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The Queen Charlotte\'s

Geoff Langford / 19.06.2007

One week to go, and I think we’ve had our own expedition race up here the last week. But the great news is the weather is spectacular, flooding is receding, roads are all open, the new course elements have blown us away, and the new event partners that have jumped on board to make this happen have been incredibly supportive and enthusiastic. In light of all the changes and new pieces to this event, we are breaking with tradition on many fronts and providing all of you and everyone else with far more information that you’re expecting at this point.

New event partners

First of all, I’m excited to announce the incredible new partnerships we have with BC Ferries, BC Parks, Haida Gwaii Tourism, and the Haida First Nation. Did I say Haida Gwaii? Yes, we’re going to the Queen Charlotte Islands. From day one up here we dreamed of the opportunities on the islands dubbed the Galapagos of the North, but the logistics were just beyond reason for an event like this. But it’s amazing when belief in an event mobilizes resources.

On Sunday morning the Helly Hansen FJ Cruiser will pace teams on bikes to the BC Ferries’ Queen of Prince Rupert, as we head to Skidegate following the ancient canoe routes of the legendary Haida warriors and traders. Our host facility on Haida Gwaii will be the new, not even completely finished Haida Heritage Centre at the ancient village of Qay’llnagaay (also spelled Kaay Lllnagaay) – see the attached media release from the Centre. We’ll be greeted at the Centre with an official Haida welcome ceremony, a tour of their new, not-open-to-the-public cultural centre and museum, and camping on the grounds along one of the most scenic beaches on the islands.

Course update

Tides and television inspired us for a paddling start from the beach in the early morning light, and teams will be off on a 3.5 day non-stop expedition, exploring all ends of Haida Gwaii, including paddles on ocean, inlet and sound, high mountain and old-growth forest trekking, coasteering on stunning tidal beaches and spits, and coastal and logging-road-maze mountain biking. You can put your new Helly Hansen Lifa shirts to the test - this stage will also feature an advanced course cut-off to chase. And new to any Raid the North event – a mountain bike rogaine section.

Once back to the stage finish at the Haida Heritage Centre, teams will be able to catch their breath before catching BC Ferries’ Queen of Prince Rupert for the overnight return voyage. We’ll disembark and immediately set off on a 18-24 hour final stage of the race in the original landscape of this race – paddling inlets frequented by whales, trekking through the Coast Mountains, and biking classic trails through deep valleys punctuated by waterfalls and (given the recent conditions) raging rivers, to a finish line in Prince Rupert and a wrap-up party at the historic North Pacific Cannery that you don’t want to miss.

Everyone on the ground in Prince Rupert and on Haida Gwaii has put in an amazing effort to take this race from natural disaster to the kind of race course we were only dreaming about 6 months ago. I feel incredibly privileged to have been in some of the places we’ve tested in the last week, and I’m sure you’ll have equally visceral memories of this experience before long.

We’re looking forward to seeing you up here in the beautiful North Coast of British Columbia!


Geoff Langford

President

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