Salomon Adventure Challenge
Talisman Mountain Resort

January 25, 2003

Talisman Mountain Resort played host to the first installment of the 2003 Salomon Adventure Challenge season on Saturday, January 25th. The 35 km racecourse meandered throughout Ontario's Beaver Valley region and each of the 19 teams were treated to the results of 2 straight weeks of snowfall - albeit a biting cold day, ground conditions were excellent for a winter adventure race!

The race began on Snowshoes at the south end of the Kolapore Uplands. As teams moved toward CP1, a remote Cross-Country Ski pick-up point, some decision-making came into play - cross a frozen swamp and head for the open fields, or use the snow-covered stream leading to the CP? Team Magnetically Challenged of Bolton, ON later told their stories of waist deep snow on their route, while Team HMV of Brampton, ON and Team Kinetic Konnection of Windsor, ON made quick work in this section and arrived in 1st and 2nd respectively.

From here, teams went for a quick ski on a snowmobile route to CP2/TA1 where their bikes and a cheering section of volunteers awaited. Team Beaver's Best of Richmond Hill, ON drew upon their 152 combined years of experience in this section and had the 3rd fastest time.

Hearts pumping and blood flowing, a quick transition to Mountain Bikes got the teams en route to the base of the Valley. The downhill ride featured a glimpse of the Duncan Crevise Caves to the east and a cross-wind that worked to chill just about everyone. Team Mad Dogs of Toronto, ON ignored the cold and climbed into CP4/TA2 in 3rd place, now neck and neck with the leaders. Everyone's 'favourite' part was the quick 'hike-a-bike' into the TA through the deep snow!

The mode of transport through the next 7 km of racecourse was at the discretion of the teams. Most of the lead teams opted to Snowshoe along the Niagara Escarpment while a few of the later teams used the newly formed tracks of the leaders to Cross-Country Ski. After a quick transition, Team Inertia of Toronto, ON came into the fold to challenge for the lead - they pushed hard and closed the gap to be only one minute behind Team HMV at CP5.

The two teams took very different routes to CP6, the top of the Snowtube run, and it was Team Inertia's strategy that put them only one minute ahead of the former leaders. A quick bomb down and a sprint to the finish gave Team Inertia their first adventure racing win - Congratulations! Honourable mentions go to Team Magnetically Challenged who after arriving at CP1 in dead last, hammered through the field and finished in 5th overall.

The weather made for a cold day in the field for everyone - more than one team had some frosty-beards! Despite these conditions, all teams reached the finish line with smiles on their faces and worked together to achieve their racing goals for the day.