Winter Wuhoo! Adventure Race

POOR SNOW CONDITIONS DOESN’T STOP ADVENTURE RACING
WASHINGTON’S WINTER WUHOO! ADVENTURE RACE HARDER THAN EVER

Snoqualmie Pass, WA - February 1, 2003. 25 adventure race teams headed out from the Snoqualmie Summit Nordic Center Saturday morning on an adventure that would take them over an 8 mile unmarked course and 1600 ft of elevation gain. When it was over 21 teams conquered the disciplines of snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, rappelling, and navigating that make up the Winter Wuhoo! Adventure Race.

At the start race organizers warned the participants that this year’s course was tough. "You’re really going to have to haul if you want to make the cutoff times," said Race Director, Cindy Muridan during the pre-race team captain’s briefing.

New to the race this year was the addition of an advanced race course. Three quarters into the race top teams had the choice of finishing via a longer and more challenging advanced course or do the regular course. Those teams that opted to do the advanced course (and finished) would rank higher in the final standings than those that did the regular course. "The top teams in our state are getting stronger and faster, and the average adventure racer is staying constant, so we added an advanced option to provide a real challenge for those that want it," said Muridan.

Indeed the top teams are getting stronger and the advanced course didn’t slow them down. The first three teams all chose the advanced race course and still came across the finish line before any of the regular racers.

The race started at an elevation of approximately 2,560 feet and the participants hiked straight up 1,185 feet to Checkpoint 1 at the peak of Mt. Hyak. Many teams were left in the snow dust on the way up the mountain, but not for long as the real challenge of the day proved to be navigating.

From Checkpoint 1 teams skied down to the Frog Lake area and then, due to low snow levels, hiked carrying their skis to Checkpoint 2. At this point many of the teams that were in the back of the pack at Checkpoint 1 were able to move up in the rankings purely due to navigation prowess. Light snow offering minimal visibility with intermittent clearing was a mixed blessing to the navigators as the previous two days offered zero visibility.

From Checkpoint 2, racers donned their snowshoes and navigated around Nordic Pass to several more checkpoints until finally heading 1600 ft straight up the slopes of Mt. Catherine. During the trek racers were met by old growth forest and spectacular views, but many didn’t have time to soak up the scenery as they had their mind on the rappel at Checkpoint 5.

After the rappel teams headed back to Checkpoint 2, many getting lost a second time. Again those teams that were navigationally skillful were able to move up in the rankings. Including Team DART that went from 11th overall to 4th overall.

After reaching Checkpoint 2 for the second time regular route racers bolted with their skis over familiar terrain towards the groomed Nordic trails for a 4 mile ski to the finish. Advanced racers continued navigating through Nordic Pass to Checkpoint 6 and then hopped on the groomed trails for a 5 ½ mile ski to the finish.

Team Rubber Chicken a Team of 2 Co-ed from Tacoma, Washington crossed the finish line first in 5 hours, 12 minutes, and 10 seconds. Following was Team W.A.R. (Washington Adventure Racing) and Team F.A.R.T. (Fire Adventure Racing Team).

The fierce race course and exhaustion didn’t stop the smiles as the racers walked into the warm lodge to dinner and were able to recount their day’s activities with great enthusiasm. At the awards ceremony all top finishers were awarded a free entry into the 2003 Wuhoo! Urban Adventure Race and a combination of prizes from the race sponsors: KAHTOOLA ® FOOTWEAR TRACTION SYSTEMS, SPORTS SOLUTIONS ® SPORTS STORAGE SYSTEMS, MERRELL PERFORMANCE FOOTWEAR^TM, CLIF® BAR, TALKING RAIN ® BEVERAGE COMPANY, ARE YOU NUTS? TRAIL RACE SERIES ®, AARON FRIZZELL PHOTOGRAPHY, AND RED BULL ®.

The official overall results for the 2003! Winter Wuhoo Adventure Race are as follows: