New to the calendar of epic gravel racing, The Wasatch All-Road has officially left its mark. The Full Yeti Course (100 miles with over 12,000 feet of climbing) and Mini Yeti Course (35 miles with over 4,000 feet of climbing) was a kick in the teeth from mile 3 to 16, climbing 4,000 ft of the Wasatch Wall. Just as your legs warmed up, summiting at 10,000 ft, the Mini Yeti route takes you through a ripping descent of dirt and asphalt back to the start/finish in Heber City. While the Mini Yeti was no small feat, the Full Yeti took riders even further.
After powering up the first ascent stretching mile 3 to 16, Full Yeti riders settled in for an extra 88 miles and 8800+ ft of climbing before they would cross the finish line. With the initial climbing stage in the bag, the Full Yeti riders cruised down a loose gravel descent weaving through the Uintas, eventually making their way to Strawberry Reservoir and feed zone 2.
The next section of the All-Road course proceeding feed zone 2 forced riders to grind their way back to the summit, quickly making up 2,400 ft of elevation they just lost. After a refuel at feed zone 3, riders headed towards Duchesne Ridgeline. This 10 mile stretch of hero gravel lifted spirits after battling over chunky and loose gravel for the previous 58 miles.
After reaching Wolf Creek Pass at just under 10k feet in elevation, a mile of clean asphalt descent had riders coming into feed zone 4 at mile 70.5. This stop was the last chance to refuel before tackling a grind of a climb, past Mill Hollow Reservoir and the final push back to Lake Creek summit.
A 5.6-mile climb at 5.6% grade meant the Mill Hollow segment of the race gave riders plenty of time to think about their last 2,500 ft of climbing. On its own, The Mill Hollow climb is not bad but at this point in the race, it proved to be a beast. As riders crested that final summit, they had a few more miles of loose gravel, peaks, and pastures to roll. By mile 83 riders moved back to asphalt, dropping 3,200 ft in 15 miles, with the finish line in view.
Navigating various surface conditions of “gravel” roads, riders powered up enormous climbs with endless quaking aspens and towering pines overhead. Utah’s expansive Wasatch range and high elevations pushed everyone to their limits whether you finished in 3 hours or 11.
