 |
travel / adventure / guides / summer 2004
| Travel & Adventure Guides |
|
|
 |
 Adele Frizzell's first adventure race was the gruelling Sea2Summit. Along with hundreds of other athletes, she began the
race on Vancouver's north shore in September 2000 and spent two days hiking, biking and paddling her way to Whistler. The race was more
than 150 kilometres long and, after the first day, Frizzell's legs were so lactic she couldn't sit down. "It was the hardest thing
I have ever done," Frizzell admits. "It was emotional to cross the finish line and realize that even after hitting rock bottom, I
could bounce back and complete the race."
For the next three years, Frizzell entered every race she could. She wasn't as physically
fit as some athletes, but her greatest strength was mental stamina. What the University of Alberta's outdoor education graduate did
share with other racers, of course, was the addiction to pushing her own limits. "In modern society, we're completely isolated from
risk," she says. "Adventure racing helps me feel more alive." It has also allowed her to spend quality time in the mountains, a major
goal since Frizzell glimpsed them from the backseat of her parents' car at age six.
Now 34, Frizzell has taken her love of adventure
racing to a new plateau. For the past two summers, she and her partner, Russell Osborne, have been meticulously plotting a 30-day race
along the spine of the Rockies and the Cassiar Mountains, from southern B.C. to Dawson City, Y.T., called Race the Rockies. The race will
offer athletes a variety of biking, running and paddling, often within the same day. It is the longest adventure race ever created. The
daunting 3,340-kilometre route gives new meaning to the word "epic." Organized for the summer of 2004, Race the Rockies is longer than
New Zealand's Mizone and the infamous Iditarod, which is considered North America's longest race. "For years, I had this vision of an epic
journey that would trace the length of the mountains from south to north," says Frizzell. "Race the Rockies is that epic journey."
Frizzell will also tell you that a wilderness race is an epic to plan. Now race director, not athlete, Frizzell has drawn on the same
mental stamina to coordinate the event. There have been car troubles, endless phone calls, injuries and days when Frizzell has gotten
hopelessly lost. She once had to drive 800 kilometres to purchase a new tire.
So why go to the trouble of raising the bar with such an event? The metamorphosis from racer to race director has been a natural step
in Frizzell's evolution. Mostly, it's because she wants to share her vision of the ultimate race with others. "It's gratifying to watch
people surprise themselves and tap into a potential they didn't realize was there," she says. "But if I wasn't planning this race, I'd
be doing it." - Matthew Jackson
|
This summer, Acadians are inviting us to their biggest party ever. It's the 400th anniversary of
l'Acadie, when the first French settlers arrived in Canada, and a series of festivals and celebrations throughout the
Atlantic Provinces presents a unique chance to experience this vibrant culture. Learn step-dancing, and sing along with Acadian
fiddlers. Savour some jambalaya or rappie pie. Witness dory and sailboat races. Watch 1,200 young athletes compete at the Acadian
Games. Visit an Acadian Pioneer Village.
Listed below are a few highlight events. Visit www.acadie400.ca for more information.
top
Ste-Croix 2004
June 26, 2004, marks the 400th anniversary of North America's first French settlement, at Īle Ste-Croix, situated midway between
New Brunswick and Maine. Ten days of area events include a gathering on Īle Ste-Croix,a parade of ships, a culinary festival and \
a sunrise ceremony. For more information, visit www.stecroix2004.org
Festival Acadien de Caraquet
From August 1 to 15, the tiny town of Caraquet, N.B., plays host to over 100,000 revellers. The festival features Acadian music,
songs, storytelling and art. The undisputed highlight takes place on the principal Acadian holiday of August 15. Tintamarre,
the high-spirited Acadian answer to Mardi Gras, will attract 30,000 people. Decked out in face paint, masks and costumes and
carrying noisemakers, they will jam Caraquet's main street at 6 p.m. to celebrate the occasion. For more information, visit
www.festivalacadiencaraquet.com
-Christine Kulyk
- Bud Jorgensen of Alliston, Ont., believes the best way to see Canada is on a bicycle. That's why he's
organized Tour du Canada in June. Tour du Canada is a 58-day, 7,400-kilometre trip for 35 hardy pedallers from Vancouver to
St. John's, Nfld.
- An epic human-powered expedition from Vancouver to Moscow will have Colin Angus and Tim Harvey cycling, rowing, skiing and
railcar pedalling 18,000 kilometres this spring. Angus, a writer-filmmaker, and Harvey, an environmental
journalist and photographer, will record effects of global warming in the North, raise funds for the David Suzuki Foundation
and get schoolkids involved via the Internet.
top
- Fourteen Canadian co-workers will tackle the 5,895-metre summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro
in March to raise funds for the ALS Society of Canada. Climb for a Cure
began with Laurie Mackie, a financial planner in Burlington, Ont., who
set herself the challenge for her fortieth birthday. Then she decided,"If
I'm going to do this, why not make a difference?"
- The expedition-style Raid the North Extreme has been chosen as the World Championship Adventure Race in August. "The location
we've picked in Western Newfoundland and Labrador is a very historic but underexplored region," declares Geoff Langford, president
of event organizers Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. It marks the first time Canada will host the event, in which racers compete for
$100,000 in prizes. -Christine Kulyk
top
|
|
| ADVERTISEMENT |
|
|
|
|
