Tag: safety

Posted on

The Commandant Report: 36 Hours of Uwharrie

In it’s third year of operation and organized by Path Less Traveled, American Adventurist staff members have been the Camp Commandants for this event since it’s inception, motivating and challenging the participants on many different levels as this endurance event evolves each year.
As 4WD educators, trainers and consultants, we’ve had a unique opportunity to shape the style and tone of this event from the ground up, and we get a lot of questions about what it is, and what it isn’t. Here’s some thoughts from “Inside the Wire”.

What IS this 36 Hours of Uwharrie thing about anyway? 

36 Hours of Uwharrie is a “military themed” back-country endurance challenge. Two-person teams accumulate points by completing missions including precision off-road driving, navigation, vehicle recovery techniques, canoeing, first aid, marksmanship with rifle, pistol, and clay shooting. Competitors are purposely pushed to their physical and mental limits, and must be self-sufficient as they navigate their vehicles to compete in individual and team based events at various stations hidden throughout the Uwharrie National Forest and private properties in Montgomery County, North Carolina.

No outside support is allowed, and they must complete the event with what they brought. No trailers, no pit crews, no pizza deliveries, no showers. Two people and one machine with whatever gear and supplies they can fit inside it. Because that’s all they will have once they enter the Forward Operating Base.

What this event is not about, it’s not a Boot Camp. With the exception of a mandatory period of instruction on firearms safety and first aid, we don’t have time to teach or train them on what they need to know to win. That’s not the goal of the Commandants or the event organizers at Path Less Traveled. Well maybe a little tongue in cheek “motivation” might be needed now and then to liven things up, but the point of a military theme is to inject purpose-driven friction and discipline into the event – teamwork, hustle, safety considerations, execution of the timelines right down to fueling the vehicles at the end of the day, and ensuring sleep and hydration plans are adhered to. And don’t forget that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). All done in cadence and by the numbers. The military theme as operationalized by our veteran military instructors from the Navy and Marine Corps allows us to ensure very little time is wasted while maximizing safety and the overall experience for the competitors.

Each year the event is different. Staff members burn the midnight oil, formulating new and challenging ideas to keep veteran teams off balance, and new contestants surprised. This year the teams had to throw axes. Yes, AXES. As in throw them for points. Bet they didn’t practice that before they showed up in North Carolina! It’s easy enough as long as they don’t hit the hostage!

Think you can shoot? Try hitting steel targets with rifle and pistol and clays with a shotgun when you’re tired and stressed out. Hurry up and safely exit our range!

Why would anyone subject themselves or their vehicles to these conditions?

This one is simple really. 36 Hours of Uwharrie is not for everyone. It pays to be a winner and this event attracts winners. It’s been said by many that the average recreational “outdoorsman” or off-roader doesn’t have what it takes to even finish this event. The maximum effective range of an excuse in Uwharrie is zero meters. So you need to be in shape. There are no amenities. We do not care who sponsored you, what you drive, or who you are in your day job. You need to have a thick skin and a sharp mind to survive here or the forest will break you. And quitting, always a temptation, is as easy as driving away…

36 Hours of Uwharrie is about GO time, ALL the time. It’s a level playing field where a $100K rig guarantees you nothing. Nothing but a few jeers from those finishing the same obstacles in a $5K bomber class truck. Because if you can’t drive, navigate, shoot, communicate, repair, recover, and rinse & repeat then you have no chance here. Because it’s Carolina hot (average 90 degrees and 90% humidity), and Uwharrie fights you with bugs and mud and rain and rocks. Add about 4 hours of sleep day after day with little food and it just isn’t enough for normal people. But there are those who embrace it, who smile all day every day, because they get it.

The real key to victory here is not your rig or the latest high speed equipment, it’s your attitude. It’s what’s in your heart and between your ears.

Gray’s Off-Road featured Tommy and Casey Gray, a father and son team. Tommy lost 60 pounds to be ready to compete with his son Casey this year. This picture was taken on his 52nd birthday!

A NOTE ABOUT PHOTOS: I took most of these on the fly using a Canon G7X Mark II. 99% of these photos are unedited and unfiltered. Real. Just like the fine Americans you meet at this event.

And that’s why they come back year after year. It’s FUN and it’s personal. They’re bettering themselves and their skills and they know it. Just competing in an event like this is a huge accomplishment all by itself. Our Veterans understand when we say that Pride is Forever, because they’ve earned it, and our respect. Like these two cheeky monkeys below. They know that teamwork makes the dream work.

And the question that get’s asked the most: Are they CRAZY?

YES! Yes they are. This event draws the very BEST people from all over the country and from every walk of life. They are the dreamers, the gamblers, the builders, and the fabricators. Professional racers with big-name corporate sponsorship; “regular Joe & Jane’s” who weld and wrench all year long to take a shot at the professionally sponsored teams, and the growing number of husband and wife teams looking for a challenge that’s off grid and authentic. Or, a good reason to get a divorce.

36 Hours of Uwharrie attracts scores of the very best people in the outdoor and 4WD industry. They work tirelessly behind the scenes organizing stations, working media and drones (rumors abound of a 4 part miniseries on this event this year), and the Volunteers from the local community that see the value of an authentic, “no holds barred” endurance challenge that brings out the best in people and honors one of our oldest American values: rugged individualism.

There is no other event like it.

One feature of 36 Hours of Uwharrie that deserves more attention is that it offers great benefit to the surrounding Uwharrie National Forest community in the short and long term. Local businesses see hundreds of thousands of dollars because of recreation in the Uwharrie National Forest, and this event is putting them on the map on the east coast. Money means jobs. And our friends at Tread Lightly! are heavily involved here too: each year missions are purpose built around the TREAD principles where we require our teams to remove trash from the forest left behind by careless campers. All positive impacts and part of a larger picture aimed at promoting RESPONSIBLE outdoor recreation and fun across America.

Teams and Volunteers alike leave this event more knowledgeable than before and better prepared to be LEADERS on the trail and in their community. Are YOU driver enough to join us in 2019?

There would be no 36 Hours of Uwharrie without the amazing army of Volunteers (thank you!) and the visionary efforts of I4WDTA Master Trainer Scott Fields, and this year’s event was dedicated to his memory.  BIG thanks to the local community in Eldorado and Uwharrie and to Mr. John Byrd for being there with his lens to help me capture important memories like this one below.
JOIN US in Uwharrie October 25-28 2018 for American Adventurist’s 5th Annual Appalachian Rendezvous! Laid back, come as you are camping and wheeling open to members, register HERE and we hope to see you there!
Posted on

Snowbike Project – Part 2

THE SOBERING REMINDER

The winter of 2017-2018 has been a rough one.  Snowfall has been well below average in the Southwest, and that’s made for scary conditions both in terms of snowpack stability (lots of avalanches) and hazard coverage (stumps and rocks).  The sad truth is that since the New Year, two individuals I’ve known personally who were both experienced winter backcountry travelers have died while backcountry skiing and snowboarding.  I’m not sharing this with you to try and scare you away, but to point out the fact that winter backcountry recreation can be very dangerous.  Yet the backcountry is also one of the most enjoyable places on earth, which explains why folks seek out the peace of the wilderness in every season.  If you want to snowbike in the backcountry and make it home at the end of your ride, then you need to have the gear, knowledge, and training to safely ride in backcountry avalanche terrain.

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE MORE TO LEARN

Snow science and snow safety are two disciplines that I would strongly encourage you to approach with the mindset of “there is always something to learn.”  You can get a doctorate degree in snow hydrology, so no, that’s not an embellishment on the amount of learning potential.  There’s also a great reason to continually practice with your avalanche gear, because if someone in your party is buried in an avalanche, seconds can mean the difference between a successful rescue and a body recovery.  If that someone buried is you, you’re going to want highly skilled buddies coming to your rescue, so make sure the folks you ride with are on the same level of training and preparedness.

Standard avalanche kit consists of a shovel, probe, and transceiver which is commonly called a beacon.  I’m personally a big fan of carrying the biggest shovel I can fit in my pack, so I’m currently carrying Black Diamond’s Evac 9 shovel.  Yes, it takes up more space and weighs more than other options out there – but when it comes time to dig, I can move snow much faster and dig more effectively than if I were using a tiny shovel (have you tried to dig a hole while standing with a foot long shovel?  It doesn’t work so well).  Probes are typically available in aluminum and carbon fiber—I own both, and use both, so I’d say it’s a matter of preference.  Just make sure your probe can be assembled quickly and will lock into its assembled form.  Beacons could take up a number of articles to cover completely, so I’ll just say that I’ve been using the Peips DSP Pro for the last few winters, and have been really happy with it.  Having the ability to mark multiple buried beacons is a huge help when searching in a multiple burial situation.

Yet the most important feature on any beacon is going to be the skill of the operator using said beacon.  So practice with your beacon of choice to the point that using it becomes an instinct. Then go practice some more.  If you ski or snowboard, many ski areas have beacon basins where you can do practice searches on beacons buried by ski patrol.  If you don’t live by a ski area, have a buddy go bury a transceiver in a backpack for you to go find.

Airbag backpacks are also becoming much more common in the backcountry because they reduce the chances of burial, and have the potential to protect the wearer from injury.  Black Diamond has taken things a step further with its Jetforce line of airbag backpacks that can also create a pocket of breathing air, should a burial occur.  Jetforce packs use a battery powered ducted fan to inflate their airbags where other brands use CO2 (Jetforce is an accurate name, the thing sounds like a jet engine when you deploy it).  Black diamond’s packs can be deployed multiple times on a single battery charge (CO2 packs are a one inflation per cartridge deal), which is a comforting feature when you consider that Mother Nature isn’t limited to only one avalanche per day.

Lastly, carrying radios is a great way for your group to communicate, especially when moving through hazardous terrain one at a time.  Many places have adopted radio communication plans so that multiple groups in the same area can communicate and make plans that do not risk the safety of other groups.  Once you’ve picked up all of your avalanche gear, it’s time to go take an avalanche class.

GO TO SCHOOL

A level 1 class from the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE; pronounced air-ee) is an excellent way to learn about backcountry decision making, avalanche rescue, and avalanche terrain identification.  Level-one courses will have a classroom element and a field element so you can apply what you’ve learned in the classroom by analyzing real terrain and digging actual snow pits under the guidance of an instructor.  Snow pits allow you to see every layer in the snowpack and to gauge how stable the snowpack is with a number of different tests.

Another great resource exists with avalanche information centers, such as the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) which provides weather and avalanche forecasts, snowpack discussions, and detailed reports whenever backcountry travelers are involved in an avalanche.  Consult Google or your local ski or snowmobile shops to find out where to get good avalanche information.

LEARN FROM OTHER’S MISTAKES

When you’re in the backcountry, pay attention to what’s going on around you.  The weather can change in an instant, and a calm bluebird day can turn into a blinding blizzard in minutes.  Keep an eye on which way the wind is blowing and how the wind may be scouring snow from one place and depositing it another.  Is the sun causing the snow to melt in certain areas (that will freeze at night) while shade is keeping other areas fresh and fluffy?  Snowpack can change significantly from aspect to aspect.  During a recent ride, we happened upon a perfect example of how wind-loading + shade + a bad snowpack had caused a really bad day for a snowmobiler.

This slide happened where the wind loaded snow on a Northeast facing aspect that receives little sun.  The weight of all that additional snow brought in by the wind strained a weak snowpack (note the cornice on the top and the increase in thickness of the snowpack at the top of the slide, called the crown, at the top left). When a sled came ripping into what looked like a great untracked hill the snowpack let go.  Backcountry travel in avalanche terrain is a slow process, so take your time and make good terrain assessments.  YOLO around one time too many and you might not get to go home.

The same feature shot hours apart.  In the morning the weather was perfect bluebird calm, but the afternoon got quite stormy.

GOOD GEAR MATTERS

In the blink of an eye an awesome day in the backcountry can turn into a serious situation, which is why having good riding gear is so important.  It may be warm and sunny in the morning, but should an afternoon storm roll in, or worse yet, should you get delayed by several hours or worse (a mechanical or a really stuck snowbike), having gear that will keep you warm and dry is critical.  You may be totally comfortable with just a cotton hoody when the sun is out, but how will you stay warm if you end up having to spend a windy night in the backcountry?

Klim’s Valdez parka and Havoc bibs have extensive venting that can be opened up when conditions call for just that cotton hoody, and when it gets cold and nasty these two pieces can be closed up becoming a veritable waterproof shield that can be layered over all the insulation layers you need.  The Togwotee gloves can be run as a shell in warmer temperatures, or used with the included fleece liner when the weather gets cold.  Likewise, the Adrenaline GTX BOA boots worked so well that we didn’t notice them, because our feet were just that comfortable.  From standing on the pegs to hiking exposed rocky ridge lines, these boots worked great.  Rounding out this excellent riding gear setup are the Oculus googles that provided fog-free performance 100% of the time we were riding.  Yes, good gear costs more, but when it comes down to it, I’ll gladly pay more to know that I’ll be warm and dry, no matter what the weather decides to do.  Cold, wet, and several hours from the truck is a special kind of miserable.  Do yourself a favor and buy good gear the first time around—that way you can get out and enjoy more days in a season instead of having to wait for those warm and sunny days.

Timbersleds are amazing machines that will have you saying “worth it” minutes after you first get on one.  Their ability to easily access terrain that has traditionally been the realm of expert backcountry snowmobilers and backcountry travelers means that more riders are heading into avalanche terrain who may not have the proper gear and training.  So please, get proper avalanche gear and good riding gear.  Take an Avalanche class.  Go dig pits and do practice beacon searches.  Read the reports and forecasts from your local avalanche center.  Pay attention to what the world is doing around you when you’re out there, and realize that some days, it may just be a better call to go ski in bounds at the resort.  Most importantly, when you’re out there enjoy every minute of it—because powder days never last long enough.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Timbersled provided demo units for this series of articles.  The motorcycles and all other accessories are owned by the author.  Klim provided all of the riding gear used for this project at no cost to the author or American Adventurist.  Likewise, Black Diamond provided the Jetforce Packs at no cost to the author or American Adventurist.