Gerry,
Frances and Randy, racing for Team Enviromark, recently competed
in the Balance Bar 24 - Hour Adventure at the Beaver Creek Resort
in Avon, Colorado. The race was part of the inaugural Ford Adventure
Sport Challenge. In an effort to acclimatize to the high altitude
alpine environment, the Team followed a specific regiment of working
out high and sleeping low during the week leading up to the event.
Sunday,
July 13, was spent in Boulder with a one hour trail run in the
Boulder Mountain Parks area, starting at Chautauqua Park up the
Baseline trail to the Amphitheater. On Monday, July 14, the Team
trail ran another hour on the Doudy Draw trail and the Community
Ditch Trail both located south of Boulder on Highway 93. Monday
morning also was moving on up the mountain day, with the destination
being Keystone Resort.
The
Resort provided the Team with first class condominium accommodations
in the Soda Springs II complex. After check-in, the Team Mountain
biked on single track trails for an hour. On Tuesday, July 15,
the morning workout included a 12 mile, 1.5 hour ride up Keystone
Gulch. Elevation ranged from 9250' to 10,800'. In the afternoon,
a trek up Peru Gulch to Lenawee Gulch and an abandoned mine in
the Montezuma area was conducted. Elevations ranged from 10,100'
- 11,500.' Wednesday, July 16, saw the Team ride 25 miles on the
Summit County bike path from Keystone to Frisco and back. Thursday,
July 17, was a travel day to Vail.
The
Team was graciously hosted by Bob Mc Cleary the General Manager
of Manor Vail, a premier hotel and condominium complex located
at the base of Vail Mountain. The highlight of the day was meeting
and talking to Andreas Boesel, the Manager of the Lord Gore Restaurant
located at Manor Vail. Andreas was a team member of Team Vail,
the 1998 Eco-Challenge winner, and first American team to win
an expedition race and is considered one of the finest endurance
athletes and adventure racers in the country.
Friday,
July 18, was check-in and skills assessment day for the Balance
Bar 24 - Hour Adventure. The Team went through a mandatory gear
check, a navigation test, a 40' climbing wall with rappel, and
a whitewater swimming, river board and sea kayak test on Gore
Creek in Avon. Once completed, the bikes and transition box were
driven about one hour north of Beaver Creek to State Bridge located
on the Colorado River. The race briefing was held after a pasta
dinner.
The
race director Jonathon Dennison and Billy Mattison, the captain
of Team Vail, addressed the 35 teams in attendance and presented
the six (6) topo maps, instruction books, and passports. The teams
now had until 0230 a.m. to prepare the maps and chart the fastest
course. During the time we were in Beaver Creek, we stayed at
the River Walk Inn in Edwards, Colorado. This hotel is located
on Gore Creek in a newly developed downtown area. It was absolutely
beautiful and so convenient.
After
loading buses at 0230 a.m. the teams traveled to State Bridge,
a Colorado River rafting take out area located on Highway 131,
the start of the race. Since the race is televised on NBC Sports,
the starting area was lit up like day.
All
the top teams in the world were there. Nike ACG/Balance Bar 1
and 2, Nokia, Earthlink, Epinephrine/Powerbar, Montrail, Balance
Bar, and Revo, all vying for the $110,000 first prize. The race
started at 0400 with a fast trail run along the Piney River on
a jeep trail. The route then crossed the river leading up a steep
trail for the next 7 miles. The start line was at 6,740' elevation.
PC1 was located at 8,800' in a meadow. PC1 was reached at 0648,
2:48 into the race.
From
PC1, the route was generally in an easterly direction. It followed
a jeep trail in some areas and in others bushwhacking was the
only recourse. After passing Elkhorn Park and Box Canyon Lake,
a rough jeep trail was located leading up to Mc Cord Pass at 10,825'.
The nastiest mosquitoes were encountered in this area. The terrain
was absolutely breathtaking. The Team quickly ran over the pass
and down to PC2/TA1 located at Walters Lake. The Team arrived
at 0913, 5:13 into the race.
The
transition from trekking to biking only took 00:17 minutes, primarily
due to the hoards of mosquitoes. The bikes had to be unpacked
from the boxes which were donated by Giant and assembled. 
Once
on the bikes and away from the stinging bugs, muddy roads were
briefly encountered. Now, out of the swamps around Walters Lake,
the ride was generally downhill. A navigational error caused the
Team to take a wrong turn at George Lake. After traveling about
a mile, the error was discovered and the backtracking began. The
problem was, the first mile was downhill, therefore, the back
track was uphill. The heat was beginning to take its toll.
Once
back on Forest Road #442 then #401, then #402, and then Cottonwood
Road, the biking was fast, on rough, rocky, rutted, jeep roads.
Ultimately, Sheephorn Road was reached which lead to PC3/TA2,
located in a State Park in Radium. The bike leg had started at
10,400' and ended at 6,800'. The Team arrived at PC3/TA2 at 11:41,
7:41 into the race. At this point, the Team was in second place
in the Masters Division. At this transition, wet suits were donned,
bikes were loaded into the back of a truck, river boards and swim
fins were grabbed and the teams loaded into brand new Ford Expeditions
for the trip to the Colorado River put in.
A
mistake was made by the Team in reading the directions. Initially
it was thought that packs were not to be taken, but after re-reading
the instruction while riding in the vehicle, it was determined
that the packs were required and needed to be dropped off at "Pump
House", PC6/TA3, on the way to the put in area. So, back
to Radium for the packs. Approximately, 30 minutes were lost by
this mistake. As a side note, our vehicle driver told us that
Team Montrail had actually had to go back to Radium twice to recover
equipment and passports.
Finally,
we were moving forward. The air conditioning in the Expedition
felt great and allowed for a quick recovery as outside temperatures
were in the 90's. The Expedition driver was instructed not to
offer advice or directions to the teams. Each team had to navigate
for the driver. The route followed was on Trough Road to the first
gravel road past the Blue River near Kremmling. PC4, the put in
area, was reached at 1:09 p.m., 9:09 into the race.
The
3 mile white water swim down the Colorado River began rather peacefully.
The water temperature was about 60F and rather comfortable due
to the hot sun. The current was said to be about 3 mph but the
river was quite shallow in spots. As we were swimming, black storm
clouds were beginning to build on the mountain ridges. As we approached
the Gore Canyon, heavy, frequent lightening began to occur close
by. Knowing not to be on the water, the Team kept swimming close
to shore near the cut banks. During the swim, three teams were
passed. The Team was flagged down by another team on the shore
on river right. As we approached, it began to hail heavily. The
team on shore advised us to get out of the water at the insistence
of the land owner.
The
landowner, Jim Yust, was very kind and concerned. Although we
had been cautioned not to enter his property, he insisted on helping.
Two
of the four teams on shore had team members suffering from hypothermia.
During the height of the hail storm, team members huddled together
under their boogey boards for protection, warmth and to get out
of the weather. Mr. Yust went miles out of his way to get a large
horse trailer and took the four teams back to PC4. 
The
trailer had recently been used for its designed purpose as the
floor was inched deep with manure and the odor was rather breathtaking.
But at lease we were out of the lightening and were moving. During
this time, the race organizers had shut down the river and had
moved teams up from PC4 to PC7. Unfortunately, radio communications
were difficult due to our location in the canyon.
Race
organizers did not know the location or status of the four teams
who had been on the swim leg. Once back at PC4, we waited for
another hour with no contact. We decided to walk approximately
4 miles into Kremmling to a telephone. The mosquitoes were nasty
as we walked along the Blue River. They actually stung through
our wet suits.
Finally,
we reached Highway 9 and were picked up by a couple of trucks
belonging to rafters. We were taken into town and dropped off
at Mrs. Z's Burger Barn. We had a difficult time reaching race
officials as no emergency numbers were given in the instruction
book or the passport. Finally, Beaver Creek Security was reached
and they tracked someone down.
During
this time, all twelve of us enjoyed the hospitality of Kremmling
and the French fries. Much laughter was enjoyed by all and the
townsfolk thoroughly enjoyed our appearance in wet suits. In fact,
one gentlemen at the next door gas station was so impressed with
the size of one of the female racers knifes, he actually proposed
to her. Her husband wasn't so impressed though.
We
all truly had quite an unexpected adventure and the camaraderie
was memorable. Finally, three Ford Expeditions arrived, and we
were transported to PC7. Once at PC7, we were excited to continue
to the rappel and final 30+ Mile Mountain biking leg. Unfortunately,
our transition box with our packs, mandatory gear, food, and clothing
had not arrived. We were further told that they did not know where
it was. We waited another hour with no box, just our bikes.
Although
the CP manager apologized profusely, we were extremely disappointed
that we could not continue. We officially dropped at 8:00 p.m.
A lot of preparation had gone into this race. Our goal of winning
the Masters Division was not to be. Altitude did not play a role
in our performance. We spoke the next day to Jonathon Dennison.
He also was extremely apologetic. We will be returning to race
in the Balance Bar Championship in Los Angeles in pursuit of the
Masters Title, with our registration being paid. We truly appreciate
this gesture as we had no control over our ultimate fate.
Thank
you to Margie Bootenhoff, Bob Mc Cleary, Jerry Jones, Julie Jones,
and Lynne Voelliger for making our arrangements and for the gracious
and supportive efforts. As always, thank you to Becky Willems
for your Intel and race support.
Note:
As has been the tradition of Team Enviromark, we have had the
best luck in finding truly outstanding restaurants during our
travels. This trip was no exception. We would all highly recommend
the following eateries:
