Desafio Aysén
Across Chilean Patagonia
Wladimir Togumi (www.adventuremag.com.br) / 28.01.2014
From the sea to the border with Argentina. That was the route of the seventh edition of Desafio Aysén, an adventure race held in the Aysen region of Chile, and besides the Chilean teams the race was attended by athletes from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador.
Participants of “La carrera + hermosa de Chile” – a slogan translated as ‘The most beautiful race of Chile’ - experienced one of the most difficult editions of all, with a route that went through all the ecosystems of the Aysen region, including 3 wild areas protected by the State, and facing all kinds of terrain and weather variations that are very common in Patagonia.
In order to be part of the AR World Series in 2017 this edition of the race now had a category for teams of four people (Elite) in a non-stop format and the route had been increased to 400km over 4 days. The two person teams could participate in categories Expertos and Aventureiros, which stopped every night.
The pre-start HQ was assembled in Puerto Aysen Cultural Center where the teams checked-in and received their race kit. The city was celebrating its anniversary and had a schedule of cultural activities and concerts in the Plaza de Armas.
The alcalde (mayor), Catalán Oscar Sanchez, made a fine speech at the opening ceremony making with a comparision between the cities history and the difficulties and achievements of Puerto Aysen, with the challenges that athletes would face from the next day. These would include reaching the summit of Cerro Cordón, a mountain with 1300 meter of altitude near the city, a place where many would like to reach. He said a group of residents reached the summit after about 10 hours and that the athletes would probably be faster, but joked that at least they could enjoy the scenery.
The briefing made by the organizer Francisco Vio was quick and objective, allowing athletes to return early to their accommodation and complete preparations for the start next morning.
As always happens in races in Patagonia, trekking in the mountains proved crucial to the final result. The steep climbs, the more difficult navigation and cold weather with strong winds demanded more of the athletes. But that does not mean paddling in river and sea, cycling on roads and trails, and climbing on the rock were easy. For some it was the first time they were climbing on rock trying to find any support for their feet or fingers to finish the climbing section .
The promotional start was made on Plaza de Armas with the escort of Carabineros de Chile (police of Chile), through President Ibáñez Bridge and arriving in the new multisport center, a great building inaugurated in 2013 which features a semi-Olympic swimming pool where the athletes swam. The space has room for five thousand people and is used for recreational, sports and cultural activities.
While the Aventureros and Expertos swam and then climbed Cerro Cordón the Elite teams took their kayaks and went down the Aysen river to the Pacific Ocean. Later, the categories reversed the procedure.
With the coming of night the teams of two headed toward the first camp for the night while the quartets faced the freezing darkness in their non-stop journey.
One of the trickier passages on bikes was the way to the zipline near Lake Portales. The last 300 meters of the road that is being built through the woods had only fallen trees and the athletes had to negotiate the passage between small cut logs and bamboos. The only option was put the bikes on their back and try to balance while looking for a safe place to step.
The race then approached the capital city of Coyhaique. The bad weather did not allow athletes to go up the Cerro Cordillerano (1669m) but they could not miss El Fraile (1517m) and other surrounding mountains. Despite being near to the finish teams still had a long way to go to reach the customs post at the border with Argentina, before finishing the race in Passeo Horn, in the center of Coyhaique.
In the pause between the arrival of one team and another at the finish there was a parade of participants of the World Championship of Fly Fishing, a sport that attracts a large audience for the region, and which has specialized lodges in this market.
The Elite category victory went to the favorites of Uruguay Ultra Sports/Gymnasio Equilibrio, formed by the Uruguayan Ruben Manduré and Federica Fontini and Argentinians Daniel Pincu and Nico Alfageme.
" It was hard particularly and difficult because the weather was very cold and windy on the mountains. We are all wet and reaching the highest PC was really hard. Luckily I have a team of iron , all very strong ," said Ruben Manduré .
The Brazilians of Harpya, formed by Peter Alex, Diogo de Sordi, Fausto Silva and Fabiana Duarte were in second place. "Everything was new as we had never done an international race especially with a climate that varies as much as here in Patagonia, but it was nice to have the option to navigate off trail. The race was a very good experience with a team that is new, as we are a young team. It was a great pleasure to be in Chile, Patagonia and walking in these mountains and plains, "said Pedro Alex.
For him the main difficulty for the team was the weather. "Any peak you climb above 1,000 meters, you should take all the clothes you have as for sure it will be cold."
About the event he said, "Something that we are used to in Brazil is to find grocery stores or somewhere where you can buy food. Here you can forget that idea ... there's nothing anywhere. You have to be totally self-sufficient with food. On the other hand , there is water almost everywhere!”
In the early kayaking stage the team went through a hard time crossing the Bay Acantillado. " The wind turned our kayak to cross the bay and we had to be rescued by the Chilean Navy. They wanted us to abandon the race, but we said “No”, put the kayak back in the water and continued," said Pedro. "It was kind of shocking. At PC4, in the first section we were in the Pacific and the kayak flew like a sheet of paper," he said laughing.
But the funniest statement was made by the Chilean Veronica Bravo. On the mountain she was cold and without enough clothes and was aided by other competitors who offered her a sweater and windproof. When the brazilian athlete Xikito passed he gave her a kiss, a hug and asked if she had a boyfriend!
This edition of the Challenge Aysen also counted as the beginning of the newly launched Latinoamericano Circuit of Adventure Race that will feature races – so far - from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru and Ecuador.
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