Mt Hood Downhill Series Race #3 - 2007

The third (of five races) has wrapped up at Mt Hood Ski Bowl Ski Resort, located about 54 miles east of Portland Oregon on HWY 26. This year round resort boosts one of the most demanding courses in the NW and offers several other amenities to keep large families entertained for hours, like the Alpine Slide, the Zip Lines or Bungee Towers. If you into having fun, this is the place.
If you are into DH racing, then signing up is an obvious choice. Entry fee is decent ($25 USD) and a nice bonus is the practice day ticket gets dropped to $10 (USD) total price on the fun factor is pretty good at $35 George Washingtons for 2 days of riding. Conditions were perfect from a rainstorm that rolled into the area early in the week, leaving the trails dust-free and tacky as spilt Coca-cola on a gym floor. Practice was on Saturday and conditions were perfect for Sundays race.


The ride up to the top wasn’t too bad, base elevation is 3,600 ft reaching the top of the mountain at 5,027 ft, which is about 20-25 minutes on the old school double capacity chairs. The lift crew is always entertaining and will give you absolutely the best one liners you’ve ever heard. Bring snacks, they deserve to be fed.

Here’s a course description:

Out of the Start Box: pedal into split (Experts go straight, Sports go right) Survive rocky first section, enter NORBA’s approved “Cannonball” section, this is high speed water bar action with 3 nice drifty corners, one decently ass puckering steep section, into retina tearing braking bumps, one slow right hander turn, back up to speed on a narrow section with baby-heads lurking just inches to either side. Let it run onto the fire-road.


Another split- Experts take “Arrowhead” for an awesome plunge down rooty, rocky sections and 2 man-made features, very steep, very narrow. Most pros wore full body armor because of all the injuries that happen in this zone. Sports take a sweeping right gravel road to the right and into the “KnarKnar Trail” (with Beginners) for 7 high-speed berms to another split into “Fire Hydrant”. There’s a small rocky section to pedal and once you get back on the fall-line, its all mach-10. 13 corners, some tight, some sweepers, one has a ledge drop off from blowing out the turn- down to lower “Arrowhead” and meet up with the last section of berms, water bars and a small jump over a bridge, a good long push to the finish line. Pros did it in 4 minutes. Experts not far off that pace and Sports hit low 5’s to 6. Length is 2 miles, drops 1500 vertical feet.

If you were in the beginner class, your run came down the “Skyliner” fire road, all they way to the Warming Hut, meet up with the Sport Class for a run down “KnarKnar Trail” to the finish line, average beginner times were 9 minutes. Sorta an enduro DH for that class. Congrats to all that finished, you guys looked beat down.


Lars Stenberg took it for Pro Men, Kim Eakin had a flat on his 2nd run or there would have been a small change in results. Jason Mosely, Darrell Young, Simon Lawton and Nathan Riddle all had blistering runs. Sara Johnson took it for Pro Women, Tyler Gilsdorf pinned it for Jr Experts. So many classes, so many good results.


Thanks to the Starters, Finishers, Ski Bowls Lift Crew, Peter Kakes and his Hurricane Racing crew that gets this race up and running, Carl Warren Photography for the photos, and all the sponsors that support this series. Big props to Arrow Racing for attending and getting racers better tread to roll on. Thanks and we hope to see ya at the next races!

Pro Men Results:
1 Lars Stenberg Seattle WA Fluidride/Ironhorse 4:01:06
2 Darell Young Portland OR Arrow/Team Pysho 4:01:97
3 Nathan Riddle Ashland OR WTB/SantaCruz/FOX 4:04.27
4 Kim Eakin Universtiy Place WA BareNaked/Cannondale 4:12:73
5 Zeb Tingey Issaquah WA Fluidride/IronHorse 4:16:49

Semi-Pro Mens Results:
1 Eric Loney Longview WA Kelso Gravity Boys 4:07
2 Brad Watt Cornelius OR Trailhead Cycles 4:12
3 Phil Weiring Portland OR Trailhead Cycles 4:15


Pro Womens Results:
1 Sara Johnson Portland OR Velobella/WheelsportEast 5:11
2 Laura Johnson Portland OR Wheelsport East 5:45
3 Chelsy Stevens Seattle WA 6:09


-Mike Estes