SUBMITTED PHOTO
Hatters Caylee Marshall and Logan Issak, of team 'Dave and Moose' grind up a hill near Reesor Lake during the 17th annual Medicine Hat Massacre Adventure Race this weekend in Cypress Hills Provincial Park.
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Teams from across Western Canada competed over the weekend in an adventure race in the Cypress Hills Provincial Park.
The South East Search and Rescue hosted its 17th annual Medicine Hat Massacre Adventure Race, an event that serves as a fundraiser for the organization as well as a training opportunity.
“We use this race to train our volunteers in back-country navigation and to test new search and rescue equipment”, Del Hope, a longtime volunteer with SEASAR, said in a release.
“Because of the remoteness of the race terrain, our volunteers help set out the checkpoints for the race. It’s a great way to prepare them to move through wild country, much as we might do in a real search. They practise everything from map reading to compass and GPS use.”
With the race starting at night, SEASAR was able to use and practise with night-time infrared equipment to locate racers.
Del says rescuers are able to use the drone for more than just location.
“Finding a lost subject is only part of the challenge. If someone is in a remote or rugged area, it might take rescuers longer to get to the person. Using the drone, we could deliver food, water, or medical supplies before rescuers arrive.”
Adventure racing is an endurance sport that involves teams of two travelling the back country with only a map and a compass to find checkpoints in strategic locations across the country side. Every checkpoint has an assigned point value, and those locations are kept secret from participants until nine hours before the event.
Course designer Gerry Prince says that allows teams the opportunity to decide how they want to accumulate as many points as they can in the time allotted, planning their routes.
“Teams hike, bike and paddle, but most importantly, they have to navigate through the bush in the most efficient way possible,” Prince said in a release.
The MHM Adventure race featured two events, the original nine-hour endurance event, as well as a 4.5-hour Lite Race, meant to introduce families and newcomers to the sport.
A total of 55 teams from all over Western Canada participated in the weekend’s events.
The overall title was taken by local Matt Ward who teamed up with Peter Giesbrecht from Lloydminster to win the endurance event. Their team, ‘Mt Joy Mud,’ accumulated 960 points over the nine-hours of the race.
Medicine Hat’s Kim Swanson, the oldest racer of the weekend and his teammate Garison Babe, also of Medicine Hat, took top place in the men’s division with the team ‘Disciples of Pain’.
‘Nitty Witty Skirt Band’, featuring Catherine Scott and Chloe Aman from Cypress County edged out the ‘Now Face North’ team from Edmonton and Winnipeg to win the women’s division.
After nine hours of racing, the teams were tied. ‘Nitty Witty’ crossed the finish line five minutes earlier, ranking them higher to earn the title.
Editors note: An earlier version of the story erroneously did not include the names of the ‘Nitty Witty Skirt Band’ team.
