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: 200mi / 322km
Gain: 40,430' / 12,323m
Loss: 40,430' / 12,323m
Duration: 100 hours to complete the course
Note: this RunGo map reads shorter than the actual course due to the nature of how the route is uploaded and processed. It is meant to be a visual guide for the route and elevation scale only. Check out the GPX files below for more accurate information.
Also available on Google Maps.
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 | All Checkpoints | 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-Finish
Please go here for the rules and instructions for Pacers, Support Crews, and Drop Bags.
Difficulty is rated by 1 to 5 Goat Power. 1 is kid's play, and 5 is buck wild.
Distance: 12.8km
Cumulative Dist.: 12.8km
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.
Distance: 24km
Cumulative Dist.: 36.8km
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, so mind your water.
Distance: 32.7km
Cumulative Dist.: 69.5km
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. There will be a water drop at the base of Whistler Mountain so that you can fill up before the big climb.
Distance: 20.1km
Cumulative Dist.: 89.6km
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.
Distance: 18.8km
Cumulative Dist.: 108.4km
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.
Distance: 25.9km
Cumulative Dist.: 134.3km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: Yes
Pacers: Yes (must travel all the way to CP7)
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.
Distance: 29.3km
Cumulative Dist.: 163.6km
Supplies: Snacks
Crew: Yes
Drop Bag: Yes
Pacers: Yes (must start at CP7 and finish at CP9 or CP10, not CP8)
Cutoff: Must leave by 13:00 hrs Thursday
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.
Distance: 30.7km
Cumulative Dist.: 194.3km
Supplies: Snacks
Crew: No
Drop Bag: No
Pacers: Yes (must start from CP7 and end at CP9 or CP10, not CP8)
Cutoff: N/A
From CP7 to CP8, you head north on Atlas road to connect with the upper reaches of the Highrock Trail. From there you head south to historic Racehorse Pass, located above one of the most scenic parts of the course.
Distance: 16.8km
Cumulative Dist.: 211.1km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: Yes
Drop Bag: Yes
Pacers: Yes (must travel all the way to CP10)
Cutoff: Must leave by 06:00 hrs Friday
The route from CP8 to CP9 immediately starts with a descent to Window Mountain Lake and one of the best vistas on the course. From there, you follow the winding Highrock Trail, right below the continental divide, to the former site of Western Adventures wilderness guest ranch. There are minimal opportunities to fill your water after Window Mountain Lake, so top up when you can.
Distance: 19.1km
Cumulative Dist.: 230.2km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: Yes
Drop Bag: Yes
Pacers: Yes (must travel all the way to CP13)
Cutoff: Must leave by 11:00 hrs Friday
CP8 to CP9 is a quick jaunt through the rolling hills, then back through Coleman to York Creek Staging Area.
Distance: 29.9km
Cumulative Dist.: 260.1km
Supplies: Snacks
Crew: No
Drop Bag: No
Pacers: Yes (must travel all the way from CP10 to CP13)
Cutoff: N/A
Freshen up at CP10 because from CP10 to CP11 you start with a jaunt over the famous Big Bear trail, and then to Star Creek Falls. You continue south from Star Creek to the eerie burn scar of the 2003 Lost Creek Fire where the terrain is more open and rolling. CP11 is the last CP before you head into some of the most remote backcountry. There are a few different creeks along the way. Watch out for cows; this is a grazing area.
Distance: 20.9km
Cumulative Dist.: 281km
Supplies: Snacks
Crew: No
Drop Bag: No
Pacers: Yes (must travel all the way from CP10 to CP13)
Cutoff: N/A
From CP11 to 12, you roll throught the hills around Lost Creek. In 2003, this area was wiped out by one of the biggest fires in region, and it changed the landscape forever. The hills are a patchwork of deciduous, coniferous, and undergrowth, which all compete for control of the rich soil. CP12 is located in a very open, exposed location; while it will be stocked, you can expect
Distance: 16.7km
Cumulative Dist.: 297.7km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: Yes
Drop Bag: Yes
Pacers: Yes (must continue all of the way to the Finish)
Cutoff: Must leave by 06:00 hrs Saturday
From CP12 to CP13, you start with a climb up to Middle Kootenay Pass where you can wave longingly at BC, pick up a surpise we have left for you, and then make your way back east. You will need to bring proof of this visit to CP12, which you pass CP12 again, so don't miss it, or you have to go up again. Feel free to freshen up again on the return to CP12, but it's only a short way to CP13 and your crew.
Distance: 24.1km
Cumulative Dist.: 321.8km
Supplies: Full Fare
Crew: N/A
Drop Bag: N/A
Pacers: Yes (must start from CP12 and end at the Finish)
Cutoff: Race ends at 12:00 hrs Saturday
From CP13, you run south along the Gardiner Creek drainage, reconnecting with the Great Divide Trail for the final big push. You will cross the shoulder of the daunting Syncline Mountain before making your way back to the Castle Valley. From there, you ford Castle River and continue south along the edge of the West Castle Wetland Ecological Preserve, which gives you another perspective on the quiet beauty of the Castle Valley. Note that because this trail is next to a sensitive area, a reroute may be required based on the conditions on race day. You finish where you started, at Castle Mountain Resort.
This table condenses the cutoff times from the main list on the Course page.
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