It appears that the second paddle leg has been cancelled.  It’s been replaced by an extended bike leg.  The intended course shown on the PQ “Tracking” page was changed at about 0800 PDT today.  It appears that both DA teams are about 1/2 way through the +/- 54 mile trek. 

I got this from Gulnur this morning:

 Hi Mark,

I just saw your last blog.

Yesterday I was at TA3. Both DAs came in with the boats and left with the river boards strong.

A couple of hrs after they left the river got bigger and there were some rescues (4+ actually). Boats were stranded under the logs, racers on some island in the middle of the river refusing to get back into the water - they were rescued at the end. When the rescues started to escalate (even before the river board section), Don Mann closed the river section completelty by 2:52 pm. Of course there were teams still in the water - they were all directed to and transported to the TA3. No penalties, they just continued to TA4 with their support crews. It was such a day. I was listening all the radio communications and like everyone else hoping that no one would be injured . Later I heard about a couple of broken bones, separated team members, etc but that’s it.

DAI was going to sleep at TA4 and DAII’s were going to continue. That’s why there was a big distance between them yesterday.

When the river was “open” for the river boarding section, there was this one section called “House Rock” (huge boulder in the middle with roaring waves around it I’d say class 4-5. That was mandatory portage. I was waiting to film Team Merrell in the morning downstream from there in the morning and was looking at this thing and I found myself almost praying that DAs and everyone else would make it OK but I was seriously disturbed to look at that thing. When I heard about the mandatory portage I was relieved!

I have to head out now but will try to keep you posted. Sorry the first 2 days have been hectic here.

Gulnur

Per the “Tracker” page the DA’s (#62) is done with the Riverboarding and DA team (#56) is sitting on the side of Gallatin Road.  However, the Leaderboard has Team 56 ahead of Team 62.  62 has been at the TA for awhile but that’s not indicated on the leaderboard.

DA II (team 56)arrived at CP9 in 15th place.  DA team 62 is not far behind and currently listed in 21st place although not at CP9 yet.  Dancing Pandas are right in the same area.

I still haven’t heard from the support crews, wainting to hear how the teams are feeling and looking.

Both DA teams are well into the first paddle section.  The “Tracking” page has 56 in 21st and 62 in 31st, but the leaderboard has them in 24th and 33rd respectively.  It appears that the race organization had to shuttle inflatable kayaks and dozens of teams stacked up at TA3 waiting for boats.  If this is indeed what happened I’m not impressed, very poor planning by PQ.

 I’m hoping to contact some one from the crews soon.  Aja, are you out there?

Does anyone remember last year’s Raid The North Extreme?  The Dirty Avocados will never forget it!  It was an epic experience.  It was full of so many emotions: excitement, anticipation, danger, exhaustion, and relief.  As we prepare for Primal Quest, we remember the good times and reflect on the hard lessons we learned during this most epic adventure.

Check out the Race Director’s race report detailing everything from the years of pre-planning, the course changes just days before the start, the epic episodes during the race, and the fabulous finishes.

http://www.raidthenorth.com/RTNx/2007/RTNX_07_Report.pdf

Also, check out our own race report: http://dirtyavocados.com/blog/archives/62

The Dirty Avocados cleaned up at the recent Coolest 24 Hour MTB Race.  Mike claimed 1st in the Men’s Masters Solo Singlespeed. Aja, DP, Jen and “guest” nailed 4th in the Co-ed Team catagory.  Will nabbed 5th in Men’s Solo and Brian grabbed 6th in Men’s Solo Singlespeed.  It was a super cool time!  Also, we had awesome support from our crew, as always!

The Dirty Avocados will be representin and racing at May 3-4’s Coolest 24 mountain bike race. Check us out during a live audio broadcast at http://ride424.com/.  Go there starting at 12pm on Saturday ’till 12pm on Sunday.  For more info on the race go to http://globalbiorhythmevents.com/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=29

We’ll be fielding 3 solo riders (2 of those will be riding singlespeeds!) and 1 team of 4.  These events are always a blast and this one will surely not disappoint!

Melissa and I had a great weekend on Mt. Shasta with about 11 others including Grif and Adrian. The weather was incredible, not a cloud in the sky and hardly any wind. I did the climb wearing boots, crampons, tights, shell pants, a thin base layer top, lightweight gloves with lines, and two fleece shirts. I didn’t need a shell. It was so nice on top I stayed there almost an hour.

The road to Bunny Flat was closed at McBride campground @ 4900 ft. elevation. We had to start there Friday afternoon which added 2800 feet and three miles to our ascent. We camped about a mile form Horse Camp at 7100 feet the first night and on a col at about 9900 ft. elevation on Casaval Ridge overlooking Avalanche Gulch on the second night.

On summit day four people returned to the cars and brought them to Bunny Flat (the road opened at 10am Saturday). The rest of us left at 4:15am for the summit. We started with three teams of three roped together. Two teams each had one member struggling early. We gave those two people their own rope and the let them continue at their own pace. After that there were four teams: three teams of two and one team of three, and seven people summited. I was able to move much more quickly after we rearranged the teams. I felt strong the whole time with no headache and reached the top with my partner around 11;36. Melissa was also looking strong when her team reached the top at about 12:15. The view was amazing. Mt. Hood and all the snow capped Cascade range was shinning in the sun to the west and north and Mt Lassen towered above it’’s surroundings in to the south.

Several of the people at the summit were very tired and the Casaval Ridge route seemed like it would be harder to descend than it was to climb. As a group we chose to return to our camp at 9900 feet via the non technical Avalanche Gulch route. Some huge glissdaes and a tedious post-holing traverse took us back to camp. I could see that the last people to return were a least 45 minutes behind. We were just starting to break down the camp when Adrian reached us on the radio and suggested we wait. When the final people dragged themselves into camp at 4:30 the group consensus was to camp another night on the mountain and hike the short hike to Bunny Flat on Monday morning. We finally had a bit of wind kick up around 3am Monday morning and no one was up and about in camp until about 8am. Once we were off the ridge the wind stopped and we were HOT hiking down. We ate together in Mt. Shasta before everyone headed home.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving,

 The lifestyle of adventure racing is a passion of ours and we continue to be stoked to share the excitement this sport feeds us.  We look forward to 2008, as it’s already packed with some good stuff—including Make-A-Wish fundraising and Primal Quest!    And we wouldn’t be as happy as we are without the unconditional support of our family and friends. Thank you!! Finally, we’d like to also thank our sponsors and supporters:

• Chapman
  University—let’s face it, we all want to relive some of our college days
• kaia foods—who needs preservatives when their Buckwheat Crunchies taste sooo good
• La Sportiva shoes—their mountain running shoes are as tough as nails
• MotionBased—their rad site lets us slice and dice our GPS routes with ease
• National Geographic Maps—their maps take topography to another level
• Red Bull—the stuff gives us wings
• Wingnut—we’re NUTS about their packs!

We hope to see and meet many of you on the trails, bluffs, mountaintops, canyons, beaches and waterways near and far from our