Discovery Channel Adventure Race organizers seem to enjoy creating punishing courses, and 228 competitors have learned this year's race will be no easier.
In near perfect conditions, competitors got their introduction to the brutal, 364-km course, which will be their home for the next five days.
Just to get racers in "traverse" mode, the race began with a savage 42-km trek up and over three different mountain ranges. Founder Geoff Hunt stood with glee at the top of the first abseil section watching as the
lead teams clambered through the heavy snow and rocks, just six hours into the race.
The ground here is extremely rough and racers are already showing signs of wear and tear. Even the experience of Team Propeller-heads' Steve Gurney doesn't exclude him from the harsh reality of multiple day adventure racing: suffering blisters, he was forced to stop and hack away at troublesome foot beds while his team waited impatiently.
Day one has seen the first casualty with Team Boundary Quest now continuing unranked. Danny Suter, 34, reported feeling unwell at checkpoint 2 but continued on. Obviously deteriorating, he requested a med-evac at the top of the abseil section. Suter was evacuated and treated by event medics and is reported to be recovering from mild hypothermia and flu-like symptoms. His teammates indicated he had recently completed a marathon and has been unwell since competing in the Eco-Challenge Sabah 2000 in Borneo.
On their way to the first transition area, teams must pass through five checkpoints scattered along this section on their way to Lake Catherine.
| ...Suffering blisters, he was forced to stop and hack away at troublesome foot beds... |
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At this early stage, the lead teams have shown their muster and streaked ahead of the field. Propeller-heads (NZ), Nokia (Finland), Science Team (USA), inthepacific.com (NZ), Cromwell (NZ), and Merrell (NZ) jostled for the lead throughout the day and as darkness fell on day one they were all still within one hour of each other. Despite the fact that several of these teams made vastly different navigation decisions and headed off up two completely different valleys.
In the darkness, teams will descend from the mountains to find their mountain bikes and head on a short 19-km cycle on dirt roads which lead them to the first of the kayak sections. This is where things become very interesting due to a "dark zone" imposed on the river — no competitors are allowed on the water before 6am Tuesday morning (NZ time). Essentially, this will mean a race re-start tomorrow, with the top teams arriving in time to have several good hours of sleep, but also enabling teams further back to catch up.
Organizers have been amazed by the speed of these lead teams as they fly through the course. Hunt attributes their swiftness to perfect weather conditions and relative ease of travel over the snow sections.
Officials and support crews are eagerly watching the weather forecasts with reports of a change bringing high winds and maybe even snow flurries to the race course.
– Chris Vile, MountainZone.com Correspondent
