This page will leave plenty of stuff out. Some of it will be filled in as we get closer to the event date. An email communication will be sent to all participants roughly a week before the race. If you have questions before then, just ask 'em.
Schedule:
pre-race meeting in Te Anau on the Friday before the event. Location and time TBD.
We'll sort out a shuttle arrangement so your vehicles are at the finish line.
We'll start early to maximize time before darkness
NOTE--in the event of severe weather conditions, we may postpone the event until the following day.
Cost: $50+ pp. This will include tracking devices, shuttle costs, and some post race grub.
Course Map: Note that the direction of travel may change year to year to keep things spicy, or for other reasons.
Categories: pairs+. No solo participants will be allowed. There's just too much wicked awesomeness to handle on your own.
Rules: We don't like rules per se, but in this case having one rule adds to the fun. So the 'rules' for this event are as follows--navigate your way from the start to the finish, virtually checking in at each of the four passes as you navigate the fault. Good luck.
Recommended gear:
a GPS with spare batteries (per person)
a head torch with spare batteries (per person)
space blanket or equivalent bivvy sack (per person)
Personal locator beacon (per team)
suitable clothes (including spare insulating layer)
enough food for your expected duration, plus a little spare
basic first aid kit (including any necessary medications)
firestarting gear suitable for starting damp wood (piece of bike tube, etc)
Tracking device (organized by fearsociety).
Risks management: Teams are expected to look after themselves and each other on the course. We will have several virtual CPs that require participants to check in via the inReach.
The route negotiates several high and vertiginous passes in the Earl mountains. One opinion is that they get easier as you go. Another is that the first and third are the hardest, and the second one is the easiest. Will it matter? Probably not. Better to be 'confident' clutching at tufts of snowgrass and tussock on short sections of steep bluffs above dizzying exposure, just to be safe.
Post race: Low key as always. You'll find your car. Maybe a friendly face at the car park. And some food, probably just in a cooler. Maybe a cardboard sign congratulating you too. Hoo Ra!
Accommodation: There should be plenty of accommodation options in Te Anau. Alternatively there may be camping near the start/finish line (cascade creek or knobs flat). Participants will be updated on accommodation closer to the event.
FAQs:
Ask away! We'll answer.