* Teams are carrying a Spot tracking device (also an emergency call system). That company is providing the leaderboard and all the CP update info directly from the Spots. The paper system at the CP's is only a backup... so if the leaderboard stops working, blame Spot and not the volunteers :)
Side note - as much as I'd love to believe that there is finally a GPS system that works the way we'd like in an adventure race, I haven't seen it yet - maybe this year is the year. It does appear that race management is relying on it pretty heavily, which is a strategy I am skeptical of at this point. We shall see.
* Very exciting to have a TV production guy who put on several Eco-Challenges (including Borneo) here working on putting together the race video. Even the 5-minute race course preview was really cool, with awesome Eco-like music. On the downside, I have no idea what channel "Rush HD" is or whether many people will get to see the results.
* The climbing director described one part of the ropes course and then said "the rock is generally sound. Watch out for loose rocks. If you have any question about the rock, thump it with your hand… if you see it move, flex, vibrate, etc., notify a guide" - at which point I said to John - "remember Telluride - look, look, here's a loose rock, better call that in - wait, here's another one - ahhh, they're all around us!!!" :)
* Our water director, Josh, did a spiel including a comment about how big the water looks from the road looking down. But don't worry, once you're in the water, it will look EVEN BIGGER :) Who knew our water director was so charismatic in front of a big crowd? He's been mostly quiet and serious around us.
* They did a 3D flyover of the course (although one of the water crew guys thinks that was an older version of the course before some recent changes). It was really cool, and I think I followed quite a bit of it in terms of what areas they are going to. First a huge hike up Lone Mountain which looms over Big Sky Resort (still has plenty of snow on it). Teams loop back around to the resort for TA1, then leave again on foot for many more miles until they reach TA2 and the start of the Duckie section (that's us - yay!). We'll have a dark zone there, and I theorize that at least a couple of the fast teams will make it before the river opens on Tuesday morning.
About 20 miles of Duckies in fast (but not too terribly challenging) water. Then the teams switch to riverboards for 9-10 miles of the most bumpiest, wavy, challenging water the Gallatin has to offer. Our team is going to mark the big hazards tomorrow to prep for team arrivals.
John and I were excited to see the course looping by Squaw Creek Road several times during the race - Howie is hanging out less than half a mile from there. Sweet!
The rest of the course involves heading east toward the Yellowstone River for kayaking, lots of trekking up and down mountains, plus a couple long sections that are obviously mountain biking. Mentioned in the briefing: Telephone Ridge (just east of our "home" and close to where we have been training), Hyalite Reservoir (east of there), Bridger Bowl (north of Bozeman), and the Crazy Mountains (east of Bridger Bowl).
And it sounds like the main ropes course (out of 3, including a rope up to Long Mountain) is above the riverboard portion of the Gallatin River. Looks like really interesting rock to climb around on.
Well, I was hoping to see a course map online tonight, but it looks like the Spot site isn't active yet (must be holding off until race start) and I guess I shouldn't bug any of the teams for CP locations... or maybe we will anyway :) Hoping to get back online sometime after the race begins, probably won't be until later this week after the river sections are done.
See ya!
-Marcy
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Water skills testing
A few photos...
Team Werewolves in full gear for riverboard skills testing:
Tom and Paul posing after kayak skills testing (note the sign in the background):
Team Halti hanging out during the "will you survive 10 minutes in this cold water?" test:
Team MOAT getting gear up:
Leslie from Team MOAT ready for riverboarding:
Team HART/Marmot staying cool:
Team Werewolves in full gear for riverboard skills testing:
Tom and Paul posing after kayak skills testing (note the sign in the background):
Team Halti hanging out during the "will you survive 10 minutes in this cold water?" test:
Team MOAT getting gear up:
Leslie from Team MOAT ready for riverboarding:
Team HART/Marmot staying cool:
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Big Sky time (2)
I just discovered that I don't have the camera USB cable with me in the truck, which is good to know so I can pick it up tonight. But sad because I can't post any photos from water skills check-in yet. Nothing all that exciting, just people walking around in wet or dry suits, playing on boogie boards, and paddling around in duckies and Necky kayaks. But I did get to chat with (and photograph) teams MOAT, HART-Marmot, Werewolves of Austin, Merrill, and Nike. Along with quite a few others. We checked in most of the teams today - yay! Maybe a relatively easy day tomorrow. Then a pre-race meeting and meal. Then people try to sleep before the start of the race Monday morning. One more day of potential web access, and then I promise we'll be disconnected for a while. Or maybe we'll be lucky as we drive to various locations on the course.
It was neat seeing so many people from Texas! Go teams! :)
It was neat seeing so many people from Texas! Go teams! :)
Friday, June 20, 2008
Big Sky time
We saw the Primal Quest starting line area for the first time yesterday. We went up to the Big Sky Resort to check in and let them know we exist. We ended up airing up and cleaning over 40 duckies (inflatable boats) - fun! Well, at least we felt useful. Initially we were told we would be deflating them for transport but today we found out that they might move the boats to the river as-is. That would be a bonus :)
Today we started with a couple volunteer meetings, heard about bears and moose, and briefly met with Josh, the water director. We were actually given a couple hours to ourselves in the middle of the day, so we jumped at the chance to go for a run. Who knows when that will happen again, gotta take it when you can get it. In a few minutes we're going to help set up the area where we are doing water skills testing this weekend. We're told the water in the pond at the resort is a balmy 47 degrees, as opposed to 41 degrees in the river...yikes. We were also told that WE wouldn't be expected to get in that water ourselves, so that would be another bonus.
That's it from this end at the moment! No idea how much web access we'll have in the coming days, but we'll keep in touch when we can.
Good luck to all the racing teams!!
Today we started with a couple volunteer meetings, heard about bears and moose, and briefly met with Josh, the water director. We were actually given a couple hours to ourselves in the middle of the day, so we jumped at the chance to go for a run. Who knows when that will happen again, gotta take it when you can get it. In a few minutes we're going to help set up the area where we are doing water skills testing this weekend. We're told the water in the pond at the resort is a balmy 47 degrees, as opposed to 41 degrees in the river...yikes. We were also told that WE wouldn't be expected to get in that water ourselves, so that would be another bonus.
That's it from this end at the moment! No idea how much web access we'll have in the coming days, but we'll keep in touch when we can.
Good luck to all the racing teams!!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Running fun
Tidbits from a long run yesterday...
>> I'm trying out a new hydration system - a Camelbak bottle with a straw and a hose attached. Easier to fill and clean than a bladder. I've been looking for a way to use trekking poles and still carry bottles. This could work.
>> iPod favorites of the week:
David Sedaris has a hilarious new book out - When You are Engulfed in Flames
Anastacia's self-titled album - not released in the US, but big in Europe and with good reason (in my opinion)
>> The weather is SO MUCH better now - sunshine, 70's. Yay!
>> The views from the top of Garnet Mountain are amazing - one of us should have lugged a camera up there to capture the snow-capped mountains and green valleys all around.
>> I'm trying out a new hydration system - a Camelbak bottle with a straw and a hose attached. Easier to fill and clean than a bladder. I've been looking for a way to use trekking poles and still carry bottles. This could work.
>> iPod favorites of the week:
David Sedaris has a hilarious new book out - When You are Engulfed in Flames
Anastacia's self-titled album - not released in the US, but big in Europe and with good reason (in my opinion)
>> The weather is SO MUCH better now - sunshine, 70's. Yay!
>> The views from the top of Garnet Mountain are amazing - one of us should have lugged a camera up there to capture the snow-capped mountains and green valleys all around.
Go Celtics!
I didn't get to watch any of the NBA Finals, but I was sure excited to hear the outcome. The Celtics are the first pro sports team I ever rooted for (wow, that was quite a few years ago, let's not count how many). OK, I'll go ahead and date myself - Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, DJ, Danny Ainge, Parish, Walton... and a Lakers rivalry. For the Celtics to be in the finals again - and against the Lakers, no less - very cool! To actually win - rockin'!!
Americans on safari
We're back after 2.5 days of trying to see all of Yellowstone in one weekend (verdict = not possible). What an amazing place! Old Faithful is the most famous geyser, but there are 10,000 geothermal features in the park - including hot springs, mud pots, and fumeroles.
Then there are the waterfalls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone - we spent a wonderful morning running on trails for close-up and far-away vantage points on both sides of the river.
And finally (my favorite part) - we saw animals!! They didn't stay put like the waterfalls nor were they anywhere near as predictable as some of the geysers, but they seemed to show up at random times when we were just driving down the road. The best way to figure out where the animals were was to watch the other drivers - a huge congregation of cars beside the road and people pointing cameras at something could only mean: animals!
Not all of them were easy to capture on camera, especially the ones that were far away (we're talking about a spotting scope/much better camera as future purchases). But we did see:
A grizzly bear
2 black bears
A coyote walking on the road
A coyote chasing pronghorn antelope
A couple osprey, including one in a nest
A female bighorn sheep hanging out on the side of a cliff
Small darting birds of green/purple color - maybe martins
Chipmunks
Uinta ground squirrels
Hawks soaring
A bald eagle, also soaring
A moose!
Garter snakes
Possibly a heron, and many other birds I couldn't identify without a field guide
Many, many bison, elk, and ravens
And my favorite - yellow bellied marmots (don't you love that name?)
Wow!
Go Bear Go! :)
Then there are the waterfalls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone - we spent a wonderful morning running on trails for close-up and far-away vantage points on both sides of the river.
And finally (my favorite part) - we saw animals!! They didn't stay put like the waterfalls nor were they anywhere near as predictable as some of the geysers, but they seemed to show up at random times when we were just driving down the road. The best way to figure out where the animals were was to watch the other drivers - a huge congregation of cars beside the road and people pointing cameras at something could only mean: animals!Not all of them were easy to capture on camera, especially the ones that were far away (we're talking about a spotting scope/much better camera as future purchases). But we did see:
A grizzly bear
2 black bears
A coyote walking on the road
A coyote chasing pronghorn antelope
A couple osprey, including one in a nest
A female bighorn sheep hanging out on the side of a cliff
Small darting birds of green/purple color - maybe martins
Chipmunks
Uinta ground squirrels
Hawks soaring
A bald eagle, also soaring
A moose!
Garter snakes
Possibly a heron, and many other birds I couldn't identify without a field guide
Many, many bison, elk, and ravens
And my favorite - yellow bellied marmots (don't you love that name?)
Wow!
Go Bear Go! :)
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