It’s a Super Bowl in Sapphire Valley Resort
The 2024 race will take place February 17. This free event is a charity event and is listed by Southeast Tourism Society as one of the top 20 events in the Southeast. Have you got the perfect team to win the event? Visit the website for updates and email info.
It seems like a rather unconventional way to spend a February afternoon. That is, until you sample the BBQ, listen to the music, examine the smiles, and take notice of the laughter.
It started with Gary Van Florcke, an employee of Sapphire Valley Resort, and his idea of putting outhouses on skis. He had seen these unconventional races before in other locations, but putting their own spin on it might be a great way to end the winter season. Skis. Now, that was an idea that had traction.
It was unanimous that, in the spirit of fun and competition, the Outhouse Races would be a great addition to the Ski Sapphire. Now in its twelfth year (2018), more and more adventurists try their hand at ideal outhouse construction with an unprecedented facade that will outlast their neighbor accelerating down the main slope. They would skid, tumble, slip and veer into the snow-barrier, yet only the best would remain straight and be victorious in crossing the spray painted orange finish line.
From K-9 urination stations to confessional booth to the Fighting Irish to Polynesian cabanas, construction and decoration did not disappoint. The requirements: two people to push, one to sit inside, a toilet seat, one hole and a roll of toilet paper (or alternative wiping source). Some had two skis; some, four. Accessories included the extra roll of toilet paper plus the safety helmet for drivers. Nothing was left to chance.
Hundreds of spectators flanked the main slope as the outhouses were pushed to the top, over and over again in double elimination. The hardest workers and those who ate the most snow - those who pushed!
Proceeds from the 2018 race supported the Cashiers/Glenville Fire Department, celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary. Each year a different organization is chosen to receive this gift.
It seems like a rather silly thing - outhouses on skis, but we must say it has been a long time since we've watched people of all ages celebrate the silly. What a beautiful landscape to revel in joy and community! And at the end, when Confession Concession, who was #1 from the starting point, crossed that orange line for the final time, grown men jumped and squealed in victory. From my snowy perch, I overheard, "They had the Lord on their side" and "Every one became Catholic." Whatever got their speed up, they brought it home for their friends, community and organization.
So instead of planting yourself in front of your television to watch the Super Bowl the first of February, just hang on until the third weekend in February and make your way to Sapphire Valley in North Carolina for the best seat in the house.
A toilet seat, a roll of toilet paper, a crowd of cheering fans and a good push . . . when you gotta go . . .
