The Lake City Alpine 50 is the highest one-day mountain bike race in the United States. The race course hits 12,940 feet of alpine goodness. 

The Lake City Alpine 50 is the highest alpine endurance bike race in the United States. It is an epic fifty-mile high-alpine endurance bike race starting in historic Lake City, Colorado. This lung-busting race will take you by the iconic Lake San Cristobal before a long, steep climb to the top of Cinnamon Pass (12,640 feet). You then descend the steep, rocky, pass for two miles and start up the very tough, steep, four-mile climb to Engineer Pass (12,800) feet. Another very long, rocky descent takes you back to Lake City. The race features 6,000+ feet of climbing through some of the most iconic sections of the San Juan Mountains – pure high-alpine goodness.   

Registration will close at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, August 22, 2025.

Lake City sits nestled in the heart of the San Juan Mountains at 8,671 feet.  Lake City is named after the iconic nearby Lake San Cristobal, one of the largest natural lakes in Colorado.  Lake City is located in a valley formed by the convergence of Henson Creek and the headwaters of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River.  Lake City has a year-round population of around 400 people but swells in the summer months as people flock to this beautiful town to play in the surrounding mountains.  Lake City has five prominent 14,000 peaks in near proximity to the town.  

Human Powered Endeavors is a Colorado company formed by John Coy and Michael Fleishman. Human Powered Endeavors, as the name aptly states, is focused on bringing human powered sporting events to Lake City, Colorado. 

Packet pickup will take place on Friday, August 22rd from 4 to 6 p.m. The location is 610 Bluff Street. It is a brown two-story cabin with a reddish roof and a huge spruce tree out front on the grass lawn. 

If you cannot make it during those hours, we will leave your swag bag out for you to pick up. Just look for your name. Your bag has your assigned race plate (with zip ties). If you can’t make it on Friday, just let us know so we can have your bag ready at the tent on race morning. 

The race will start at 6:30 a.m. Please be at the town park by 6:00 a.m. Line-up and announcements will be at 6:15 a.m. The race starts on Silver Street next to the Town Park between 2nd and 3rd Streets. 

The course record for the Lake City Alpine 50 was set by Peter Stetina in 2020 – 3:15:46. The fastest women’s time was established by Alexis Skarda in 2020 – 3:55:07. In 2023, our last rider came in a little over 8 1/2 hours. 

If you do not reach the top of Cinnamon Pass (approximately 25 miles into the race) by 10:45 a.m., you will be asked to turn around and head back the same direction you came back to Lake City. Obviously, if you do not think you can make it back to Lake City from the Pass, we will make provision to get you back to town.   

We will have one aid station located at about mile 25 on the course – right about the top of Cinnamon Pass. We will have water, Hammer HEED, bars, gels, pickle juice, and other tasty items. Give a shout-out to our great volunteers!

This is NOT a closed course and you will undoubtedly encounter OHV/ATVs on the course. While most will be courteous, there is no guarantee that you will NOT encounter the occasional driver that is simply not courteous. Additionally, because this is an open course, you must be mindful of your speed on the descents to ensure your safety. We cannot emphasize this enough. 

The course will be open to general traffic, including Jeeps and ATVs, so please be aware that you will not have the course to yourself.  That being said, because the race will start early, the amount of traffic will be reduced.  Many off-road vehicles will go down to Ouray or Silverton for lunch, which means that by the time you are making your way down from Engineer Pass (around mile 30) you will not encounter heavy traffic.  We are encouraging spectators to stay off the course throughout the race.  If you wish to watch from a great vantage point on the course, please try to stay there until all racers have passed before making your way back to town for the finish. 

No. This race is self-supported. No neutral support. Choose your equipment wisely. 

Lake City is located at 8,671 feet.  The average high temperature in August is usually around 74 degrees and the average low around 43 degrees. It did not rain for the inaugural Lake City Alpine 50 but it sure did for the 2nd Annual race, with temperatures falling to the high 30’s on Cinnamon Pass.  The sun rises at 6:36 a.m. The temperature at the start of the race will likely be in the mid-forties if there are no major weather systems coming through. One guarantee in the San Juans is that forecasting the weather is a futile effort.

Given that you lose an average of 3.5º F for every 1,000 feet you go up in elevation, it will remain pretty cool the entire race, so dress accordingly (keep those toes and fingers and core warm, especially if there is rain).

Remember, this is Colorado and the weather can change and change quickly – especially in the high country.  So, it could rain, it could hail and it could even snow above tree line. It should be no surprise that lightning is hazardous, especially above the timberline where you are exposed.

Hypothermia can occur under the right set of circumstances – falling temperatures, wind, and precipitation. Do not underestimate the San Juan Mountains!!

We strongly suggest you bring the following items:

• Rain gear (including even a second set of warm gloves)
• Polypro or wool socks, hat, and gloves
• Fuel (whatever you think you will need beyond what will be supplied)
• Sunscreen
• Lip protection

Based on feedback after our inaugural race, it was clear that a full-suspension mountain bike was the preferred bike choice for the top racers. The climbs and descents up to and down from Cinnamon Pass and Engineer Pass are tough, rocky, and very STEEP. Some riders crush the course on a gravel bike. However, beware if you choose a gravel bike (especially with anything less than a 2.0 tire), as this is high-alpine riding!!

You will riding above timberline in the alpine tundra.  Everyone’s body reacts differently in this zone, so you need to listen to your body.  Most importantly though, you need to hydrate along the way.  It will be a very slow grind (for most riders) up to the passes and breathing at 12,000 feet is really tough.  Take it easy and hydrate.

The Lake City Chamber of Commerce has great information on Lake City accommodations.  From yurts to bed & breakfasts to camping, Lake City has a little bit of everything.  Check out our sponsor page as well to say thank you to our lodging sponsors. Please visit http://www.lakecity.com/component/sobipro/2?Itemid=178. 

We will award prizes for the top three women and top three men finishers. We also award prizes for the Fastest Town. The Fastest Town takes the top three men’s and the top two women’s combined times from a given town. 

Salida (women) and Durango (men) were crowned the Fastest Town for 2023.

We also have several fun prize categories such as: best outfit, random acts of kindness, local legend, friendliest, travelled furthest, true grit, 50/50 award, and others. 

We also will be raffling off a host of great prizes while you enjoy a beer or two from Oscar Blues

Lake City has its own medical center – The Lake City Area Medical Center located at 700 North Henson.  (970) 944-2331.  https://www.lcamc.org/

Gunnison Valley Hospital – 711 North Taylor Street, Gunnison, Colorado 81230. (970) 641-1456.  Gunnison is located fifty-five miles to the north of Lake City. 

The fastest women’s time for the Lake City Alpine 50 is 3:55:07 by Alexis Skarda in 2020. 

The fastest men’s time for the Lake City Alpine 50 is 3:15:46 by Peter Stetina in 2020.