The Patagonian Expedition Race is an annual endurance adventure race that takes place in the remote wilderness of Chilean Patagonia, run to help protect and raise awareness about the fragile environment in this region. Known as the 'Race to the End of the World', the 10-day event challenges co-ed international teams of four athletes in the disciplines of trekking, sea kayaking, orienteering, and mountain biking. The race takes place on a different course each year, with competitors using a map and compass to navigate through previously unknown terrain. Due to its challenging nature, it is also known as 'The Last Wild Race',Patagonian Expedition: The last wild race , Amy Middleton, Australian Geographic, 4 February 2010 and has been described as 'The World's toughest adventure race'Adventurers battle the elements in Patagonia race, Will Gray, Reuters, 25 February 2009 and the ‘Dakar’ of adventure racing.Novoa llama a sector público a deponer movilizaciones, ORBE, Emol, 30 November 2000 The 13th edition of the race took place from 17 to 30 November 2018.
Description The Patagonian Expedition Race takes place in February each year and involves a maximum of 20 four-person mixed-sex teams, limited to minimize the impact on the environment. Created by geologist Stjepan Pavicic, a pioneer of Chilean Patagonia, the first race was run in 2004 and since then athletes from 26 different nations have taken part. It is the only adventure race worldwide that has been granted an official partnership by an Olympic Committee.
Each edition takes place on a different course through the most remote and untouched regions of Chilean Patagonia. The terrain in this region is incredibly diverse and includes the mountains of Torres del Paine and the Cordillera Darwin, the flat plains and rolling hills of Tierra del Fuego and Isla Riesco, and the icy waterways of the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel.
The combination of rugged terrain, long distances and unpredictable climatic conditions creates a great challenge, with the rate of team completion averaging between 35 and 50 percent. There is usually only a summer edition (February), but in 2006 a winter edition was organized, which took place in June.
The 26 nations that have competed, up to and including the 2011 edition, are: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uruguay and USA. The race is organized by NIGSA (Nómadas International Group S.A.), formerly known as, Nómadas Outdoor Services Ltda., an organization located in Punta Arenas, working for the goals of environmental protection and the advancement of eco-tourism in the region of Chilean Patagonia.
Goals of the Race The mission of the race is to raise international awareness of the fragile environment of Chilean Patagonia. It promotes the area's unique and pristine wilderness, as well as its rich cultural heritage as attractions for a viable sustainable tourism destination.
Stjepan Pavicic, Race Director, explains: "From the beginning, we have focused on creating an experience that is not only a physical and mental challenge, but one that sends a real message: we must protect and preserve this remote and pristine region of Chilean Patagonia. Our event brings this message to the world."
For centuries, the extreme isolation of the southernmost region of South America has been a favorable characteristic for the preservation of its flora and fauna. However, in recent decades, devastation of extensive areas of these southern forests has occurred. The Patagonian Expedition Race focuses on working to avoid the exploitation of natural resources by non-sustainable industrial activities.
Important sections of the 2004, 2006 Winter, 2008 and 2010 races passed through the Karukinka reserve on Tierra del Fuego, a 300,000 ha conservation area owned by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). This is the largest terrain of its kind and holds one of the last protected sub-Antarctic forest reserves on earth. The race has brought to attention the necessity to protect this distinct region. The organization behind the Patagonian Expedition Race, NIGSA, is now active in its trail building projects within Karukinka. Eventually the new trails will allow international tourists access to this region's unique features, increasing eco-tourism in Chilean Patagonia.
Awards The race produces an annual documentary showing the struggles and experiences of the teams participating in the Patagonian Expedition Race. Produced and directed by Brian J. Leitten, the 2011 edition of the documentary called 'The Last Wild Race' received huge international media attention and was recognized seven times at the following global film festivals:
Winner BEST ENVIRONMENTAL FILM: Colorado Film Festival of 2011
Winner BEST ENVIRONMENTAL FILM: Yosemite Film Festival of 2011
Winner BEST MOVIE: Vanka Regule, Croatia Film Festival 2011
Winner of Adventure Sport Category: Killarney Adventure Film Festival 2011
Finalist: New Zealand Mountain Film Festival 2011
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Breckenridge Festival of Film 2011
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Danish Adventure Film Festival 2011
History Since the Patagonian Expedition Race was founded in 2004, courses have ranged from 320 miles (520 km) to 680 miles (1112 km), with completion targets from 9 to 14 days.
The popularity and awareness of the event has increased since its inception in 2004, with increasing features in many international magazines, newspapers, websites and TV broadcasts. The race secured its first title sponsor in 2009, with Switzerland-based company Wenger, the manufacturer of the Genuine Swiss Army Knife. At this point, the logo was altered to carry Wenger's Swiss flag emblem and the name was changed to the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race.
Editions 2012: The 10th anniversary edition of the race presented the 19 international co-ed teams with 565 km (351 miles) of challenging Patagonian nature; ranging from strength-sapping peat bogs to freezing cold glacial rivers. Part of the route also led them to the Kurukinka National Park where NIGSA has recently ended a trail building project, allowing walkers and rangers to effectively reach some of the more remote parts of the area. The route took the teams from the regional capital, Punta Arenas to the eventual finish on the Fiordo Pia on the Beagle Channel. For the fourth year in a row British based team Adidas TERREX/Prunesco were the overall winners. The second and third step on the podium respectively went to Japanese team EastWind and the American team Gearjunkie/YogaSlackers.
2011: The ninth edition of the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race took on a challenging route through the dramatic landscapes of Torres del Paine, Bernard O’Higgins and Pali Aike National Parks. The race involved a total of 248 km of mountain biking, 150 km of trailless trekking and 105 km of river and sea kayaking. British team adidasTERREX/Prunesco completed their third consecutive victory, while persistent rain forced a section of the course to be cancelled, and swollen rivers caused three teams to be airlifted over an impassable part of the course (two of which completed the race). British team captain Bruce Duncan said: "To have won this race once is something special, to win it three times is simply amazing". Six teams completed the challenging course, with US team GearJunkie.com taking second place, French team Vaucluse Adventure Evasions finishing third and Croatians Ad Natura taking fourth place. Karibu finished several hours behind the top placed teams, while teams East Wind from Japan, and Perdido en el Turbal, from the US and UK, were the final finishers.
2010: This was the southernmost adventure race in history and was won by reigning champions Helly Hansen-Prunesco, making them the first team to retain the title. "It was a magical race," said team captain Nicola MacLeod.Adventure race ends with wedding plans for Americans, Agencies, 25 February 2010, China Daily The route began on the north western shore of Tierra del Fuego and took competitors south on a series of treks and mountain bike rides through increasingly hilly terrain to the Wildlife Conservation Society's Karukinka Reserve before a major 120 km trek through the unexplored Darwin Range to Yendegaia Bay and a final kayak and trek the finish on Isla Navarino, on the shores of the Beagle Channel. Stephen Regenold, of Team GearJunkie.com, said: "We saw every type of terrain you could imagine. It looked like New Zealand, the Alps, Colorado, there were jungly sections and the Turba (peatbog) was crazy – it looked like the set from the movie Avatar. We didn’t see any sign that humans had been through there, and we didn’t even see any other teams for days".http://www.patagonianexpeditionrace.com Past races, official website Helly Hansen-Prunesco's winning time was five days, six hours and eight minutes, with Spain's Air Europa Bimont 16hrs 38mins behind in second, and Germany's Team Herbertz and Team Switzerland sharing third. Seven teams completed the course.
2009: This 600 km epic began in Torres del Paine and ended at the Cross of the Seas on Cabo Froward, the southernmost point of the American continental mainland. It was notable for its tough conditions and for several race dramas. British team Helly Hansen-Prunesco put in a strong and smooth performance to beat reigning champions Easy Implant (formerly Authentic Nutrition), who finished second. Team captain Nicola MacLeod said: "It was an amazing race, a chance to explore Patagonia in depth, on your own, in an adventurous environment. It certainly met my expectations, and the fact we managed to win it blew them away!”Red Hot in Chile, Will Gray, July 2009, Running Fitness (WGMedia) But the race became famous for the dramatic story of American team Calleva, who got stuck in the mountains after a trekking short-cut went wrong and had to survive for days on wild berries before two team members attempted a daring swim and free-climb to alert a rescue operation. Team member Druce Finlay admitted "it was freezing water and after we got out we shivered all night. I couldn’t dress myself, I just couldn't operate my hands. I thought I was going down. But the very end climb, we got a lucky path although we were on some slippery steep cliffs, no ropes, just grabbing onto thin grass here and there".The New Rules: Know When to Say When. It's better to bail out than to pass away , Will Gray, November 2005, Outside Magazine. They made it – but were out of time to be classified. Just three of the nine teams made the finish.
2008: This edition of the race focused on Tierra del Fuego with more than 500 km of competition across the remote Chilean island. Team Authentic Nutrition became the third French team to win the race after a route that took racers from Porvenir through valleys and forests within the Karukinka reserve, the Death Pass in the Darwin Range, to Yendegaia, where the race was finished early due to strong winds impeding helicopter flights. The winning team completed the course in six days two hours and 42 minutes. Two team members of second-placed Spanish team Canarias – Andalucia Spiuk Tenerife had taken on the event as part of their honeymoon having been married just before the race to gain a legal holiday. Only two other teams of the 11 that started made it to the finish.