Primal Quest has been over for nearly a month, and you’ve had time to return home, settle in, and reflect on your experiences. Now is your chance to share those experiences and win $500 in the process!

The team over at Peak.com is sponsoring a contest and they want to hear all of your stories from Montana.  Simply head over to their website, create a profile and write a blog post recapping the race. Include your name, as well as your team name and number, put PQ in the title of your blog, and write your thoughts on the race. Over the course of the next few weeks, Peak.com members will vote on the best blog entries, and the winner will receive $500.

Peak.com allows members to connect with one another, share photos, music, videos, maps and more. Peak.com is currently in beta and working on many improvements, but it is becoming one of the top spots on the web for endurance and adventure athletes.   Join the community at Peak.com, blog your best PQ stories and take home the cash. 

By Craig Stein

July 1, 2008 – Big Sky, Montana

As Primal Quest Montana 2008 approaches it’s conclusion on Thursday July, 2 most of the major filming on the project has been completed. The program is already being edited and producers will deliver (4) half-hour episodes to Rush HD in mid October, 2008.  Rush will begin promoting the broadcast sixty days in advance of the premiere.  Details will be posted on the PQ website as they become available.

Director Tim Powell kindly agreed to take time out of his slam-packed shooting schedule to answer some questions from the Primal Quest media staff.

Q: Tim, what is your history in the AR community? What races have you been involved with and in what capacity?

A: I was a Producer on Eco Challenge British Columbia and Eco Challenge Borneo, and Supervising Producer/Director on Eco Challenge New Zealand, Eco Challenge Fiji and Armed Forces Eco Challenge. I was also Producer/Director on Raid Gauloises Ecuador and Raid Gauloises Nepal.

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News from the course on the 7th day of Primal Quest Montana.

-  There are now five teams across the finish line, with Nike and Merrell already relaxing at Moonlight Basin, who has generously given the top three teams luxury accommodations at their world class resort. Meanwhile, DART-nuun and Team Bones wait to see who is ultimately awarded third place, and the last ticket to Moonlight. Word is that one of the teams might have time credits that could sway the ultimate final rankings. Earlier today, Team MOAT/Peak.com crossed the finish line to finish off the top five. 

-  As I write this, five more teams are closing in on the finish, with BaseCamp due any moment and Nike ACG lined up to take seventh place. After that comes a pair of international teams, with Merrell Halti Multimania of Norway, Team Hunky Dorys of Ireland battling it out, followed by  Oceanic Interactive gunning for a top ten spot. 

- The sign that accompanies this post was taken at the entrance of Ennis Lake, the last checkpoint before teams turn for home. It pretty much sums up how all the racers and PQ staff feels about Montana. It’s a beautiful state and an amazing place to hold a race, and the incredible hospitality we’ve all been shown continues to leave a great impression. (Photo by Gulnur Tumbat)

- Teams received word today that if they are not through Transition Area 13 by 9 AM tomorrow, they will be “short coursed”. TA13 is located at Storm Castle and begins a MYTOPO.com Trekking Leg. Teams that have not reached that point will be driven to CP30 and allowed to continue along a shortened route that has them riding their mountain bikes to the finish line. 

- Word from the course is that most of the racers are still feeling great, and enjoying the scenery. Many of them reached the ropes section today, which has been one of the highlights of this year’s race. Ropes Course Designer Jay Smith has out done himself, and racers have been delighted with the climb and rappel alike. 

By now, everyone following Primal Quest from home is well aware of the capabilities of the SPOT Satellite Messenger. Throughout the course of the race, it’s allowed us all to track the teams progress, and check their standing on the leaderboard. But the device does a lot more than that. Whether you’re an adventure racer on a 10 day expedition race or an outdoor enthusiast heading out for a day in your local wilderness, the SPOT can provide security and safety with not only it’s ability to be tracked, but also to send messages, including a call for help.

Over the course of the past week, the SPOT Messenger has continued to impress everyone on the PQ staff, but none more than the Medical and Search and Rescue teams. Last week, when the Gallatin went from challenging white water to wild, white knuckle ride, the decision was made to pull everyone off the water, and the SAR team was able to quickly locate every team and keep track of their status, thanks to the SPOT. The fact that the Messenger is water proof, and floats, also proved invaluable in the conditions the teams were encountering. Within minutes, the teams were safe and sound on dry land, thanks to a coordinated effort between the Comms center and PQ staff and volunteers in the field. The SPOT Messenger was invaluable in those efforts.

Twice this week teams have inadvertently activated their SPOT Messengers, setting off a flurry of activity that begins with a signal being sent to SPOT’s monitoring center in Houston, TX, which immediately alerts the PQ Search and Rescue Team. From there, the SAR Team gets in contract with local authorities and coordinates with staff in the field to get on site just as quickly as they can. Fortunately, in these two cases, there was no emergency, but knowing the exact location of the teams in the field had allowed rescue teams to respond very quickly and with pin point accuracy. 

Yesterday, one racer took a spill, going over the handle bars of his mountain bike at high speeds. He was reportedly unconscious for as much as 45 seconds, and the team activated it’s SPOT device to call for aid. Coordinating with the Comms staff, the medic in the field, who was also carrying a SPOT Messenger, was on location in a very short time. Primal Quest HQ was able to track the medic, and direct him to the team who had issued the 911. The medic was able to quickly render aid to the fallen racer, who was soon given a clean bill of health, and sent on his way, continuing his Primal Quest race. 

These incidences have made it abundantly clear that the SPOT Messenger is the must have device for anyone traveling in the backcountry. Not only does it allow you to send messages to your friends and family, letting them know that you’re okay, but it also allows them to track your progress practically anywhere in the world. But the real value of the device is it’s ability to call for help from those remote places, giving outdoor adventurers a measure of safety never before seen. 

For a limited time, SPOT, who is the Presenting Sponsor of Primal Quest 2008, is giving away six  months free tracking service. Simply purchase a SPOT Messenger from this page and enter the promo code “PRIMAL8″ to receive this special deal. But you’ll have to hurry, the offer only runs until July 15th.

And don’t forget, you can still sign up to win a free SPOT signed by the winning team Nike. Go to this page to sign up. 

Photo by Andres Vargas

More notes from the course today.

- Now that Nike and Merrell are home, and enjoying the spa treatment over at Moonlight Basin all eyes now turn to Bones and Dart-nuun, who are currently neck and neck and powering towards the finish line. Both teams are expected to reach the end tonight, with the fastest team claiming the last podium position. 

-  Team Nike ACG (pictured) reached the climb site today at about 1:50 PM local time and proceeded to tackle the ropes section. In an interesting move however, they elected to not find any of the orienteering points on the optional O-course, which means they are passing up a lot of time credits to get a jump on the competition and stay on the course.

- The bulk of the teams are still moving through the Bridger mountains and by all accounts, most of the athletes are in good spirits feeling fine and enjoying the views. With a lot of course still ahead of them however, some of the trailing teams may risk getting “short coursed” in order to finish before the cut-off time.

- Over heard on the the course:  ”I have been racing since Eco Challenge 96.  Primal Quest – Montana is without doubt the greatest AR I have ever competed in. In every aspect, Primal Quest – Montana out-did any other AR!” The person responsible for this quote? None other than Blain Reeves, who has been racing since before the first Eco-Challenge. 

- Kudos to Jay Smith and the entire climb team. The teams seem to be enjoying the incredible ropes course he has put together, with Nike commenting that it was the most intense ropes course that they had ever done.  

- I’ve mentioned a few times before that the Werewolves are blogging from the race, and doing an admirable job I’d say. But a few other teams are also doing great blogs, such as this one from the Dirty Avocados, or this one from Racing With Giants. Team Shasta/Core Concepts is also blogging their PQ experience and Dart-nuun is making regular updates to their site as well. 

After 6 days, 2 hours, and 10 minutes of racing Team Merrell/Zanfel Adventure has claimed second place in the 2008 Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race. Congrats to the entire team for an excellent race.

Photo by Will Ramos