Friday Arrival Gear Drop and Parking will re-open at 7:00AM on Friday. The Ragnar Village, Safety Video, Team Check-In, etc will re-open at 8:00AM on Friday morning. EXITING When the event is over, and you've had the time of your life, you will have to pack up your campsite and hit the road. Please note the following: Gear Drop will open at 9:00AM on Saturday morning. Please retrieve your car and head to Gear Drop ONLY after your camp is completely broken down and your Gear is staged at Gear Drop. There is NO PARKING in Gear Drop. Never, ever, ever. Thanks. There is NO CAMPING on Saturday night. All campsites must be broken down and everyone must leave the Ragnar Village by 8:00PM on Saturday night. All cars must be removed from the Parking Areas by 8:00PM on Saturday night.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this runner packet. Our hope is that this packet will make your arrival process flow smoothly. There are sure to be a couple people that intend to park in gear drop for the event. Don't be one of those people, nobody likes those people. With your help in following the guidelines outlines above, we're all going to have a great time! We'll see you in August at Ragnar Trail Rainier!!! Happy Trails