Longtime Fat-biker and Ogden, Utah resident, Mark Peterson sent us this report on the 2017 Utah Sweaty Yeti!
Fat-biking has grown dramatically in Utah over the past 5 years. There have been many individuals and organizations that have helped the growth of the local Fat-biking scene. The most important factor, for me personally, has been the Outdoor community. Recently the Fat-bike community gathered at Wolf Creek Resort for the Utah version of the Sweaty Yeti presented by Borealis. A form of this event has been around for a couple of years as a side to the US Nationals Fat Bike Championship. This year the organizers of the Sweaty Yeti moved away from its previous venue and bloomed in a wonderful new way.
Wolf Creek Resort
The new venue at Wolf Creek Resort was a perfect location showcasing the beauty of the Wasatch front mountain range, with the perfect location for quality racing, vendor and informational booths, scenic gathering areas and public infrastructure. The stage was set for a fantastic Fat Biking event. All that was needed was the outdoor community, and we showed up in droves.
The crowd lining the finish line straight
The weather started off a bit overcast and, as the event progressed, the clouds parted and the day became “Perfect”. With the Sun out, the condition of the course changed throughout the day. The fun and challenging 5-kilometer race course loop, with 286 feet of elevation per lap, is intertwined with the rolling landscape snaking over the Wolf Creek Golf course. The amateurs were riding 20 kilometers (scheduled for 4 laps) and the Pro/Open class was riding 30 kilometers (scheduled for 6 laps). The course was a great cross section of the Fat-bike experience ranging from endurance conditions to bike handling situations, all flowing together into a fun rolling ride that tested everyone. There was a lot of fun amateur racing full of shenanigans and some very serious racing from the Pro/Open class. It was exciting for me to see the size of the amateur class of 100 – 150 participants proving that this event really is for Everyone, especially for people who just want to have fun and ride some Fat-bikes with friends, both old and new. There were smiles for miles….Everybody had one!
Shenanigans!
Yeti and Josh Jones
Pro/Open class start
Justin Lindine the Pro/Open class winner on course
Justin Lindine the Pro/Open class after crossing the finish line.
Pro/Elite Women podium
Pro/Elite Men podium
Race Results – http://www.visitogden.com/yeti-bash/race-results/
Across the street from the Race course is Wolf Creek Village where everyone gathered to experience a Great atmosphere. Everywhere I looked people were smiling and having a great time. The sound of laughter, revelry and fellowship everywhere. There were Fat-bike Demos from many different local shops, incredible food provided by several food trucks, informational booths strengthening the outdoor community, grove Dj music and some of the best locally brewed beer. Did I mention that they gave away 2 Fat-bikes and a bunch of other product? It was one of the fun events I have ever been to. In addition to the Sports Expo there was Sledding, Snowshoe & many family oriented activities accentuating the spectrum of people that had a spectacular Fat Bike Experience at the 2017 Sweaty Yeti presented by Borealis. – https://www.fatbike.com
The Mayor of Ogden, Mike Caldwell, and his family.
Fat Bike spectators
Happy Fat Bike Racer
Crazy Fat-bike fan!
Happy Fat Bike Racer Ladies
Fat-bike Family enjoying the day.
Visit Ogden!
Rockstar!
Stephen Kaczmarek from Borealis
The Bike Shoppe
Daily Rise Coffee
Flowrider
Rooster Brewing Company
Fat Bike give away
Fat Bike give away
Sweaty Yeti Sports Expo
On a personal note, I have been a longtime supporter and enthusiast of Fat-biking. when I first got into Fat-biking there weren’t any local Fat-bike Events. In fact, I was hard pressed to find anyone else that rode a Fat-bike. Having come from there to where we are now with a thriving Fat-bike community swells my heart with pride in the local outdoor community and the Beautiful state I live in. I look forward to a future full of Fat-bike events. Utah is truly the State of Sport!
A special Thank you goes out to:
- Chad Sperry of Breakaway Promotions – Redman, OR. chad@breakawaypromotins.com
- Stephen Kaczmarek of Borealis – https://www.fatbike.com
- Wolf Creek Resort in Eden, Utah – https://wolfcreekresort.com
- Visit Ogden – http://www.visitogden.com
and a HUGE Thank you to all the other groups and individuals (see image below) that did a Fantastic Job working together and putting together an Awesome Event. I hope we do this every year!
Thanks for the report Mark and for your continued love of the sport!
Not a single thanks to the Kier family, who owns the land they built the course on without permission! Love fat biking, love the race series… thank you to all involved for putting it on. But lets not make this kind of mistake again. They are cool people, who would be supportive of the race, permission not forgiveness will help all of us riders.
Thanks Mike. I requested a list of people for the “thank you” part of my article from the organizers. There was no mention of the Kier family in the list I received. I apologize for this. One of the most important things about writing this article is to make sure that everyone that contributed received a “thank you”. So…. I will take this opportunity to thank the Kier family for the use of their land for this event. Thank you.