Explore the West, Southern Nevada
DART nuun Wins Explore the West
Erik Nachtrieb / 23.05.2006
This past weekend, DART-nuun won the second stop of the Explore the West adventureracing series (www.explorethewestar.com), a 24 hour race through a grueling course that showcased Nevada’s stunning landscape. On Mother’s Day weekend, Mother Nature made sure the competitors knew who was in charge. Temperatures in the desert hit above 105F (the hottest this year) and winds on Lake Mead turned to gale force to greet paddlers with 3 foot swells. If that wasn’t enough, one of man’s impressive engineering feats, the Hoover Dam, added to the excitement by releasing the most water so far this year down the Colorado River as teams attempted to paddle up stream in inflatable pack rafts. Jen Segger, Ryan VanGorder, and Cyril Jay-Rayon were the lucky ones chosen to face Nevada’s unforgiving but breathtaking terrain.  “We didn’t expect the race to challenge us as much as it did,� commented Ryan after the race. “First, the heat hit us hard as we ran out of water on the first desert section and then the powerful winds on Lake Mead caught us by surprise. Finally, when we thought we would enjoy some reprieve from the heat at night, the Hoover Dam played a trick on us and we spent hours trying to make our way up the river combating the strong current. It was all good fun though�.
The race took competitors through a well designed course that showcased some of Nevada’s best terrain. It all started with a technical mountain bike section through Bootleg Canyon’s renowned trail system followed by the first of 2 desert trekking sections where no roads or trails exist. Next, mighty Lake Mead would offer teams a well deserved break from the heat while they paddled into the wind and across to the Arizona side near Hoover Dam.See All Event Posts
