PQ Kickoff: Day 1, Part 1
Posted on 06/23/08 2:13 PM| by Kraig
PQ 2008: Day 1, Part 1
Posted by Frances Fisher, PQ Asst Media Director
The sound of a helicopter was the only indication of life above the base of Big Sky Resort. The fog was so thick the chopper couldn’t be seen (only heard) and Lone Peak Mountain – the “prologue” for the 500+ mile race through Montana – remained invisible.
At the last minute, literally, the cloud cover burned off, unveiling the towering mountain that represents the first two Checkpoints (out of 31 total). A wave of awe went through the crowd, hearts started pumping, and the 25 lb charge went off, signaling the start of Primal Quest 2008: Montana.
Hundreds of racers filed up the mountain at a swift but steady pace, following in the compacted snow tracks of the teams that came before. If the racers did break through the snow cover, they would sink down in snow up to their knees. Ski poles in hand and bear spray at their waists, the racers were off on their great adventure.
Race organizers attempted to blast some of the snow off of the narrow ridge, reducing avalanche danger and keeping racers safe, but to no avail. Racers traversed the ridge – newly notched from the charges that were no match for the hard-packed snow and ice. A fixed rope guided the racers, creating a slight bottleneck as each team clipped in.
After a mere 1.5 hours, the first racers reached the summit. An hour later, they reached the transition area at the base and were off for 40 more miles of trekking. The top three teams from PQ 2006: Utah, Teams Nike, Merrell, and PeakAdventure.com, were the first in, followed shortly by team DART-nuun. All four of these teams finished this first segment over an hour ahead of organizers’ fastest estimates, keeping volunteers on their toes to get checkpoints (CPs) and transition areas (TAs) open and ready for the speeding competitors.
Stay tuned – the adventure has just begun!
