Patagonia Expedition Race

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The Course in Detail

Jacqueline Windh / 12.02.2005

Race Director Stjepan Pavicic says that the first day of the race will go fast – racers could cover more than a third of the course in the first 24 hours. But don’t get your hopes up!

The trekking sessions will slow things down considerably. In fact, Stjepan predicts that some teams may even quit after the first trekking section. That first traverse includes 20 km slogging through peat bog – sitting down for a moment would be like sitting on a wet sponge. “Es muy bueno!� says Stjepan.

“After the peat bog� he continues, “they are going to wish that they never see any more peat bog ever again. They they will get into the forest... and they will wish that they were back in the peat bog!�

He says that the forest is varied – in some sections relatively open and easy to walk through, but in other parts with thick dense underbrush and slippery logs. “They will constantly be conscious of their legs� Stjepan explains, “paying attention to every step. One wrong move and they can injure themselves�.

Stjepan is firm about the idea of “expedition races� being true expeditions, with the merest minimum of support. Therefore, there are only two food re-supplying points en route, at points of control PC4 and PC6.

The race stages are;

START: February 12 4:00 a.m. Cerro Guido, in the hills just northeast of Torres del Paine National Park.

To PC1 on mountain bike 40.6 km along gravel roads to the Park entrance.

To PC2 on mountain bike 54.0 km along gravel roads inside the Park. Since racing is not allowed in the Park, the clock will stop for this section, and teams have four hours to get to PC3. They will leave PC3 in the same order and with the same time differences as when they arrived at PC2 – teams who take more than four hours to make this distance will start to lose time on the clock.

To PC3 by sea-kayak 90.1 km starting in the icebergs at Lake Grey, then down the Grey and Serrano Rivers (total about 55 km) to the sea and along Ultima Esperanza Sound (about 35 km). Important point: teams who do not make it to PC3 by 10:00 p.m. will be forced to stop for the night, due to “dark zone� closure of water sections.See All Event Posts