RTNX Update: WildernessTraverse.com Wins!

While most of the teams are still out on the course, the winners of this year's Raid the North Extreme have been crowned, as Team WilernessTraverse.com came across the finish line early this morning, to claim the victory. Congratulations to the team, which consists of Captain Bob Miller, Jakob Van Dorp, Gordon Blythen, and Sarah Fairmaid, on the impressive win.

The rest of the podium has yet to be decided, although it does appear that Team Wild Rose has a firm grip on second place at the moment. They're on the final mountain bike stages, and will transition back on foot later in the day, as they make their way to the finish. Behind them, there seems to be a battle brewing between DART-nuun, Atmosphere MOMAR and Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic for third place, while the Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers, the only other team on the full course, seem to be MIA from the leaderboard at the moment.

This year's RTNX is being run in the West Kootenay region of Canada's British Columbia. The 500+km (310 mile) race promised "real wilderness" to anyone who signed up, and it seems that most teams have gotten all of that and more. With only six teams still competing on the full course, and 15 others going unranked, it appears that the race has lived up to its billing. It also seems that the teams are having a great time and are enjoying the course, despite having poor weather conditions early in the week.

Good luck to the rest of the teams. Get home safe!

RTNX Update: WildernessTraverse.com In Command!

We're now several days into the Raid the North Extreme adventure race, which is taking place as we speak in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. With more than four days of racing under their belts, the teams have already had to endure some tough challenges. In fact, the course is so tough that only six of the 30 teams racing have a chance at completing the full course.

As of this writing, Team WildernessTraverse.com seems to have a commanding lead, and are currently on foot and steaming towards the next Transition Area, where they'll climb on their mountain bikes for the last leg of the race. In second place, and chasing hard is Team Wild Rose, followed by DART-nuun in third. At this point, the only other three teams who have a hope of completing the full course are GearJunkie/Yogaslackers, Team Atmosphere MOMAR, and Tecnu Extreme/StaphAseptic. There are also 10 teams that are continuing unranked at the moment, most likely due to a team mate dropping out of the race.

The full course teams will cover more than 500km (310 miles) by the time the reach the finish line on Saturday. The race has been a tough combination of trekking, mountain biking, and paddling, with plenty of navigation mixed in as well. There is still a lot of  miles to cover, and with serious navigation involved, anyone can get lost, but at the moment, the trailing teams will be hard pressed to catch WildernessTraverse. They seem to be running a good, solid race with few mistakes, and as a result, they've built a comfortable lead. For now.

Stay tuned for results tomorrow or Saturday.

Raid The North Extreme Is Underway!

The Raid the North Extreme adventure race got underway yesterday with 30 teams setting off on a 500km (310 mile), six day race through the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. The coed teams of four will now trek, paddle, mountain bike, and navigate their way through the beautiful and demanding Canadian backcountry.

As I write this, the teams are roughly one day into the Raid, and as of now Team WildernessTraverse.com is in first place, having passed through Checkpoint 4 on the course as they continue on their mountain bikes. Behind them is Team Custom Cellular, although coming on quickly is Team GearJunkie/YogaSlackers. Each of the lead teams still have a ways to go on their  bikes before transitioning to the kayaks for the first time.

Race headquarters has a host of live feeds to help keep you updated on the race as it unfolds throughout the week. Not only is there a running Twitter feed, but you'll also find a live leader board and a course tracker to show you where the various stages begin and end, as well the current locations of all of the teams. It is a slick interface that gives fans of adventure racing the opportunity to follow the action as it unfolds, while also keeping them up to date on the current standings in the field.

Look for the fastest teams to start arriving at the finish line on Thursday or Friday of this week. It seems that at the moment, weather conditions are good and the course is a beautiful challenge for the athletes to enjoy. Stay tuned for updates as the race continues throughout the week.

Vancouver Island Speed Circumnavigation Attempt

Long distance paddler Colin Angus is attempting to break the speed record for a solo, circumnavigation around Vancouver Island. He's hoping to cover the 1150km (714.5 mile) journey in less than 16.5 days. He's now halfway through the attempt, and has passed the 600km mark and is now headed toward the finish line.

You can follow Colin's adventure on his website, AngusAdventures.com, where you'll find daily updates on his progress and a SPOT tracker feed of his current location. As of this writing, the SPOT doesn't seem to be tracking accurately, but hopefully that's just a temporary glitch.

Reading the updates on his progress, it doesn't seem like this has been an easy row for Colin thus far. Not only is he dealing with painful tendonitis in his arm, he has also had to contend with difficult headwinds and turbulent waters. He has also been forced to row further out to sea than you would think was necessary in order to avoid submerged reefs that can create massive waves – sometimes 50 feet high, that could potentially put a premature end to the expedition.

For Colin, and his wife Julie, a rowing challenge like this one is old hat. They once rowed from Scotland to Syria, covering more than 7000km (4350 miles) in the process. Back in 2004, this adventurous couple also set out on a human powered circumnavigation of the planet, covering the land on foot, bikes and skies, while rowing across the Bering Strait and the Atlantic Ocean. They completed that journey two years later, and have continued their pursuit of outdoor adventure ever since.

If everything goes as planned, and his tendonitis doesn't get any worse, Colin should complete his journey sometime early next week. He's setting a pace that should allow him to break the record, but weather and conditions on the water can still play a role. Stay tuned!

Thanks to Julie for sending me the tip on her husband's adventure!

Circumnavigating Ellesmere Island Update: Slow Going In Thick Ice

Adventurers Jon Turk and Erik Boomer continue their epic expedition to circumnavigate Ellesmere Island by kayak. The two men set out last month with the hopes of becoming the first team to accomplish that feat, and while they continue to make good progress, the remote Canadian island has lived up to its reputation for being one of the harshest and most challenging environments on the planet.

In late May, Jon and Erik reached the Eureka Weather Station after covering 338 nautical miles in just 23 days. At that point, they were on schedule and well situated to continue their journey. Now, a couple of weeks later, their experiencing the harsher conditions of the arctic, as the cold weather has kept the pack-ice from breaking up, and slowed their progress significantly. In fact, in their latest blog update, we're told that progress could slow to as little as 1/2 mile per day, thanks to the very thick and dense ice that refuses to break-up thus far this year.

The expedition has reached a critical point, as the two men have rounded the northwest corner of the island in what is considered the most treacherous leg of the journey. Because of the conditions there, and the fact that they expect progress to be slow, Jon and Erik are now carrying 50 days worth of food with them, just in case it is some time before they can restock their supplies. They're hoping that the warmer weather will arrive soon however, opening up the passages through the ice and speeding their progress.

Ellesmere is part of the the Queen Elizabeth Islands and is located in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. In order to successfully circumnavigate the island, Jon and Erik will need to cover 1485 miles, which is expected to take them roughly 100 days to complete.

Raid The North Extreme To Be Televised!

One of the top adventure races on the schedule for this summer is the Raid the North Extreme, which will take place from July 23rd-31st in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. The event is a 500km long expedition length race with all the traditional adventure racing elements, namely coed teams of four trekking, mountain biking, paddling, and navigating their way through an amazing wilderness setting.

The organizers for the Raid have now announced that they have signed a deal to bring the race to television in both the U.S. and Canada. The race will be filmed while it is underway by an experience crew from NewEdge Entertainment, and is scheduled to air in Canada this December on Global TV. Additionally, another 60-100 PBS stations in the United States are also expected to broadcast the race in early 2012.

This is fantastic news for fans of adventure racing, who have often had a hard time finding the sport on any television stations, let alone ones that are so readily available. Television coverage has long been the holy grail of the sport, and it has often been a hard sell to the networks, so kudos to the RTNX team for being able to put this deal together. It is a major accomplishment, and I'm already anticipating watching the show.

I can't say too much at this point, but I do know that there is the possibility of more adventure racing coming to television in the semi-near future as well. The deals aren't done yet, but there are conversations being had which, if they come to fruition, will give the sport even more great exposure. *Fingers Crossed*

Circumnavigating Ellesmere Island

Ellesmere Island is one of the most remote places on Earth, located above the arctic circle, and falling into the chain of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in the  Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is a cold, icy, mountainous place that is seldom visited due to its rugged and challenging nature. It is also the site of a spring expedition in which Jon Turk and Erik Boomer will be attempting to circumnavigate the island by kayak.

The expedition officially got underway a few days back, with Jon and Erik setting out from Resolute Bay last Thursday, and taking a series of short flights on "puddle jumpers" to eventually reach their starting point. The weather forecast had been good for their first week out on the water, but according to Jon's blog,  which was updated two days ago, that has changed some. The blog posts reports heavy snow in the region, and that the duo were holed up in a small cabin at the time of their last check-in.

They also report that the paddling has been hard going through the ice fields that surround the island, but when they move in closer to shore, the fjords have been smooth as glass. They've encountered quite a few polar bear tracks as well and even spotted a mother bear with her cub. The creatures are fairly common on Ellesmere, and of course they would like to avoid them as much as possible.

The journey will cover 1485 miles (2390 km) and is expected to take upwards of 100 days to complete. At the moment, they're just 75 miles into the expedition, and despite the fact that it is spring there, they are experiencing bitterly cold, sub-zero temperatures. Even in the height of summer, the place never really gets all that warm, so this will be a long, slow, challenging journey to complete, to say the least.

To check out the official expedition website, click here and for blog updates click here. This should be another interesting expedition to follow as it unfolds.

Raid The North Extreme Joins AR World Series!

One of the major adventure races taking place in North America this year is, without a doubt, the Raid The North Extreme, which is scheduled to take place in the West Kootenays of Canada's British Columbia from July 23rd - 31st. Over the weekend, organizers of the race also announced that they are re-joining the AR World Series, making the RTNX the only qualifying event in North America this year. That means that teams competing in the 500+km (310+ mile) race will now be vying for an all expense paid entry to the AR World Championship to be held in Tasmania in November of this year.

This announcement marks the return of Raid The North Extreme to the AR World Series fold. The race was originally part of the series when it formed back in 2000 and it even served as the championship event in 2004. After that, the RTNX dropped out of the ARWS, but by returning both events are made that much better.

As of this writing, the RTNX is just two teams shy of its cap of 50, which means if you aren't already signed up to race, you will probably want to get your application in today. The news of the race now being a qualifier for the AR World Championship is sure to seal the deal for any teams that have been on the fence about competing. A chance to head to Tasmania in November sounds like a fantastic reward on top of the already great prizes for winning the event.

Kudos to the RTNX staff for joining the ARWS. This is yet another feather in their cap for an event that was already looking like it was going to be one of the best races of the year.

2011 North Pole Season Is Over Before It Starts

The 2011 North Pole Season is over, at least from the Canadian side of the planet. Continued bad weather in Resolute Bay has grounded all outbound traffic, leaving the teams preparing to head into the Arctic stranded at the starting line.

According to ExWeb, who posted their own story on the topic here, all the teams currently in Resolute Bay have decided to pull the plug on their expeditions this year. With the delays mounting, those teams were already watching the number of days to complete the arduous trek to the North Pole dwindle rapidly. Generally speaking, arctic explorers scheduled 60 days to make the journey, but heading into the weekend, that window had already shrunk to 51 days. The continued bad weather was forcing an even tighter schedule, so they've all decided to abandon their expeditions and head home.

A joint press release was sent out by Pat Falvey, Clare O’ Leary, Matthew Stowers, Jules Weekes and Michele Pontrandolfo announcing the decision, which had to be an incredibly tough one. But the schedule is dictated not only by the weather but by the fact that the Russian-operated return flight from the Pole has a hard date of April 26th set in stone. If you don't reach the Pole by then, good luck finding a way home.

Personally, I'm very disappointed in this news as well. I always enjoy following the teams as they head north, and the Arctic expeditions offer up some interesting challenges that the South Pole explorers never have to face. It simply won't be the same without the updates from the ice this spring, although the Catlin Arctic Survey Teams are moving ahead as planned, and there are likely to be a few others out on the ice in some capacity.

As I mentioned in my previous post on the 2011 North Pole season, global climate change is making this journey an increasingly difficult one to complete. I do believe that in another decade or so, it will no longer be possible to make the trek on foot, which makes the loss of this season all the more disheartening.

Better luck next year arctic explorers.

Paddling Dipper Creek In British Columbia

Looking for a fast, furious, and beautiful place for your next paddling expedition? Then look no further than Dipper Creek, British Columbia.  But beware, the river isn't for the faint of heart or the beginner, as you'll see in the beautifully shot video below. Paddlers will find a little of everything there, including deep gorges, waterfalls, challenging rapids, and more. Looks like a fantastic place to visit, either in your boat or on foot.

Thanks to Canoe & Kayak Magazine for sharing the video.


Dipper Creek, BC 2010 from Fred Norquist on Vimeo.

Kayaking From Vancouver to Alaska: No Experience Required

I came across this video earlier while perusing the Canoe & Kayak Magazine website. The short film chronicles a group of friends who set out to kayak from Vancouver to Alaska along the Inside Passage without any paddling experience at all. Over the five weeks they were on the water, they covered 500 miles and found plenty of great scenery and adventure along the way. Enjoy!



No Experience Required_Full HQ from StuntBeaver Productions on Vimeo.

Adventure Travel Company Accused Of Killing Over 100 Sled Dogs

An adventure travel company has come under scrutiny in British Columbia, Canada after a former worker filed a compensation claim for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. The employee says that the condition came about because he was ordered to shoot more than 100 sled dogs over a two day period last year.

According to this story from CTV News, Outdoor Adventure Whistler conducted a "horrific" culling of their sled dogs last April, killing more than 100 of the them and throwing them in a mass grave. The culling took place April 21-23 and in the original claim, the worker says that he helped kill 70 dogs. The article says that the company later corrected that number to 100.

The tales that the person filing the claim has to tell are certainly not easy ones to read, and dog lovers will especially want to take caution when reading the story. A follow-up article, found here, says that Royal Canadian Mounted Police have now joined the investigation into what actually happened, and they will now dig up the mass grave to further investigate the allegations.

The story says that Outdoor Adventure Whistler did not respond to inquiries about the incident, but indications are that with the economy still sluggish and the travel industry still recovering, the dogs were killed off following a particularly slow winter season last year. One Vancouver group has already called for a complete ban of dog sled tours following this report.

Reading this story earlier was a extremely tough for me. As an animal lover, I wouldn't want to see any creature treated this way. This is a glimpse of a darker side to adventure travel, and while I believe that this is probably an isolated incident, it doesn't make it any easier to read about. If the allegations prove to be true, I hope action is taken very swiftly against the people involved.

Thanks to Eric Chan for sharing this sad story.

Ridin' The Storm Out With The Hurricane Riders

A Vancouver based group of paddlers who call themselves the Hurricane Riders are a group of dedicated sea paddlers who love the big waves and open ocean. They also have a love for the long boats, and will take them into some of the roughest conditions around. Check out the video below of the Riders taking on some rough conditions along Canada's West Coast in October. Then try to tell me that sea kayaking can't be wild too.

Journey on the Wild Coast Preview Video

Way back in June of 2007 I mentioned an expedition called the Journey Along the Wild Coast. At the time, that adventure was just getting underway, sending Erin McKittrick and Hig Higman on a journey up the west coast from Seattle to the far tip of the Aleutian Islands chain on foot, skis, and packraft. It would take them 12 months to cover the 4000 miles of their route, but it would end up being a fantastic wilderness experience that was epic in proportion and challenging from start to finish.

Below is a video preview of a documentary about the expedition, which wandered through some of the most remote places in the Canadian and Alaskan wilderness.

Thanks to the Adventure Journal for sharing the video and reminding me about this adventure.

Raid the North Extreme Announces 2011 Date and Location

The 2011 Raid the North Extreme Adventure Race is set to go down July 23-31 of next year in a beautiful and remote region of British Columbia. This will be the 8th running of this expedition length race that promises Real Wilderness, Real Navigation, and Real Adventure.

The RTNE adheres to traditional adventure racing conventions, pitting coed teams of four against one another on a six-day, 500km (310 mile) unmarked route through some of the wildest and most demanding terrain in all of North America. Teams will be required to run, trek, paddle, mountain bike, and climb their way through the course. Navigation will, of course, play a pivotal role, as the competitors will have nothing more than a map and a compass to help guide them through the series of checkpoints.

The 2011 Raid the North will be held in the West Kootenays of British Columbia, a rugged wilderness that is dominated by both mountains and water. While the course remains an unknown at this time, you can bet that the teams will have to contend with the Monashee and Selkirk mountains, while fending off one another along the way. Slocan Lake and Kootenay Lake are likely candidates for possible paddling opportunities as well.

Registration for the event has not yet opened, but is promised for "Autumn of 2010," so expect it soon. The first ten teams to register and pay their entry fee will receive a reduced rate of $3995 CN, as opposed to the regular rate of $4500 CN. Those prices include six days of racing, a nights stay at the local lodge before and after the event, and shuttles to the regional airport. Teams will also get to attend the pre- and post-race ceremonies, including meals, and a big blow out party at the end.

It looks like fans of adventure racing in North America can look forward to some good events again next year. The Raid the North Extreme should be one of the top events in the world during 2011.

Alaska-Yukon Expedition: How The Journey Changed The Man

It's been several weeks since Andrew Skurka finished up his Alaska-Yukon Expedition that saw him covering more than 4700 miles of remote backcountry over the course of six months in the field. The trek was just another major adventure for a guy who has become the poster child for long distance hiking, but that doesn't mean that Andrew didn't learn a few things along the way.

Andrew has continued his debrief of the expedition over at the National Geographic Adventure Blog, posting a story yesterday on just how the journey changed him. Specifically, he names three ways that he feels that he has changed, both as a long distance hiker and as a person, because of this hike. Those include  learning to use finesse over force when traveling through the backcountry, applying environmental knowledge to help make his journey easier and safer, and perhaps most importantly, he learned about humility.

Skurka goes into more detail of each point in his article, giving more insights and examples, as to how those three changes impacted the journey and how they'll aid him in his future endeavors as well. It's quite an interesting read, especially coming from a guy who has spent a lot of time in the wilderness.

Update On Great Bear Rainforest Expedition

A few days back I posted an interesting story about a group of nature photographers from the iLCP who were making an expedition through the Great Bear Rainforest in Canada in an attempt to raise awareness about the place and the threats posed to it from encroaching oil interests. Since I wrote that initial post, the team has returned to civilization and shared their thoughts, as well as a fantastic gallery of photos they took on the journey.

After spending two weeks exploring the rainforest, the group of photographers, who included the likes of Daniel Beltrá, Paul Nicklen, and Joe Riis, returned with some spectacular images, but more importantly they are sharing the message that a pipeline built through that wilderness could be potentially devastating for the animals that live there. Enbridge Inc. has proposed the creation of a 750-mile long twin pipeline to move oil from the Alberta tar sands to Kitimat along the coast. A move that would also introduce tankers to that pristine and remote coast for the first time. It should also be noted that Enbridge is the company that is responsible for the oil spill in Michigan as well.

As you can probably imagine, the expedition recommends against building a pipeline there, with iLCP founder and president Cristina Mittermeier saying “The ecosystems here are so interconnected that an oil spill would devastate not only the landscapes and seascapes but the communities that rely on them for their survival.” While the area is home to the second largest oil reserves in the world, the team feels that at this time there is no safe, and clean, way of tapping those reserves without destroying a natural landscape that is amongst the best on the planet.


The images that the team of photographers captured are some of the best ever from the GBR. They've posted an online gallery of more than 90 photos that you can check out for yourself by clicking here. After examining these beautiful shots, you'll understand why it is so important to protect this place. Not only do they inspire me to want to visit the rainforest myself, they also inspire me to want to be a better photographer. Amazing stuff.

[Photo by Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier]

Conservation Photographers Team Up To Protect Canadian Rainforest

A group consisting of some of the world's top nature photographers has descended upon Canada's Great Bear Rainforest in an effort to raise awareness of threats to the spectacular natural environments there. Working in conjunction with the International League of Conservation Photographers, the team has been blogging about their experiences while sharing insights into this wild place and the unique species that inhabit it.

Located in British Columbia, the Great Bear Rainforest also happens to be home to the second largest know oil reserves in the world.  As of now, those reserves are untapped, leaving the wilderness in a pristine condition. By, Enbridge, Inc., a company that builds large scale pipeline projects, has announced its intentions to construct a 1200km twin pipeline through the region that will deliver oil to Canada's Pacific coast for shipment to Asia. That pipeline would cross over thousands of rivers and streams, potentially doing damage to a massive salmon producing watershed, while simultaneously introducing super tankers to the Great Bear coastline for the first time.

Naturally, there are a lot of people who would prefer that this untouched wilderness remain in that state. The potential for damage to the wilderness there has spurred this team of photographers into action, with such well known names as Cristina Mittermeier, Paul Nicklen, Florian Schulz, and Jack Dykinga all taking part. Their hope is that through their stories and images, they'll be able to convey the importance of the Great Bear Rainforest, which the home to white spirit bears and a wide array of marine. biodiversity.

The team has been in the field for the past couple of weeks and their Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition (RAVE) is coming to an end today with a press conference scheduled to take part tomorrow, during which they'll discuss their findings and thoughts on the impact of the oil industry on the rainforest.

Photo courtesy Ian McAllister, iLCP

Endurance Athlete Sets Speed Records on Canada's East and West Coast Trails

When it comes to hiking and backpacking in Canada, two of the more popular, and scenic, routes are along the East and West Coast Trails. The East Coast Trail stretches for 340 miles along the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, while the West Coast Trail runs for 47 miles along Vancouver's southwestern shoreline. While the trails are separated by thousands of miles, they do both offer unique challenges to anyone who takes them on from end to end.

Recently, endurance athlete Gary Robbins set the daunting goal for himself to attain speed records on both of these trails, starting in Vancouver and the WCT on August 4th. Running North to South, Gary completed the entire 47 miles in just 10 hours and 8 minutes, which does indeed establish a new record for that route. Of course, that was just a warm-up for the much longer, and more challenging ECT, which he began on August 20th and completed on the 22nd, finishing the entire route in a blistering 35 hours and 17 minutes. Pretty impressive runs on both accounts considering the distance involved and terrain crossed. Even more so when you consider that a large portion of the East Coast Trail remains mostly unmarked and hasn't been fully developed yet.

Check out the video below of Gary arriving at the finish line on the ECT. I don't know about you but just thinking about these runs makes my legs hurt! I guess this is the summer for adventure racers and endurance athletes to challenge some of these spectacular trails in North America. Congrats to Gary on a job well done!

Canadian Archeologist Discover Missing Ship

A week and a half ago I told you about a team of Canadian archeologists who were setting out in search of the missing ships of explorer John Franklin, who went missing in the arctic back in 1845 while searching for the fabled Northwest Passage. Just a few days later, the team had already discovered one of the prizes they were going in search of – a rescue ship that also went missing.

Using sophisticated sonar systems, the expedition discovered the HMS Investigator, at the bottom of Mercy Bay. The Investigator was sent in search of Franklin, and his two ships, the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus.  The team of archeologists are still searching for those vessels, which were said to have been trapped in the ice when Franklin and his crew abandoned ship while searching for the Northwest Passage, which they believed would open up a faster trade route to Asia. The explorer and his crew would spend three very long years living in the arctic, hoping beyond hope for rescue. Over the course of that time, all 128 men died of sickness, exposure to the cold, and slow starvation.

The Investigator is said to be in good condition and the research team reports that it was discovered within the first 15-minutes of their search. The vessel was abandoned by her crew after getting stuck in the ice as well, but it became an important supply cache for the Inuit people that live in the region. So much so, the ship is actually part of their history and lore, as they returned to it often over the years to scavenge materials from the craft.

I thought that was an interesting follow-up to the story I had just written about. It's remarkable that they found the ship so quickly, and I'll bet they wish all of their research were so easy. It'll be interesting to see if they find the other two ships they are looking for as well, as they will be far more difficult to locate.