The Wilderness ARC

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Thrills in Glen Nevis

Rob Howard / 29.05.2006

As promised it was an action packed first morning for all the teams and there were thrills and spills in the Glen Nevis canyons, and a few tears too.

Defending champions Aberdeen Asset Management led off the start line and teams followed them up onto Cow Hill above Fort William for a stage where they had to find 5 orienteering controls. In part this was put into the race to spread the teams out before they reached the ropes, but it also gave them an early navigational challenge.

There was a choice too, as this was not a compulsory stage, but there was a 30 minute time penalty for each control point missed. Some teams had discussed missing one or two to ensure they reached the ropes early, but the prospect of a penalty so early in the race was too much for all but one team. It was team Spartans, one of the novice teams who made the tactical decision and decided to skip the orienteering, allowing them to move ahead and reducing the distance they covered. They are one of the slower teams and were caught by the leaders before they reached the abseil so it was probably a very smart move.

First at the abseil were Aberdeen Asset Management, followed by total-adventure.co.uk and then a group of teams including The North Face and PS Communications. Despite the worries of the teams there were no queues, with 6 ropes in use and one rope per team. It was only a short abseil, around 30m, and the setting above the glen was truly spectacular.

After a slippery descent teams came down to the road and a foaming waterfall beside a bridge – and this was their first jump. Reaching it across a hand rail was tricky and the noise of the falls and the foaming water below the big drop were intimidating. A few hesitated but only three competitors refused to jump. See All Event Posts