Our promise to you, as with all of our events, is that we deliver the most scenic, most challenging, and most rewarding course possible. This race will be truly epic.
The race will celebrate our Rocky Mountain heritage, and highlight portions of the stunning Great Divide Trail. Our vision for The Divide 200 is to keep you up high and enjoying the varied landscape of the Continental Divide. Explore the Southern Canadian Rockies
The course is a combination of single track, double track, a small amount of road, cross country, and even a bit of bushwhacking and scrambling. River crossings? Yes, that's par for the course in the Rockies. The race is about alpine travel, ridge walks, and getting you into remote back country.
This event is for people with a great deal of both race experience and alpine experience. There will be some sections of route finding even though it is a prescribed course; the terrain can just be really gnarly out there.
Checkpoints will be every 20 to 40km apart, depending on the section of the race.
A big shout out to our friends at Uplift Adventures for their consultation on the route planning.
CAUTION: If you choose to explore using this information, you do so at your own risk. These files are for reference only. Do not enter land that is marked as private.
Distance: 201mi / 324km
Gain: 40,465' / 12,335m (to be verified)
Loss: 40,465' / 12,335m (to be verified)
Duration: 100 hours to complete the course
These tracks are the product of numerous GPS files from multiple devices, so some variation occurs simply due to the type of equipment used. The track has been filtered to align elevations between segments, which has resulted in the total elevation appearing slightly reduced. These files may change before race day, and we will let you know well before that should further changes be required.
FULL ROUTE | Start to CP01 | CP01 to CP02 | CP02 to CP03 | CP03 to CP04 | CP04 to CP05 | CP05 to CP06 | CP06 to CP07 | CP07 to CP08 | CP08 to CP09 | CP09 to CP10 | CP10 to CP11 | CP11 to CP12 | CP12 to CP13 | CP13 to CP14 | CP14-Finish
NEW! Updated Whistler-Table Route. This matches the updated route from CP2 to CP3 above - this one just highlights the climb and descent so that you can compare.
Also available on Google Maps.
Difficulty is rated by 1 to 5 Goat Power. 1 is kid's play, and 5 is buck wild.
Dist. From Start: 12.5km
Supplies: Snacks
Crew: No
Drop Bag: No
Pacers: No
Cutoff: N/A
A quick jaunt down West Castle Road to the start of La Coulotte Ridge. This is one of the easiest sections of the race, and a nice way to spread out the pack. There is no water between CP1 and CP2 so fill up.
Dist. From Start: 36.5km
Supplies: Snacks
Crew: No
Drop Bag: No
Pacers: No
Cutoff: N/A
CP1 to CP2 takes you over the scenic and remote La Coulotte Ridge and the Font Creek Trail. This is one of the most difficult parts of the race, which is why we throw you into it early. It is a technical trail that turns into goat trail, that turns into a bit of open terrain running with minor route finding. Follow the markers! You are up in the alpine and it is dry as a bone.
Dist. From Start: 71km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: Yes
Drop Bag: Yes
Pacers: No
Cutoff: Must leave by 04:00 hrs Wednesday
CP2 to CP3 is a quick jaunt up the South Castle Road, with a climb over Whistler and Table Mountain to CP3. That first sentence makes it sound easy but this climb is gnarly. It starts as beautiful, steep single-track then turns into a way-finding route in the middle of the saddle between the two peaks. You want your headlamp here if you're starting the climb later than 5:00pm. Fill up from the creeks and rivulets before you climb because there is no water on either mountain.
Dist. From Start: 90km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: Yes
Drop Bag: Yes
Pacers: No
Cutoff: Must leave by 13:00 hrs Wednesday
From CP3 to CP4 you head back south on the South Castle Road, then cross the Castle River to join the Syncline trail network, and pop out at the Syncline Group Camp. This is well groomed trail with minimal elevation gain, beyond the gently rolling hills you see everywhere around here.
Dist. From Start: 108.5km
Supplies: Snacks
Crew: No
Drop Bag: No
Pacers: No
Cutoff: N/A
From CP4 to CP5 you start out on a wee bit of pavement after, then rolling through bigger hills to Lynx Creek. You have big climb right after leaving the road right-of-way, and then it rolls up and down all the way down to Lynx Creek. Fun fact, there really are lynx out there, and you would be fortunate to spot one. There is minimal water after the aid station. Watch out for cows.
Dist. From Start: 135km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: Yes
Pacers: Yes (must travel all the way to CP9)
Cutoff: Must leave by 04:00 hrs Thursday
From CP5 to CP6 you head up Willoughby Ridge on the Great Divide Trail, and head towards town at CP6. There is a sustained climb right after CP5, but then you roll high up along the ridge top. It's dry up there so bring water.
Dist. From Start: 165.5km
Supplies: Snacks
Crew: No
Drop Bag: No
Pacers: Yes (must start from CP6 and end at CP9)
Cutoff: N/A
From CP6 to CP7 you make your way through Coleman and Up McGillivray Creek to Spoon Valley, Atlas Road and CP7. This starts with an almost shocking return to civilization for a moment as you make your way through town and up the valley. You will have sustained climbs and rolling hills as you go, almost all the way to CP7, but then it's downhill to Atlas Road and your next water stop. There is plenty of water on the first half of this leg if you need to top up.
Dist. From Start: 187.5km
Supplies: Snacks
Crew: No
Drop Bag: No
Pacers: Yes (must start from CP6 and end at CP9)
Cutoff: N/A
From CP7 to CP8, you head up historic Racehorse Pass and run past Window Mountain Lake; one of the most stunning views on the course. From there you follow the winding Highrock Trail, right below the continental divide, to CP8. There are minimal opportunities to fill your water after Window Mountain Lake, so top up when you can.
Dist. From Start: 201km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: Yes
Drop Bag: Yes
Pacers: Yes (must travel all the way to CP10)
Cutoff: Must leave by 02:00 hrs Friday
CP8 to CP9 is a quick jaunt through the rolling hills, then back through Coleman to York Creek Staging Area.
Dist. From Start: 240km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: Yes
Drop Bag: Yes
Pacers: Yes (must travel all the way to CP12)
Cutoff: Must leave by 11:00 hrs Friday
From CP9 to CP10 you run through the eerie burn scar of the 2003 Lost Creek Fire. CP10 is the last CP before you cross the continental divide into BC. The terrain is open and rolling. There are a few different creeks along the way. Watch out for cows; this is a grazing area.
Dist. From Start: 261.5km
Supplies: Snacks
Crew: No
Drop Bag: No
Pacers: Yes (must start from CP10 and end at CP12)
Cutoff: N/A
From CP10 CP11 you make your way up and over the continental divide into the wide-open Flathead Valley of BC via North Kootenay Pass. There is water until the trail starts its big climb to the pass, and then it's like being on the Moon. The 1km from North Kootenay Pass to the valley below is one of the hardest sections of trail you will encounter. It is steep, it is loose, and it is brushy. Be thankful that you're going down, not up. After that, it's a brushy trail that opens up and drops you at salvation. Well... CP11 will feel like salvation. Once you cross North Kootenay Pass, there is no turning back. If you need to be extracted at this point, it's about a three hour drive back to the start, so muscle up and be prepared; you have this in the bag.
Dist. From Start: 277km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: Yes
Drop Bag: Yes
Pacers: Yes (must travel all the way to the Finish)
Cutoff: Must leave by 20:00 hours Friday
From CP11 to CP12 you continue south in the majestic Flathead Valley to CP12. Some find this to be a welcome break on your legs and you head south Flathead Valley Road, with a slight downhill grade for several kilometers. Others. Others... do not. It's a well-defined logging road and your chances of getting lost are slim to none. There are a couple of larger creeks but they aren't the easiest to access so manage your water.
Dist. From Start: 305km
Supplies: Snacks
Crew: No
Drop Bag: No
Pacers: Yes (must start from CP12 and end at the Finish)
Cutoff: N/A
From CP12 you continue south on Flathead Valley Road to CP13; the end of the road and the start of the last big climb over Middle Kootenay Pass, which brings you to the finish... just around 19km to go.
Dist. From Start: 324km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: N/A
Drop Bag: N/A
Pacers: Yes (must start from CP12 and end at the Finish)
Cutoff: N/A
Just after CP13 there is a cool, shallow creek and a really sketchy bridge; we recommend getting your feet wet instead of taking the bridge. That's about the last water for the rest of the climb. Once you crest Middle Kootenay Pass, take a moment to admire the views all around you from the top of the continental divide. You are looking at the watershed of most of western and central Canada. The waters here flow west to the Pacific and east all the way to Hudson Bay. From the pass you make your way down well-defined trails into the lowlands of the Castle Valley and back to the finish.
©2023 Western Ultra Racing Association. All Rights Reserved.
