Get weird for a good cause
Silverton Whiteout gears up for ninth year of on-snow shenanigans

Sure, skiing is fun, but have you ever ridden your bike in the snow for 9 miles while chugging beer, shooting a BB gun, taking shots of whiskey, eating bacon and dancing to live music? No? Well, you should. Plus, you can ski the next day or the day after, but you can only participate in the Silverton Whiteout once a year.

This year’s event takes place Feb. 4, and while the event has been around for 10 years, this will be its ninth running after a Covid-19 pause in 2021. The shenanigans this year will remain similar to years past as Silverton opens its doors to not just fat bikers, but cross country skiers, runners, snowshoers, dog walkers and basically anything nonmotorized.

Participants will meander in a race-like fashion around 8-9 miles of groomed trail interspersed with bacon, whiskey, beer, a BB gun shooting range and live music – all things you might want but don’t realize you actually need until you’re propelling yourself through snow at 9,300 feet. 

The only few subtle differences at this year’s event were brought on by its new organizer, Joe Hanrahan, of The Durango Cyclery. Accepting the torch from the original organizer, Sarah Tescher, of Durango Devo, Hanrahan’s plan-rahan for this 10-hour race is to bring more live music onto the course and, as he says, “bring a little more action” to the event. 

“There will probably be some jumps on Shrine Hill,” he said, alluding to the aforementioned action.   

But what he also meant by “action” is bringing more social energy and community flavor to the weekend. The goal is to bring together our fair-weather cycling buddies whom we usually only see during the warmer months. 

“It’s not about the race. It’s about the event and the community, and seeing all our bike friends,” Hanrahan said. White Outers come not just from Durango, but Telluride, the Roaring Fork Valley and “from all over,” he added. 

This brings a smile to his face, as does the general scene of a swarm of fat bikers (and assorted other winter revelers) taking over the generally sleepy town for the day.

The day’s mostly out-and-back course, Hanrahan predicts, will be about the same as years previous – approximately 9 miles (give or take a couple miles) – with about 700 feet of climbing. There will be two aid stations. The Outpost, midway through the course near Howardsville, will provide beer, live music from Six Dollar String Band, a fire pit, snacks and the BB gun shooting range. The second aid station will be toward the end of the course atop Shrine Hill and home to whiskey and bacon (and possibly jumps). 

Riding the course is the easy part (theoretically). The hard parts are flexing those winter bike muscles in single-digit temperatures and learning how to be cold but also really hot at the same time. Then there’s the difficult feat (again, theoretically) of trying to digest bacon after climbing Shrine Hill and flying back down into town, still chewing and licking whiskey from your lips.

When the day is done, there will be an awards ceremony for those who are actually trying to win the notorious locally hand-made trophy. There will be more music and an after party with DJ Bad Goat and DJ Tricerahops for participants. It’s all fun and games, and as I know of, no one has ever gotten seriously hurt, perhaps other than a little liver damage.

The event coincides with Silverton’s Snowscape Weekend and should be both family- and spectator-friendly. In addition, proceeds go to Durango Devo and there will be fundraising opportunities for Silverton Singletrack Society, so even if things get a little weird, it’s weird for a good cause. 

There is a plethora of options for participating in the White Out, including solo, duo, relay teams of three to four, family teams (with a shorter course length), xc ski, running, walking, duos, the list goes on. Bikes can be shared amongst team members, and if someone doesn’t want to share, there will be a fleet for rent. So, pretty much all you need for the White Out is a warm (or cold) beverage, a love for winter recreation, probably something fun to wear and a convincing YOLO attitude to get your powder-hound ski friends to come ride – or at least cheer you on and hand you a beer at the end.

aSign up and more info at silvertonwhiteout.com.