X-adventure - The Raid World Cup 2005
A Breathtaking Ropes Course and Victory For Seagate
John Michael-Flynn in Albany. (Images by Mark Watson) / 01.05.2005
First and foremost is the race victory which went the way of the consistent (consistently fast) New Zealand Team Seagate. Second is the ropes course, which according to those who scaled the cliffs of Western Australia’s exposed South-West coast, is one of the ‘best yet’ staged in adventure racing.
“That is the most stunning ropes course I’ve ever done, it was just wild,� Seagate’s winning team captain Kristina Anglem told SleepMonsters on crossing the finish line.
“Those crashing waves, and when we were there the weather was turning and it was just causing dark, spectacular colours. It was just awesome.�
When the first teams arrived at the exposed cliffs of West Cape Howe National Park this morning, a storm was brewing over a dark, menacing Southern Ocean. It was almost as if mother nature had turned defiant, trying to prove to competitors in the X-Adventure Raid World Cup, that they might be wrong to take on the fury of the elements.
This was after all, no ordinary ropes section. Course designers had racked their brains to create something out of the ordinary, setting up a fly-line from the cliff top to an exposed rocky outcrop, surrounded by swirling water. From there, competitors would have to traverse from rock to rock, Tyrolean back to the face of the vertical cliff, where the climb to the top was complicated by gale force winds and rain.
“It was a really neat mix of disciplines with the initial zip line down across onto the far side on the rocks,� Seagate’s Richard Ussher recalled of the experience. “It’s a little bit un-nerving when you’ve got no control over how fast you’re going, it’s all in the hands of the riggers.�
SleepMonsters
