“Americans are fascinated with the history of
the West, with its stories of adventure, hardship, perseverance, failure and
the occasional spectacular success. Mining is part of that story.”
- Friends of Kentucky Camp
Sand Storm II
Adventure Race was no different. Racers
arrived in the pre-dawn hours in 32 degree weather prepared to leave it all out
on the race course. When the sun rose
and the snowy peak
of Mt.
Wrightson exposed itself…it was game time…no short coursing, no cut off time…mi
casa es su casa.
We
had racers from Tucson, Flagstaff,
Phoenix, Prescott,
Los Angeles, and even Washington DC
participate in Sand Storm II! We had
first time racers, weekend warriors, and pros.
It was a diverse group and we made sure to take advantage of that
diversity by asking recreational course racers to capture and document two AR
tips from two different long course teams.
The race started
with teams having to retrieve their punch cards ¼ mile from the TA and then on
to four CP’s that could be retrieved in any order. Right from the beginning teams split up in
different directions and began to read the terrain and maps in their hunt for
CP’s. Team Yoga Slackers emerged in the
lead from the orienteering leg followed closely by Adventure Racing Concepts,
Big Fish Creative, and Traveling Light.
Some teams wore long pants, some did not. Those that did not, bled. Those that did,
still bled as the cat claw that surrounds the area was unforgiving to all.
Team Summit Hut getting tips from ARC
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Teams transitioned
from orienteering to the mountain bike leg.
The mountain bike course gave racers a tour of the mining history of the Santa
Rita Mountains. It also gave racers some seriously fun
downhill riding, but you had to earn it with some serious climbing too! The first CP was located along side a forest
service road and attached to an old gigantic piece of mining equipment.
The second CP was located at the entrance to Snyder
Mine; an open and abandoned mine. After
the second mountain bike CP, racers sped to a bike drop where they had to take
their helmets/headlamps and proceed to the next CP on foot.
When they arrived they were greeted by a cave
opening requiring a vertical decent of about 15 feet on a ladder. Racers entered the cave with helmets on and
headlamps lit. They made their way
through a couple of twists to a CP and then back out. At this point recreation course racers
returned to their bikes and rode back to the TA for their finish! Long course
racers had some more work to do…
A trekking CP named
WTF took racers on a steep climb to a hill top, but rewarded them with
astounding views on the return trip to their bikes. Some teams bush whacked, and others took an
unmapped road the whole way. The rest of
the bike ride rewarded riders with creek side riding and some more really
fun/fast downhill.
I am happy to report that ALL teams finished!!! Bikes were broken but the spirits of the
racers were not. Congratulations to Big Fish Creative for their 1st
place finish long course and Team Bonsai for 1st place recreation
course. We have to give a shout out to
Traveling Light (Mark Hawthorne) for riding the course on a single speed 29er
and getting the 2nd fastest overall time…nicely done! It was a tight race…only 9 minutes separated
Big Fish Creative and Adventure Racing Concepts!
1st place recreation: Team Bonsai
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1st place long: Big Fish Creative
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Thanks to all volunteers…Anabel, Tom, Phil, Pat, Don, Mike, Jordan…
we could not have pulled it off without you.
Thank you to all racers for coming down south and hanging out telling
stories afterward. Thank you to all our
sponsors for providing racers with product swag and to Summit Hut and
Trisports.com for your generous contributions for prize winners! Stay tuned for Sand Storm III details as
planning is already under way…..October 2008
