Just a quick note on the conditions of the course for the upcoming Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race which gets underway in just 12 days now. I just published this report on the PQ site with news from the field on several issues that could impact the course.
First, as mentioned yesterday, the snow continues to fly in Montana, and teams are now required to bring snow shoes to the event. Course designer Chris Caul reported in yesterday that while surveying the course, the team was trekking through 10' of snow above 9000 feet, which makes for challenging conditions in the best of circumstances, let alone when you're in the middle of a 500 mile race and haven't slept in 3 days. To make matters worse, it's snowing again today, although the forecast looks to be warming up considerably near the end of the week.
Which leads to the other element to keep an eye on, and that's the whitewater. Right now, I'm told that the water is running fast and cold, and with temps warming up, there will likely be more runoff in the days ahead. But, at the moment things are falling in line with what has traditionally happened in the area during the spring, and we expect a quick increase, and then drop off of the water, making it safe for the paddling sections. Make no mistake, the water will be cold, and probably still quite fast, but not dangerously so. Teams should be well prepared to handle it.
The race is coming up quickly now, and I hopefully I can provide some good insights and commentary leading up to, during, and after the event.
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