The Rut brings out the jorts, and competition, in Big Sky

By Annie O’Neill EDITORIAL INTERN

The Rut Mountain Runs took over Big Sky, Sept. 11-13, the annual trail-running weekend built around Lone Mountain’s brutal vertical. The lineup spans a Vertical Kilometer from the resort base area, straight up the mountain, plus 11K, 21K, 28K and 50K distances, along with the three-race Trifecta and a kids’ Runt Run. The event has grown a costume culture to match its competition, and this year runners on the VK course embraced the “Lone Peak World Jorts Championship,” where real denim shorts, not performance-fabric look-alikes, were the whole point, chafing included.

Noah Brown competed in the category wearing what he called “the jorts, only 90% cotton,” paired with a leather belt and a leopard-print top. Asked about his strategy, Brown kept it simple: “I’d say it’s about mogging and looking good.”

Another jort participant, Ian Curtis, set his sights on completing the Trifecta, all 52.5 miles and roughly 21,000 feet of vertical all in one weekend, and treated the effort more like a taper than an all-out push. His training included a 67-mile fastpacking trip through the Wind River Range meant to simulate a three-day stage race, and he said he held back on the VK to protect his legs for what was ahead.

The Lone Peak World Jorts Championship carried its own bragging rights: custom denim vests went to the fastest man, woman and nonbinary athletes to summit Lone Mountain in jorts. Between the vertical and the denim, the chafing was practically part of the course.