Expedition Canada ARWS World Championships 2025 - Race Report - by Kim Beckinsale
ORGANISED CHAOS
The Mountain Designs Wild Women invaded Vancouver Avenue (Carl & Andrea’s pace in Penticton) on Sunday 24 September. Preparation for the event included 2 full days of stuff - official team registration, mandatory gear checks, packraft competency test as well as ropes familiarisation. We managed to get all of these done in just one day a bit ahead of the advertised schedule.
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| Mountain Designs Wild Women - Del, Ash, Alina, Kim |
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| MDWW and the Australian Flag |
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| Official Opening Ceremony |
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| Sorting our gear into boxes |
So with all gear submitted and still no further information about the course, all we could do is relax and enjoy a night out on the town with our hosts and have a good night’s sleep as the next night we would be camping in an undisclosed location.
WE MADE IT TO THE START! TEAM MRI???
Getting your team to the start line of an expedition event is sometimes more difficult than the race itself, now not saying that we thought or would think that the race would be easy, but just letting you know we had our ups and downs in just getting to here!
November 2024 – Ash fractured her vertebrae in a MTB crash and tore both hamstrings off the bone….. would she be able to repair and recover in time to take on such an event, as her longest race prior to this was 24 hours,
July 2025 – Del and Alina raced at the Amazons Australia and were outstanding, but Del ended up with a serious hip flexor injury that meant she would not be able to ‘run’ but promised that she would be okay to race and that she could walk really fast.
August 2025 – Kim falls in the first hour of Hells Bells and hurts her thumb. It turns out to be a significant ligament tear, but luckily Ash is a hand therapist, and she made Kim a ‘Race Brace’ to protect the thumb from further injury.
September 2025 – Alina lets us know that she has done ‘something to her knee, she’ was not sure what it was and whether it was going to stop her from racing! But luckily the MRI revealed no significant issues, so Alina said that she might not be able to go that fast, but she was still keen to join us.
So going into the race, I suppose we were all just so relieved to get to the start and give it our best shot!
LIVE TRACKING LINK – Mountain Designs Wild Women Team 47
https://live.enabledtracking.com/2025arwc/
RACE START LOCATION REVEALED: NORTH ARM FARMS PEMBERTON
24hrs before the official race start our phones were sealed and maps & course notes distributed, as teams piled onto one of those old looking Canadian School busses. We had been informed that we were in for a 5hour bus ride, and know we also knew where we were headed, to Pemberton a small village north of Whistler. We used the time to commence our planning – Kim and Alina sat in front marking up maps while Del and Ash sat behind us reading the instructions. At times we felt like the bus was going to grind to a holt as the wheels were making strange noises as those wheels rolled around.
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| Walking to the bus |
Upon arrival at the farm, we still had more map marking up to do, as we made sure that we marked up both sets of maps (waterproof and non-waterproof). Kim attended the captains meeting at 4pm and had so much to talk to the team about…. it was time for the official welcome to Pemberton ceremony. Previously, Del, Ash and Alina had located found our bike boxes and our tent for the night and soon it was dinner time, and we were in the line-up for the ‘last supper’ a ranch style meal of pulled pork and corn! After dinner we finalised our maps and instructions got ourselves ready for a good sleep. We had access to our bike boxes in the morning, so we had a nice cosy sleeping mat, sleeping bags and the opportunity to make a hot cuppa with the Jetboil before we had to load boxes at 5.30am on race morning!
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| North Arm farm |
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| Ash gets some sun |
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| Kim attends the captains briefing |
OFF AND RACING THROUGH THE CORN FIELDS
And we started with a Canadian challenge– corn shucking! Each person had to pull off 4 ears of corn off plants then all run through the corn field where there was a bin fur us to peel the corn Once we had 16 pieces of corn, peeled we were good to go after an official had checked our bin.
DAY 1
LEG 01 - Mountain Bike Pemberton to Semaphore Lakes – 70km – Elevation 2591m – Cps 1-4
LEG 02 - Trek at Semaphore Lakes – 13.5k – Elevation 1467m – Cps 5-10
LEG 03 - Bike Semaphore Lakes to Gun Creek Campground – 52km – Elevation 561m – Cps 11-12
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| Ready for the start |
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| Off and racing |
https://www.facebook.com/reel/24852009137744476
Well, I think we were one of the last teams through the cornfields…. Because ‘we followed the rules’ to the letter and did not exit our row of corn until the end …. unlike may teams who took shortcuts through freshly ploughed soil☹
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| Ash in the cornfield |
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| Steep down hill trails |
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| Alina leads |
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| Del leads the trek! |
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| MDWW near CP 5 - Alpine Lake |
We planned to try to sleep now, so that we minimised paddling in the dark. So we cooked a jet boil meal, slept in our bike boxes and then finalised our transition to the paddle after a 3hrs sleep.
On reflection our strategy was not a fast one as we ended up taking almost 6hrs, but we had a great sleep and were well fuelled.
DAY 2
LEG 04 – Packraft/Trek/Packraft/Trek - Gun Creek to Lillooet – 80km – Elevation 722m – Cps 13-18
Can you believe that this took a whole Day? Well it took a while for us to get on the water ….setting up packrafts adds another dimension to expedition adventure racing, and this was the first time for most of the team to practice this in race conditions.
We possibly got on the water by 5am and enjoyed the first few hours of paddling the luxurious RERE BLUE DUCK packrafts. Kim was navigating the whole way and ticking off locations along the way. But with just 15k to go the winds picked up and we were in for some serious paddling. Eventually we made it to CP 13at the end of Carpenter Lake but it was like a bit of a log jam and there was nothing easy about getting our rafts out of the water and rolling them up into our packs…. We were thankful for daylight at this point.
It was short but extremely steep hike over into Seeton Lake and were excited to be greeted by some fans who wanted to have our photo taken with them. This was so, special as it was a grandmother and her granddaughter inspired by the Mountain Designs Wild Women. We stopped chatted and took photos as this is what we are here for to inspire the younger generations!
It was dark by the time we descended into CP14 at Seeton Lake. It was a massive hydro power station and very hard to work out where we were allowed to go. We made it and set about getting our packrafts ready for the next paddle…but just as we were about set off, Tri Adventure 1 – the boat that Kim and Ash were paddling had a serious issue…. It was NOT inflated… So luckily it was a user error issue, with we quickly fixed and just waited to check that we did not have a hole in the boat…. As the previous exit at Carpenter had been adventurous and things do happen in this sport to challenge us.
We turned or lights off to paddle this section as it just seemed easier. Kim had a glow in the dark compass, so it was quite easy to follow simple bearings. Del and Alina were in ‘Tri Adventure 2’ and Kim an dash in’ Tri Adventure’ 1 were attached, which ensured that we stayed together in the draft zone. Lucky as we were seeing things that were NOT real along the way…. Lights, Skulls, A frame houses, bridges…but eventually the mountains parted ad we hot the end of the lake. As we were dark zoned, we had to portage the next paddle and hike to TA 4 in Lillooet. Jan was there to meet an greet us with hugs and smiles.
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| Seeton Lake in the daylight |
Just so you are aware we had a short window of opportunity here to get out of the TA before 6am due to road works otherwise we would have had a 4hr wait for the next opportunity. Sleep …who needs sleep ….. okay Del does but we wake her up just before our time runs out to get out of the TA before 6am.
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| Kim and Alina ready to go! |
VIDEO - MDWW at TA4 Lillooet
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19acHxDPHD/
DAY 3 & 4
LEG 05 – Mountain Bike Lillooet to 88 Ranch – 87km – Elevation 2659m – Cps 19 – 20
LEG 06 – Trek- 88 Ranch to Ashcroft – 73km - Elevation 2540m Cps 21 – 27
We made it through the road works and were off riding, but we were a bit sleepy. No sleep last night as we were paddling / trekking from Dusk till dawn…. With just a few mirco sleeps along the way. The sun was shining, and the day was warming up, so just after we we left the bitumen alongside the Frazer River at CP19 we decided on a 15-minute nap and hoped that this would revitalise us for the rest of the ride. It worked a treat, but Ash was yet to be convinced that such a short sleep would be effective. It was a steady climb up to Cp20, but we enjoyed the descent intoTA5, Kim assured Alina here that we were going the right way and that the compass bearings were all good! The last thing you ever want to do is ride down a big hill, only to find that you have to turn around and go back.
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| A short rest on our way to Cp20 |
The plan was to have a super-fast transition and get out on the Trek as soon as possible to maximise daylight, but these big dark clouds rolled in, and it started to bucket down with rain. Lucky there were some pop up 3x3 shelters at the TA, but we were still getting wet. It did not look like it was going to clear, so after a short team discussion to solider on, we decided to take extra clothing (thermals, jackets) with us to survive the conditions. We left the TA at 5.15pm and were greeted by our hosts Carl and Andrea who were dot watching and had hoped to spot us! Yay we stopped for a quick photo and continued with the steady climb up to CP21 Cornwall Hills.
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| WDWW soaking wet before it snows |
Kim was struggling, due to the altitude as we were headed up to peak over 2000m of elevation. The rain turned to sleet and soon it was snowing! Del took the maps as she was the only one who could see and methodically paced our way up to the top. We came across other teams along the way, decked out in space blankets and were so relieved when we located the FIRE Shetler with the CP. There was already another team asleep in the shelter, but we and two other teams then joined them. We were wet and cold, but had dry clothes, so we changed and slept in our bivy’s, and Del wrapped the sleeping bag over us and wrapped our feet in tight. The floor was cold, but we did sleep for a few hours. At some point we woke and realised that it was no longer snowing, so we ‘quietly changed’ and were soon on our way down the hill in the darkness. Kim was back on the maps with Alina, and we were excited to have weathered the storm and to be in this amazing place where the trees were covered with snow and everything was white as far as the eyes could see. We still had a long way to so we just kept moving forward being incredibly careful with our navigation and route choice.
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| Drying out after the snow, but it's freezing |
The day was warming up and we enjoyed a climb and then a bush bash down a BIG spur down to the Hat Creek Ranch….. and were greeted by our fan club Andrea, Carl and Jan. Here we had a community tree planting activity and there was a café as well, so we took some time to rest, refuel and also dry out some of our damp clothes on the grass. We had also caught up to Team 48 Cosmic Confusion (the other all-female team) so we had a good chat. It was a beautiful spot to stay, but we still had an exceptionally long walk into Ashcroft.
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| Heading to the ranch |
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| Ash and Alina |
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| Ash clips the card |
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| MDWW and Cosmic Confusion exchange stories |
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| Rest & Refuel at the ranch cafe |
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| Bottomless cups of coffee |
VIDEO - MDWW Arrive at the Hat Creek Ranch CP24
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17cUoNKnRu/
Oh, and then we had THE GIFT THAT KEPT ON GIVING! Yes, this special gift was a taste of BEAR SPRAY! Kim and Ash had stopped and sat down to look at hotspots on Ash’s feet. Ash handed Del the Bear Spray and asked Del to put the safety cap back on, as it had dislodged. The next second Del accidently somehow pressed the trigger, and we were all in a cloud of bear spray. We sprinted to avoid the cloud of spray, but Kim had to run back and drag packs out of the cloud. We all ended up covered in the spray and every time you touched something we would get another taste of the spray. It was funny, but NOT funny at the same time.
We kept moving forward and soon made our way to CP 26 and navigated our way through to CP27 at the Taco Stand without going on the road as it was OUT of BOUNDS. The route looks super simple on the tracking, but the maps were 1:50000 and the contour interval was 40m and there was so much in reality to negotiate that was not on the map. We did not stop for long at the TACO stand as we wanted to get into Ashcroft before 10pm so we had a chance of ‘booking into a hotel’ as there was a DARKZONE at TA6 and we were not allowed to restart till 7am. Alina did go in a get Del some snacks to get to the end of the leg. Kim was not hungry at all as it felt like we had just left the ranch where we had feasted on big sandwiches, hot chips, and multiple refills of coffee.
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| Our route CP26 to the Taco Stand |
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| The Taco Stand |
It was like an ant mark along the road but our spirits were high, we arrived at TA6 around 10pm and were advised that most teams were NOT sleeping at the TA because it was very noisy because of the trains. We hiked up the road and Del accosted a stranger driving up the main street and convinced them to let the hotel managers know that we were coming to book in. Somehow, we managed to get the last 2 rooms …had to pay a cash deposit and promised to do a final payment via bank transfer after. We took our TA food with us to the rooms and enjoyed a hot dehydrated meal, a hot shower, and a nice comfortable sleep in a bed.
DAY 5
LEG 07 – Packraft Ashcroft to Gold Pan – 51km – No Cps
LEG 08 – Bike Portage Gold Pan to Nahatlatch – 64km – Elevation 1500m – Cps 28
LEG 09 – Packraft trek Nahatlatch REO Rafting Station – 17kms Elevation 233m – CPs 29
Alarm sounds at 5am and Kim bounces out of bed….. as do Del and Alina. Ash is not so quick to move and cannot see why Kim is so enthusiastic at this time of the day. “It can’t possibly take us 2 hours to get ready to paddle, can it????... said Ash.” Well it does! We left the hotel by 5.30am, hiked to the TA and started getting our packrafts and gear sorted for the big paddle down the Thompson River. Kim’s quick release lever had broken at race HQ at check-in, so required a tiny Allen Key to tighten, Ash was carrying this, but at the previous TA, left the multitool with her bike…. Oops…. So, in addition to inflating rafts, squeezing into drysuits and repacking gear back into a very full Box A, we were also frantically looking for someone in the Ta with a tiny Allen key….success! Phew.
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| TA at Ashcroft |
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| Kim and Ash try to get the box to close |
In what seemed like seconds later we were on the water ready to go…. The water was flowing fast and were in for an adventure. Wow, this was an exciting leg for sure, especially when in the first 15 minutes Kim and Ash flipped. Lucky Del and Alina were close, and they came over to help stabilise the packraft. Kim lost her sunnies which are also ‘reading glasses’ so lucky there were no CP’s on this paddle, just plenty of BIG BIG wave trains and rapids to keep us on the edge of our seats the entire paddle. The BLUE DUCK Packrafts handled the conditions perfectly, even when we were full of water. We only had one short comfort stop on the leg and were very excited to see TA 7 at Goldpan Provincial Park on the Trans Canada Highway.
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| Del and Alina on the Thompson River |
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| Ash and Kim just behind |
Next up was a Bike portage, so not only did we have to ride our bikes to the next TA, but we also had to take all our packrafting gear with us. The Cosmic Confusion Girls had a great paddle and seemed almost ready to leave the TA when we arrived, so we really tried to not waste any time. The ride along the highway was terrifying as there were cars and trucks whizzing by as were tying not to be blown off our bikes. We were relieved to leave the highway at CP 28 Lytton and enjoyed some nice undulating trail riding all the way to TA8/9. Oh, and we saw a BEAR! Yes, a little bear ran across the trail just in front of us…. But where was its mum???? Is this where we get out the bear spray? How long do we wait? Is mumma bear still to follow? A Canadian team came up behind us and had a little giggle…. They thought we were totally safe to keep going.
We arrived at the TA not that long after dark, we had been informed that the dark zone had been lifted and we could portage the paddle section if it was dark, so we opted to keep going. We were greeted here by Wayne Leek one of the race referees.
VIDEO MDWW Interview with Wayne Leek ARWS Referee at TA 8/9
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1770343987008013
So, we had a 18k trek out and back at this TA, with all of our packrafting gear. We kept ourselves entertained by singing songs and playing some alphabet games, but it was getting quite cold, and we were not moving that fast. Eventually after a few mini stops we made it back to the TA and were informed that due to the weather teams at the next TA had been stopped and we were potentially not able to leave TA 10 until after a decision was made at 7am. So, we decided to sleep here under a pop-up shelter from 2am to 5am.
DAY 6 & 7
LEG 10 – Mountain Bike Nahatlatch to Uztlius – 46km – Elevation 1616m – No Cps
LEG 11 – Trek-ropes Uztlius Creek to Coquihalla – 62km – Elevation 4030m - Cps 30-38
LEG 12 – Mountain Bike Coquihalla to China Ridge – 63km - Elevation 1500m – Cps 39-40
LEG 13 – Trek - China Ridge Orienteering – 8km – -Elevation 398m – Cps 41-46
Just as we were about to head out on the bikes Ange Farrell greeted and we did a quick interview. We were in good spirits as the weather seemed good and it was not raining, we had all had a good sleep and were excited to be back on our bikes, without our packrafting gear…. we felt super lightweight.
VIDEO MDWW leaving TA 8/9
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1507574633594946
There were a few teams around us at this point and we stopped with Team 17 - Rootstock Racing at a Petrol station and enjoyed HOT coffee and yes Del, also restocked her bag with some extra treats for the upcoming legs. Britt enjoyed chatting to the Wild Women for a while, but soon we were back on the bikes heading for TA 10. We thought this ride was going to be hard, but it was impressive, a short steep climb to start, but then just a slightly down hill ride all the way to the TA with stunning views along the way.
The weather was good, the sun was out, and we were ready for our next big challenge a navigationally challenging 62km trek with over 4000m of climbing. The TA staff informed us of some OOB areas and soon we were on our way. Kim and Alina were both on the maps here ensuring we were going the right way, Ash was super strong and peeling off layers as the day warmed up and Del was as bright and cheerful as ever. We made it to CP30 the base of the big bush bash up to Guaneco Peak just on dusk and before long we were in the thick of things climbing, band bashing our way through the trees…. It was now raining and it was getting colder. By the time we reached the peak, we were in a white out and were cold, wet, and trying to locate orange flagging tape and rock cairns that were leading us to the Ropes section. We came across a few other teams at this point as well as Rootstock Racing again. We made it to CP 31, 32 and when we arrived at the top of the ropes CP33 we were informed that the ropes section was now closed, and that there were instructions at the CP that would tell us how to get to CP34 (the base of the ropes).
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| It's a long way to the top |
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| MDWW embracing the adventure |
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| It's getting dark and our mountain is in a cloud |
The next 8 hours would be one of the most challenging and harrowing experiences for The Mountain Designs Wild Women and no doubt other teams experienced similar conditions as well. So, the instructions were travel back approximately 150m, find the most prominent track in a SE direction and go about 200m, then bush bash in a SW direction to CP34. Well, this turned out to be like wild goose chase, we tried and tried to find the CP for many hours, it was dark, wet and we were freezing. We joined Rootstock Racing and had another crack, but no luck. So, as we needed to find CP 34 to get our bearing to the next CP, we decided to head back up to the top and ended up sleeping in a wet cave near CP33 just under Vicuna Peak . It was so cold, but at least we had enough room to change into dry clothes, Alina helped Kim and Ash who were both almost hypothermic and soon we snuggled up together for a few hours…. it was in no way comfortable……. we were in survival mode. Kim opened her eyes to see that it was getting light and that it was not raining, despite not really wanting to leave this little wet cave, we knew that we had to. We got up, put our wet waterproof layers over our dry clothes, bundled up the wet stuff, and crawled out of the cave, we could now see what this place looked like and the rock slap that would lead to CP34. The ropes official pointed out to us where the ropes were (they had been removed) and we could now try to decipher those instructions again and find CP 34 in the light. On our way back down the track, we came across Cosmic Confusion again, they looked like they had slept the night under a rock shelf. We were lucky to be up, moving and we had enough energy to bush bash and find CP 34. We had the biggest hug when we found it, and the feeling was one that is indescribable. We knew that we could not move on and get this trek done.
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| We start the bush bash |
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| The morning after we sleep in a cave |
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| CP33 and The Cave |
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| Daylight views from CP33 |
It was no easy feat to ‘contour around’ for the next couple of kilometres to CP 35. We bush bashed, climbed rocky ledges, and slid on our backsides down steep banks and enjoyed beautiful fresh blueberries, we were in bear country and there was plenty of evidence to remind us of that. It would have been after midday by the time we reached CP35, the sun was shining, so we lay out our wet clothes and hung from our packs so they could dry out. There was still such a long way to go on the trek, and it was evident that we would be going through the night. This ridgeline through to CP 36 was so stunning and there we 360 views of endless mountains and we could see our route across the ridgeline and the road below.
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| CP 34 to 35 on a bearing |
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| It's steep and Del enjoys the berries |
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| So does Ash |
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| The view from CP35 back to CP33 |
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| Ash embraces the sunshine and admires the views |
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| Kim is glad she's alive |
VIDEO MDWW – coming down off the Leg 11 Trek
https://www.facebook.com/reel/776386885009170
We were greeted on our way to CP37 (Food Van) by event media crew and upon arrival this place was a hive of activity. We did some interviews and were briefed by the course designer Alex Mann, about the route and advised that the next section would be incredibly challenging and that we best move to make the most of the light.
KIM Interview with Alex Mann – Course Designer
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1665490524856024
ALINA Interview with Brian Gattens at the – Food Truck
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1160559306135588
Kim thought at the time, well how can it be more challenging than what we have just experienced? We were lucky on this occasion, as the weather gods looked after us and we had no rain and clear skies as we navigated our way up to CP 38 Needle Creek Lake. We had a glimpse of where we were heading just before sunset. It was now dark as we contoured around and found the saddle on the ridge that would lead us to a small spur that would take us to the Needle Creek down to the road to the TA. Ash was out in front feeling her way, and Alina and Kim were maintaining the bearing. We made it to the main creek in good time, but the bush bash along the creek line was physically demanding and extremely steep… we powered on with Alina forging ahead and were relieved to find the track at the bottom. We had a short 20-minute sleep before crossing the river, finding the bridge and the FSR – Fire service road that would lead us to TA 11. We were tired and exhausted but entertained ourselves with some more Wild Women singing and eventually found the TA at the Snowmobile Club. Bonus, there was a toasty warm hut, and we were allowed to sleep in there…. what a contrast to the previous evening.
Wow, what an amazing 3hr sleep we had as well as HOT coffee, as we had the Jet boil in our box A and this would be the last time we saw the box, so we took as much as we could. When we stepped outside to get our bikes ready (they had been transported to this TA) there was ICE on top of the mapboards. Del mentioned that she thought that it was under – 5 degrees. So, before we left, we rugged up and put on our Mountain Designs Ascend Puffy Jackets. These jackets were our lifesavers many times. We were keen to make the most of the sunshine and get to the next TA before nightfall. We set off on what we thought was the Tullameen FSR, but it just was not looking 100% correct. We backtracked as we thought we had made a 180degree error out of the TA, but it turns out there were extra trails on the ground that were not marked on the map. We lost about 20 minutes, but Ash just thought it was a good warm up. Shortly we came across fellow Australian Team Wild & Co, Kim said what are you doing here…we thought you were miles ahead of us. Chris Dixon smiled and said thanks for the motivation, as they went the wrong way and had been on the bikes for 7 hours. They soon overtook us again and we caught up in the next tiny town – Tullameen. There was a cafe open, so another chance for a short rest and refuel – we were loving the Canadian endless cups of coffee and of course toasted sandwiches and hot chips.
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| CP39 at Tullamine |
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| Cafe stop anyone? |
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| Kim studies the map before heading off to CP40 |
JAN checks in with the Mountain Designs Wild Women - Tullamine CP39
https://www.facebook.com/reel/583048801496368
Aware that we were losing valuable daylight hours we finished off our chats to Jan (ARWS Oceania Team Media) and got back on the bikes for the climb up to CP 40. It looked really steep on the map and we thought we would be doing a serious hike a bike for hours. We were all a bit weary, so decided on a 20-minute sleep just before the steep climb. This proved to be a good move as it was a tough climb and navigationally challenging because nothing appeared as it was on the map, so we just had to keep going up and hope we got there. Once at the top, we saw some teams coming back the other way and there were also some trail marker signs on China Ridge. CP 40 was one of the most beautiful spots on the course, it was a hut with dramatic views, but no time to stop, we had some orienteering to do, and we were losing light very fast.
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| MDWW about to climb up to CP40 |
We followed a bearing to the TA China Ridge Ski Lodge and arrived just on sunset. We received the Orienteering Map and transitioned into our shoes in front of a lovely warm fire. We had access to our ‘special food drop bags’ too with some extra goodies. We decided to put on our puffy jackets as it was getting cold and head off in an anticlockwise direction. Kim led the charge, and Del was feeling sleepy so wanted to count steps to keep here awake. Ash joined the count, and we decided to go the long way around on the tracks to all of the CP’s instead of bush bash as there were some seriously steep sections that would be difficult in the dark. We made reasonably good time, even though we had to re attack 46 from a different trail as there were so many extra trails and features on the map that made it all seem a bit funky. We arrived back at TA just before midnight and decided that we would have a 1hour sleep by the fire before tacking the long ride to the final TA.
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| Leg 12 China Ridge Orienteering |
DAY 8 – THE FINALE
LEG 14 – Mountain Bike China Creek to Sun-oka Beach – 114km - Elevation 910m Cps 47-49
LEG 15 – Canoe/Trek Sun-Oka Beach to Finish Line – 8km – Cps 50
We woke and got ready to roll quickly. Ange Farrel was there at the TA and read us our briefing before we headed off down the super steep single trails. Kim was on the maps but put Alina in front to scout the best lines. We descended safely but did not waste any time and soon we were riding through the main street of Princeton and ready for the long Rail Trail ride to Lake Okanagan. Even though we had a good sleep before we started, we were getting sleepy on the slow and tedious uphill grind. We were singing 100green bottles to count down every kilometre, but we were not moving fast. We stopped and had a short sleep in a tunnel and had another sleep just before sunup at some random spot. When we woke, we realised that we had ice on our mapboards and that our water was frozen or slushy. As the sun came up, the trail started to descend ever so slightly, so finally we were enjoying the ride and getting through the kilometres faster. We managed to find CP 49 at Thirsk Lake without any issues were soon back on the bikes riding and enjoyed final parts of the KVT – Kettle Valley Rail Trail. We shed our multiple layers a bout 10k out from the TA as it was now warm and the sun was shining brightly. Our fan club was there at the TA of course to meet us Andrea, Duchess, and Jan, they were so excited that we had made it and that the conditions on the lake looked perfect.
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| Duchess waits at the TA for the MD Wild Women |
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| Alina packs her bike |
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| MDWW work as a team |
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| Ash's box over to the truck |
We had our best transition yet, because we just chucked our bike and everything else that we did not need into the bike boxes and got ready for that final canoe leg. This was a perfect way to finish the race; we were somehow ahead of Wild and Co …. how did that happen? Del and Alina were in one canoe, Ash, and I in the other and we just soaked up the views and enjoyed the paddle home, and again we were welcomed with cheers at the final CP 50 at SS Sicamous Paddle Boat.
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| Ready for the Canadian Canoe |
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| Kim with paddle, ready for action |
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| MDWW and the canoes |
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| Perfect conditions on the lake |
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| MDWW finish the Canoe at CP 50 |
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| Now it's time to finish this race! |
That was it, we had made it to the finish! We hugged and hugged and then let the champagne flow! OMG we could not believe it! The Mountain Designs Wild Women finished the full course of Expedition Canada fully ranked in 197hours 39minutes and 15 seconds, which is just over 8days.
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| MDWW cross the finish line |
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| We embrace! |
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| Alina and the champagne |
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| Mountain Designs Wild Women celebrate with Jan |
MDWW Finish Expedition Canada ARWS World Championships 2025
https://www.facebook.com/reel/816663500779510
This was the first ever Expedition Race for Ashild Krige
This was the first ever ARWC for Alina Mc Master and Del Lloyd
This was the first time that The Mountain Designs Wild Women Team had entered an ARWS World Championship and the team finished on top of their category!
The Mountain Designs Wild Women won the Open Category which include both all male and all female teams…. In fact, only the two women’s teams finished fully ranked….
Go the girls!!!!!!
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| Our finish results as per the LIVE TRACKING |
MDWW & Wild & Co – enjoying the lounges!
The Mountain Designs Wild Women could not have achieved this without the support from our major sponsors and supporters:
Mountain Designs – for ongoing sponsorship and for the special winter weather gear.
Ay Up Lighting Systems – for making sure we had light and batteries for the duration.
Tri Adventure – for continued support to the team
Blue Duck Packrafts - Glenn for your ongoing support with our beautiful packrafts
Our Hosts in Penticton - Andrea, Carl and Duchess
ARWS Oceania & MDWW Team Media - Jan Leverton
Our families and friends back at home who could not be here in person to support us
Our dot watchers – thanks for your ongoing encouragement throughout the race
THANKS TO OUR AMAZING ONLINE SUPPORTERS
Thanks to everyone who was watching our progress from home…. And for all of these encouraging messages via the live tracking website while we were out on the course!
Congratu fekin lation's !!! Geez that is an amzing experince for the team and inspiring for us following. Very bloody well done Legends.
Dave & ICare Crew03 Oct 25 17:24
CONGRATULATIONS from WendyAnn at Lavender Lane B&B in Lillooet Wild Women Rock!!! Was so much fun following your progress!!! Enjoy your Accomplishment 💜💜💜
Wendy-Ann Williams03 Oct 25 15:13
Well done Wild Women - fantastic effort #madrespect
Tim03 Oct 25 14:46
Congratulations Kim, Del, Alina & Ashild. What strong, resilient, amazing & simply wonderful women you are. Hope you are having some bubbles, a good feed (Del) and a well deserved rest..
Fiona03 Oct 25 13:57
Awesome achievement, well done
Karen03 Oct 25 13:46
CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!! Well done Ashild and Wild Women!!!!! What a tremendous achievement!!!! Celebration time!!!!!
Kin Wei, Lai and Andrew.03 Oct 25 13:38
Oi, Oi, Oi Ashild and Wild Women !!!
Kin Wei, Lai and Andrew03 Oct 25 13:31
Watching you amazing gals from Hawaii! The nav is next level! So proud of you and get onto that lake!!! (My partner thinks I’m Mel from Flight of the Concords) So good to see so many other fans here!!!
Martina03 Oct 25 10:31
Awesome effort.
Carol and Peter03 Oct 25 08:58
Oi, Oi, Oi, Ashild and Ladies, Go, Go, Go....wonderful racing.....almost nish....!!!
Kin Wei, Lai and Andrew03 Oct 25 03:14
Looking forward to cheering you across the finish line real soon! Absolute Rock Stars! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Andrea02 Oct 25 23:31
Great racing ladies
Carl02 Oct 25 13:39
They got 63 bike 8 km trek and orienteering, 114 km bike, then 8 km to paddle to the finish
Rory02 Oct 25 08:59
Fab racing ladies!!! You’ve done amazing work! xxx
Martina02 Oct 25 08:11
Looks like you've only got about 75ks to go, so you'll be there in several hours. Keep on Keeping On- You've got this!!
Brian02 Oct 25 03:54
We are watching from Clontarf and awe struck. Your smiling and moving forward.
Dave & Icare crew01 Oct 25 23:24
Enjoy some hot food, keep on going, outstanding racing
Rory01 Oct 25 16:29
You go, girls! Looking great and strong. Keep it up.
Fragile Flowers01 Oct 25 09:22
You go, Girls! You got this, looking strong!
Fragile Flowers01 Oct 25 09:19
You wild women have got this, keep going strong
Karen Green01 Oct 25 03:06
You're Gaining places ladies- Finishing strong!! Good to see, keep up the Great Work.
Brian01 Oct 25 00:01
Legends! Looking great. Loving the stories of snow, rapids and bears!
Genevieve30 Sep 25 14:36
Wild Women know no limits, keep going getting close!!
Beth30 Sep 25 13:56
Cheering you on from Jindabyne. You’re incredible! Go you good things!!!!
Nicole30 Sep 25 13:34
and you're on the final straight with just one continuous thread to the finish in Penticton
Brian30 Sep 25 11:04
3 teams have finished- looks like 62 is the points Target
Brian30 Sep 25 11:01
Cheering you on from Macedon! Keep going, you can do it! Soproud of you all!
Tim & Julie30 Sep 25 06:00
Hang in there Ladies, You're right behind the other Aussie Group
Brian30 Sep 25 00:23
Keep givener ladies!
Rory29 Sep 25 18:53
Watching and cheering you in from Woodend everyday. You are putting in a truly extraordinary effort. Extremely inspiring for everyone, particularly women and those little ones who you are a role model for.
Kristy29 Sep 25 15:34
Cheering from Calgary!!! Go Kimmi and Wild Women!
Glenn and Tamie!29 Sep 25 08:44
From what I can tell you've covered almost 3/4 of the course- Keep going Strong, it's all downhill now
Brian29 Sep 25 01:06
great racing team
james p29 Sep 25 00:19
Good luck wild women
Rory28 Sep 25 23:30
Welcome to Ashcroft Wild Women, Oi Oi Oi. Hope you have a good rest
MU28 Sep 25 22:10
Keep going team! Looking forward to hearing the stories at the Wild Women race.
Ainsleigh W28 Sep 25 17:20
Love your work ladies Love your work ladies! Keep charging forward!
Andy Fellows28 Sep 25 15:16
Did you reach CP 8?
Brian28 Sep 25 12:35
Well done Del and team! Keep on cranking!
Matt and Kate, Macedon28 Sep 25 04:23
Hope you are all having FUN! Impressive job!
Steven, Sacred Ride, Jindabyne.28 Sep 25 03:52
Well done Wild women, you rock…..
Darlene Hatchett27 Sep 25 13:17
Go you Aussie legends! Sending you so much love and strength for the rest of the race!! Go tha girls!!!
Martina B27 Sep 25 10:34
MDWW . Looking Good Girls 🌽 🧭 🥾 🛶
Greta26 Sep 25 21:39
Ashild and ladies, great efforts!!! Inala lunch Ashild? 😃 Enjoy !!
Kin Wei, Lai and De.26 Sep 25 19:28
Phabulous following you phantastic girls. Keep on keeping ON!
Dave & ICare Crew26 Sep 25 18:21
Hope it's all going well for you
Brian26 Sep 25 11:30
Hope it's all going well for you
Brian26 Sep 25 11:29
Not sure if you're spinning your wheels again or I'm not making. sense of the tracking map
Brian26 Sep 25 11:29
Go, go Ashild and your wild women friends. Go, go, go...to the nish line quick.
Kin Wei, Lai and Elliot26 Sep 25 02:10
Incredible stuff Ladies, Da Iawn, bendegedig....that's my welsh used up. Keep on pushing (as I know you all are).
Chris Hickey26 Sep 25 01:48
Wow- it looks like you ladies are smashing it on 47 points which is right up there. Well Done!!!
Brian26 Sep 25 00:12
Go Ashild and friends!
Jess and Ads25 Sep 25 23:31
You girls are AWESOME!!! 🤩 Hope you're having lots of fun out there too!
Becca25 Sep 25 23:04
Go team go!! All eyes on your dot - cheering you along!
Andrea Carl & Duchess25 Sep 25 21:02
Go you good strong things!!! Love tracking you Al whilst I sit on my backside at work!
Heather25 Sep 25 20:49
Love to see an all-woman team! You've got some new fans in Eastern Canada. Crush it!!
NS Watch Party25 Sep 25 07:59
LINKS TO REELS & VIDEOS
1. Start The Corn
https://www.facebook.com/reel/24852009137744476
2. MDWW at TA4 Lillooet
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19acHxDPHD/
3. MDWW Arrive at the Hat Creek Ranch CP24
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17cUoNKnRu/
4. MDWW Interview with Wayne Leek ARWS Referee at TA 8/9
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1770343987008013
5. MDWW leaving TA 8/9
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1507574633594946
6. MDWW – coming down off the Leg 11 Trek
https://www.facebook.com/reel/776386885009170
7. ALINA in the middle of Leg 11 Trek – Food Truck
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1160559306135588
8. Kim Interview with Alex Mann – Course Designer
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1665490524856024
9. Tullamine CP39
https://www.facebook.com/reel/583048801496368
10. MDWW Finish
https://www.facebook.com/reel/816663500779510
11. MDWW & Wild & Co – Aussie Teams enjoying the lounges!
LIVE TRACKING LINK – Mountain Designs Wild Women – Team 47
https://live.enabledtracking.com/2025arwc/
PHOTO / VIDEO CREDITS
MDWW Go Pro
Jan Leverton ARWS Oceania Media
Carl & Andrea - Our hosts
ARWS Media Team via Facebook & Instagram
Expedition Canada media Team via Facebook & Instagram
