FAWAP 2
race report

By Michael Ciavatta, race director

Two teams finished. One team was pulled. Five teams gave up, one after being missing in action for four hours. 100 mile-an-hour winds. One real time course change. One minor nose injury. Silly me, I thought this race would be easier to manage than the first version.

Let me step back for a second. I was originally designing a course to take place in the area around Winter Park. It provided for a challenging race at altitude and included paddling, mountain biking, trekking, climbing and navigation. The first bump in the road was an email from the US Forest Service advising that the "race" could not take place without obtaining permits. After lengthy emails and phone conversations we were permitted to continue based on the fact that this would not be a real race (not providing a service), we were not charging for participation, and the number of participants would be small. With that hurdle cleared I ran into a brick wall. On one of my trips to the area I drove up to where one of the transition areas was going to be. Problem was, I couldn't get closer to a mile from it due to the amount of snow on the road. Big problem. I hastily decided I would create a new course on the east side of the Divide. This would need to be done fast.

Ever since watching one of the Raid Gauloises' on TV and watching teams summit Mt. Cotopaxi, I've wanted to design a course that included a summit. I also knew I wanted to include a somewhat decent paddling section. That led me to the area outside Boulder. I quickly decided on two events: summiting Mt. Audubon and paddling the Boulder Reservoir. Part of the problem was the distance between the two. And it would be more than boring, as it would consist mainly of paved roads. If I chose to do the paddling first it would mean summiting close to midnight, not exactly ideal, not to mention the bike portion would be all uphill. The other option of summiting first, then biking down to the Res had its problems too. It would mean an all-downhill bike ride (what's the fun in that?). Unfortunately, the parking area at the Res closes at 10 P.M and would not allow for a midnight paddle. In thinking through the problem I created an interesting solution. The race would start at the Res, then support crews would be required to transport teams to a transition area where the trekking portion would begin. This accomplished my goals of paddling within hours, summiting at a not too unreal hour, and getting the support crews involved in this "support crew challenge".

The weather for this race looked great right up to race day. The temperatures at night were not predicted to drop too low and no storms, either snow or rain, were predicted for the weekend. I was so happy with the forecast that I failed to check it the morning of the race. On my way to the pre-race meeting I was called by Steve, one of the volunteers. He told me that there was a wind advisory predicted for basically the entire area of the course. Let the fun begin…

On Saturday morning under cover of fog keeping temperatures chilly, I met with Team Bugle Brothers, a group of new racers, at the King Soopers parking lot on Lookout Road in Boulder. They had some outdoor experience but had never done an adventure race before. They were supposed to have done the race with friends of theirs, Team Hotel Charlie, but that team was unable to make it due to some personal problems. This left the Bugle Brothers on their own. After a mini navigation clinic and some basic adventure racing tips I let the team head back to their vehicles for the gear check, loaning them a strobe light and bike tool to complete their gear list.

All of the teams showed up close to 10am and with a group of five volunteers we commenced gear checks. With minor exceptions all of the teams had what they needed. We began the pre-race meeting. I have an interest in the history of the area where the race was going to take place and was able to locate some mindless trivia about the areas that the teams would be traveling through. After boring the teams with this and the race rules, the maps and UTM coordinates were passed out. The race as originally planned would begin across from the Boulder Res. Teams would portage their boats approximately one mile to a put-in. There they would loop around the Res once, check in at the CP, do a second loop, check in at the CP and then portage back to the start area. From here, support crews would transport teams to the Brainard Lake Campground. Teams would travel off-road to the trailhead of Mt. Audubon, summit Mt. Audubon, then cross over to the Niwot Ridge area, down to a forest service road that would lead to the next transition area. Here they would transition to bikes, travel up the Sourdough Trail north of Brainard Lake, take the Peak to Peak Highway back into Ward where they would take forest service and 4WD roads to Gold Hill and Sunset, and end up on the Switzerland Trail. This would lead them back to the Peak to Peak Highway and then the race finish at the Sourdough Trailhead. The race was mapped out to be approximately 70 miles: 10 miles of portage/paddling, 18 miles of trekking, and 40 miles of biking.

The race started at 12:15, and watching the eight teams take off for a one mile portage was more than interesting. Team Propiasm and Team Persevering Tango took the lead, a sign of things to come. Some teams used wheels, some teams carried, and some tried both. Team Bugle Brothers had one teammate carry their canoe over their head while the other two teammates presumably cheered him on. The teams portaged to CP 1 and headed to the water for their two laps. Team Propiasm and Team Persevering Tango hit CP 2 at the same time and continued around for the second lap. CP volunteers soon learned why Team Bugle Brothers were so named; they "bugled" animal calls heading out for their second lap. Teams quickly made their second lap and headed, via portage, from CP 3 to CP 4/TA 1.

At the pre-race meeting I made reference to a "Support Crew Challenge", wherein support crews would be timed from CP 4/TA 1 to CP 5/TA 2. Inadvertently, I think I may have scared a couple support crew members. The support crew for Team Disgruntled Sheep Shearers was worried that they needed to plot points and navigate their way to Brainard Lake. I assured them there was no trick to this section. Team Propiasm and Team Knee Deep won the Support Crew Challenge, getting from the Boulder Res to Brainard Lake in 41 minutes.

At 2:43pm Team Propiasm arrived at CP 5/TA 2, followed closely by Team Persevering Tango. Both teams set out for the trek at the same time. Teams were encouraged to use the posted trail maps at the trailheads, since the maps they were given did not have all of the trails listed and they were forbidden to use roads from CP 5 to CP 6. As Team Propiasm and Team Persevering Tango studied the maps I went up the trail about 20 feet to take their picture as they headed out on the trek to summit Mt. Audubon, 13,223. You can imagine my surprise when one of the team members from Propiasm yells out "it’s this way", and headed in the opposite direction from me.

A week ago, myself and Steve, one of the volunteers, hiked up Mt. Audubon to check on snow and trail conditions. We had a perfect day, weather wise, and though there was snow it appeared very manageable. Steve even offered his services as the CP person for the summit on the day of the race. Since there's little chance of rationalizing with someone who is certifiable I told him that would be a great idea.

On my way to the Mt Audubon trailhead I noticed how windy it had been getting. I hiked up near tree line to catch pictures of the teams as they broke through the forest on their way to the top. As I sat and waited I looked at the ridges and summits of nearby mountains. All I could see was snow billowing off the tops. I was curious just how windy it was further up and how far Steve had gone.

In what was becoming a standard, Teams Propiasm and Persevering Tango broke through the forest first. I also caught sign of an injury to a racer. One of Propiasm's team members had a small gash right by his nose. When I questioned if all was OK I was told by his team that he uses a pocket knife to pick his nose. I left it at that. I ran into the first seven teams all within about 40 minutes of each other. It took a little while, however, to find the eighth team, Team SLAGIATT. I managed to find them walking aimlessly towards CP 6. They told me they ran into some navigation problems and crisscrossed the road several times in an attempt to locate CP 6. Now they would head up towards the summit in hopes of reaching the CP before the 8pm cutoff. Team Persevering Tango was first to reach Steve at 12,500 feet, at 5:54pm, followed two minutes later by Team Propiasm. Team Disgruntled Sheep Shearers came just 10 minutes later, followed by Team O2 Extreme, Team Knee Deep, Team Bugle Brothers, and Team Landshark AR.

With all teams accounted for I headed over to where the teams would go for CP 8. I hiked in to the unnamed trail they would take across Niwot Ridge to a forest service road that would lead them to CP 9/TA 3. The wind had really picked up by now. When I reached the trail intersection I noticed that there was all fresh snow and no footprints to guide racers through to the road. Furthermore, in my studies of mindless trivia for the area, I learned that Niwot Ridge is very exposed and had recorded some of the highest winds in North America, 160 MPH. Given the difficulty of following the trail in the dark in fresh snow in high winds I decided to alter the course. I sped back to the Mt. Audubon trailhead to let the teams know of the course change. Now, instead, teams would follow the road back to CP 5, then take Sourdough Trail south to CP 9/TA 3.

I first ran into Team SLAGIATT. They had opted not to attempt to summit and instead were heading to CP 8. I let them know of the course change and they decided they were too spent to continue.

All of the other teams were made aware of the course change as they exited Mt. Audubon trailhead. Team Persevering Tango reported being literally blown off the trail, twice. I was told by the racers that Steve had made it to the summit and felt that the winds were at least 100 MPH. He dropped down about 700 feet and waited for the teams to arrive. By all accounts everyone was impressed that he hung out there as long as he did. Did I mention certifiable? Team Landshark AR were last out of the forest and let me know to specifically thank Steve for showing great concern for their temperament at that altitude. While the teams headed straight to CP 9/TA 3 I waited with Sara, one of the volunteers, to pick Steve up. When Steve got down he told me he was pretty impressed with everyone for getting to where they did. He was concerned for Team Landshark AR though. At the top they both appeared "loopy" and "out of it", asking silly questions. He sent them right back down, packed up his stuff and followed them down. I assured him when I saw them after they were lucid and in good spirits.

With Steve picked up we headed over to CP 9/TA 3 and to Allison, another volunteer. Allison had brought along her pop-up trailer just in case anyone needed to get warm or crash. In true support crew fashion, I bumped into several crew members waiting patiently for their teams to arrive and passing the time with good old fashioned beer.

Teams arrived slowly, cursing the fact that they were going to have to ride their bikes back up the trail they just walked down. Team Disgruntled Sheep Shearers decided to call it a night at this TA. The other teams took time to warm up, grab food, and prep themselves for the bike ride to follow. Team Propiasm left the TA at 10:14pm followed in two minutes by Team Persevering Tango. The rest of the teams scattered their exits with the last team, Team Landshark AR, leaving at 12:10am.

Teams were to bike north up Sourdough Trail, across Brainard Lake Rd, staying on Sourdough Trail, then connecting with the South St Vrain Trail to CP 10. From CP 10 they would take a short road ride on the Peak to Peak Hwy, and a short jaunt on Left Hand Canyon Rd, past Ward, to CP 11. Steve and I headed to CP 11 to catch up with the teams to see how they were doing. Team Propiasm and Team Persevering Tango showed up close to 2:15am, looking good. They headed up the steep Sawmill Rd on their way to Gold Hill. Steve and I waited close to two hours and no other team showed up. Slightly concerned, we drove back through Ward, onto Peak to Peak Hwy and back to CP 10. Not seeing any teams that way we headed back to the finish to see if any of the teams had dropped out. Allison let us know that Team O2 Extreme had dropped out and left and that Team Knee Deep had also dropped out and were packing up. I talked with Team Knee Deep. They told me that the wind had been fierce in several locations on the road ride portions. I decided that, given how far behind the two back teams were from the two front teams we would pull them from the course. The temperature was also starting to inch down.

We drove back up Peak To Peak towards CP 10 and bumped into Team Landshark AR. Both team members were very motivated and full of energy. It was disappointing to have to pull them from the race, and I'm sure they were disappointed as well. They rode Peak to Peak back to the finish. It’s been said that things happen for a reason and that's certainly the case here, as will be explained shortly.

We drove the route to CP 11 and did not find Team Bugle Brothers. Not sure if we might have missed them, we headed back to the finish and talked to Allison, who also had not heard anything. Team Landshark AR, who were last to leave CP 9, did not pass them on their way to CP 10. Steve and I decided we would drive the 4x4 trails backwards from the finish to CP 11 to see if we could find the missing team. Allison went straight to CP 11 in case they were still trudging in that direction. Bouncing around in the dark on 4 wheel drive roads looking for a missing team was certainly not the high point of the race, from a director's perspective. We headed back to the finish and on not seeing any bikes didn't even pull into the parking lot. We made it back to Allison at CP 11 who had still not seen or heard from them. Allison headed to Brainard Lake Campground while we headed once again for CP 10. Still not finding the team we also headed to Brainard Lake. Surmising that if they got stuck along the way the smart thing would be to find shelter and wait until morning. Allison, Steve, and I checked every bathroom along the road at Brainard Lake and still could not locate the team.

For a group of new racers Team Bugle Brothers had impressed me throughout the race. They had a great attitude and were consistently in the middle of the pack. That is until now. Now they had vanished. We were planning our next move and who exactly we would need to call to expand our resources to search. Allison headed back to the finish, and Steve and I headed to Ward to try and get cell service to see if there were any messages on our phone. It took us a short while to get service in town, but when we did there was a message from Allison letting us know the team was inside her trailer, safe and sound. It was now after 8:00am.

I talked with the team about what had happened. Still sporting great attitudes and even a sense of humor, they pulled out their maps to show me. They properly headed north up Sourdough Trail to Brainard Lake. Instead of continuing on Sourdough Trail they took Brainard Lake Rd to the Peak to Peak Hwy. Knowing they had to head north to get to CP 10 they headed….south. And continued heading… south. Finally realizing that they had gone way too far in the wrong direction and being tired they decided to stop on the side of the road. They grabbed their emergency blankets for warmth and turned on the strobe light I had lent them. Fortunately, Team Landshark AR ran into the team on the side of the road and gave them a lift back to the finish and the warmth of a pop-up trailer. In fact, when we drove back to the finish they saw us and jumped out of the trailer to wave us down, but as we didn't drive into the parking lot we didn't see them. With everyone finally being accounted for we packed up and shut down FAWAP 2.

The race on a whole was challenging. The weather would have been perfect if not for the particularly severe winds throughout the course. I was impressed by all of the teams and their perseverance in getting to the points that they all did. Special kudos go out to Team Propiasm and Team Persevering Tango for showing the true spirit of adventure racing with healthy competition and ultimately finishing as one team.