Patagonia Expedition Race--Day One

Day One of the Wenger Patagonia Expedition Race dawns sunny, but cut with a light rain flying sideways off the Gray Glacier in a perfect example of Patagonian weather. Nine international teams of elite athletes have converged upon Torres del Paine to launch a 600 km race against time, the harsh terrain, and each other in one of the most extreme tests of physical limitations on the planet in the Race at the End of the World. What better place to begin than the end? Though there are particular teams present who are the ones to beat, there are no guarantees of success in an environment as extreme as Patagonia, where the utmost in strength and endurance do not necessarily walk hand in hand with racing dominance. Many of the participants this year have been crowned winners around the world, so there is no doubt that the next ten days will be a fascinating display of human athleticism.

A rainbow frames the shore, littered with banana-colored two-person kayaks and swarming with racers, organizers, and press. Dry bags are forcibly shoved into the kayak holds and helmets and PFDs are hurriedly strapped over bodies squeezed into neoprene wetsuits. The wind is whipping so forcefully that at one point a paddle is jerked upwards, smacking into the nose of professional U.S. racer Jari Kirkland, who is teamed with the French winners of PER 2008. Not a great start, but after blinking hard a few times she shakes it off.

Finally the starting whistle is blown and the racers bow their bodies into the driving wind, digging hard to pull their boats away from the rocky shore. Driving straight is proving difficult as they are steadily pushed backward, battered with icy waves. The French team is the first to break free and surge forward, paddling hard until they hit the river, which will help propel them and the rest of the racers two-thirds of the way through the first 90km kayaking section. The Brits are not far behind, and both teams have members who are world champion kayakers--Gilles Lelievre for the French and Nicola Macleod for the British.

Following the kayaking will be a 100km bike through the hills trailing away from Estancia Perales and a jug up sixty meters of sheer rock face. Unfortunately, the rain worsens and the waves grow to three meters high, so there is a forced stop forty-five kilometers into the kayaking portion. The racers are ferried to where they will rapidly reassemble their awaiting bikes, which are stacked next to a barn filled with hundreds of sheepskins with hooves still attached, thrown in stacks and draped over railings. A dozen cats run around nosing into packs for dropped beef jerky crumbs.

The bikes are off to a fitful start, with most of the teams having to stop and dismount to tighten or re-wrench. The French and British teams are way ahead in time from the kayaking section and are two of the first out of the gate here as well, with the press bouncing in the back of trucks for up-close shots of the grimacing faces of the competitors.