Red Bull Northern Exposure
The Setting
By Rob / 13.04.2002
The venue is Glenmore Lodge, The National Outdoor Training Centre for Scotland - a stunning location and the perfect HQ for a big race. It’s situated just outside the town of Aviemore, Scotland’s premier ski resort, on the edge of the Cairngorm mountain range in the Grampian region. Nearby is the river Spey (famous for the distilleries along it’s banks), and the lodge itself is in the Glenmore Forest Park, just beyond Loch Morlich.
The back of the lodge has been turned into a tented village for the race. Each team has a green Vango tent, there is a huge ‘party marquee’ a catering tent, race registration is in the ‘yurt’ and there is even an outdoor equipment shop in a tent – will lots of Golite gear on show. There is a huge store of equipment inside too, plus a kayak pool, dry ski slope, climbing walls, lecture theatres …. not to mention an expert staff who’ve helped in setting up the race. One of the associate instructors, Stuart Johnston is the race safety officer and has given teams instruction on avalanche safety, arranged testing and rope sections on the course.
Beyond the tents, now surrounded by gear boxes, bikes and race paraphernalia there is a stunning view up to the Northern Corries of Cairngorm, which had a fresh fall of snow the night the teams arrived. This is the main skiing and ice climbing area, where the north facing gullies hold the snow and stay in condition longest. It’s also the site of the UK’s first funicular railway, part of the ski development here, and has not long been open. Beyond the summit of Cairngorm is an extensive range of mountains including the high Cairngorm plateau. It’s only just over 1000m high, but is renowned for extreme weather and is a training ground for the UK’s Himalayan climbers. The peaks are 1200 to 1300m high, with some exposed ridges running along the top of deep corries sculpted into the mountain side.
The area is one of only 2 World Heritage Sites in the UK and has a unique sub arctic flora, fauna and climate for such a low latitude. The planners have had to be careful in their route choice, and restricted in what they can do, but even so, the teams area about to explore one of Scotland’s most stunning, and demanding landscapes.
SleepMonsters
