Eco-Challenge Adventure School Click on the small images to see a larger photo

It Broke My Team!

Having just attended the school, the only way I can describe it is as an Outward Bound course on steroids. In four days you will do more than a weeks worth of activities offered by other more traditional outdoor schools. Everything from orienteering, navigation, mountain biking, rock climbing, sea kayaking and lots of hiking. The one thing you won't get much of is sleep. This course is designed to push you and your fellow teammates to the limit.

I thought that the physical challenge would be the most difficult aspect of everything, but the pain was so constant due to the continuous nature of the program that it essentially became irrelevant. The real challenge was the mental one caused by sleep deprivation while at the same time having to deal with all the dynamics of a group. One of my instructors shared a story with us that during the race in Australia, upon reaching the top of a mountain they had just climbed while carrying their mountain bikes (race organizers seem to think that a bike is something to be carried more often than ridden), they realized that one of the members no longer had their bike. When asked where it was, the teammate replied in a totally calm voice that he threw it over the cliff! Sure enough, there it was down at the bottom of the mountain. They had to go down and carry it back up.

While at the school during a mock race, my team was resting on a trail while I went up to the top of a hill to do some navigation. When I came back down, they were gone — as was my bike! One of them claims that I yelled down and told them to go on and take my bike with them. I have no recollection of saying anything at all! These experiences are what is known as "Seeing Elvis" — hallucination brought on by lack of sleep. Some really weird stuff can happen out there when people are totally exhausted.

My team had just recently come together, no easy task in and of itself, and this was our first major outing. We had practiced together on weekends and seemed to get along just fine. We were all psyched to go down there and kick some butt. After spending four days being together at all times, sleeping right next to each other in the cold (called a "spoonfest" as you nestle against your teammates like spoons), running out of food and water, debating about which way to go, we learned a lot about each other. The reality was we found out some things which have now caused us to break up into separate teams. Unfortunate, yes, but much better to find it out now than spending all that time and money, only to realize it in an actual race.

And that, after all, was the real purpose of the school — to give you a good idea of what you might experience during race conditions. The instructors were all elite adventure racers from top teams such as SCAR and Endeavor. It was amazing to be around athletes of this caliber who are teaching because they love what they are doing rather than trying to collect a paycheck. They demonstrated a passion that is rare these days in professional sports. While competitors, they are all good friends as well. That is one of the unique things about this sport: the fact that teams competing against each other will actually help each other at the same time. After spending countless hours with these people, navigating in the middle of the night, not knowing quite where you are, you really get a sense of what this sport is all about. It's about people who love the outdoors, challenging themselves, working together and having fun. That's it. It's pure and refreshing — leave the ego at home.

Would I do it again? You bet. I'm going to sign up for the next course later this month. Now, if I can just find a couple of new teammates who are as excited as me about getting into this totally insane sport!

— Dan Brillon, Mountain Zone Contributor

Click here to email Dan with the name of a good therapist or your own neurotic desire to join him on the eco quest.