Oh dear Lord, please let it be under 7,000 feet...

Just got this email from USACycling:

Colorado Springs, Colo. (May 2, 2006)?Due to massive snowfall on Mammoth Mountain this winter, USA Cycling will be relocating its 2006 Mountain Bike National Championships scheduled for July 20-23.

?Looking at our snowpack today, I can confidently say we are unable to host a mountain bike event to the quality we are all accustomed to,? commented Bill Cockroft, senior vice president of operations at Mammoth Mountain. ?It was a difficult decision, but ultimately we believe we owe it to the mountain bike community to make sure the event continues at the level and standards expected by USA Cycling.?

USA Cycling is currently negotiating with several venues to replace Mammoth Mountain and a decision is expected to be announced shortly.

It would be too much to ask for this to happen at a lower altitude... Unfortunately, I'm thinking this might mean it heads even further up.

My guesses are for the relocation are Durango, somewhere in Utah, or possibily Angelfire. I don't think Angelfire has had a Nationals race before, but they do have a World Cup caliber setup as they did a WC race last year. The only kicker, do they have a course capable of handling a marathon without getting people dizzy from going in circles?