Raid Ukatak
Mother Nature Rules
Leslie Quinton / 23.01.2003
Wednesday January 21- 23:30If it were a race between the climate and humanity, it would be fair to say that Mother Nature has the upper hand. The inclement weather conditions have forced two of the expected favorites to withdraw from the race due to frostbite.
Team Subaru, team 10, was evacuated from a designated shelter near the cancelled CP 8, required to return to base camp due to worsening conditions in the mountainous region of the Hautes Gorges Park and foot problems. Last year’s second place team, Team 1 Hellmann/Salomon Poland decided not to continue from CP 10 at the base of Mont Edouard. Their weary faces told the story: even after three hours sleep and hot food, it was clear they were unable to face the swirling blizzard that awaited them outside. Pawel Moszkowicz was in especially bad shape, and complained of serious foot problems, exacerbated by the cold.
Likewise, Team Atmosphere Ondeo Saguenay were brought out from the race course because two members complained of losing sensation in their feet.
Passion and Perseverance
Two unranked teams (teams 7 and 14) were also still on the course, despite losing team members due to cold conditions. Sean Hartman of Team Passion was philosophical. “The only reason we were able to keep up earlier on is that the Swedes and the Poles broke our trail. By the time we got to the bottom of the mountain at CP 6, the nurse said (captain) Laniel had to stop – he had black patches on his toes. The rest of us are trying to be very conscientious: warm feet, lots of room to move in our boots. It’s the hands that are a real challenge. But honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it out there before.� Hartman goes on to explain that in most adventure races you try to go as light as possible. “Here, you have to carry more than you’d ever normally consider carrying.�
His team mate Florent Bouguin is one of the unsung heroes of the race. He is from the Ile de la Reunion (Reunion Isle) in the Indian Ocean. For a start he speaks no English and his two companions almost no French, but more remarkable still is that the tropical island that is his home never has any snow. The highest point on Reunion is called Piton des Neiges (snow peak) but despite being well over 4000m high it’s a very rare event for even a few snowflakes to fall. Florent is in excellent spirits and the team have a super attitude and are eager to continue, even though the race is far more challenging than they expected. In truth it’s beyond anything they could have imagined.See All Event Posts
