Primal Quest Montana’s Course Director, Chris Caul, has been sending daily reports from the field to PQ World Headquarters and while we can’t divulge much, we can share with you this photograph and ask the following question:

Can you name these two World-Class Climbers?

Clue: They are the leaders of the Primal Quest – Montana Climbing Team

Leave your guesses in the comments!

Check out the Sportales blog which has just named Primal Quest as one of the Seven Hidden Wonders of the Sporting World/ Seven Most Spectacular and Hardest Sporting Events in the World.

Officially the most intense adventure race on the planet, this ever moving event pits man against the elements and his opponents. Taking place over multiple days, trekking, mountain biking, kayaking, white water swimming and navigation are only some of the skills athletes need to rely on the finish this grueling test of endurance.

PQ joins the likes of the Marathon de Sables, The Iditarod, Badwater Ultramarathon, Dakar Rally, Crocodile Trophy, and the Hawaii Ironman World Championships.

While many of us were fast asleep Friday morning, the Director of Primal Quest, Don Mann, and Chief Operations Officer, Dawn Taylor Mann were busy climbing to the top of one of the Seven Summits.

We received this quick note from Dawn yesterday:

We’re back after a successful summit of Kilimanjaro at 6:45 am Jan, 11. All six people in our party made the summit despite the -5 degree wind chill on the top (after the sun came up). The entire 7-day trek was more wonderful than any of us ever dreamed of… although the 6+ hour steep summit push in the dark, windy night was a real soul searching experience… very difficult! The views, the people (guides & porters) and every aspect of the trip so far have made this an experience of a lifetime. We had sunny skies the entire trip. A rare commodity, as we understand.

Don and Dawn are following up their climb of the 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) tall mountain with a four day safari. We can’t wait to hear their stories and see their photos in person!

Photo: Flickr/pintaa Some rights reserved.

Sir Edmund Hillary has died at the age of 88 in his native New Zealand.

On 29 May 1953, he and guide Tenzing Norgay became the first known climbers to summit Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth. Hillary went on to many other adventures including climbing ten more peaks in the Himalayas. He also became the first man to stand at both the North and South poles and on the summit of Everest.

We offer our condolences…

Tributes to the great adventurer Sir Edmund Hillary, who passed away at Auckland City Hospital at 9am on Friday morning, have begun to flow in:

Prime Minister Helen Clark:

“Sir Ed described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities. In reality he was a colossus. He was an heroic figure who not only ‘knocked off’ Everest but lived a life of determination, humility and generosity.

“The legendary mountaineer, adventurer, and philanthropist is the best-known New Zealander ever to have lived. But most of all he was a quintessential Kiwi. He was ours - from his craggy appearance and laconic style to his directness and honesty. All New Zealanders will deeply mourn his passing.

Today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch talks with PQ Course Director Chris Caul and the captain for team #82 Goals ARA Jeremy Kuhlen about Primal Quest Montana.

Check out a couple quotes from Caul below and then read the full article!

“I almost kick myself every time I sign on to work one of these events, because it means I’m not going to be racing it,” the Covington native said. “I just hate that I’m not going to race this because I do love it.”

“Our last race was just a phenomenal course. Everyone loved it, and we thought it was going to be hard to match that,” Caul said. “When we looked further at Montana, we started realizing that this was not only going to meet Utah but probably exceed it. Once we got on the ground, we found that it exceeded it in every dimension.”

Read the full article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Tthe 5th edition of Primal Quest is coming to Montana in 2008. Here’s what some of the top AR news sites are saying about the announcement:

From Jackie Windh on Sleepmonsters:

The long-awaited announcement has finally been made: Primal Quest 2008 will take place in “Big Sky Country” – the state of Montana. PQ’s CEO Don Mann says that his management and operations teams are excited about the venue, and he offers these details…

Read Full Entry on Sleepmonsters

From Mike Bitton on Checkpoint Zero:

After months of speculation by adventure racers worldwide, Primal Quest has announced that Montana, the “Big Sky” state, will host the 2008 edition of the world’s toughest endurance competition. Montana has no shortage of locations for traditional PQ disciplines like trekking, trail running and orienteering. Need a water section? Lakes for paddling, and whitewater rivers for rafting or swimming, race out of every canyon. Towering peaks are everywhere, which should make for spectacular ropes sections.

Read Full Entry on Checkpoint Zero

From Kraig Becker on The Adventure Blog:

Personally, I have to say that I think Montana is a great choice for the 2008 Primal Quest. It has some of the most mountainous, remote regions anywhere in the United States, and it’s a place that a lot of people don’t know anything about. The course has the potential to be far and away the most challenge PQ ever put together, and with 100,000 feet of vertical gain (or is that pain?) the teams will certainly have their work cut out for them. The event is now 7 months away, and the teams have been put on notice. Run hills. Lots and lots of hills. And when you’re tired and exhausted from running hills, run some more. Something tells me you’re going to need every bit of that training! Welcome to Big Sky Country!

Read Full Entry on The Adventure Blog

Are you blogging about Primal Quest? Excited about the race coming to Montana? Let us know by leaving a comment!

We recently announced the next Primal Quest would be held in Montana, but did you know we are already well into planning for 2009 and beyond?

Several countries are in the running for future Primal Quest competitions, and we are always looking for other ideas and leads. If you would like to see Primal Quest come to a country where you have connections, contact Director Don Mann.

Today Primal Quest released its second official Competitor Newsletter, and with it, the location of the 2008 race.

The full newsletter is now available on the Team Resources section of the website and contains lots of exciting details and updates.

The following is a letter from Don Mann announcing Primal Quest Montana…

Dear Adventurers,

It is my honor and great pleasure to welcome you to Primal Quest Montana, the “World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition.” In less than 7 months you will gather at the starting line with many of the world’s finest adventure racers and set out to compete in an epic adventure. On behalf of the entire Primal Quest Management and Operations Team I want to express just how excited we are for your team to join us in the mountains of The Big Sky State.

Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and Arizona were also in contention to host Primal Quest in 2008. While any of these states could have produced spectacular races, our Montana course, in my opinion, is second to none. I can promise that you will love this course and will never forget it!

Read the rest of this entry »