Throughout the race we want to take an opportunity to thank our partners, without whom there wouldn’t be a Primal Quest. Each of them plays a vital role in the success of the race and deserve credit for allowing us the opportunity to have this great adventure.
One such partner is Mindquest, a company that specializes in improving performance under extreme and high risk conditions. The Mindquest programs are specifically designed to enhance human performance, whether it’s in the boardroom or out on the adventure racing course through carefully assessed, and scientifically backed, solutions.
Mindquest offers a variety of solutions for teams of all types and sizes, including leadership and team training, seminars aimed at quickly enhancing performance, and assistance in creating your own instructional programs.
The staff at Mindquest consists of operational psychologists, intelligence, security and crisis management specialists, cultural experts, and much more. The highly educated and talented Mindquest team has the experience and knowledge to help everyone from CEO’s to professional adventurers alike.
Primal Quest is proud to have Mindquest as one of it’s segment partners.
Wow!What a day at Primal Quest 2008: Montana!!!Competitor Blaine Reeves of team TravelCountry.com summed up today’s events with one word: EXTREME.Extreme cold, extreme speed, extreme whitewater, extreme danger, and extreme adventure.So extreme, in fact, that the Gallatin River has been closed and all competitors pulled off the water as of 2:50 pm.At that time, approximately 14 teams had completed the TATE riverboarding section and were already headed out on the MYTOPO.com trekking segment.The rest of the 58 teams were spread out from Transition Area 2 (TA2) to TA4, a range of about 35 miles.Today, Montana’s unpredictable conditions brought racers to the edge, kayaking and riverboarding the flood-level Gallatin. But as the water got even bigger over the course of the day, HQ made the call to remove competitors as the extreme conditions posed a severe safety hazard. All teams have been accounted for and will be staged at Transition Area 4 over the next few hours.
Many PQ Staff, Volunteers, and racers worked for hours to rescue team after team from the raging river. At one point, PQ directors were tracking four rescues at one time. One team was stuck on an island in the middle of the river and HQ has been buzzing with their heroic rescue by water course designer Josh Galt of Face Level Sports.
Wondering why teams were pulled off the Gallatin River today halfway through the paddling and riverboard sections? Then wonder no more. Just check out this video and all will be made clear.
It’s been another exciting day in Primal Quest Montana presented by SPOT, with the action continuing to be fast and furious. Here are a few notes from the field today:
- The big news of the day has been the Gallatin River, which continues to run very fast following the recent snow melt. In fact, the river continued to rise this afternoon, and has forced race management to pull teams off the river for their own safety. Teams that raced down the river earlier in the day were challenged, but were able to make the run successfully, but current teams are facing different conditions, and have now been pulled off the water completely. Those teams will next be shuttled to TA4 where they will resume the race on the trekking stage.
- Speaking of the river, a number of teams that managed to run the riverboarding section before the closure of the river emerged from the water with the early signs of hypothermia. Fortunately, TA4 was also a medical check station, and the crack PQ medical staff checked each competitor as they checked in, and no one was allowed to proceed until they had properly warmed up. None of the teams suffered any serious issues, and all were back on the trail in short order.
As racers assembled at the start line this morning, for the 10 AM launch of Primal Quest Montana, the base of Lone Mountain at Big Sky resort was wrapped in a thick blanket of fog. The TV crew chopper could be heard circling above and nervous energy began to build. As if part of the script, mother nature assisted race producer Don Mann as he counted down to the start by suddenly clearing away the fog revealing the mountain above. Nearly sixty teams of four flew out of the gate as a huge avalanche control charge detonated atop the 11,166 ft. summit signaling the beginning of a long day of trekking through the
Montana back country.
A snaking line of racers pushed their way up the mountain where they were met with a heavy snow
pack above tree line. Along a narrow ridge ropes crews had safety lines preset for teams to hook into for the final steep ascent.
GPS tracking, by SPOT, was available for spectators at the base to watch the progress of the entire field moving through this first mountaineering section. Watching the progress on a big screen, the close proximity of the teams made a clear leader hard to pick out so early in the race.
Not only is Primal Quest the “World’s most challenging human endurance competition”, it may just be the most compelling as well. Yesterday, as the race got underway, the website was hit with more than 2.2 million page views, as eager adventure racing fans clamored for news on the event.
We would like to thank everyone who is following the event online and have made Primal Quest 2008 a big success. Stay tuned, we have a lot more racing to come.
Primal Quest, the “World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition” is seeking volunteers to join the Quest. While we already have an amazing team on hand in Montana, this year’s course is both long and challenging, requiring more resources than expected.
If you would like to witness the “Superbowl of Adventure Racing” up close and personal, and would like to volunteer your time, contact Susanna Greever at susanna.greever@ecoprimalquest.com or go to this page and fill out the volunteer form.
Team CWC Stadium Dogs continues PQ 08 as an unranked team after one of the team members was forced to withdraw following a minor, non-life threatening injury. The team has elected to skip both the Travel Montana Inflatable Kayak section as well as the TATE Riverboarding section, and are en route to TA4 to continue the race.
"Look for 2008 Primal Quest on RUSH HD this fall."
Want a Piece of the Primal Quest Action?
PQ is looking for investors interested in growing “The World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition” and the Primal Quest Sprint Series.
If you’re interested in learning more about investment opportunities, contact Don Mann
Random PQ-Related Quotes
"Why do I do this? Just winning. I hate to say it, but that’s why I do it. You just kill yourself for five days, and then for the following five days you can’t do anything. It’s from one extreme to the other. And I actually hate feeling so handicapped. My feet really, really hurt, and you get a ton of edema for two days, and your body’s just trying to heal itself. And I hate that. But in the same breath, I love the racing and I love winning. So you kind of have to put up with the compromise.”
Throughout the race we want to take an opportunity to thank our partners, without whom there wouldn’t be a Primal Quest. Each of them plays a vital role in the success of the race and deserve credit for allowing us the opportunity to have this great adventure.
It’s been another exciting day in Primal Quest Montana presented by 
Not only is Primal Quest the “World’s most challenging human endurance competition”, it may just be the most compelling as well. Yesterday, as the race got underway, the website was hit with more than 2.2 million page views, as eager adventure racing fans clamored for news on the event. 
