North American Showdown at the Appalachian Extreme
Rob Howard / 12.05.2005
The Appalachian Extreme, the last chance for US teams to qualify for the World Championships (without travelling to Europe), will be held from 20-24 May, with registration and pre-race festivities based out of Sunday River Ski Resort’s Grand Summit Hotel.This majestic setting offers racers a preview of the terrain they will encounter during the race, situated along the Eastern end of the Appalachian Mountains. “We are very excited about the course this year. We will be introducing racers from as far away as California, Colorado, Washington (state) and parts of Eastern Canada to the most beautiful and gruelling backwoods of New England.
Some of the course will be on roads and trails, but other parts will keep the navigators on their toes as they must rely solely on their maps and compasses to find their way through unmarked terrain. A very heavy snow winter, as well as a very wet early spring will make things “interesting†for all elements of the raceâ€, says Norm Greenberg, the course designer and co-director of the Appalachian Extreme, with a smirk on his face.
A non-stop, 3-4 day adventure race, the race will include hiking/trekking, mountain biking, canoeing (moving water & flatwater), a 200’ rappel and tough map and compass navigation. With 21 teams from all over the US and Canada, including defending champions ATP (split into two teams for 2005), the 2005 edition is sure to be a hotly contested fight to the finish, as the Appalachian Extreme is North America’s only remaining chance for teams to qualify for the 2005 Adventure Racing World Championship.
Teams trying to knock ATP off their top spot include AE’s 2004 runners-up - Simon River Sports, well-known teams such as Subaru USA, Hooked on the Outdoors and Supplierpipeline of Canada, and strong regional teams such as Eastern Mountain Sports, Cyclefit-Archipela, SPTU/Darn Tough, Eider VT, DART and several others.
