The Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race saw competitors to take on sub-zero temperatures in the southern mountains of Chilean Patagonia this month (February) and finished with a team of British adventurers retaining their title and six other teams making it all the way through the spectacular scenery for the closest podium battle in the race's history.
British team Helly Hansen-Prunesco, returning after victory in 2009 to join a bumper field of 14 teams, performed faultlessly over almost 600km of kayaking, mountain biking and trekking through the remote and spectacular wilderness of Chile's Tierra del Fuego and Isla Navarino, taking the lead midway through and finishing in just over five days and six hours.
Notoriously strong winds in the virgin wilderness of Chilean Patagonia caused the cancellation of the initial kayak across the Straits of Magellan and blew competitors off their bikes in the early stages but it was the tough trekking in the Darwin Range that created the biggest challenge, with the winners having to cross a fast-flowing icy river to make it to victory.
"It was an amazing race in an incredible part of the world," said winning captain Nicola MacLeod. "In the early part, it was hard enough to walk with the bike let alone ride it. Then in the trek, when we had to swim, we got very rapidly swept downstream but fortunately we chose the right spot. The howling blizzard was really tough, but it was also magical.
"This year's race has been fantastic for the scenery and spectacular surroundings. The high passes on the Paso de los Lagunas were amazing and at night we saw the most amazing constellation of stars we have ever seen, surrounded by a crown of mountains. It was a tough race, but it was beautiful up there. We showed persistence pays - which is the motto of this race in a lot of ways. There were some really high quality athletes in the field but there is no weak link in this team."
This annual battle through the wilderness, which normally has a completion rate of between 30 to 40 percent, proved to be a true expedition for many teams but despite tough conditions an impressive 50 percent of the field managed to complete a course that traveled in the footsteps of Ferdinand Magellan and Charles Darwin as Chile celebrates its bicentenary.
Behind Helly Hansen-Prunesco several teams battled for the podium, with Spain's Air Europa Bimont stretching out an advantage to finish second while German team Herbertz and Team Switzerland shared third after a time correction for a delay in crossing the Tyrolean in the middle of the course. Americans GearJunkie.com came in fifth, Canadian's Untamed New England were sixth and the first Asian team to take part in the competition, Japan's East Wind, completed the course to become the final finisher in seventh place.
The race is run with the aim of raising awareness of the fragile environment in Chilean Patagonia - and teams saw the devastation caused by the abundant beaver population at first hand. MacLeod said: "They have certainly altered the environment. It's not what is needed and it has changed the whole ecosystem massively. You can see that when you go through it - there was dam after dam after dam."
The race moved quickly through Tierra del Fuego during the early stages, with five different teams taking a turn in the lead, but the main 114km trek through the Darwin Range proved too tough for some as seven of the 14 starting teams dropped out through exhaustion or because they failed to reach the checkpoints in time.
British team Fast and Light was unable to begin the main trek due to illness and Chilean team BOE Ejercito de Chile also made it little further. Four others - Almas Patagonicas (CL), Eddie Bauer (USA), Terra Mundo Lontra (BRA) and Almost Famous (USA) quit as the mountains steepened after 30km while Nord Water retired after Tuomas Sovijarvi succumbed to the pain after trekking 90km with internal bleeding in his leg from a fall.
Those that continued on experienced freezing conditions in the high mountain passes and GearJunkie.com's Jasson Magness said: "I have done a lot of backcountry expeditions and this really reminded me of that. There are no trails, anything goes and we just had to make it, no matter what we came up against - but the Guanaco trails led us in the right direction."
RACE RESULTS
1. Helly Hansen-Prunesco (UK): 126hrs 8mins
2. Air Europa Bimont (ESP): 142hrs 46mins
3= Switzerland (SWI): 145hrs 6mins
3= Herbertz (DE): 145hrs 6mins
5. GearJunkie.com (USA): 147hrs 31mins
6. Untamed New England (CDN): 148hrs 17mins
7. East Wind (JPN): 162hrs 20mins
8. Nord Water (FIN/SWE): reached PC15
9. Almost Famous (USA): reached PC10
10. Terra Mundo Lontra (BRA): reached PC10
11. Eddie Bauer: (USA): reached PC10
12. Almas Patagonicas (CL): reached PC10
13. BOE Ejercito de Chile (CL): reached PC9
14. Fast and Light (UK): reached PC8