Looking back at the Storm of the Century
posted Sunday, October 08, 2006 by Team Checkpoint Zero @ 10:26 AM -
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It's just before 8 a.m. on a beautiful Sunday morning here in Moab, Utah. Most of the team is asleep at the hotel, but I've been a little restless since the Adventure Xstream Expedition race was called off early Saturday morning.
Looking out the window of the Mondo Internet Cafe just off Main Street it's hard to believe the weather was so bad just a day ago, when severe winds, flooding, driving rains, falling cliffs and washed out roads forced the race directors to move teams around on the course and eventually call it quits. I've heard folks calling it Moab's Storm of the Century.
It was crazy out there -- probably the most miserable weather I've had to put up with during an adventure race. It was especially tough at the CPs at the high points in the La Sal Mountains during the first Rogaine trekking section and at the start of the big bike leg, which took us across wide open areas that got hammered by lightning.
The team was in good spirits throughout, though I was starting to get alarmingly cold at CP 25, where the race directors started sending all teams back to the Red Cliffs Adventure Lodge for the "finish." It's impossible to stay warm when everything is wet and the rain is hitting you sideways and soaking down into your many layers of clothing.
I don't envy the race directors who are trying to put together rankings for the 3-day race that was cut down to about 30 hours (depending on where you were on the course when the race was called off), especially since the race started with a Rogaine in which teams strategized to get more or less points depending on how difficult the terrain was for an expedition race. Teams that got fewer orienteering points at the start of a race with a Rogain section could advance farther along the course than other teams that chose to get more points. We did very well on the Rogaine; we got all but two points and still beat the firt cutoff to the paddle by several hours. I guess we'll see how the rankings shake out.
Thanks to Will and all the folks at the race headquarters. I'll post more about the race later. I'm going back to the hotel and get some sleep. We're all trying to figure out what to do now with our extra day in Moab. Maybe we'll rent something with a MOTOR (no more biking for me today).
Looking out the window of the Mondo Internet Cafe just off Main Street it's hard to believe the weather was so bad just a day ago, when severe winds, flooding, driving rains, falling cliffs and washed out roads forced the race directors to move teams around on the course and eventually call it quits. I've heard folks calling it Moab's Storm of the Century.
It was crazy out there -- probably the most miserable weather I've had to put up with during an adventure race. It was especially tough at the CPs at the high points in the La Sal Mountains during the first Rogaine trekking section and at the start of the big bike leg, which took us across wide open areas that got hammered by lightning.
The team was in good spirits throughout, though I was starting to get alarmingly cold at CP 25, where the race directors started sending all teams back to the Red Cliffs Adventure Lodge for the "finish." It's impossible to stay warm when everything is wet and the rain is hitting you sideways and soaking down into your many layers of clothing.
I don't envy the race directors who are trying to put together rankings for the 3-day race that was cut down to about 30 hours (depending on where you were on the course when the race was called off), especially since the race started with a Rogaine in which teams strategized to get more or less points depending on how difficult the terrain was for an expedition race. Teams that got fewer orienteering points at the start of a race with a Rogain section could advance farther along the course than other teams that chose to get more points. We did very well on the Rogaine; we got all but two points and still beat the firt cutoff to the paddle by several hours. I guess we'll see how the rankings shake out.
Thanks to Will and all the folks at the race headquarters. I'll post more about the race later. I'm going back to the hotel and get some sleep. We're all trying to figure out what to do now with our extra day in Moab. Maybe we'll rent something with a MOTOR (no more biking for me today).
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