STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

While the elite skiers were all business in their aerodynamic race suits, skiers like Luke Johnson of Stanley showed a little pizzazz as they competed in the 51st Boulder Mountain Tour on Saturday.

Johnson wore his gold sparkle pants and a unicorn horn as he took part in his third Boulder Mountain Tour.

“When you ski with a thousand people, there’s a lot of energy,” said the river guide, who works with the Stanley ambulance service during winter. “I wanted to add to it.”

Johnson wasn’t the only one who showed up in alternative race dress. Several people wore cow pants, and one male skier came dressed in denim cut-offs—a nod to this year’s warm winter that’s seen  temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s.

Ty Wiberg, who was one of 16 challenged athletes competing in the Full and Half Boulders, said temperatures have been as high as 55 back home in Bozeman, Mont. He wasn’t about to let the weather stop him from competing in yet another Boulder.

“I’ve done a fistful of Half-Boulders so I wanted to challenge myself today,” he said. “After all, racing the Full Boulder is just adding another Half-Bouder.”