The Winter Wuhoo
A Winter Wuhoo!
Cindy Muridan / 21.02.2003
Twenty five teams headed out from the Snoqualmie Summit Nordic Centre on an adventure that would take them over an 8 mile unmarked course and 1600 ft of elevation gain. When it was over 21 teams conquered the disciplines of snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, rappelling, and navigating that make up the Winter Wuhoo! Adventure Race.At the start race organisers warned the participants that this year\'s course was tough. \"You\'re really going to have to haul if you want to make the cut-off times,\" said Race Director, Cindy Muridan during the pre-race team captains briefing.
New to the race this year was the addition of an advanced race course. Three quarters into the race top teams had the choice of finishing via a longer and more challenging advanced course or do the regular course. Those teams that opted to do the advanced course (and finished) would rank higher in the final standings than those that did the regular course. \"The top teams in our state are getting stronger and faster, and the average adventure racer is staying constant, so we added an advanced option to provide a real challenge for those that want it,\" said Muridan.
Indeed the top teams are getting stronger and the advanced course didn\'t slow them down. The first three teams all chose the advanced race course and still came across the finish line before any of the regular racers.
The race started at an elevation of approximately 2,560 feet and the participants hiked straight up 1,185 feet to Checkpoint 1 at the peak of Mt. Hyak. Many teams were left in the dust on the way up the mountain, but not for long as the real challenge of the day proved to be navigating.
From Checkpoint 1 teams skied down to the Frog Lake area and then, due to low snow levels, hiked carrying their skis to Checkpoint 2. At this point many of the teams that were in the back of the pack at Checkpoint 1 were able to move up in the rankings purely due to navigation prowess. Light snow offering minimal visibility with intermittent clearing was a mixed blessing to the navigators – on the previous two days there had been zero visibility.
From Checkpoint 2, racers donned their snowshoes and navigated around Nordic Pass to several more checkpoints until finally heading 1600 ft straight up the slopes of Mt. Catherine. During the trek racers were met by old growth forest and spectacular views, but many didn\'t have time to soak up the scenery as they had their mind on the rappel at Checkpoint 5.See All Event Posts
