Red Yeti 8 Hr
Red Yeti Attacks South Aus
06.09.2005
In the first rope obstacle all team members climbed to the top of a 15m high abseiling tower. It was clear from the very first teams that getting up the rock climbing wall, in torrential downpour, with numb fingers, was going to be a difficult task! Once at the top, one team member from each team zipped down the 320 metre flying fox (one of the longest in Australia) while the other 2 team members abseiled down. Once at the bottom of the tower, teams completed 1 of 3 high ropes courses including: a commando crawl, a rope bridge and an hour glass balance bridge.
From here, teams jumped onto their bikes and attempted to warm up as they peddled through numerous ups and downs of the Adelaide hills. An awesome 2 km single-track/downhill section that dropped teams 385 metres was one of the highlights of the race. At the bottom, a lengthy hill lead teams to transition area 2, where they traded their bikes in for trekking shoes and headed off to find the second ropes course.
As the rain continued to fall and the wind picked up, only a handful of teams had completed the 25 metre natural cliff-face abseil when organisers had to close it due to weather and lighting conditions. Although unfortunate, teams seemed unusually upbeat about the whole thing, as the reality that they were now on the home stretch sunk in.
Teams saddled their bikes and took a nice downhill ride back to Base Camp, where Team 14 “SLM Safari Tour� was the first to cross the finish line in 6 hours and 3 minutes. Nine teams followed with the last team crossing in just over 9 hours. As the barbeque and presentations got underway, the war stories were already being told and the rain, although never stopping, was beginning to ease. Although the weather left something to be desired, it only truly enhances Adventure Racing in the end. Registration for the Red Yeti 36-hour race has already opened: check Red Yeti.for all of the latest information!
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