Primal Quest
reporting presented by Inov-8

Yes, there will be a Primal Quest expedition adventure race in 2009. No, there will not be support crews. That was the word from Don Mann this evening as he spoke at the closing awards ceremony for Primal Quest Utah 2008, now wrapping up in Big Sky, Montana.

Lips were officially tight about just where the next Primal Quest expedition adventure race will occur. Rumors say the race will go international for the first time. And around here, the rumor mill is usually right.

Labels: don mann, montana, primal quest, rumor mill, support crews

Werewolves, the final team out on the Primal Quest Montana course, just crossed the finish line here at Big Sky Resort.

It's been 10 days of wild Rocky Mountain landscapes for these teams. Whether they completed the full course, or had a little bit of the original course lopped off due to time constraints, we're still proud of all you have accomplished.

Will there be a Primal Quest next year? I think it's in the works. I'll see what I can find out at the awards ceremony and banquet later today.

Labels: montana, primal quest, werewolves

Joel, support crew for team Intrepid, douses a dirty mountain bike with a bucket of Gallatin River water. Keeping his team's bikes in working order was no small task during Primal Quest Montana. After each bike leg, Joel would wash the bikes, repair any damage, and lube them up again so they'd be ready when needed.

Labels: Gallatin River, intrepid, montana, mountain bike, primal quest, storm castle

Markley of team Intrepid treks through wildflowers on his way to the ropes and orienteering section of Primal Quest Montana. He's a burly sort of guy, so I thought it would be good to show him surrounded by beautiful blooms.

Labels: Gallatin River, intrepid, markley, montana, primal quest, wildflowers

Adventure racing team CareerBuilder.com hardly noticed me laying in the grass when I photographed them along the Gallatin River Trail. That fella in front, not sure of his name, was telling a scary story about a chipmunk. No, really, it was scary. A scary story about a chipmunk!

I spoke to CareerBuilder.com's support crew, Chuck Clark and Sheridan Chilcote, about an hour later at Storm Castle and told them I saw their gang. Chuck and Sheridan were not at all surprised to hear the team was enthralled with a chipmunk story as they scooted down the trail. Turns out, some of these team members are in fact deathly afraid of chipmunks!

Labels: careerbuilder.com, chipmunk, chipmunks, Gallatin River, montana, primal quest

Here comes team Shasta/Core Concepts, trekking along the Gallatin River Trail on their way to the ropes and orienteering course. All were in good spirits. Scott Wazny, second from the right, is a fellow Portlander. His wife, Dana Wazny, was part of the Portland-based all-newbie Rookie Rampage adventure racing team in 2007. Hi Dana!

Labels: core concepts, dana wazny, Gallatin River, montana, portland, primal quest, rookie rampage, scott wazny, shasta, shasta/core concepts

I've been resisting the urge to post my pictures of wildflowers, but now that Primal Quest is winding down, I think it's time to share a little. This one is of a columbine, I think. Got it along the Gallatin River Trail while hiking with the Dancing Pandas.

Labels: adventure race, columbine, montana, primal quest, wildflowers

While hiking with the Dancing Pandas, I saw a wide variety of wildflowers. I don't know what these are called, but I like the way this shot of them turned out.

For the camera geeks:
Canon EOS D30 camera body
Canon EF L series 70-200 f/4 lens
1000/sec at f/4 exposure setting
ISO 1600

Now I better go check my image info to see if I guessed the exposure settings correctly!

Labels: adventure race, Gallatin River, montana, primal quest, wild flowers, wildflowers

Masha of Dancing Pandas shows off the team's trail tunes system, which includes an MP3 player in a case with integrated speakers.

"We just carabiner it on and go," said Masha, as her team was about to depart the Storm Castle transition area and climb to the orienteering course.

So who's on there? "Everything from Jane's Addiction to The Cure," Masha said.

Party on, Pandas.

Labels: dancing pandas, masha, montana, music, primalquest, storm castle

There's a chapel on Highway 191 near the junction of the road to Big Sky Resort. It's called Soldier's Chapel, and I wrote about it on day two of Primal Quest on my personal blog.

I talked to my dad in Idaho Falls, Idaho, about this place, and he said he knew it well. He asked if I went inside, and I told him no. He told me to go back. "The best view in Big Sky is behind the altar." So I did, and this is what I came out with.

Labels: adventure race, big sky, montana, primal quest, soldier's chape

This afternoon when I was about to leave the Storm Castle Campground, I spotted Dawn Taylor Mann (she's the pretty one on the left), and her husband, Don Mann. I asked them if I could get a photo of them for my Primal Quest blog and they said sure.

I'm very proud of these two. When it looked like Primal Quest was going away for good, this couple stepped in to make sure that wouldn't happen. Clearly, it has not been easy.

What I see at headquarters in Big Sky is a shadow of what "Primal Quest HQ" was when I worked inside it in Moab in 2006, and in the San Juan Islands in 2004. Every staff member in Montana is stretched thin, but they do their best. The days of the seven-digit budget are gone. But the fire in the hearts of the staff is as strong as ever.

Every volunteer is stretched thin as well. Volunteers have had to slingshot from one part of the course to another to cover checkpoints and transition areas that were not in their original scope of work. Did they complain? Not at all. In the spirit of adventure racing, they dealt with the unexpected, even though it was at times uncomfortable. Primal Quest volunteers give up their vacation time to be here. They pay their own fare to and from Montana. They are here because they want to be part of Primal Quest, the biggest brand in adventure racing.

And the teams? Most of them are so physically ruined right now, they may not have a lucid opinion of the "New PQ." From an organizational standpoint, teams have told me that Mann and his team have been finding their legs a bit this year. From a race course standpoint, every team I've spoken with has raved about the scenery. Even if PQ disappointed some teams with its organizational approach, I think it won teams over once they began to experience Big Sky Country.

Teams I've spoken with tell me they've had a once in a lifetime experience. No matter what went "wrong" or may yet not happen according to Mann's plans, teams came for an amazing racing experience, and that's exactly what they got. Good on ya' Don and Dawn. Can't wait to hear where we're headed next.

Labels: adventure race, dawn taylor mann, don mann, montana, primal quest, san juan islands, utah

There's a first time for everything, as evidenced by the list of new experiences Autumn of team Intrepid's support crew continues to write. And the list is out there for everyone to see, carefully written in dry-erase marker on the outside of their support trailer. What did you do for the first time at Primal Quest Montana?

Labels: adventure race, autumn, intrepid, list, montana, primal quest, support crew

When teams finish Primal Quest Montana, there's a photo op station a short walk from the finish line. Robyn Benincasa of team Merrell/Zanfel Adventure, got a little help from her friends this afternoon to get there. That's Corey Rosen on the left, and Nick Sisler on the right.

Corey used to write for what Yak and I call "that other adventure racing news website," but these days he's on his own. During PQ, Corey worked for Don Mann on the media relations team.

Nick, 16, is the son of Steve Sisler, the Zanfel Labs executive who helps sponsor the Merrell/Zanfel Adventure team.

Labels: corey rosen, montana, Nick Sisler, primal quest, robyn benincasa

At times like this, when there's an obvious battle for third place, I like to refer to a baseball skit performed long ago by comedians Abbott and Costello. It's called, "Who's on First." Worth a read considering we're all wondering who's gonna take third place when Primal Quest wraps up over the next few days.

Teams Bones and DART/nuun have basically traveled together for the past two days. When not literally together, they've been less than 20 minutes apart. The teams are together right now, up above Storm Castle, hammering out an orienteering course that could earn them up to 12 bonus hours when they cross the finish line.

As the athletes punished themselves in the peaks above us, I chatted with support crew member Ryan Flemming of DART/nuun, who said he thinks his team will pull ahead in the end. "DART and Bones both have amazing athletes," Flemming said. "But I think DART is just a little bit stronger. I think we'll beat Bones."

Right next door in the Bones camp, support crew were a little concerned about team member Ann Hall, whose body understandably is deteriorating under the stress of overuse. But the Bones crew was confident that DART/nuun will cross the finish line fourth, not third. Third is Bones' place.

I'd kinda like to see a sprint to the finish, wouldn't you? Oh, wait, they bike to the finish. They'll be coming in hot off the upper elevations of Big Sky Resort's grassy ski slopes. Maybe we'll get to witness a little jostling. Bring it on!

Labels: abbott and costello, adventure race, bones, Dart, montana, nuun, orienteering, primal quest, who's on first

Montana businesses have stepped up to provide all the goods and services Primal Quest teams and their support crews have needed. Talk about great customer service! Case in point, I heard today from the support crew of team BaseCamp that one Bozeman retailer in particular, Roundhouse Ski & Sports Center, has been especially awesome.

Not just once, but twice, staff at Roundhouse dropped what they were doing to solve pressing problems for team BaseCamp. Earlier this week, the team needed a very specific spoke for a high-end mountain bike wheel. Roundhouse came through. And yesterday, BaseCamp needed a high-end shifter for another of its mountain bikes. Again, Roundhouse staff delivered.

We appreciate your extra effort to keep Primal Quest teams on the course! Thank you Roundhouse!

Labels: adventure race, basecamp, bozeman, customer service, montana, primal quest, roundhouse ski and sports center, shifter, spoke

There's a section of the Gallatin River in Montana that locals call the Mad Mile. That's exactly where PQ Water Director Josh Galt wanted teams to experience the swim of their lives a few days back, but river levels were deemed too dangerous for competitors to run this section. Even before all the water sections were closed to racers, this spot right here, House Rock, was a mandatory portage. House Rock kinda kicks off the Mad Mile. These six buddies who braved the Gallatin this afternoon got through House Rock by wisely staying River Left, but soon found themselves in a hole about 100 yards farther down that they couldn't negotiate. The boat flipped, and the six buddies all swam. Everyone got out of the icy cold water just fine. It's a reminder that this is serious stuff.

Labels: adventure race, Gallatin River, house rock, montana, portage, primal quest, rafting, whitewater swimming

Apologies up front to Paul "Yak" Angell, boss man at Checkpoint Zero, who's gonna freak because I loaded this photo of the PQ ropes section as a very large file. It's been saved as an 8 by 12 inch image at 300 dpi. It'll load slow when you click on it. But if you do, I think you'll agree, that the bloke in the blue shirt atop that spire is none other than PQ Race Staff Tim Holmstrom. Whaddya think? Is it him?

Labels: adventure race, Gallatin River, montana, Paul Angell, primal quest, ropes, storm castle, Tim Holmstrom, Yak

Dave Boyd, captain of team MOAT, arrives at Storm Castle and signs in for TA Boss Vernon Winter. Dave came back a few minutes later to ask Vernon some specific questions about the orienteering section of the course. Seems there are no penalties for SKIPPING the orienteering course! Instead, there are time bonuses, kinda like that extra credit work you used to to in school right before report card time. There are up to 12 hours of bonus time available to teams who hit all the orienteering control points. I think Dave and his MOAT teammates may take a bold strategy move and opt out of the O-course. I expect we'll see how that decision affects the team's final placement in a couple of days.

Labels: adventure race, dave boyd, Gallatin River, moat, montana, orienteering, primal quest, storm castle, vernon winter

Team Basecamp support crew member Robin Bushaw got a pleasant surprise yesterday from her husband, adventure racer Keith Bushaw. Mind you he was carrying a heavy pack, and pushing through what may well be the world's most challenging human endurance competition. But love-struck husband that he is, Keith took the time to gather wildflowers for Robin on her birthday. The couple has been married for 26 years. Keep up the good work, Keith! And Robin, happy birthday!

Labels: adventure race, basecamp, birthday, Gallatin River, Keith Bushaw, montana, primal quest, Robin Bushaw, storm castle

Hey, get your mind out of the gutter. That's an acronym for "Lightweight Ultimate Sidewall Technology," otherwise known as the tubeless bike tire that will not pop. Here, let's just have the Maxxis website break it down for you:

"LUST offers better puncture resistance, improved air retention, better longevity and lower weight than previous tubeless technologies."

'Nuff said. There sure are a lot of $3,000 t0 $5,000 bikes around here...

Labels: adventure race, maxxis, montana, mountain bike, primal quest, tubeless

As adventure racing teams competing in Primal Quest Montana arrive at Transition Area 11, the East Gallatin Recreation Area in Bozeman, they're likely to see this flock of geese. The group had at least four goslings I could see. Springtime in the Rockies sure is pretty!

Labels: adventure race, bozeman, east gallatin recreation area, montana, primal quest

Here's a shot of team Merrell/Zanfel Adventure on Friday as they approached TA 11 in Bozeman, Montana. The team spent the night high on the ridge of Montana's Bridger Range, gaining and losing elevation by hundreds of feet, over and over again.

Rick Baraff, who raced in Primal Quest Utah two years ago with team Silly Rabbits, is on the television camera crew here in Montana. Rick made the entire Bridger Ridge trek with Merrell/Zanfell Adventure. "It's pretty sketchy up there," Rick said. Translation: One false step on the wrong spot during this sky-high trek, and you could find yourself a thousand feet lower than you were when you took that false step.

Labels: adventure race, bozeman, bridger range, merrell, montana, primal quest, rick baraff, zanfel

What a coincidence! Checking my e-mail today, I see I received the latest edition of the nuun active hydration newsletter, which the company calls its "nuunletter" (sign up here).

At several Primal Quest transition areas, I'd noticed random acts of what I can only call nuundalism, primarily inflected upon large, orange, insulated beverage containers. Nuun* is Primal Quest's new-and-improved electrolyte replacement sponsor.

But as the nuunletter points out, nuunfolk are very nice people. Maybe that's why even though they have stickers large enough to cover the entire logo of the former Primal Quest hydration sponsor, nuun did not over do. Very nice people, indeed.

*Hey nuunfolk, sorry about the upper-case "N," but I used your company name at the beginning of a sentence, where I always use capital letters. Even bloggers have standards. =)

Labels: adventure race, capitalization, hydration, montana, nuun, nuundalism, otter creek, primal quest

In Primal Quests past, there were so many medical volunteers at the race that even minor foot care issues could be handled by medical professionals. This year, teams are responsible for keeping their feet in racing shape, and medical staff are responsible for the more serious stuff, most often overuse injuries. In this photo, DART/nuun support team member Daniel Schaublin works on the feet of Mari Chandler.

Labels: adventure race, Daniel Schaublin, Dart, feet, foot care, montana, nuun, otter creek, primal quest

J.D. Eskelson of team Oceanic Interactive doesn't just hydrate by drinking lots of electrolyte-laden water, he also pumps up the water in his eyes. Just before departing Otter Creek on bike, he gave each eyeball a good dose of eye drops to keep his peepers hydrated.

The team said they had a hair-raising ride in a thunderstorm yesterday afternoon. Lightning was popping off all around them. Power lines along the road would buzz louder when lightning would strike, J.D. said. He even has a true story about being struck by lightning earlier this year. Ask him about it. It's the scariest thing I heard all day.

Labels: adventure race, eyedrop, J.D. Eskelson, JD Eskelson, lightning, montana, oceanic interactive, otter creek, primal quest

Dear Mom and Dad:

I'm having fun at Primal Quest in Montana. My team takes great care of me when we're out on the course. Our support crew takes great care of us when we see them in transition areas. Everything is going well. I'm safe, happy and healthy.

Please don't worry so much about me racing in Primal Quest. It's funny, last night I was telling a reporter from Checkpoint Zero, an adventure racing news website, that my parents are going to sleep even less than I do during the race. I asked him to write you a letter from me to tell you I'm fine and not to worry.

I appreciate your love, concern and support as I complete Primal Quest. I'm already halfway done! See you soon,

Love,

Mari

Labels: adventure race, Dart, Dart/nuun, mari chandler, montana, nuun, primal quest

Some teams were disappointed to hear the "flat water paddling" section of Primal Quest Montana was canceled. It's been replaced by a really long bike ride. When I saw this humongous tree, followed by two more right behind it, rushing down the Yellowstone River last night at Checkpoint 15, I thought the cancellation was a great decision. Is a helmet or a life jacket any match for hundreds of pounds of snag-ridden tree? No way. You can't dodge them all. Good call, Don Mann.

Labels: adventure race, drown, flood stage, montana, otter creek, primal quest, yellowstone river

Evening in Montana is an almost sacred time. This was the scene for the support crew of team BaseCamp at Checkpoint 15, Otter Creek, last night. Deep green grass in the meadow. Horses grazing in the field above. Not a bad way to spend a sunset.

Labels: adventure race, basecamp, horses, meadow, montana, otter creek, primal quest, yellowstone river

Montana's scenery continues to blow me away. Moments after a thunderstorm pummeled Checkpoint 15 with wind, rumbling, lightning and rain, this was the view looking West toward the Crazy Mountains. Just amazing. And that's where all the teams competing in Primal Quest are headed next.

Labels: adventure race, crazy mountains, montana, otter creek, primal quest, yellowstone river

Dave Russell of team Oceanic Interactive just can't seem to escape the constant companionship of his adventure racing coach. That's Dave there in front. Jut behind him? That's Kristen Diffenbach. She's not only his teammate on Oceanic Interactive. She's also his coach!

Labels: adventure race, dave russell, kristen Diffenbach, montana, oceanic interactive, otter creek, primal quest, yellowstone river

Thursday morning, I got a shot of Goals ARA as they left Checkpoint 15, headed on a long ride to the Crazy Mountains. Once there, the team is in for a lengthy trek. Yesterday, team Nike left this checkpoint in first place without the snowshoes described as mandatory gear in the written rules. A bit of controversy ensued as teams that left after Nike were told they must in fact carry snowshoes as cited in the rules. At 8:40 this morning, Marcy Beard, the volunteer in charge of this checkpoint, told teams that snowshoes would as of this moment, NO LONGER be mandatory gear for the next trekking section. Kinda unlucky for Goals ARA, the team in this photo. According to the date/time stamp on my digital camera, Goals ARA left CP 15 a minute too early to get the good news. I zoomed in on this shot, and sure enough, every one of those four backpacks has a pair of snowshoes strapped to the back.

Labels: Goals ARA, montana, primal quest, snow shoes

About 6:30 yesterday evening, the wind really picked up at Otter Creek, also known as Checkpoint 15. Here Primal Quest staff and volunteers struggle to keep the checkpoint and medical staff pop-up shelters from blowing away into the wild Montana skies. A brief thunderstorm followed, complete with lightning and hard rain.

Labels: montana, otter creek, primal quest, yellowstone river

If you land in a town completely green and have questions, there are always two places with people who know the answers, or at least they know where to send you to get the answers. The first is the public library. The second is a mom-and-pop book store. When I hit Bozeman, I was looking for both, and found Llama Llama Books on Main Street. I parked and went in. After I got the info I needed -- tips on where to find wireless Internet access -- I walked back out to my car, and guess what I saw directly across the street? The Bozeman Public Library. What a great town. I'll never be lost for long here!

Labels: bozeman, llama llama books, montana, primal quest

This morning I spotted a two-person crew from News Channel 6, the NBC affiliate serving Butte and Bozeman. I asked their video shooter if they were going to be able to come out every day, and he said, as long as he decides to come out, they're coming out. "We're missing a big meeting today," he said with a gigantic grin. Grassy Montana meadows apparently beat sterile Montana conference rooms. The appetite of local media for Primal Quest stories is impressive. Primal Quest is on the TV news every night, and in the newspapers every morning. Thanks for welcoming us all to Montana!

Labels: ktvm, montana, primal quest, trail creek

Here's a shot of team BaseCamp as it arrived this morning at the remote bike drop. Team members include Andrew Yasic, Jessica Yasic, Kyle Peter and Keith Bushaw. I know Keith from the days when he raced on the GoLite sprint adventure racing team. Primal Quest is a lot longer than the six- to eight-hour races he used to almost always win! I forgot to ask him how he's coping with the increased mileage. Anybody know?

Labels: basecamp, montana, primal quest, trail creek, trekking

The foot on the left is mine. The footprint on the right, or, more accurately, the paw print on the right, is not mine. What kind of Montana critter has a smallish center foot pad, four pretty big toe pads, and long, sharp claws?

I got this shot this morning when I ventured out from the remote bike drop to see if I could catch any teams coming in from the trek. No luck with the humans. And, also lucky, I guess, no encounter with whatever left this print in the mud.

Labels: footprint, montana, montrail hardrock, mud, primal quest

Primal Quest Course Director Chris Caul, leaning out the window of that pickup truck, surveys the damage to one of the bikes of a Dirty Avacados racing team. After checking the size of the bike frame, Chris realized his own bike is the same size. He got on the radio to HQ and told staff to bring his personal bike ASAP to help the Dirty Avacados, whichever DA team it may be, get on with their race when they arrive at the bike drop.

Labels: bike carnage, chris caul, dirty avacados, montana, primal quest, todd phillips, trail creek

I ran in to Big Sky massage therapists Victoria Bentley, left, and Hilda Padilla, at TA 4, where they were in search of athletes or support crews with sore muscles. You know any? Yep. Probably every one of us are in need of their services. Victoria and Hilda said they will be at the Primal Quest finish line July 2, but you may see them at select transition areas throughout the week. Victoria owns the business, Bentley Bodies, headquartered in the West Fork Plaza at Big Sky. Support crews, book your times now by e-mailing findyourcenter@bentleybodies.com, or by calling Victoria or Hilda at 406-570-9154.

Labels: bentley bodies, big sky, hilda padilla, massage, montana, primal quest, victoria bentley

Stacy Moller of True Grit gets some final assistance from support crew member Rosannah Shepherd before departing on the third trekking section of Primal Quest.

Labels: montana, primal quest, rosannah Shepherd, Stacy Moller, trekking, true grit

John Hlavacs, a Portland, Ore.,-based photographer following team Nike/GORE-TEX, decided to go for a run this afternoon while waiting for the team to arrive at Transition Area 4. It was a gorgeous afternoon for a run in Big Sky Country. John works for Nike in Beaverton, Ore. I asked him if Nike makes any shoes for a heavy-set, beginning trail runner like me. He said yes, and I'm going to learn all about it when we're both back home in Portland in July.

Labels: GORE-TEX, montana, nike, pre lives, primal quest, run, trail run

Very happy to be out of the Gallatin River's whitewater, team TravelCountry.com begins its trek to the first mountain bike section on Tuesday afternoon.

Labels: montana, primal quest, travelcountry.com, trekking

A member of team Police Defenders.com/RN Guardian, expectorates some of the Gallatin River's bounty during the whitewater swimming section of Primal Quest Montana.

Labels: Gallatin River, montana, montana mouthwash, Policedefenders.com, primal quest, riverboarding, RN Guardian, whitewater swimming

Aja Cook, support crew for adventure racing team Dirty Avacados II, has attracted lots of attention during the first 24 hours of Primal Quest Montana. Here's a shot of her prepping riverboards for her team moments before they took on the Gallatin River. Feel a deep yearning need to know her deets? Click here.

Labels: aja cook, dirty avacados, Gallatin River, montana, primal quest, riverboarding, whitewater swimming