Pearl Pass Photos by Don Cook

Edited by Tom Mayer

Special thanks to Kay and Don Cook for all there efforts in putting together such a great weekend. They have invested countless hours into making this event such a great success. They made sure every- one had a safe and wonderful time in spite of the challenging fall weather.

Don and Kay are both inductees in the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. They are and have been key figures in putting Crested Butte on the Mountain Biking map.

Don and others put a lot of effort into setting up the camp below Pearl Pass.

There's over 100 gallons of water back there in the trees, so we wouldn't have to carry water for the evening and the second day.

The kegs of beer are hiding back there somewhere too.
Thanks to the New Belgium Brewing Company.

The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame is part of the Mountain Heritage Museum in Crested Butte.

I doubt it would exist without the efforts of Kay and Don.

If you haven't been able to visit the museum, at least check out the website at http://www.mtnbikehalloffame.com

Thanks also go to Clif for supporting the event.

Riders gathering for the ride Saturday morning.

A closer view

Lining up at the start

Closer views below

Enjoying the fire at base camp after a soggy
morning ride

People in 4 wheeled vehicles who had come over Pearl Pass told us they had come through drifts of up to 3 feet of snow. Some of the riders weren't prepared for the predicted 17 degree temperature expected during the night. Almost everybody was fairly wet. The very hard and very wise decision was made to abort.

It was a great ride anyway.