The Wilderness ARC
Rain and More Rain
Rob Howard / 23.08.2005
The sound of the rain hammering against the tin roof of the cattle market was deafening, but it didn’t stop teams who had rested in the early part of the night, going out into the storm once again. Seven teams had been taking the imposed 3 hour rest stop in the Ben Nevis Auction Mart, a huge shed full of iron cattle pens near the Nevis Range ski centre. It has served as a perfect emergency Transition in the storm and teams had the opportunity of staying the night while the storm (hopefully) passed, but their competitive nature wasn’t to be denied and they were not going to watch others depart before them.
So, when their rest time was up they packed up and set off into the night, a night where the wind was so strong it was hard to stand at times, and the rain would soak them to the skin in no time. But then after a short walk they would need to wade a river to reach the kayaks, so they were going to get wet anyway.
The shed was cold, but a chance to organise their gear in dry conditions, and there were hot drinks and bread and soup available. There were even a couple of armchairs and a T.V and it looked like the place was used for car boots as bits of furniture were stored in some of the pens – but no beds unfortunately. Teams chose their cattle pen and spread out their sleeping bags and gear for their stay, taking advantage of the warm drinks while they could.
When it was time for Irish AR/Bicsport/Outsider to leave they checked out on the Sportident timing boxes and just as they were doing so a message came through to wait, as the river they would soon wade was rising and looking hazardous. Total Adventure had struggled to get across and had to make 2 attempts, but the race staff checked it’s condition and rang back shortly after to say it was OK to leave. Soon after Irish AR/Outsider/Bicsport departed. “I don’t fancy going out in this,� said Paul McArthur, “but we don’t want to wait hours until daylight or let the other Irish team get too big a lead!�
As they left the French team Mizuno Sport 2000 Chambery arrived, shivering violently as they came through the doors. They’d not received the message about the change of location for the transition, or had misunderstood it, and had spent some time searching around the Nevis Centre, before eventually calling HQ to get some guidance. After they arrived they quickly set about producing hot food and drinks, and at the same time Barclays/The North Face were packing to go.
“We don’t feel prepared at all�, said Jen Brown, “but how can you be prepared for this? We’re not quitting though!� The team had been buoyant leaving TA3 but found the ride long and had bad luck with punctures. They had one as they left TA3 and then five more, finishing the last 15km of the ride with 4 inner tubes protecting the wheel rim. “The predicted times on that ride were out,� said Anthony Emmett, “you couldn’t ride a lot of it as it was just too high a risk. We pushed a lot and really struggled, with lots of low points. Without team support we’d never have made it and we had a real low at the end when we were all down. We’d rationed out food to the last bite and were at the end of our reserves. We just wanted to get here.�
As he packed up he asked about the mountain weather forecast and wished he hadn’t. The wind forecast included the words, “at times in the morning any motion will be difficult�, and the summit temperatures were predicted as “feeling like -12C in the wind�. Fortunately, the course is at a low level for most of the day so conditions will not be quite that bad, but they are likely to cause the cancellation of the higher parts of the route later on around CP19, and alternatives may be determined by river levels, which are sure to continue to rise. The 9 teams still in the race have shown remarkable endurance so far, but they will need to find still more reserves of strength and willpower to survive to the finish.
SleepMonsters
