Adventure Xstream Buena Vista - Sprint, 12 Hour & 24 Hour Course Options
The Buena Vista adventure race will be a spectacular course held in the Arkansas River Valley. The area aptly named "Headwaters of Adventure" because of the classic whitewater rafting and mountain biking options throughout the Buena Vista and Salida area. This will be a challenging course incorporating all of the numerous AR disciplines into the event; white water kayaking, single track mountain biking, trekking, an orienteering course as well as a ropes course.
The Adventure Xstream 24 Hour races as well as The Xstream Expedition are all races included in the Checkpoint Tracker National Points Series. Teams can accumulate points in their best 4 races in the national points series. An additional $10,000.00 is up for grabs in this national series. Visit www.CheckpointTracker.com for additional information.
Disciplines Included for the Buena Vista 24 Hour Adventure Race: (Race Start Time = Friday at Midnight)
- Whitewater Kayaking (~10-12 miles) - Consistent Class II & III Rapids
- Mountain Bike (~40-50 miles)
- Trail Run/Trek (~20-30 miles)
- Orienteering & Map Navigation
- Ropes - Tyrolean Traverse
Disciplines Included for the Buena Vista 12 Hour Adventure Race: (Race Start Time = Saturday at 8:00am)
- Whitewater Kayaking (~7-12 miles) - Consistent Class II & III Rapids
- Mountain Bike (~30-40 miles)
- Trail Run/Trek (~8-12 miles)
- Orienteering & Map Navigation
- Ropes - Tyrolean Traverse
Disciplines Included for the Buena Vista Sprint Adventure Race: (Race Start Time = Saturday at 8:00am)
- River Paddle (~4-7 miles) - Class I/II- Rapids
- Mountain Bike (~20-25 miles)
- Trail Run/Trek (~4-7 miles)
- UTM Plotting & Map Navigation
*Each disciplines distance is given as a range for training purposes. Exact distances are not given so that the course will remain secret. Disciplines, distances and difficulty subject to change.
Approximate drive times to Buena Vista from:
Denver - 2 hours
Albuquerque - 5.5 hours
Salt Lake City - 8 hours
Las Vegas - 11 hours
Phoenix - 11 hour
White Water Kayaking: (12 & 24 Hour Racers)
The Buena Vista 12 & 24 Hour courses have some of the most fun and exciting class II & III whitewater in the State! Kayakers will have several miles of whitewater with consistent class II and III rapids, which will require "intermediate" level paddling skills. This is not to scare you away, if you have done our Vail race with class II+ rapids and feel confident in your ability, then you will have a great time in the Buena Vista race.
Solo kayakers will be required to use inflatable kayaks, no hard shell kayaks will be permitted. Tandem Aire Tomcats are provided to teams of 2 and 4. There will be plenty of river safety along the shore and in kayaks should racers need assistance, but the 12/24 hour kayak section is not for beginner paddlers. All 12 & 24 hour race participants are required to sign the "Declaration of Skill Proficiency" form to participate in this race. See the certifications page for more information.
If you are a beginner paddler, you should sign up for the Sprint race or a race at one of our other venues.
Supported or Unsupported: For this event you can choose to have it be supported or unsupported. We encourage you to provide your own support crew as this will limit your logistical requirements for the event. However, if you can not provide your own support crew we will be offering a gear drop option for those teams. This service will be offered at no charge. Additional logistical information about the shuttle/gear drop will be posted to the "race updates" pages in the near future.
Event Sanctioning: The Buena Vista 12 hour & 24 hour course are sanctioned events with the ACA (American Canoe Association). All participants must be a member of the ACA to participate, or you can purchase a single event membership for $5. This can be purchased at racer check-in. For ACA information go to http://www.americancanoe.org
Volunteer Opportunities - Have family or friends coming with nothing to do? Put them to work. We are always looking for volunteers to help with the race. Volunteers who help for 8-12 hour shift receive a $100 race voucher that can be used by anyone. Have them fill out our volunteer application here.
The following forms and certifications are required for the Buena Vista race. These forms must be brought with your team to racer Check-in the day before the race. Do not mail them to us.