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Tuesday, April 18, 2000 Tuesday's competition at the 2000 Elf Authentic Adventure was the most heated and exciting thus far, as six teams scrambled to make a 3:00pm cutoff at the rock climb, ensuring a comfortable distance between them and the others. Team FujiFilm of France, who on Monday overtook the lead after a navigational error by then-leaders Spie Pharmanex, held on to their lead Tuesday, a scant two minutes up on a surging Spie Pharmanex team.
The sun rose Tuesday morning to a half-dozen teams riding their tired horses into CP9 at the edge of a swollen, sometimes-raging river. Organizers had moved the horse drop-off to this point, forcing competitors to complete the section to HQ2/CP10 on foot. And so they trudged down the muddy banks of the river and swam across — a tyrolean rope traverse was provided for their gear. All the top teams utilized the rope except for one, Team Spie Pharmanex. The team literally ran straight into the river and swam directly across, unlike others who scouted the situation and kept their gear dry. Spie Pharmanex was also the only team to run all the way from CP9 to CP10, moving them up four positions in only a couple hours. The race was not only for position at this point, but to ensure making the rock climb at CP12 before 3:00pm. Any teams that arrived after that would be forced to spend the night there, losing more than 12 hours to the teams that had moved on toward CP13. The race simulation sheet, formulated during previous organizer reconnaissance trips, said that the hike from CP10 to 12 would take 3.5 to 4 hours, so teams knew that they had to leave CP10 by 11:00am or risk missing the cutoff. Team EMA Brazil (11) for instance, left CP10 at 11:20, but made CP12 at 2:59 — one minute before the cutoff. At CP10, the 3pm cutoff loomed as all teams picked up climbing gear from their assistance crews and headed for the mountains. As FujiFilm left CP10, Spie Pharmanex was 35 minutes behind. Three hours and 1,000-vertical feet of hiking later, Spie Pharmanex was only two minutes behind. From there, the two teams began climbing the three granite pitches, anticipating the rappel off the other side. Just as Spie Pharmanex was half way up the wall and Team Paul Vatine was beginning their climb, a loud thunderclap rocked the mountain as cool white clouds swirled around the peak. Within minutes a torrent of water rained down on the mountain, forcing organizers to freeze action on the climb. A half-hour later, the rains subsided enough to continue, as Teams Ford Raca Forte (04) and Airwave (62) arrived at the rock climb. Only one other team, EMA Brazil, who made it by one minute, would be allowed to climb the rock on Tuesday. As teams began piling up at CP12 for the night, the leading teams worked their way into the dark between CP12 and 13. After a long night's trek through a valley, the leaders would arrive at the 30-meter, waterfall rappel before first light, while the second wave would be expected there late Wednesday. Nine teams risked missing another cutoff at CP12, which warned a midnight arrival deadline or be placed in the Discovery class. Any teams that didn't make CP12 by midnight Tuesday night would then go down the mountain by trail, meeting up with the race again at CP13.
—Elf Authentic Adventure Correspondent
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