Southern Traverse
Bad Weather Forces Course Change
Nicole Fairweather (Southern Traverse) / 15.11.2004
Kathmandu has been leading the field from the outset and went into the dense bush yesterday afternoon just after 1.00pm. They completed the gruelling 24km section in just over 13 hours.
The decision was taken to change the course because of the worsening conditions on the challenging Ahaura River. The course has now moved to Lake Brunner with kayaks entering at Mitchells and taking out at Moana.
From Moana competitors will mountain bike, returning to the original course which will take them to the Lower Paparoa’s for another long and tough mountain trek estimated to take between 14 and 20 hours.
Kathmandu launched on Lake Brunner at 7.10am but its lead has been pulled back by the strong Swedish team Lundhags Adventure. The Swedes began paddling at 8.18am closely followed by the Kiwi team Sierra International at 08.26.
Team Rudy Project Bivouac Outdoor, which is a New Zealand team led by well known Danish competitor Sia Svendsen, withdrew overnight due to the conditions. American team OAGear.com is also out of the race.
All team members are reported to be well and in good spirits.
Kathmandu captain Duncan Hamilton says the conditions overnight were certainly difficult.
\"It was really cold up there and the only way to stay warm was to keep moving as fast as possible.\"
Two other teams have received penalties - Team ING – NZ Army and Team Fleet Cycles both missed a check point on the Kelly Range.
Race director Geoff Hunt says the weather conditions have forced them to change the course this morning but contingency plans were always in place. The forecast is for clearing weather today but later turning cold and wet, with snow predicted again overnight.
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