Oregon's Wicked Gorge Adventure Race

The spectacular and scenic Columbia River Gorge greeted racers to a wicked grueling day of Creekteering, Trekking, Mountain Biking, and Paddling. Racers gained over 7,000 ft in 40+ miles of racing during the Wicked Gorge race July 16th in the Columbia Gorge, Washington.

30 Teams of 1,2,3, and 4 bushwhacked and creekteered down to the Columbia River where they paddled against strong currents. Slipping into the water, Team MPGear.com (2 person male) had the lead followed closely by Team DART (4 person coed).

Teams quickly found that currents were so fast and technical that many teams chose to portage along the shoreline. With the combination of checkpoints in waist high brush on seasonal islands being invisible from the waterline and strong currents, many teams misjudged distance and locations. With the fastest overall paddling split, Team MPGear.com – Kitsap (4 person coed) made huge ground on the field where they pulled from nearly the back of the pack to second place, right behind the MPGear.com 2 person male team. Team DART suffered some small navigational errors which pushed them down to 6^th place coming out of the water.

Returning up the creekteering and bushwhacking section to the Mountain Biking transition area, teams again shuffled positions. Team MPGear.com (2 person male) clocked in first while Team DART’s fast foot work moved them back into 2^nd place. Teams were given new maps and UTM coordinates, and had to plot the four MTB checkpoints. It quickly became clear that ahead of them lay a quad-crushing lung-busting 2,500 foot vertical climb in the first 5 miles of the MTB section.

After the brutal climb to CP 7, teams then went on a rolling ride along a ridge line en route to Three Corner Rock; the highest point of the race. Prior to reaching Three Corner Rock, many teams made navigational errors that cost anywhere from 30 to 120 minutes for some. The last two miles before Checkpoint 8 at Three Corner Rock provided a gnarly 800 foot climb on a road filled with nothing but small boulders serving as the last major test of biking strength and endurance.

Teams reaching Three Corner Rock were rewarded with blue skies filled with puffy white clouds and spectacular views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, the Columbia River Gorge, and Portland, OR below them. Team DART clocked into Checkpoint 8 in first place with a 15 minute lead over the solo male Team NextAdventure.net who advanced over the two person male Team MPGear.com, now in 3^rd place.

After clocking into Checkpoint 8, teams embarked on a highly technical single track trail that dropped 1300 feet with dozens of switchbacks. Along the trail the high mountain wildflowers were out in force, but teams had to concentrate on the trail ahead for fear of tumbling down the extremely steep slopes.

Turning off the single track trail, teams were greeted with another major navigational decision that served to sort out many team standings. Teams needed to make a critical right turn onto a road who’s entrance was bulldozed over. Many teams choose to keep riding on the road, which ultimately cost them a lot of time and extra climbing energy. Once teams entered on the bulldozed road, they were greeted with several miles of extremely deep ditches and berms, causing a roller coaster effect on the bikes. Passing through Checkpoint 9 and Checkpoint 10, teams had very few turns to make, but not making them could prove to be fatal, as team Dirty Little Secret (3 person coed) found out, as they dropped off the maps and ended up 9 miles West of the race course, resulting in a hitchhike back to Race HQ and a DNF.

Back at the transition area after screaming down the 2500 foot climb they endured earlier, Team DART held a commanding lead going into the final trekking section. From the TA, teams only had to tag one final Checkpoint on foot, prior to heading to the Finish Line. Getting there was fairly simple, but involved a steep uphill climb. Once there, they were greeted with several route options consisting of either bushwhacking in a direct line, or bush-whacking over to another creek and over to a trail that headed back, taking the roads back down and around, or the roads then one of several other bushwhacking options back to the finish line.

With so many different routes to choose from, many ranking positions changed at the last minute. When all was said and done, Team DART charged into the finish line in first place with a time of 7 hrs 23 mins, while the 2 person male Team MPGear.com taking second overall at 7 hrs 53 mins 30 seconds, and the solo male Team NextAdventure.net taking third over-all at 8 hrs 15 mins.

The Wicked Gorge race was the third stop en route to the 2005 Wicked Adventure Sprint Series Championship which will be decided in the season finale, the Wicked Ocean, October 1^st, on the Oregon Coast. See http://www.WickedAR.com for details.

Race Results:

Wicked Gorge Pro Course (6 to 12 hours) 4 Person Coed Category:

1. DART (WA - Cyril Jay-Rayon, Matthew Hart, Kimberly Shavender, Ryan VanGorder) 7 hrs, 23 min
2. Peak Physique Fitness (OR/WA) 9 hrs, 30 min
3. MPGear.com - Kitsap (WA) 9 hrs, 47 min 30 sec
4. Mergeo.com (WA) 10 hrs, 45 sec
5. PureFit/missinglinkAR.com (WA) 10 hrs, 5 min, 45 sec

Wicked Gorge Pro Course (6 to 12 Hours) Overall Rankings:

1. DART (4 person coed, Seattle, WA) 7 hrs, 23 min
2. MPGear.com (2 person male, ID/OR) 7 hrs 53 min 30 sec
3. NextAdventure.net (1 person male, OR) 8 hrs 15 min
4. Black Spot (3 person male, OR) 8 hrs 32 min 30 sec
5. MountainZone.com (1 person male, WA) 8 hrs 59 min

Wicked Gorge Sport Course (3 to 6 Hours) Overall Rankings:
1. Fox and Wolf (2 person male, WA - Doug Sauvage and Alan Sauvage) 5 hrs 11 min 30 sec
2. Who's Your Mama? (2 person coed, OR) 5 hrs 13 min 30 sec
3. Lamprey (3 person coed, OR) 5 hrs 38 min 30 sec
4. Hippie & the Mass-Scott (3 person male, WA) 5 hrs 42 min
5. Snowdogs (2 person coed, OR) 5 hrs 45 min

About Wicked Adventure Racing:

Founded in October, 2004, by husband and wife team Shane Gibson and Kathleen O'Neill, Wicked Adventure Racing, LLC, produces Oregon's only Adventure Racing Series. The 2005 Wicked Adventure Sprint Series is under way, with the final of four 6-12 Hour/3-6 Hour races, the Series Championship race:

• Wicked Ocean, October 1st, at Nehalem Bay State Park

Wicked races focus on tough navigation over beautiful and challenging terrain.

Wicked Adventure Racing sponsors include Next Adventure, Golite, REI, Hammer Nutrition, Lafuma, North Lake Physical Therapy, Road ID, iRule, Mountains Plus Gear, Watchful Eye Designs/AlokSak, Kavu, Sam Medical/Blistoban, Granite Gear, and Mountain Smith.

For more information on Wicked Adventure Racing, including the complete race schedule, locations, and registration, go to: http://www.WickedAR.com/ or call 503.625.9020