High altitude, high adventure, and high excitement are all on the horizon as the GoPro Mountain Games, the world’s best mountain sports, music, and lifestyle event, ramps up for competition June 4-7 in Vail, Colorado.
The first step to the event starts now: GoPro Mountain Games athlete registration goes on sale Feb. 5 at 12:01 a.m.
Visit our registration page for early bird pricing, available on most events. It’s just one more reward for those who plan and train early for this annual migration of mountain-lovers to Vail to kick off summer each June.
What's on tap?
“This is going to be a phenomenal year,” said Dave Dressman, event director for the event, which is hosted by the nonprofit Vail Valley Foundation. “We are bringing back some old favorites and have a few new things in play to level up the GoPro Mountain Games in 2020.”
The GoPro Mountain Games, founded in 2002, are known as the best all-around mountain experience available anywhere in the world. The event includes 30+ mountain events in 12+ different disciplines, and draws more than 150 brands, 80,000 spectators and 3,000+ athletes to Vail over four days. People of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities participate in fishing, kayaking, SUP, rafting, climbing, mountain biking, road cycling, trail running, disc golf, DockDogs®, yoga, photography, and more. Spectating is free.
Pros and amatuers welcome
More than $130,000 in prizes are up for grabs for those who decide to take on an event, or two, or more. But the event, Dressman said, is about much more than pro athletes going for gold.
“Pros and joes compete side-by-side throughout the weekend – it’s amazing to see the friendships and camaraderie that form at this event,” Dressman said. “You have folks who are trying something for the first time, and they’ll be getting encouragement from some of the top pro athletes in the world. It’s an experience unlike any other.”
The event also features three nights of free concerts at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater GoPro Mountains of Music, including Deer Tick and Twiddle. The complete, Thursday-through-Saturday music lineup will be announced soon.
The fun begins Thursday, June 4 with sponsor activations and giveaways at L.L. Bean Gear Town, surrounded by fishing, yoga, , running, gear demos, DockDogs® events, freestyle competition, and of course the legendary Steep Creek Championship at Homestake Creek.
New stuff and old favorites
New this year, an expanded variety of citizen, youth, and para climbing options take center stage at the TIAA Bank Climbing Wall, surrounding a USA Climbing competition with some of the world’s top pros. Due to climbing’s new status as an Olympic sport, the GoPro Mountain Games no longer features an IFSC World Cup event. However, organizers are planning a national-level event in partnership with USA Climbing, and are expecting to be able to add additional time slots for amateurs as well.
Canine competitions have become a marquee part of the GoPro Mountain Games. This year’s competitions will once again include the Canine Super Wall adding on to a slew of dog-friendly programming like the Orijen DockDogs® Big Air, Extreme Vertical, and Dueling Dog competitions. Everyday dogs can give the pool a shot, too, at the Try DockDogs® event, back for its second year.
There's a lot more on tap: check back to this space for announcements to come on what's new this year at the GoPro Mountain Games.
The Ultimate Challenge
The GMC Ultimate Mountain Challenge also returns this year. This multi-disciplined event is for those in search of the most adventurous weekend imaginable. The six-event, three-discipline challenge includes thousands of dollars of prizes and ends with crowning the toughest mountain folk in the land. Learn more about the updated 2020 format at mountaingames.com.
Disc golf, highline, slackline, rafting, paddle boarding, mountain and road biking, yoga, and a host of family-friendly events provide a jam-packed weekend for those who take part. The event will close this year with its traditional Pacifico Kayak 8-ball Sprint, a fan favorite that’s best described as a high-impact version of kayak bumper cars.
Stay for Sunday
The Vail experience doesn’t have to end after the 8-ball event on Sunday afternoon. The Vail Valley Foundation invites all GoPro Mountain Games participants to check out the Michael Franti & Spearhead concert at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Sunday night, an event co-produced by the Vail Valley Foundation and AEG Presents. Tickets start at $49.95 for general admission, doors open at 6 p.m., see grfavail.com for more information.
Learn more HERE.
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About the GoPro Mountain Games
Each June the GoPro Mountain Games event brings athletes, art, music and mountains together in Vail, Colorado, to create the best all-around mountain experience available anywhere in the world. Founded in 2002, the family-friendly event now hosts more than 3,000 pro and amateur athletes in 12+ disciplines and 30+ events, plus three nights of free concerts at the GoPro Mountains of Music at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. The event is hosted by the Vail Valley Foundation, in partnership with GoPro, GMC, Town of Vail, Go RVing, L.L.Bean, Outside, YETI, TIAA Bank, Bosch, Nature Valley, Pacifico, Vail Resorts, Adidas Terrex, Wild Tonic, Orijen, QALO, Bai, Mountain House, Bark Super Chewer and Waterloo Sparkling Water.
About the Vail Valley Foundation
The Vail Valley Foundation is a 501c3 Colorado nonprofit corporation with a mission to enhance the quality of life in the Vail Valley and showcase our community to a global audience through arts, athletics and education.
The organization’s work in education is through YouthPower365, a 501c3 Colorado nonprofit corporation with a mission to provide year-round extended learning opportunities that empower and educate the youth and families of Eagle County from cradle-to-career readiness. The Vail Valley Foundation also provides the Vail Valley with several of its most treasured annual events, such as the GoPro Mountain Games, the Xfinity Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup races, the Vail Dance Festival, and the Hot Summer Nights and ShowDown Town free concert series’. The Vail Valley Foundation also manages and operates two performing arts centers, the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek Village and the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, providing more than 100 Broadway, dance, comedy, classical, rock, pop, jazz, community and family events per year.
Vail Valley Foundation activities and events are in part made possible by cornerstone partners: the Town of Vail, Vail Resorts, Beaver Creek Resort Company, GMC, and TIAA Bank.
To learn more about Vail Valley Foundation activities and events visit www.vvf.org.
