Primal Quest
reporting presented by Inov-8

I'm in Salt Lake City to cover the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show, and just got a fascinating media invite from the PR folks over at SPOT, LLC. Looks like Primal Quest's Dawn Taylor Mann is expected to reveal details on PQ 2009, and maybe even 2010, here at the show. On Friday, Aug. 8, during a media event at the Paddle Lounge, SPOT and Primal Quest will let those in attendance know what lies ahead for both companies. Two days? I gotta wait two more days? I'm ready now!

Labels: dawn taylor mann, outdoor retailer, primal quest, salt lake city, spot

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

That's a jogger on the left, running away from the camera. That's team Dancing Pandas in the middle, trekking to the Gallatin River Trail. And that's an RV on the right, throwing up a cloud of dust that forced everyone to hold their breath for about 10 seconds. It's a regular Primal Quest traffic jam!

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

Ken Meyer of team Nike ACG/GORE-TEX told me that before Primal Quest Montana, he'd never used duct tape on his feet. Much to his surprise, he's had to use it for most of this race.

In this shot, support crewman Beau Johnson applies the miracle tape to Ken's left foot. So shiny and smooth, it kinda looks like a foot from the comic book character in that Silver Surfer movie that came out a while back.

Beau said, rather flatly, that Ken has Tenosynovitis, which is the inflammation of the fluid-filled sheath that surrounds a tendon. Nah, don't be impressed. I had to look it up. Beau used a lot of big words while I was watching him tape up Ken's feet. Thank goodness for online dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Labels: Beau Johnson, duct tape, GORE-TEX, Ken Meyer, nike acg, silver surfer, tenosynovitis

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

They crossed the finish line in 6 days, 2 hours and 10 minutes. Hats off to Merrell/Zanfel Adventure! Team members include, from left, Travis Macy, John Jacoby, Aaron Prince and Robyn Benincasa.

The team is headed up the hill for some well-earned rest. I hope to check in with them tomorrow to get some tales from the trail.

The question of who will win the battle for third place at Primal Quest Montana may have been decided last night on the orienteering course above Storm Castle. Visiting the O-course control points is not mandatory. Instead, teams who visit the points earn time bonuses. Some control points are worth one hour. Others are worth two. Teams can earn up to 12 hours of bonus time, to be subtracted from their overall finish time, by spending some time on the O-course.

So here's what happened with Bones (that's them in the photo) and DART/nuun. Both teams told me when they returned from the orienteering course that Bones earned more bonus time up there than DART/nuun. Two hours more.

So on paper at least, Bones now has a full two hour lead over DART/nuun. Even if DART/nuun turns on the afterburners and beats Bones to the finish line, DART/nuun would have to come in at least two full hours ahead of Bones to steal third place. I'm not sure DART/nuun has it in them to pull that far ahead.

DART/nuun team members Cyril Jay-Rayon, Mari Chandler, Aaron Rinn and Aaron Matzke all seemed in fair shape when I saw them in transition. Bones team members Roy Mallone, Jason Quinn, and Walter Brumniach all looked well, too. Ann Hall was clearly suffering with foot issues, but her spirits were undeniably high. She joked and giggled through much of the transition. She's suffering, but she's far from beaten.

Will DART/nuun try to make up those two hours? I bet they will try. For me, this has been the most interesting battle to watch at PQ Montana. Great work, teams!

Labels: aaron matzke, aaron rinn, ann hall, bones, cyril jay-rayon, Dart, jason quinn, mari chandler, nuun, orienteering, roy mallone, storm castle, walter brumniach

OK, admit I'm stirrin' the pot a bit here, but do this for me. Point your browser over to YouTube.com and enter these words in the search field:

primal quest nbc montana

The video you want is titled "Primal Quest 2008: NBC Montana Coverage 2." In my opinion, these two guys from Butte/Bozeman NBC affiliate KTVM have provided the best coverage of PQ Montana. Their names are Jeff Friedman, who is the station's sports director, and Jake Zivin, a reporter. I blogged about them here a few days ago.

Jeff and Jake's "Coverage 2" video is two minutes and 18 seconds long (2:18). Let the whole thing load, it may take a while on a slow connection.

One minute and 11 seconds into the video (1:11), Jason Quinn of team Bones is seen talking to a driver in a car about a piece of paper the driver is holding. The clip of Jason and the driver ends at one minute and 16 seconds (1:16).

Does that clip show team Bones asking directions from a driver, or does it show Jason Quinn of Bones giving directions to the driver? It's one of those things that make you go Hmm.

Labels: adventure race, bones, bozeman, directions, jake zivin, jason quinn, jeff friedman, nbc montana, primal quest

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 all of my years on the road, I have never had a wake up call before 10 am. I just don't see the need for it. So last night was something a little special for me. I was awoken at 2:37 am (I looked at my watch) to the sound of a couple of teams racing into another TA upon finishing a section of the bike ride. It wasn't just the sound of the teams rolling in, it was the overwhelming cacophony of cheers, hoots, and hollers for them. As previous mentioned, this sport is close and they cheer for everyone. No hooligans, no bloods and crips, no cowboys versus Indians, no Yankees versus Red Sox. Unless you are in the top 10 or so, everybody is just really glad that all the other teams race healthy, race strong, and finish proud.