Beginning at the north end of Kendall Valley in Sublette County, Wyoming, the Drift 100 is a winter endurance race where competitors have 48 hours to run, bike or ski through a loop in the Wind River Mountains.
Held on the second weekend in March, the course follows a groomed snowmobile trail and traverses the Continental Divide. The course gains 9,000 feet in elevation and is the highest winter ultramarathon in the United States.
Among the hundreds of grueling endurance events held around the world, this one is no picnic.
Competitors told Cowboy State Daily that it’s a race they never forget and that real-world preparation and mental focus are critical.
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Being fearless doesn’t hurt either.
Ginny Robbins, an endurance athlete from Victor, Idaho, said the way to complete the Drift 100 without turning into a popsicle is to keep your head in the race and don’t stop.
Robbins is the current women’s record holder in the runner category. She set that record in 2021 at 30 hours and 43 minutes. She has also done the race on skis and plans to compete on a fat bike next March to become the first racer to complete the Drift 100 by all three means of transportation.
Justin Kinner, an endurance athlete from Casper, said he wouldn’t go to the starting line of any race without being prepared to “put myself in the pain cave and dig out a new room.”
He remembers long hours of solitude without seeing another living thing and fighting through soft snow on Union Pass, making less than 2 miles an hour.
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Kinner won the race in 2020 and established the men’s record, covering the course on foot in 29 hours, 36 minutes. That’s under 18 minutes per mile average over the 100 miles.
The Drift 100 gets its name from the Green River Drift, a 58-mile-long cattle drive that has followed the same path since the 1890s. The endurance race travels some of the same trails used by the cattle that move from private ranches onto the public land grazing pastures of the Wind River Range every spring and fall.
Signs along the trail encourage racers to “Keep Moooving.”
A rider travels the final 3 miles of the 2022 race when the temperature was about minus 20. (Courtesy Photo)
What’s The Allure?
It takes a special sort of fortitude to face the prospects of a 100-mile-long sub-zero slog down a snowmobile trail with a pocket full of gummy bears, a water bottle that’ll probably be frozen before its consumed, a sleeping bag, tent and few other safety related sundries.
Being comfortable isn’t part of the Drift 100.
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Robbins said when she trains, which is generally at least a 5-mile run in the morning and something equally as challenging in the afternoon, her mind wanders. But during a race like the Drift 100, the focus has to be on taking care of herself.
“The crazy thing that happens when I set out on a 100-mile race is my body naturally regulates itself,” she said. “When I go out for a 10-mile run, I’m a sweaty mess when I get home. But when I start out on a race like the Drift, I know how to do all of the things like avoiding overheating to avoid having a bad race. It’s more about self-care than fitness level.”
She said part of what makes this race an endearing winter adventure is that it allows racers to be vulnerable in a wild place.
“The beauty of the Drift is there are people there keeping an eye on you, and that’s why I choose that event,” she said. “It’s a structured environment where you can push yourself.”
Practice How You Play
Kinner spent time training on Casper Mountain snowmobile trails in preparation for his record-setting run in the Drift 100. He went out alone during winter storms and at all different times of the day.
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“I prepared by going out and putting myself in situations where I was alone for a long time, and I used all of my gear so that I was prepared for anything,” he said. “Putting myself in those training situations was pivotal for me.”
He didn’t know he was in the lead until he reached the halfway point and a volunteer told him. He’s not sure if he will run the race again. If someone beats his time it might trigger his interest.
Kinner has completed about a dozen ultramarathons. When he starts a race, he has no intention of stopping until he reaches the finish line.
“It’s always in the back of my mind that I can stop, pull out my sleeping bag and rest, but when you stop, the clock keeps going,” he said.
Drift 100 Racers Faced The Wrath Of Winter 2023
Racers were greeted with blizzard conditions at the start of this year’s race. The high winds, snow and subzero temperatures lasted throughout the first day of the race and exacted a heavy toll on the field. Many of them made it to the Strawberry Aid Station at the 25-mile mark, dropped out of the race and hunkered down for the night.
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Others camped along the course and continued the race when conditions improved. They recorded times that were well off the pace established in previous races.
The conditions were so horrible race organizers decided to wave the 48-hour time limit that racers are given to complete the 100-mile course.
Robbins said when the snow quit falling, the wind picked up. She heard numerous trees falling as she ran through the forest. In the open meadows, if she wouldn’t have had trekking poles the wind would have flattened her.
“It was probably the most challenging conditions that I can imagine,” she said.
Of the 46 competitors who started the race, 11 finished. Among the finishers were six bikers, two skiers and three runners. The inaugural Drift 100 race was held in 2020. In the first two years, more than 70% of those who started finished. In 2022, 44% finished the race.
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Finish times this year were well off the pace established during previous races. The 2023 overall winner, Seth Harney of Colorado, finished on a fat bike with a time of 31 hours and 24 minutes. The four previous overall winners completed the course in under 19 hours.
Mitch Helling of Laramie, who won the 2022 race on skis with a time of 21 hours and 36 minutes, needed more than 14 hours longer than that previous winning time to complete the course in 2023.
Among the runners, Ryan Bridger of West Palm Beach, Florida, recorded the best time in 2023 at 51 hours and 48 minutes. The female winner on foot was Pam Reed of Jackson with a time of 52 hours and 55 minutes, 13 hours slower than her personal best.
Racers who drop out and can’t return to the start line under their own power are charged a $200 fee for a snowmobile ride out. All racers are required to carry a beacon that records their position, a sleeping bag, tent, goggles and other safety gear. Some competitors wear backpacks while others tow sleds that are useful on the downhill sections of the trail.
A Feat of Organization
Both of the racers interviewed for this story heaped compliments on the race organizers and the dozens of volunteers for the time spent in keeping the course open and racers safe. Kinner said it’s unique that a winter race like this is supported by volunteers in such a remote place.
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Keri Hull, her husband Darren and their friends Josh and Laura Hattan are the founders of the the Drift 100. The Hulls competed in several similar events when they lived in Alaska before moving to Pinedale.
“When we learned about the network of groomed snowmobile trails that are here, we thought why not have a race?” Keri said.
They limit the number of racers to 70 each year and they also mark out courses for a 28-mile race and a 13-mile race for competitors who don’t want to tackle a 100-miler.
Some people fly in from Europe and other countries to compete, but most of the competitors come from Wyoming and its neighboring states. For the 2024 event, there are racers from 16 states and Canada registered so far.
Hull said about 40 volunteers put in a collective 800 hours setting up the course, maintaining the course and taking care of racers who run into problems. The factors the knock most racers out are altitude sickness and dehydration.
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John Thompson can be reached at: John@CowboyStateDaily.com
GLENROCK, Wyo. — A 55-year-old Wyoming man died Monday night after his vehicle went over a bridge rail and caught fire on Interstate 25 near Glenrock.
Gavin Stanek was traveling north in a Cadillac Escalade around 9:13 p.m. when the vehicle drifted into the median near milepost 156, according to a Wyoming Highway Patrol report. The vehicle continued through the median until it struck a bridge retaining wall.
The driver’s side of the Escalade scraped along the rail before the vehicle went over the edge toward the river. The Cadillac rolled toward the passenger side and landed on its roof on the river embankment, where it was engulfed in flames, the report states.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol identified driver fatigue or the driver falling asleep as a possible contributing factor in the crash. Road conditions were dry and the weather was clear at the time of the incident.
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This story contains preliminary information as provided by the Wyoming Highway Patrol via the Wyoming Department of Transportation Fatal Crash Summary map. The agency advises that information may be subject to change.
As a plaintiff in the 2022 lawsuit that kicked off years of legal sparring over Wyoming abortion rights, Dr. Giovannina Anthony had waited a long time for Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision on the state’s abortion bans.
“It has been a long road,” she said. One with ups and downs, drawbacks and delays. And even though the high court ruled against the state’s abortion bans, she’s not under the illusion that the fight for abortion access is over.
“But at least today, we can claim a victory and say, it was really worth it,” said Anthony, a Jackson obstetrician. “It was worth it to go four years and keep it up and keep raising money and keep the awareness going. I’m really proud of our team. I’m really proud of what we accomplished.”
In reading the Supreme Court’s decision siding with plaintiffs, Anthony said, “Clearly, this is a court that holds a lot of respect for our constitution.”
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That’s because much of the decision hinged on constitutional language.
Anthony and other plaintiffs argued that abortion is enshrined in the “right of health care access” in Article 1, Section 38 of the Wyoming Constitution. The clause states, “Each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions.”
The state’s attorneys, meanwhile, countered that abortion isn’t health care.
But in deciding what that language means in this case, “all five Wyoming Supreme Court justices agreed that the decision whether to terminate or continue a pregnancy is a woman’s own health care decision protected by Article 1, Section 38,” the court’s summary stated.
As abortion rights activists in Wyoming and beyond celebrated the decision, the anti-abortion camp decried it and called for legislative action.
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“This ruling is profoundly unfortunate and sadly serves to only prolong the ultimate proper resolution of this issue,” Gov. Mark Gordon said in a statement. While the ruling may settle a legal question for the time being, Gordon said, “it does not settle the moral one, nor does it reflect where many Wyoming citizens stand, including myself.”
Anti-abortion activists in the silent March for Life in Cheyenne in January 2020. (Nadav Soroker, Wyoming Tribune Eagle/Wyoming News Exchange)
Gordon asked the Attorney General’s office to file a petition for rehearing the decision, which it will file within 15 days.
The voters of Wyoming should settle the matter once and for all, Gordon argued. “A constitutional amendment taken to the people of Wyoming would trump any and all judicial decisions.”
He called on the Legislature to pass such an amendment during the upcoming session and deliver it to his desk. A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate to appear on the ballot in the following general election.
Gordon may get his wish during the Legislature’s 2026 budget session, which convenes Feb. 9.
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State lawmakers are already preparing a bill to modify the Wyoming Constitution and clear a path for another attempted abortion ban. Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, a Republican from Hulett, said that he’s been workshopping language with Torrington Republican Sen. Cheri Steinmetz.
“I’ve got to run it by a lot of other people,” Neiman said.
Reps. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams and Chip Neiman listen during a 2023 hearing on their request to defend Wyoming’s abortion ban. (Brad Boner/Jackson Hole News&Guide/Pool)
Ideally, he added, a single constitutional amendment would be considered, although the legislative strategy is still up for discussion.
“We’ve got a little over a month before we have to be in session,” Neiman said. “That’ll give us time to kind of see which is maybe the best plan of action.”
A constitutional amendment would have to navigate the legislative process in a 20-day session geared toward passing Wyoming’s budget. Then, in the 2026 general election, more than half of Wyoming voters who cast a ballot would have to agree to the constitutional change.
Neiman struck an optimistic tone about an amendment’s prospects of passing the first hurdle during the session in Cheyenne.
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“I can’t speak for the other chamber,” he said, “but in my chamber I’ve got a lot of phone calls and a lot of texts from a lot of my legislators who are just beside themselves at what happened.”
Senate President Bo Biteman did not return a phone call before this story published.
Victorious
Chelsea’s Fund, an organization that helps pay for abortion services, was another of the plaintiffs that challenged Wyoming’s abortion bans. Executive Director Janean Forsyth said Tuesday’s decision affirms what her organization has long known: “that abortion is essential health care, and Wyoming women have a constitutional right and the freedom to make their own health care decisions, and that should be without government interference.”
Forsyth was flooded with messages and calls Tuesday, she said, especially from the community of reproductive rights organizations.
“I think that [the news is] a beacon of hope for, not only Wyoming communities and families, but also nationwide,” she said.
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Christine Lichtenfels was Chelsea’s Fund executive director when the original suit was filed and throughout much of the legal battle. Relief wasn’t quite the word to describe how she felt Tuesday, she said.
“In reading the decision, there is just a sense that, ‘Oh, there is reason in the world,” she said. “It makes me think that, yes, Wyoming is the Equality State. We can say that now without cringing.”
(Disclosure: Lichtenfels is currently working with WyoFile on an unrelated legal matter.)
The Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper is pictured in December 2022, and shows signs of May 2022 arson, including boarded up windows. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile)
Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, Wellspring Health Access in Casper, was also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Knowing the decision would directly impact the facility’s fate, Clinic President Julie Burkhart was nervous when she opened it. Reading quickly dispelled her fears, she said, as it dawned on her that the justices sided with the plaintiffs’ legal team.
“We are delighted,” she told WyoFile.
Many people questioned her 2021 decision to open an abortion clinic in such a conservative state, she said. The court decision solidifies an intuition she felt back then about Wyoming residents’ sense of what’s fair and right.
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Burkhart and colleagues expect future challenges to arise, however.
“While we celebrate today’s ruling, we know that anti-abortion politicians will continue their push to restrict access to health care in Wyoming with new, harmful proposals in the state legislature,” Burkart said in a statement. “Patients should not have to live in fear that their health care decisions will be suddenly upended at the whim of a judge or lawmaker.”
Across the state in Jackson, Dr. Anthony anticipates the Wyoming Freedom Caucus will attempt to pass laws that impose targeted restrictions against abortion providers — such as forcing patients to hear a fetal heartbeat or wait a certain time period before the procedure.
“Unfortunately, the fight’s not over,” Anthony said, “but this is a great moment for us.”
Heartache
Abortion opponents expressed sadness Tuesday and vehemently disagreed with the court’s opinion.
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State Rep. Rachel Rodriguez Williams was lead sponsor of one of the abortion bans. The Cody Republican and chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus did not respond to a request for comment, but posted about the decision on X.
“My heart aches for Wyoming today,” Rodriguez Williams posted. “Thanks to the decision of four unelected, unchecked attorneys, it’s open season in Wyoming for innocent, preborn babies. Make no mistake: courts can get things wrong, and they sure did get this wrong. I’ll never stop fighting to protect life.”
Anti-abortion billboards can be seen along some Wyoming highways. (Tennessee Watson/WyoFile)
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray also protested the decision, which he called “outrageously wrong” and “a leftwing activist decision totally out of touch with the Wyoming Constitution.”
Natrona County anti-abortion activist Bob Brechtel, a former Wyoming House member, also expressed frustration with the courts, criticizing the nearly two-year-long wait for a decision and saying he was “ashamed” of the outcome from the high court.
In 2011, Brechtel co-sponsored the bill authorizing a later-successful constitutional amendment ballot measure that now protects individuals’ rights to make their own health care decisions. Born out of opposition to the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, what became Article 1, Section 38 caused some lawmakers to worry about potential unintended consequences.
Fifteen years later, one unintended consequence came to fruition. Reached Tuesday, Brechtel confirmed that he did not intend to protect women’s right to have an abortion in Wyoming.
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“There was nothing in the legislation about killing innocent human beings,” he said. “This whole thing has been completely regenerated into something that it was never intended to be.”
It is Week 4 in the 2026 Wyoming High School boys’ swimming and diving season. It features several medium-sized competitions. After a dual in Douglas on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday are packed with meets. Jackson hosts its two-day invitational with four teams heading to Teton County. There are three-team events in Casper, Gillette, and Sheridan on Friday, plus two five-team meets at Cody and Rock Springs.
WYOPREPS BOYS SWIMMING AND DIVING WEEK 4 SCHEDULE 2026
Saturday also has swim invites at Evanston, Powell, and Sheridan. The schedule for Week 4 of the prep boys’ swimming and diving season in the Cowboy State is below. The schedule is subject to change.
RAWLINS AT DOUGLAS – dual
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CASPER TRI at NCHS – Cheyenne East, Kelly Walsh, Natrona County.
