Raid the North Extreme
Blue Skies and Downpours
Beth Crowther / 27.07.2011
Mother Nature added an extra layer of complexity to the Atmosphere Raid the North Extreme day two challenges as racers worked their way through the Slocan Valley and into Valhalla Park. The weather fluctuated between brilliant blue skies and epic proportion downpours throughout the day and well into the night. Current race leaders, Team WildernessTraverse.com are living up to their reputation as a team to watch during this RTNX event as they have a commanding lead over the next ranked team. Team WildernessTraverse.com were seen in Kootenay Lake paddling and testing out the demo canoes after Kaslo's Welcome Dinner. WildernessTraverse.com were through the third transition and into canoes very early on Monday. Chasing after them are Team Custom Cellular and Team GearJunkies.com/Yogaslackers. (Ed. Custom Cellular later withdrew.)
Meanwhile the remaining teams continued to work their way to the transition area at Retallac over the course of the day. A few gear, navigational and medical issues affected some of the teams, which caused several delays in the estimated arrival time for many. Some teams came into Retallac with a quick turnaround strategy; as the day wore on and the longer teams were out on course, the more transition time they would elect to take. Event medical staff kept busy attending to blisters, scrapes and bruises from the trekking section. The overgrowth of aggressive plants like Devil's Club and Alder are making the treks very arduous in some places. Foot care is of the utmost importance during events of this intensity and these are early times as yet.
Local team Kootenay Kaos arrived at the paddle transition in Silverton after 9pm, in the dark, in the midst of almost monsoon rains, and to the supportive cheers of friends and family. They would have spent 5hrs on mountain bikes riding in less than ideal conditions and were preparing to trade their bikes for canoes to paddle 20km down Slocan Lake to the next transition.
As they changed clothes, fueled and got organized for the paddle, more teams continued to arrive by headlamp in the dark, damp night. Despite the challenging conditions, teams' spirits were amazingly high with anticipation of the paddle and subsequent stages that lay ahead.
As weather conditions deteriorated throughout the night, more and more teams were suffering from the side effects and were spreading more thinly throughout the course. A few teams lost racing companions due to injury so substitutes were made (or in some cases not) to enable teams to go on and complete the course as uncategorized or unranked. Some injured or sick racers elected to press on, with the commitment of first aid check-ins at each possible checkpoint and transition area.
At the Silverton transition, some teams opted to wait out the weather and get some rest before moving forward. Other teams were gone within 30 minutes.
The next series of challenges arise in the much-anticipated Valhalla Park area where racers will be visiting heli-accessible Ice Creek Lodge high in the alpine. And snow.See All Event Posts
