The Kootenays show well during raid
By Rachel Selkirk
Like many other events this year, Raid the North Extreme was impacted by the heavy snowfall and late spring.
“With 150% snowfall this year and the late melt, we had to make some last minute changes to the course just to deal with trails that were still under snow and check points along the water that were 100 meters off where they should be because the water’s so much higher,” said Race Director Geoff Langford.
Even with course alterations, teams struggled with the terrain.
“There was so much more water and snow than anticipated that it really slowed a lot of teams down. Because of all the moisture, bush has grown in heavier, there’s more deadfall that hasn’t been cleared yet…it slowed a lot of teams down for sure.”
The NewZealand/Canadian team WildernessTraverse.com was awarded first place, while second went to Canadian team Wild Rose, and American team DART-Nuun-SportMulti placed third.
Local team Kootenay Kaos did not finish the course on time.
“The finish rate was a little lower than usual. We usually get half the teams finishing, and this year it was about a third.”
Overall, the feedback from racers has been really positive, and for many teams, the terrain was more than they anticipated.
“They love the area. Most of them were a little surprised at how rugged it was. They got to enjoy over 100 000 feet of elevation gained and lost throughout the week. Most teams weren’t really prepared for it. It surprised them and challenged them, and blew them away.”
Geoff Langford, Race Director and Course Designer, has organized the race since its inauguration in 1999 and mixed business with pleasure in order to focus on the 2011 race.
“I was moving personally to somewhere that I wanted to live, and I wanted to put on this race wherever that was. From past visits to the area and knowing the region, I decided this was the best place in Canada to put on a race and into live. I love it here.”
Previous versions of the race have been held from Newfoundland to the Yukon. The Kootenays presented its own set of unique challenges.
“The biggest challenge was actually selecting what to include in the race course. There was just so many challenging areas, so many highlights, so many cool things I wanted to include that it was more work to pick out what I wanted to use. Usually I’m just trying to find enough!”
Typically friendly locals were reluctant to help with course design while guarding their secret wilderness hideouts and mountain sweet spots. “It was an interesting process putting it together.
Asking locals ‘what are the great spots, what are the hidden gems, what are the secret, cool spots…’ People aren’t that keen to share that stuff. I had to discover a lot of it for myself.”
Langford persevered with the course design and chose landmarks and locations that were highlights for all the teams from start to finish.
They started on Meadow Mountain and “when you’re standing in that meadow up there you get a 270 degree view of snow-capped mountains. It’s breathtaking, and I think it really set the pace for what they expected for the rest of the race.”
“They got to bike the Seven Summits, which I think was a real highlight for most of them. Trekking through Valhalla Park was definitely the highlight for everyone. Not a lot of locals even manage to get there.”
Although Raid the North is the marquee event for Frontier Adventure Sports & Training, the company offers eight, 12, and 36 hour adventure races throughout the country. The next race is 12 hours through the Muskoka wilderness in Ontario.
Langford plans to continue to take advantage of the Kootenay wilderness by offering an annual 36 hour race.
“Over the next month or two we’ll be working with sponsors and see if we can pull it off. I’m pretty optimistic.”
For more details on race coverage and Raid the North,
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