Prepping for the Elk Mountains Grand Traverse

Listen Now
4min 33sec

The annual Elk Mountains Grand Traverse takes off from Crested Butte tonight at midnight. Participants spend anywhere from seven to eighteen hours skiing across the Elk Mountains on their way to the finish line at the bottom of Aspen Mountain. They risk frostbite, getting lost in the dark, falling into more than one very cold stream, and burial in an avalanche. The race draws some highly competitive "uber-athletes," but the challenge of just making it to the other side also attracts some more average skiers. Reporter Daniel Costello follows one woman as she makes her final preparations for the race.