It was a first-time experience for most teams involved in this past weekend’s Salomon Adventure Challenge.  Twenty-two teams eagerly awaited the start of a wilderness adventure race that would take them from atop Silver Star all the way down to the town of Enderby.  The unmarked and unaltered wilderness race course featured blazing downhill mountain biking, challenging navigation and bushwhacking, and a scenic river paddle to the finish. in Enderby.  In the end, all but one team reached the finish line before the clock ran out.

Only 1 minute separated the first two teams that crossed the finish line.  Team Backroad Mapbooks (Penticton) edged out the all woman team of Calves, Thighs, and Ass (Vancouver-area) with a time of 6 hours and 8 minutes.  Reaching the finish line is just one component of the Salomon Adventure Challenge.  Competitors have a choice to test the “Advanced Course.” The Advanced Course augments the regular course with advanced sections requiring more physical stamina and strategic route finding.  Team Terrascape Talisman (Calgary) won the overall event by finishing the Advanced Course in an impressive 6 hour 23 minutes.

Note-worthy achievements during the race include Team DoyleAcobStrez blazing into the first checkpoint in just 47 minutes; Team Full Moon Adventure overcoming an early 1 hour deficit to finish the race in just over 7 hours; three individual racers conquering the “Kili Climb; and Team KISS FM showing relentless determination and reaching the end of the trekking sections.

The award for perseverance and spirit goes to Richard Hewson who injured himself during the race (4 broken ribs, broken collarbone, and a dislocated shoulder) and - although he could not paddle - he still finished the race!  His teammates thought you might want to know this story and believe that it represents one of key elements of the race experience: the difference between adventure and ordeal is attitude.

Stories about the race – and rhymes – where shared at the Vance Creek Saloon over pizza and beer.  Teams that stayed for the awards were treated to prizes galore.  Salomon’s support of adventure racing was obvious.  Salomon contributed fabulous technical tee shirts for the top two teams in each division – not to mention numerous giveaways like CDs and hats.  Local performance clothing manufacturer Far West gave away Gore-Tex and Windstopper jackets.  Olympia Cycle and Ski – voted the North Okanagan’s best bike store (2003) – contribute prizing as well.  Frontier Adventure Racing spread the prizes amongst all the competitors.

Frontier Adventure Racing thanks Silver Star Mountain Resort for helping make the event a success.  See you all at next year’s Salomon Adventure Challenge.