Pitch-Perfect Persuasion

Live a 'One-Knife Life' via Bushcraft

2009-08-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

Spent the day with Mike Lummio of Bushcraft Northwest. With the Columbia River Gorge as a setting, he showed me it's possible to live off the land, and all the easier if you've brought along a real stout knife.

This pic shows Lummio using a drill to make hot embers that can lead to a fire. I wrote a story about the experience, and it appeared as one of my Cascade Playground columns in the Vancouver Voice newspaper, the alternative paper in Vancouver, Wash. Click through!

http://www.vanvoice.com/article/19879-tools-wilderness

The Best Part of Outdoor Retailer: Chillin' in Boise

2009-07-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a little scared to count the number of times I've been to the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show in Salt Lake City. Let's just say 10 times would be an accurate guess. While the thrill of the show floor never completely leaves me, other experiences have crept up as even more delightful.

Here's a picture of Marcia Cook and Ryan Whitesides, two friends who happen to live partway between Portland, Ore., and Salt Lake. When I asked if I could lay over a night on my way to the show, they opened their home to me with kindness and generosity I've not experienced in ages.

I had such a great time with Marcia and Ryan, I wrapped my Outdoor Retailer business up a day early so I could scoot back to Boise and hang out. What sweet memories of summer I'll always have of Boise! As long as they'll have me, I'll be back!

The R. Craig Brown Family

2009-07-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

For the first time in many years, all nine children of my wife's paternal dad, R. Craig Brown, got together. Many make it to this spot each 4th of July, Grandpa Robert Brown's cabin in Island Park, Idaho, but rarely all.

I had my camera and got this shot of the kids with Craig. The gang are spread across five states these days, and one even lives overseas. Jana Bitton, my wife, is on the far left in a dark shirt.

Four of the kids are from Craig's first wife (Jana's mom) Venessa Pitman. Five of them are from Craig's second wife, Christie.

Beauty Queen Photo Shoot in Port Townsend, Wash.

2009-06-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Deidra Morris, daughter of a dear friend from my junior high and high school days in Idaho Falls, competes in pageants. She needed some fresh photos, so I agreed to motor on up to Port Townsend, Wash., to help out.

Her mom, Lori Marler Morris, hasn't changed a bit since high school, and her daughter, who I took to calling "Miss D," looks just like her mom.

After the shoot, we all went to dinner with Lori's family at the best Mexican restaurant in the area. It was great food, as well as great company.

Best of luck with the 2009 pageant season, Miss D! I'm cheering for you!

TRIOBA Wild Sky Adventure Race

2009-05-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

Index, Wash., played host to the TRIOBA Wild Sky Adventure Race. Here's a shot I got right after the race start, as teams were headed out of town toward the mountains that shoot straight up behind Index.

At this moment, I was in the back of a pickup with other photographers. My intention at Wild Sky was to be the official TRIOBA photographer, but because real media showed up from newspapers in the surrounding area, I decided instead to play PR guy. I spent the day making sure they got the information and photographs they needed for their stories. Felt just like the good old days at Primal Quest Utah, where I was a member of Gordon Wright's media team. Ahh, the memories.

Daddy Daughter Date: The Killers Rock Seattle

2009-04-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

My daughter Ashton is still amped up about rock and roll, and when I heard the Killers were going to play the Pacific Northwest, I saw a perfect chance for a daddy-daughter date. Surprisingly, the Killers had no Portland dates (they added one later!), so we headed to the Seattle show.

Digital SLRs aren't weren't allowed in the venue, so I made due with my iPhone camera. After dozens of shots, I had a few I was proud of , including this one of bass player Mark Stoermer as fireworks rained down onstage.

It was a late night, plus a three-hour drive home to get Ashton to school this morning. But it was so worth it! We were singing their songs all the way back to Vancouver, Wash. Well, I was. Ashton was asleep. Smart kid.

Blood on the Wide-angle Lens

2009-04-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

Like most of the folks in the Spirit Mountain Casino last night, I've been a fan of mixed martial arts (MMA) since I saw it a few years back on Spike TV. So imagine my excitement when I learned about SportFight XXV, an MMA event held within driving distance of Portland, Ore. In this image I captured ringside, amateur fighter Colt Toombs of Team Quest in Portland puts a finishing right on his opponent, Tom Shrout. The result -- blood on my wide-angle lens, as well as on my shirt. I grinned so hard my face ached. What an unbelievable rush! Toombs comes from a fighting family. He's the son of one-time professional wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper.

The Smiths, More Than an 80s Band

2009-03-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

Meet the Smith family of Logan, Utah. That's Jesse on the left, Sean on the right, snuggling in the grass at Cannon Beach, Ore. Sean's about to graduate from Utah State with a bachelor's in business, minor in marketing, and he's lookin' for a job. They came to town over their spring break so I could introduce Sean to Andrew Buswell at FitRight Northwest, as well as to Bryan Knudsen at Next Adventure, to see how the job market is in P-Town. Kinda bleak...so we went to the beach! Great to see you guys, and best of luck on the job search!

CrossFit Photo Shoot Turns Steamy

2009-02-17T17:02:00.000-08:00

Last night I got to experience the workout phenomenon that is CrossFit. Bob Cook, owner of The Workout CrossFit in Vancouver, Wash., asked me to shoot a workout so he'd have images to add to his CrossFit blog. This picture, which features steam pouring off the head of workout attendee Marc Pitcher, was among my favorites. Expect to see more CrossFit postings in the coming months!

Portraits with Shoshone Artist Rochelle Nielsen

2009-02-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got to spend about an hour with Rochelle Nielsen, an artist who lives near me in Vancouver, Washington. She's a Shoshone Indian, and most of her art that I've seen is about that. In her art, Nielsen shows how she struggles to weave her heritage into her modern life. She's got a show coming up at Marylhurst University in the spring. After we shot portraits, Nielsen asked me to get some photos of her doing the Shawl Dance, or Fancy Dance. This image was among my favorites.

Marrying off the First Niece

2009-01-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, one Garan Keeler of New Mexico got the best New Year's Day gift imaginable. He married my niece, Ashley Bitton. Her dad, my brother John Bitton, asked Garan if that means he'll be "taking over the payments" to support Ashley's upscale lifestyle. Garan just smiled. The first few months of married life can be pretty intense. Keep smiling, you two! (David Bitton photo)

Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge

2008-12-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

Heading out on assignment for a client is always a thrill, but this particular trip took me 12 time zones away from home. Checkpoint Zero Adventure Racing, the leading source for adventure racing news in North America, sent me to the Middle East to cover the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge in the United Arab Emirates. The emphasis of my coverage is North American teams, so I've been spending time with teams Nike, Salomon/Crested Butte, SOLE and DART-nuun. You can read the reports I've been posting over on Checkpoint Zero by clicking here. This shot from the sand dunes near Liwa, Abu Dhabi, is typical of the terrain teams trekked through during the event. Sand, sand and more sand! Us media types were escorted through the dunes by a local 4x4 club. All the jostling led to me losing my lunch at one point! As I often say, it's not really an adventure unless you throw up at least once. So true!

Rockefeller Plaza, all Dressed Up

2008-12-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

I'm in New York City for a few days, visiting friend Jake Bennett before I hop a plane from JFK to the Middle East. Jake's apartment is in a fabulous location for a NYC first-timer like me. He's in Midtown East, and very near a Subway station. Today he took me on a walking tour of Manhattan's famous shopping district, Fifth Avenue. I've long been a fan of Cartier wristwatches, but never seen one. That changed today, when I tried on a $10,000.00 tank watch. It felt good, but not ten grand good, so I guess I'm back to my Wengers and HighGear watches. Here's a shot I got of "30Rock," it's an actual place, not just a TV show!

iPod Playlist Annoys Newborn

2008-11-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

I just love photographing newborns. As a father of two, I know how fast these babies become toddlers and are swept away to kindergarten. Capturing their smallness is my contribution to a family's history.

For this shoot, after we got all the "standard" shots, I suggested something fun. Her parents are really into music -- her father plays regular gigs in Portland, Ore. -- so I snatched his iPod and headphones for this setup. The baby lasted about a minute, but we got this great shot! See? Family history. I'm sure this is the first pic her parents will show when they want to talk about the Baby Days.

Portland PRSA Draws Crowd for Spotlight Awards

2008-10-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

Portland Oregon's chapter of the Public Relations Society of America drew a nice crowd for its annaul Spotlight Awards last night. I was on hand as a volunteer still photographer, and my brother, David Bitton, volunteered to shoot video. Here's the blrub from the PRSA website about the event:

PRSA-PDX's most festive and spirited gathering of the year to honor outstanding work in public relations, to recognize individuals who advance the profession and to have a great time. This annual awards program is an event not to be missed.

David and I had a great time getting to know the PR pros in attendance, especially the team from Portland General Electric, which let us sit at their table. That's them in the photo above. Hi girls! A complete gallery of images from the evening can be seen here. Want to know who won and for what? Check the results on the Portland PRSA website, www.prsa-portland.org.

SCORE! Free Advice from Pros Who've Been There

2008-10-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

Bill Rooney worked for decades in the marketing department of forest products giant Georgia-Pacific. Today, as a volunteer for SCORE, "Counselors to America's Small Business," he listened to my plans for Bitton Communications. He said I've got a great start, and suggested some next steps:

1) Develop an "elevator pitch," a concise story to tell people what your company does.

2) Put a short version of that pitch on the back of your business card.

3) Read a book by marketing guru Bob Bly.

I've got the elevator pitch ready. My business cards will soon be redesigned. And Bob Bly? Haven't gotten to that yet. It's on my list!

Thanks for your guidance, Bill! I'll be in touch with more questions!

So What? He's Still a Rockstar!

2008-09-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

This is Ryland, and he may not be a real rockstar yet, but he's gonna be. This is a shot from our recent photo session.

Ryland not only plays guitar with great precision, he sings with surprising control for a high school senior. To top it all off, he even writes his own songs. Music and lyrics both.

An Unconventional Family Portrait

2008-09-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

Families are chaotic. Those prim and proper family portraits, where each member of the group is perfect, are few and far between, and there's a reason why. That's not who they are. That's not who any of us are.

The Brown Family of Vancouver, Wash., is about to send its second son on a two-year mission to Arizona. They asked me to capture some wall-worthy images of the gang, since they won't be together again for a long time.

As with any shoot, issues come up. The light changes. Somebody can't stop giggling. Everyone gets to a point where they're ready for the shoot to be over. This family was committed to making great pictures, and we worked until we had them.

That's our approach at Bitton Communications. Whether our job is to capture family history, as it was here, or to tell client stories in the most efficient and effective ways, we don't stop until we get it right.

Somebody's Grandma is Gonna be Real Happy

2008-09-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

What grandmother wouldn't burst with pride at the site of this photo of her grandson? Visuals are a big part of what we do at Bitton Communications, and we just wrapped this shoot of the Fuger Family of Vancouver, Wash.

While this shot is destined for walls and mantles in the extended Fuger Family, our other visuals, which include still photos like this one, as well as videos, help tell the stories of our awesome clients. Client imagry finds its way to their marketing materials, things like websites, brochures and blogs.

If you're old enough to remember the 1980s, you may recall a rebel tennis player named Andre Agassi. Canon USA paid Agassi to endorse its Rebel camera, which carried the tag line "Image is Everything." As a marketing company, we couldn't agree more!

'Widget' From Yahoo!'s MyBlogLog Shows you Who's Dropping by

2008-09-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

In developing the Boy Meets Dog blog about my Autistic nephew, I've been looking for ways to track not just traffic to the page, but who is visiting the page. It's actually pretty easy to do if a visitor has an account with the Yahoo! service called My Blog Log.

Uncle Mike Launches Dog Blog

2008-09-12T16:44:00.000-07:00

I do a lot of blogging for the Checkpoint Zero Adventure Racing website, and its owner, Paul "Yak" Angell, tells me I've taken to blogging like a duck to water. Practice is always a good thing, so I've pitched in to create and maintain a blog for my nephew, Garrett, a 6-year-old Autistic boy. The blog, titled Boy Meets Dog, will focus on the family's efforts to pair Garrett with a service dog trained to care for Autistic children. Follow the link and tell me what you think!

Welcome to Boy Meets Dog

New Backpacking Gear Put to Test in Goat Rocks Wilderness

2008-08-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

Photo by David Bitton

I just got back from a three-day, two-night backpacking trip in my neighborhood high country, the Cascade Range of Washington State. My brother David Bitton and I tagged along with a group of Scouts on their annual adventure trek. The trail head was Lily Basin, and the destination was Heart Lake, well within the borders of the Goat Rocks Wilderness. I decided to test some new gear on the trip. Along for the ride was:

A 3 Day Assault Pack from Mystery Ranch in Bozeman, Mont. The bag was recently put into service by the U.S. Navy SEALs.

A Stealth down backpacking quilt from Jacks R Better in Yorktown, Virginia. RJB gear is popular among ultralight folk, especially those who enjoy hammock camping.

A Satellite Messenger from SPOT in Milpitas, Calif. This little GPS device provides peace of mind not for the adventurer carrying it, but for those at home who want to know said adventurer is OK.

A pair of SOLE Platinum Sandals from SOLE Custom Footbeds in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The company's heat-moldable orthotic shoe insoles cradle feet and improve posture. Now that same technology is in the open air, and catching on fast among the outdoor crowd.

The pack is not lightweight, but it is small, perfect for preventing me from taking too much stuff with me. The bag is overbuilt and guaranteed for life.

The quilt was magnificent. It can compress to about the size of a Nalgene bottle, but I chose not to abuse the 800-fill down feathers. In the pack, I kept the Stealth quilt about the size of a box of cereal.

The SPOT Satellite Messenger was used in two different modes. One is the "OK" mode, which sends a message via e-mail or text message to those you input on the company's website when you press the OK button. That worked perfectly. But the tracking feature, designed to "ping" a satellite every 10 minutes while in tracking mode, worked best in wide-open areas.

Since the Pacific Northwest is pretty much forested, there were a lot of attempted pings from my SPOT unit that never found a satellite. The unit hung from my shoulder strap most of the time. Next trip, I'll put the SPOT unit on top of my pack. Hopefully that will improve performance in tracking mode.

And finally, the SOLE Platinum sandals. I picked these up at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show earlier this month, and haven't been without them since. Who would have thought that flip-flops could become their favorite "shoes?" My feet are flat, and without support, begin to ache within hours. The SOLE Platinum sandals feel better and better the more I wear them.

Jacks R Better Down Quilt at Outdoor Retailer

2008-08-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

This morning on my way to a meeting with Rickshaw Bagworks, I was stopped in my tracks by a booth touting down-filled backpacking quilts. My short, roundish body doesn't fit well in a mummy bag, a problem I'd temporarily solved when I got a fully rectangular MontBell Thermal Sheet four or five years ago. But the problem came right back when, during Primal Quest San Juan Islands, I gave my Thermal Sheet to an athlete in need, and never saw it again.

So today when I saw this thing -- a fully rectangular down backpacking quilt -- there was little meditation required. I bought one from the two Jacks who run Jacks R Better. It'll be shipped to my house some time next week. Hopefully that Primal Quest athlete who made off with my fully rectangular Thermal Sheet isn't reading this. Wouldn't want him to intercept my package!

I'll Take the Stairs

2008-08-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you're in Salt Lake City a day-and-a-half early for the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market trade show? Go visit friends! Years ago, I went to journalism school with Mark Reece, now a senior editor at the Deseret News. The paper has a relatively new building, and I hadn't been in before. For me, the highlight was the staircase of the nine-story building. It has what I can only describe as floor-to-ceiling windows, for the entire height of the building. After a brief visit with Mark in the fourth floor lobby, I was on my way to the elevator to leave when I decided to see the view from the top of the staircase. The photo above is it. I didn't set foot in the elevator again. Like a lot of Deseret News staffers I saw today, I told myself, I'll take the stairs.

Swiss Sheep

2008-07-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

Another day, another hike over a pass to yet another European country. That's Switzerland beyond the flowers, complete with a shepherd. I'm shooting this picture from France. What an amazing assignment this has been!

Here Lies Italy

2008-07-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

Though this granite marker looks like a head stone, here it is used to mark the border of Italy and France near the Col de la Seigne in the Alps. The "I" on the marker stands for Italy. On the other side, there's an "F" for France. It took me two hours to hike to the top of the pass. It was the most beautiful hike of my life!

The Great Life

2008-07-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

Photo by Celine, my server

This is me having a Perrier at a cafe on the pedestrian street in the French Alps town of Bourg Saint Maurice. This is not the good life. This is the Great life. On assignment for Checkpoint Zero at the Mountain X Race.

Bourg Saint Maurice, Savoie, French Alps

2008-07-21T14:40:00.001-07:00

My first morning in Europe delivered this view. That's the village of Bourg Saint Maurice, in the state of Savoie, in the French Alps. Five more days of this and I may never want to go home! I'm here on assignment for the adventure racing news website Checkpoint Zero. I'm told to expect more views like the one above in the days ahead. Click on the photo to see it large.

Mann of Primal Quest, Sisler of Zanfel Labs

2008-06-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

At the Primal Quest Montana finish line this afternoon, Don Mann, left, handed the microphone over to Steve Sisler of Zanfel Labs. Sisler, who said he didn't even know about adventure racing until a few years ago, spoke of his family's close bond to Merrell/Zanfel Adventure Captain Robyn Benincasa."

"In our house, we call her Auntie Robyn," Steve said. In fact, Steve's 23-year-old daughter, Megan Sisler, has done an adventure race with Robyn.

Steve and his wife Heather arrived in Montana late last week from the family home in Clive, Iowa, to cheer on their team. While Megan couldn't make the trip, some other Sislers did. They include son Nick, 16; and daughters Laura and Julie, ages 13 and 9, respectively.

Gettin' My Kitch On

2008-06-28T18:27:00.001-07:00

The zip tie I was using as a key chain here at Primal Quest failed me, so I had to replace it. I stopped by a gift shop in Big Timber, Montana, near the Super 8 where I'd been gaining Internet access, and snatched this kitchy key chain up for $2.99. Now I know where my car key is!

Phrozen Phantom Phlytyers

2008-06-26T19:50:00.001-07:00

Today while I was happily speeding West along Interstate 90 toward Bozeman, I saw a freeway sign for Livingston, home to the Federation of Fly Fishers. Back when I was in middle school and high school, my dad was the editor of the Federation's quarterly magazine, The Flyfisher. Flyfishing sparked for me an interest in photography and writing that are still with me today. I stopped in Livingston, found the Federation headquarters, walked inside and found my dad is represented there. Back in the mid 1980s, he used to have a reunion with his fly fishing buddies each winter in, of all places, Minot, North Dakota. They called themselves the Phrozen Phantom Phlytyers. This framed collection of their hand-tied flies will forever serve as a reminder that crazy wasn't invented in the 21st century!

Bitton's Got a nuun active hydration Drinking Problem

2008-06-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! That's a lot of empties! These dozen or so water bottles have been piling up on the floor of the passenger side of my Honda Civic since Monday. Now it's Thursday. I'm off the Diet Coke again, and onto nuun active hydration. That's the electrolyte replacement tablet made by folks in Seattle who don't care that proper nouns are usually capitalized. I love the product! Company founder Tim, who was in Montana for the start of Primal Quest, hooked me up with a few tubes of new flavors. Now I'm field testing them as fast as I can. I honestly feel more energy when I'm properly hydrated. That likely means I'm usually dehydrated. Something to think about.

Catching up With Rich 'King Richard' Milburn

2008-06-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

I met Rich four years ago when I volunteered at Karen Lundgren and Paul Romero's West Coast Adventure Racing event in San Diego County. Later that year, Rich and I were students at Karen and Paul's adventure race training camp in Big Bear, Calif. Karen and Paul led us through a 24-hour course design, but it took us 29 hours to finish. After you suffer with someone for so many hours, there's a bond there that's undeniable. Rich volunteers at a lot of races, all over the world. It was great to see him at the remote bike drop on the second afternoon of Primal Quest. Instead of heading to the next TA to spend the night, I decided to stick close to Rich, and his checkpoint assistant Martin Mylet. Rich is still living in L.A., planning his life around adventure rather than work. He got a haircut, which is kinda surprising, and he cleaned up his beard, which is even more surprising. It was great to catch up, Rich. Thanks for the hospitality!

My Dear Friends DART/nuun

2008-06-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

I've been covering Seattle-based adventure racing team DART-nuun (there's two of 'em in that blue boat) for four seasons now, and they never cease to impress me. Their commitment to a common goal is rather uncommon, I believe. They are absolutely inspirational, and I am proud to be counted as one of their friends.

I'm a Believer

2008-06-24T09:40:00.001-07:00

Everything I see in Southwest Montana's Gallatin Valley is so stunningly beautiful, it deserves a second look. Here's a shot I saw this morning when I was supposed to be taking pictures of Primal Quest adventure racers being flushed down the Gallatin River in flood stage. In life, you gotta take time to smell the roses, or, as the case may be, to photograph the Soldier's Chapel at sunrise with Big Sky's Lone Peak in the background. It's enough to make a believer out of anyone.

Behold, the Bitton Throne

2008-06-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

This is that perfect leather chair in the Huntley Lodge at Big Sky Resort that I've been using as a mobile office since I arrived in Montana to cover Primal Quest. I love this chair. If it would fit in my Honda Civic, I would take it with me everywhere. It is the thing I will miss most when the race moves farther and farther from this glorious Huntley Lodge, and I am forced to find other internet arrangements.

Now That's Just Nasty

2008-06-24T00:28:00.001-07:00

That right there is the left foot of adventure racer John Jacoby after he completed the first HALF DAY of Primal Quest Montana, an endurance event that will cover more than 500 miles during seven to 10 days. I'd be horrified to have feet like this on the first day of a 10-day race. But Jacoby says it'll be OK. Feet dry out. The race goes on.

Mike Bitton, Mike Bitton, Your Media Credentials Have Arrived

2008-06-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

Well lookie here! Took a stroll into Primal Quest headquarters, introduced myself to Media Director Kraig Becker, signed away my life on one waiver, my intellectual property on another, and pow! Got this nifty new necklace that makes me 100% official!

Bitton Beat 'Em to the Punch

2008-06-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

After shooting the start of Primal Quest Montana, I returned to the lovely, large leather chair in the lobby of Big Sky Resort's Huntley Lodge to pull photos off my CF card and get them up on the blogs I'm here to produce. The Checkpoint Zero blog update was pretty quick, and the Merrell one was so quick I decided to do two! Looking at the official Primal Quest website, it appears I beat them to the punch. My stuff went live first!

Boots on the Ground, Primal Quest Montana

2008-06-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

Isn't that pretty? Welcome to Big Sky Country.

Here I am at Big Sky Resort in Southwest Montana, about halfway between the communities of Bozeman and West Yellowstone. Having just completed my 12-hour drive from Estes Park, Colo., I'm a little surprised how different Montana's "Best Place" is from Colorado's "Best Place." It's considerably greener here, and not quite as warm. I think I'm in love.

It's been great to reunite with dozens of adventure racing friends from all over the world. I've already spent some time with Merrell/Zanfel Adventure, who I'm blogging about for Merrell for this race. See that blog here. I've also spent some time with DART/nuun, and posted a blog to t he Checkpoint Zero website about that team's enviable customized support vehicle. You can see that one here.

The race is set to begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. Thanks for following along!

The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running

2008-06-21T15:55:00.001-07:00

Adam Chase, one of the presenters here for Active at Altitude's Trail Running and Writing Weekend, just gave me a copy of his book, "The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running," which he co-authored with Nancy Hobbs. You can get your copy here.

It's stuffed with great information about the sport, like tips on trail running technique, strength training exercises specifically helpful for trail running, and even gives wannabe race directors instructions on how to set up a trail run of their own.

I can't wait to read it, cover to cover! Thanks, Adam, for the book!

Panting at Altitude

2008-06-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a shot of the Trail Running and Writing Weekend crew at Lake Estes, just before our first run. Photo by Adam Chase.

Did I neglect to mention that Active at Altitude sits at 8,000 feet above sea level? Well, it does. For our first run of the Trail Running and Writing Weekend, we descended to 7,500 foot-Lake Estes, the very heart of Estes Park, Colo., for a 45-minute loop run around the lake's paved bike path. I did OK for the first five minutes, doing my shuffle-style of "running," as the pack of participants slowly slipped out of sight. When the panting set in, I decided to walk. I was still headed in the right direction, just kinda slowly. Terry, owner of Active at Altitude, looped back to check on me, and I told him I'd likely just do 20 minutes out and then head back to the cars, and that I'd see him there. The effect of altitude, combined with my lack of exercise in recent months, served me up a truly uncomfortable helping of humble pie. It's clearly time to get more serious about what I eat, what I drink, and how much I exercise. The decision to come here for the weekend was a good one. I'll leave with many of the tools to get my body headed in the correct direction.

I've Arrived at Active at Altitude, Estes Park, Colo.

2008-06-20T08:52:00.001-07:00

Road trips are funny things. I left Boise, Idaho, yesterday morning with the intention of spending the night with a friend in Salt Lake City. But I got to Salt Lake in the early afternoon, and figured, hey, since this is pretty much the longest day of the year in terms of daylight hours, why not press forward?

So I arrived here, Active at Altitude, a day early for the Trail Running and Writing Weekend retreat to which I've decided to treat myself. This is the perfect transition from my former life as an elementary school teacher, which ended about 48 hours ago, and my new life as a PR pro, which I've been chipping away at for a couple of years, but am now chasing full-throttle.

This place is so relaxing! I'm blissfully tapping away in the Active at Altitude great room, looking south at some gorgeous granite peaks that owner Terry Chiplin tells me are called Twin Sisters. The only thing blocking the view are humming birds jockeying for position at the feeders. This lodge-like facility, which I'd compare to a marvelous bed and breakfast, is in Estes Park, Colo., at the door to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Our days are pretty full here, starting today and ending Sunday afternoon. I'll likely have to bail out early, though, or I will miss the start of Primal Quest, the expedition adventure race I'll be covering for the adventure racing news website Checkpoint Zero.

Terry's taking me to town, so I'll have the Estes Park introduction shortly. So far, this place impresses me as the perfect place to get away from it all in a super-supportive, super-healthy environment.

My Mandatory Gear List for Primal Quest Montana

2008-06-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

Mandatory Gear:

Laptop computer with wireless Internet capability
Computer power supply
Digital SLR
Selection of lenses for digital SLR
Memory cards
Memory card reader
Extra camera batteries
Camera battery charger
Composition book for taking notes
Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils
Black Uni-ball pens

Recommended Gear:
Cell phone
Personal identification
Debit card
Clothing for five days (gonna have to hit a laundromat...)
Prescription eyeglasses
Numa Sport Optics Ride Rx sunglasses
Montrail Hardrock trail running shoes
Bridgedale socks
GoLite Phantom jacket
Checkpoint Zero business cards
Checkpoint Zero Headsweats hats
Checkpoint Zero T-shirts

Optional Gear:
Food
Frosty beverage
Sleeping bag
Eagle's Nest Outfitters Double Nest Hammock

Mike Bitton, On Assignment

2008-06-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

I'm reading quite a few books about how to make my new PR business successful. Over and over again, I keep seeing this advice: Put yourself in front of the folks you want to hire you. Well, they're easy enough to identify! Bitton PR specializes in outdoor industry public relations, so I just need to get myself in front of the owners and upper-level managers of every company with products for sale in REI or Eastern Mountain Sports! I can catch most if not all of them twice a year in Salt Lake City, during the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market and Summer Market trade shows. But have you ever been to Outdoor Retailer? The bigwigs are so busy during Outdoor Retailer, even a charmer like me struggles to land an appointment.

So I have an innovative plan to get in front of the folks I want to hire me. I'll become the expert at covering the most gear-intensive outdoor sport ever created -- adventure racing. And I'll cover the sport for the best adventure racing news source in North America, a nifty little website called Checkpoint Zero. That bachelor's degree I earned in journalism, and the 10 years I spent working at daily newspapers, sure will come in handy! So instead of a handshake and a business card at Outdoor Retailer, I'm gonna do this: Show the owners and upper-level managers of every company with products for sale in REI or Eastern Mountain Sports, via a body of writing and photography work, that I know their customers better than anyone else. That my pulse is their customer's pulse. That if they're ready for a PR pro who's not afraid to spend a week in the dirt for the love of adventure, I am their PR pro.

Part One of my plan -- getting the assignments from Checkpoint Zero -- is already panning out. Paul "Yak" Angell, owner of Checkpoint Zero, LLC, confirmed this week I'll be covering at least four events for him during the remaining months of 2008: Primal Quest in Montana; the Mountain X Race in the French Alps; the Upstate Adventure Race in South Carolina; and the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge in the Middle East.

As the body of work grows, I know Part Two of my plan will come to fruition. There certainly are some solid outdoor industry PR agencies already doing business. But only one has my passion at the helm. Owners and upper-level managers of outdoor industry companies, here am I. If you have any PR request for proposals to send out for bids, don't forget Bitton PR in Portland, Ore. We'll give the established agencies a run for their money, guaranteed.

No More Fridays

2008-06-12T22:41:00.000-07:00

Today was my last Friday as an elementary school teacher. It was kinda sad, knowing I won't see these people every day like I have for the past three school years.

This time next week, I'll be somewhere between Salt Lake City and Estes Park, Colo., where I'll attend a Trail Running and Writing workshop. I'll go directly from there to Big Sky, Montana, where I'll cover the Primal Quest expedition adventure race for the adventure racing news website Checkpoint Zero. So even though I'm leaving teaching, and hoping for a giant decompression break, instead, I'll be a road warrior with places to be, and things to do, until about July 6.

But that's OK. 'Cause after that -- I'll be free. And on a whole new professional adventure!

USARA National Championships, Santa Barbara, Calif.

2006-11-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

Photo by Mike Bitton

Adventure racers mountain bike past palm trees in Santa Barbara, Calif., during the USARA National Championship race.

The first weekend in November I covered the national championships of the United States Adventure Racing Association (USARA), held this year in Santa Barbara, Calif. It was a great time to be away from Portland, Ore., since we were logging record rain totals every day I was gone!

It was a little strange to be at a race where I only knew a few teams. At Primal Quest I knew dozens, at and the Wicked and TRIOBA races here in the Pacific Northwest, I know even more. Walking around the starting line on the beach, I only met a few groups I recognized. Where were all the so-called "top teams" of the sport? I guess they don't bother with "grassroots" racing any more. Or maybe they were taking the weekend off so they could be in Rio for EcoMotion Brazil. That was the case with my friends from DART-nuun in Seattle.

I'd never really spent any time in Santa Barbara before, just drove in once when I lived in SoCal and took a stroll on the beach with my wife. This trip was different. I spent three days driving around town and up and down the San Ysidro Mountains that form the city's dramatic backdrop.

It's funny the things I miss about California -- being so close to Mexico; seeing $100,000 cars being passed by Kias; and the ever-vibrant Los Angeles International Airport. Things I forgot I didn't like -- the endless supply of rude people; maniac drivers in the fast lane of every freeway; and a parade of lousy radio stations. KCRW FM in Santa Monica is the only exception.

I was welcomed like family into the rental home of team Mighty Dog from Atlanta, Ga. Sherry and Ardie Olson, team manager and captain, respectively, have taken me under their wings every time I've seen them since May 2006, when we met at the Mighty MO Expedition adventure race in the Ozarks of Missouri. One of the greatest things about adventure racing is reuniting with friends every few months, always in a diferent state, and sometimes in a different country!

Daylight hours were spent taking photographs of teams. Dark hours were spent downloading photos off my memory cards and onto my laptop. There was no stress to put up stories and photos every night, since the USARA said they had their own method of updating their web page to keep family and friends up to date on race conditions. Sadly, it didn't come together for them, which left fans in a lurch. About a dozen people asked me Saturday morning where all my stories and photos were. I told them Checkpoint Zero had agreed not to post anything until AFTER the event, so as not to compete with the USARA information machine.

I spent a lot of time talking to athletes after the race about training and nutrition, as I will be racing in 2007. In fact, Iwill be racing next month! There's a BEAST race near Seattle on Sunday, Dec. 3. I'll be there with some other newbie adventure racing friends from Portland to see how we all perform under stress. Nutrition and training have become an important new part of my life since I decided to race in 2007. I'm lucky to have so many elite-level adventure racing friends to point me in the right directions!

Wicked Sunsweet 24hr Adventure Race

2006-09-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Glenn Rogers of team nuun/Clif grabs a checkpoint in a culvert during the Wicked Sunsweet 24hr adventure race in Oakridge, Ore.

Oakridge, Ore., was recently ranked by a national magazine as the second-best mountain biking location in the United States, beaten out only by Moab, Utah. So why the heck hasn't anyone outside of the Pacific Northwest heard of Oakridge? Now that the Wicked Sunsweet 24hr adventure race has wrapped, I bet the word will spread like wildfire.

Green Waters Park in the center of town served as headquarters for the race, which begain at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept, 23. The course was so Wicked that only six of the more than 30 registered teams were able to finish the whole thing. Thankfully, time cutoffs allowed slower teams to complete a "sport course," and still see the highlights of the area, which included a 100-foot rappel.

While I normally work alone covering adventure races, I got to host two new friends this time around. Julie was in my Jeep, supporting solo racer Duncan Sailors. Jalen was with us as well, supporting his mom, Terri Smith.

Outdoor Retailer Summer Market

2006-08-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

Every August and January, about 1,000 outdoor sporting goods gear manufacturers gather in Salt Lake City for an industry-only trade show called Outdoor Retailer. The August show is Summer Market, and the January show is Winter Market. I just got home from Summer Market, and what an experience it was!

On assignment for Checkpoint Zero, North America's leading source for adventure racing news, my job was to find gear of interest to adventure racers. The show is so massive, it's not easy to whittle down all the good stuff to just great stuff. I'm eager to return next summer and do it again, though.

While there, I got to see Rich Brezeau and Gordon Wright of the Primal Quest expedition adventure race. I also saw people from SOLE Custom Footbeds, Merrell shoes and Backpacker Magazine that I'd met at Primal Quest in Moab about a month ago. Several adventure racers were at the show nurturing relationships with sponsors. I spent time with members of teams DART-nuun, Salomon-Crested Butte, Silly Rabbits, Gerber Gear, Adventure Racing Concepts, WickedAR.com, Bulleit and Jen's Men (now called Men for Hire, as Jen has retired). What a treat to see all these people again! They all inspire me to train harder and enter more races.

TRIOBA 12-Hour Adventure Race, Snoqalmie Pass, Washington

2006-07-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Members of team Double Trouble/Peak Physique descend from Checkpoint 9 during the TRIOBA 12-Hour adventure race at Snoqualmie Pass, Wash, on Saturday, July 15, 2005.

I spent Saturday, July 15, covering the TRIOBA 12-Hour adventure race at Snoqualmie Pass, Wash. It was very comforting to be in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, after having spent a couple of uncomfortable weeks in Moab, Utah, for the Primal Quest expedition adventure race. The high temperature during this TRIOBA 12 hour never even cracked 70 degrees! Home, sweet home!

Some real news came out of this 12-hour race when team Mergeo.com defeated regional powerhouse team DART/nuun. It's a rare day DART finishes anywhere other than first place in the four-person, co-ed division. Here, they got second by 17 minutes.

In DART's defense, all four of the athletes that raced here -- Matt Hart, Aaron Rinn, Ryan Flemming and Jennifer VanGorder -- toed the starting line at Primal Quest in Utah back on June 23. Hart was with DART; Rinn was with SOLE Custom Footbeds; and Flemming and VanGorder were with Gerber Gear.

Mergeo's talent pool included orienteering guru Eric Bone, comic relief Aaron Vanderwall, triathlon diva Julie Heidt Schnepf, and Scottish workhorse Ruaraidh Stenson.

A Little Diddy, 'Bout Dan and Diane

2006-07-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Diane Bush and Dan Miller sit for a portrait in the garden of their Richmond, Utah, home.

On my way home from the Primal Quest expedition adventure race in Moab, Utah, I stopped for the night in Richmond, Utah, to visit with longtime journalism friends Dan Miller and Diane Bush. Dan was the photo editor of the daily newspaper in Logan, Utah, when I was in photojournalism school at Utah State University in the same town. Diane was a photo intern who came to work at the paper for a summer, and never returned home to Minnesota. As is the case with many small-market journos, Dan and Diane are no longer in the biz. Dan shoots occasional freelance assignments, and runs a non-profit dedicated to keeping OHV riders on legal trails. Diane bakes artisan breads in Logan, and runs a soapmaking business from home. The time I spent with them was peaceful, a welcome change from the non-stop action of Primal Quest. Thanks, D and D, for putting me up for the night!

Ryan VanGorder Returns to Primal Quest Headquarters After Close Call With Heat Stroke

2006-07-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Ryan VanGorder and his wife, Jennifer VanGorder, pose for a portrait outside Primal Quest headquarters at Red Cliffs Lodge near Moab, Utah.

Ryan VanGorder, workhorse for Seattle-based adventure racing team DART-nuun, was taken off the Primal Quest expedition adventure race course via helicopter four days ago after suffering what doctors here have called a classic case of heat stroke. Whether Ryan would survive his close call with the sudden illness was in question for the first few hours.

Thankfully, Ryan's condition improved daily while in the hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., and today, Ryan returned to Primal Quest headquarters to thank the doctors who very likely saved his life.

"I thank you and my family thanks you," Ryan said to Primal Quest Medical Director Bill Webster.

All the well-wishers who spotted Ryan at headquarters expressed great relief to see him back on his feet.

I'd heard through the grapevine that one of the first things Ryan did when he woke up in the hospital was ask for enchiladas. When I saw him today, I gave him a big hug and apologized for not having any enchiladas to give him. Everybody laughed. We were far too close to not having that laugh with Ryan.

Welcome back, bro! I can't wait to see you back in the Pacific Northwest woods where we belong, instead of this blast-furnace desert.

Primal Quest Media Center Often Empty or Full

2006-07-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

Photos by Mike Bitton
The Primal Quest media center is either overflowing with reporters and photographers, or just about empty.

I've been working out of the Primal Quest media center for nearly two weeks now. Popping in here in the middle of the day to try to get any work done can be nearly impossible, as every inch of table space and every Internet connection are clogged with those who slipped in before me.

It's been fascinating to work with journalists from all over the U.S. and the world. Here's a sampling of who showed up:

The Summit Daily News, Colorado, USA
The Gazette, Colorado, USA
Los Angeles Times, USA
Backpacker Magazine, USA
Inside Tri Magazine, USA
Checkpoint Zero Website, USA
Sleepmonsters Website, USA
Nelson Mail, New Zealand
Trail Runner Magazine, Sweden

Pretty cool to meet so many new people in the business!

This is Yak, AKA Paul Angell of Checkpoint Zero

2006-07-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Paul "Yak" Angell, the brains and labor behind adventure racing website Checkpoint Zero, updates his blog in the Primal Quest media center at Red Cliffs Lodge near Moab, Utah.

In today's tech-saturated world, it's pretty common to know people via e-mail and telephone, and have no idea what they look like. Such was the case for me in regards to Paul "Yak" Angell, the guy behind the adventure racing news website Checkpoint Zero.

Yak walked through the door here in the media room and instantly recognized me, because he's put shots of me on his website before. I wasn't sure whether the guy in front of me was Yak or some other dark-haired fella with a goatee. It was Yak!

Within minutes it was clear to me why Chekcpoint Zero is the best AR site out there. Yak is well-spoken, fiercely intelligent and is all about the details. If this guy had a talk show, it would instantly go gangbusters in syndication, and he would be swimming in cash.

As if his professional character traits weren't enough, he's also a happily married family man with a baby boy back at home in South Carolina. In my book, he's in the running for the Decent Human of the Year award.

Time to Drain the Blisters

2006-06-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
A member of the Primal Quest medical staff at TA 3 near Green River, Utah, uses a needle to drain blisters for athlete Tara Paprocki.

Primal Quest Utah 2006 got underway without me, but I did get some field time last night. Fellow media team member Bob Heady and I rolled out to Transition Area 3 (TA 3) just upstream from the town of Green River, Utah, to see if we could polish off some interviews with teams we've yet to profile.

While there, I did get to interview team Terra Trekkers. Probably more interesting, though, was the time I spent with Tara Paprocki, who I interviewed last week for a profile on her team, AdventureRacingConcepts.com. Tara's feet were in sad shape, and she was about to wake a medic to receive treatment.

The photo says it all. Puffy feet aren't happy feet. Any foot that needs treatment from a needle that's several inches long is not a happy foot. Tara wasn't happy, either. Every time the doc touched Tara'sright pinky toe, Tara let out a yelp. I gave her some pats on the back and told her how sorry I was.

What a difference getting out of race headquarters has made to my outlook. Before, I was almost dreading the upcoming task of escorting media around the course. Now I'm excited, because I'll be with the athletes again. They are absolutely inspiring!

Meet Rich Brazeau, CEO of Primal Quest

2006-06-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

Photo by Primal Quest Volunteer Ye Fun Wong
Mike Bitton snags a photo opportunity with Primal Quest CEO Rich Brazeau in front of the Red Cliffs Lodge near Moab,Utah.

Many things about the 2006 Primal Quest are different from the 2004 Primal Quest experience, and I believe that's largely due to the influence of Rich Brazeau. Rich was hired to be the new CEO of the race, and he's basically reinvented it.

Primal Quest Media Director Interrupts Bitton Blog

2006-06-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Primal Quest Media Director Gordon Wright, mastermind behind the flood of media coverage about the world's toughest adventure race, flashes his famous smile in the media room.

I've been away from the blog for a few days because Primal Quest Media Director Gordon Wright has been working me like an insecure summer intern who's desperate to gain favor. I interviewed a team, wrote about that team, repeated the trick a dozen times, and now I am beat. I'm ready for a vacation from my vacation!

I've volunteered to stay here at the PQ headquarters media room for a few days. Some time next week, I will rotate into the job of escorting media around the race course. The strategy behind that decision is that hopefully, life around here will be a little less urgent with nearly everyone gone, and I can get some much needed rest.

Highlights of my 2006 Primal Quest experience so far have been all my interactions with athletes, volunteers and staff.

Many of these athletes count me as their friend, and that is such an honor. I know teams not only from Washington and Oregon, where I live, but from California, Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Michigan, New York, Georgia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Volunteer friends are also from all over the U.S. and the world. It's such a fascinating cross-section of cultures and languages, all brought together by a passion for adventure.

Race staff are a pleasure to work with, because they are not only professional, they are intelligent. They know not only what they want their volunteers to do, but why they want the volunteers to do it. What a nice contrast to the newsrooms I worked in for 10 years, where workload was based not on intelligent decisoins, but on politics, egos and a never-ending false sense of urgency.

The next few days should be a great break from the constant interviewing and writing I've been doing since Monday. Maybe I'll sleep in a few times, lounge around by the deserted pool,and start reading the good book I brought on the trip.

Pucker up, Buttercup

2006-06-21T13:46:00.001-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton (with self-timer)
Mike Bitton is overcome with joy after driving his 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited through the gap in the Moab landscape known as Pucker.

This morning I interviewed team Mighty Dog for a team profile I'll be writing later today. They had a cool picture of their Jeep Commander driving through a gap in some nearby rocks, and I asked where it was.

"Pucker," they said.

So when I finished with Mighty Dog, I sought out the trail named after the pre-kiss muscle contraction. As you can see, I found it! What a blast this place is. Pucker is one of hundreds of dirt roads around Moab that peter out into Jeep trails. My street-legal Jeep is not ready for the most gnarly trails, but it does OK on the small stuff.

It was nice to spend a few hours away from the media crew room. I doubt I'll have that kind of freedom again any time soon!

Gargantuan Gatorade Reserve to Defeat Dehydration at Primal Quest

2006-06-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton (with self-timer)
Mike Bitton tries out a forklift while viewing hundreds of cases of Gatorade at Moab's Red Cliffs Lodge, headquarters for Primal Quest 2006.

Today I wrote a story about hydration for the Primal Quest website. The story is exactly the type of nuts-and-bolts work I am expected to deliver at least once a day until the race wraps up July 4. Here is a link to the story.

Before I took on what has come to be known as "the Gatorade story," members of the Primal Quest Media Team took a short walk to the volunteer headquarters to officially check in and receive our swag or schwag. The good gifts were considerable! They included:

Merrell Overdrive shoes
Gregory Reactor backpack
Nike Dri-Fit T-shirt with official Primal Quest Utah 2006 logo
Headsweats ballcap with official Primal Quest Utah 2006 logo
Water bottle with official Primal Quest Utah 2006 logo
yankx (lower-case, with a "z") shoelace replacement system with official Primal Quest Utah 2006 logo
Official Primal Quest Utah 2006 patch
Myriad other free stuff like sunblock, energy bar, lip balm, and even some stickers for my Jeep!

Heat continues to be a fact of life here that slows everyone and everything down. Yesterday, when the mercury was clearly above 100 degrees, was worse than today, which is only in the 90s. I know I'll have some days out on the course, basking in the brutal heat, but for now, typing away on my laptop in the air conditioned media room at race headquarters, I'm as comfy as can be.

Because I've been working on writing team profiles for the Primal Quest website since last fall, I've built something of a reputation as the go-to-guy on these things. I've already written team profiles on DART-nuun, Silly Rabbits, Don't Look Back, Jen's Men, Merrell Wigwam Adventure, Millie, MPGear.com, Nautilus Pearl iZUMi, Silicon Valley, and SOLE Custom Footbeds. That's a lot of profiles! All that work has given me so much practice, I believe my writing is back to the level it was when I was churning out award-winning features on deadline at daily newspapers.

One of the goals of our race coverage on the Primal Quest website is to write about, photograph and videotape every team. Having already polished off 10 team profiles, I've taken a sizeable chunk out of the writing workload. The photos and video will fall to professionals and volunteers in those departments.

There is still much writing for me to do. As of today, specific assignments for more team profiles include Adventure Racing Concepts, Dynamic Earth, GCAR Moosejaw, Hombres de Maiz, McKinley, Mighty Dog, NEMO, NW Nike ACG, Odyssey Adventure Racing, Stinky Feet/Kilt Racers and Wicked Adventure Racing.

I don't know if it's actually possible to write that many team profiles before the race starts. I may have to do micro-team profiles on the course when I see some of the teams at checkpoints or transition areas. I love a challenge, and getting all this work done, plus the other stories Gordon assigns to me (like today's Gatorade story) will certainly be that!

Bitton Arrives at Red Cliffs Lodge

2006-06-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton (via self-timer)
The Red Cliffs Lodge sits on the banks of the Colorado River northeast of Moab, Utah. Several movies have been filmed here because of the dramatic red sandstone formations that shoot straight up from the valley floor.

I have arrived! The Red Cliffs Lodge near Moab, Utah, will serve as headquarters for the 2006 running of the Primal Quest Expedition. Widely regarded as the toughest adventure race in the world, Primal Quest Utah will take co-ed teams of four through 500 miles of the wildest terrain the region has to offer. Fast teams may be done in as few as five to seven days. Those hoping "just to finish" will have 10 days to officially cross the finish line.

The overnight drive from Portland was as smooth as can be. I left my house at 2 p.m. Sunday, and arrived in Moab at 7 a.m. Monday. Accounting for the time change from Pacific to Mountain, I was in my trusty red Jeep for 16 hours.

Since part of my job here at Primal Quest will be to escort credentialed media around the course, my first order of business in Moab was to buy the tools and materials to recharge the Jeep's air conditioning. The fact that the AC blew ambient wasn't an issue in Portalnd, where ambient has been 50 degrees, rain or shine, for months. Here in Moab, the high is expected to be in the triple digits today, and tomorrow, and to stay that way until September! The auto parts store was open early, so I got the goods and recharged the AC. The air now blows so cold I can only stand having it on low. Lucky credentialed media!

Next I drove the 20 minutes along the Colorado River to Red Cliffs Lodge. This setting is unbelievably beautiful! The red cliffs shoot straight up from the Colorado River. It reminds me of the time I went backpacking in the Four Corners area with my friends Jud Clark and Dan Miller. We explored the Grand Gulch Plateau, especially Fish and Owl Creek. There is a serenity here that I don't feel other places. I bet I'll come to rely on that peace when things start to get a little hectic here in coming days.

Wicked Urban Adventure Race, Portland, Ore.

2006-06-06T00:47:00.000-07:00

Photos by Mike Bitton
These two photos are of Seattle-based adventure racing team Mergeo.com. The rainy one was in the morning. The sunny one was in the afternoon.

On Sunday, June 4, I covered my third annual Wicked Urban adventure race in Portland, Ore. The weather was just as zany as can be expected for springtime around here. We had rain, then bright sun, then torrential rain, then sun and wind, then more rain, then hot sun, then more rain, and the day ended with sun! It seemed like every 30 minutes, the sky simply changed its mind.

It's rare that real news comes out of an adventure race, but we had some today. During the in-line skate portion of the race, a freight train was blocking the route of Seattle-based team Mergeo.com. Mergeo waited 20 minutes for the train to move, then got impatient and climbed the stairs at the end of one of the cars to bypass the train and keep racing. A police officer was on the other side and detained the team. Arrest was considered, as were citations. In the end, the officer let the team go on its way.

I've been chipping away at a Mergeo team profile for a couple of weeks now. Today's incident will add a little color to the piece!

2006 Northwest Rafters Association Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival

2006-05-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
A paddle team makes its way through the rapids of Carter Falls on the Upper Clackamas River near Estacada, Ore., during the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival on Sunday, May 21, 2006.

For the second year in a row, I photographed the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival for Next Adventure, Portland's Alternative Sporting Goods Store. The event is at Carter Falls near the town of Estacada, Ore. I missed the first day of events because I was in Cle Elum, Wash., photographing the TRIOBA sprint adventure race. Last year, day two of this whitewater event produced the best photos anyway. Day two features boater-X, where paddlers in whitewater kayaks jockey for position as they make their way downriver. It also features paddle teams, which pack inflatable rafts with padders who try to make it through a series of gates as fast as they can. I always feel energized after spending a day on the banks of a river.

2006 TRIOBA Sprint Adventure Race, Cle Elum, Wash.

2006-05-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
An athlete punches checkpoint 4 during the TRIOBA Sprint adventure race Saturday, May 20, 2006, near Cle Elum, Wash.

Rain raked athletes at the start of the TRIOBA sprint adventure race near Cle Elum, Wash. Just a few hours later, sun scorched participants as they crossed the finish line. Ahh, springtime in the Cascades!

Normally dominant team DART was third overall, and nearly 42 minutes behind the first finishers, the 2-man team of Montrail Northwest. Second went to the 4-man team MPGear.com-Xnutz, which was only a few minutes back from the winners.

Because DART was the first co-ed team of four to cross the finish line, they lead the 2006 TRIOBA adventure race series in the points standings (only co-ed teams of four are elegible to earn points). Being on top is not new for the Seattle-area team, which has won the title of Pacific Northwest Adventure Racing Champions (just the TRIOBA sereis, really) for the past three seasons straight.

Second place in the 4-person co-ed division went to Mergeo.com, another Seattle team, and DART's most serious competition. Mergeo actually beat DART at the final TRIOBA of 2005, where just two minutes separated the teams at the finish line.

Rosters have shuffled a bit in the off-season. DART lured Aaron Rinn away from Mergeo. To shore up its ranks, Mergeo recruited the two-person co-ed team Rubber Chickens, which is far more serious than it sounds. The Chickens are Georgia Daniels and Mike Miller, known throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond as expert trail runners whose specialty is endurance. I think any team whose members can run all the trekking sections of a race puts DART dangerously close to defeat. In years past, DART could easly make up time lost to bad navigation choices. This year, Mergeo will be a constant threat.

Mighty MO Expedition Wends Way Through Ozarks

2006-05-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
A team shoots through Class III whitewater on the St. Francis River in Southeast Missouri during the Mighty MO Expedition adventure race.

I just got back from the Ozark Mountains of Southeast Missouri, where I covered the Mighty MO Expedition adventure race. It was fun to catch up with the teams I'd already met, and great to meet even more teams I never knew.

If you aren’t familiar with adventure races, they are multi-sport endurance events. In most adventure races, athletes will at the very least hike/trek/run, mountain bike and paddle either whitewater or flat water. Race directors add to or subtract from these core disciplines depending on the available terrain. One thing that is nearly universal in adventure racing is that the course is not marked. Athletes must find their way through the course, hitting every checkpoint in order, to avoid a time penalty.

In Missouri, I was on assignment for Checkpoint Zero. That’s a website that covers adventure racing (www.checkpointzero.com). If you visit the site and click on the “Features” link at the top of the page, you’ll be taken to a page showing the biggest adventure races in the world. If you click on the Mighty MO Expedition adventure race logo, you’ll be taken to the coverage I provided of the event. I wrote several journalism-style news stories during the race, as well as magazine-style features profiling three of the participating teams in the weeks leading up to the event.

My next assignment for Checkpoint Zero is the TRIOBA sprint adventure race in Ellensburg, Wash., coming up May 20. Other Checkpoint Zero assignments will follow, including the Wicked Urban adventure race in Portland, Ore., on June 4, and the TRIOBA 12-hour adventure race July 15.

In August, I will cover the Adventure Racing World Championships for Checkpoint Zero. Lucky for me, school is out for the summer at that time, so I am available! I’ve heard teams will cross into the Arctic Circle. I’ve never been to Europe, and I’ve never been to the Arctic Circle, so this will be the trip of a lifetime for me!

Writing Back in the Bitton Baliwick

2006-04-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

My dream in high school and college was to be a writer. A little research taught me that daily newspapers hired reporters, some of whom grew into amazing writers. Get paid to write full-time, straight out of college? What a plan! While at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, I had to take a photojournalism class as part of my journalism program. I found I had a knack for the work, and focused my major on photojournalism. Internshihps and full-time jobs added up to 10 years in the daily news business. I grew disenchanted with the negativity of the industry. I'd won some awards for my writing and photography, but looking around the newsroom, I saw no one I wanted to be in 10 or 20 years. I switched briefly to public relations before abandoning my writing dreams alltogether and became an elementary school teacher. A few years into teaching, my sedentary lifestyle was taking a toll. I bought a mountain bike for my birthday, and started to volunteer at endurance races. I even snapped a few photos at the events. The more races I went to, the more impatient I grew with the lousy stories coming out of these truly remarkable events. The writer in me, long burned out, still wasn't ready to take on the poor prose problem of endurance sports. That has recently changed. I've been writing my guts out for Gordon Wright, media director of the Primal Quest expedition adventure race, churning out team profiles with which he is very well pleased. I've been writing even more for Paul "Yak" Angell, founder of Checkpoint Zero, the website that in my opintion covers adventure racing better than any media outlet in the world. I've aligned myself with Checkpoint Zero because I believe it is the future of endurance sports media. But I'm working five and six hours every night because I love Yak, and I love the athletess he's letting me profile for his website. For the past two years, I've been known mostly as an adventure sports photographer. Please add writer. There's a whole other side of me that you're all going to see with great frequency in 2006.

Mike's New Ride a Real Looker

2006-04-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
This is a shot of my Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited in the driveway of my Vancouver, Wash., USA, home.

While on spring break in Idaho, I picked up a replacement SUV for the 1994 Ford Explorer I smashed up on my way home from a fine day of snowboarding at Timberline on Mt. Hood. I moped around for a week when I learned my insurance company decided to "total" the car, even though the damage could be fixed for less than $4,000.

Had I known I'd get so lucky on the Explorer's replacement, I wouldn't have been sad at all. What you see above is my new Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. It's a 1995 and has a LOT of miles on it. But the body and interior are in great shape, so if the day comes that it needs a new transmission or engine, I'll gladly make the upgrades. This platform is exactly what I need to chase my adventure sports assignments all around North America.

I (dramatic pause) am an Army of Zero

2006-03-28T20:59:00.000-08:00

Photo by Ryan VanGorder
Here's me testing out my new Checkpoint Zero duds at the Colinoba II adventure race in Seattle, Wash.

I sent this photo to my friend Paul "Yak" Angell, head of the adventure racing website Checkpoint Zero (www.checkpointzero.com), and he decided it was worthy of his own blog. Soon after he posted this shot, Yak was contacted by a Midwest photographer who wants to contribute to Checkpoint Zero as well.

Yak felt very good about this second addition, and had a vision of a whole army of Checkpoint Zero photographers and reporters...and immediately dubbed his two recruits the Checkpoint Zero Army. He even assigned me a serial number, which is 000001. He's still recruiting, so if you're good with a pen, camera or both, and consider sleep depravation a wholly acceptable working condition, visit his website and drop him a line. He's ready to help you be all that you can be.

Over the past year I've had stories and photos on Checkpoint Zero, as well as on other adventure racing websites like MountainZone.com, and AdventureRaceReports.com. For 2006, I agreed to send my work from certain races -- the Wicked Adventure Racing series in Oregon, and the TRIOBA adventure racing series in Washington -- only to Yak at Checkpoint Zero. The price of exclusive rights didn't set him back too much. He sent a few T-shirts (one of which is pictured above), some neat hats, a stack of stickers and a really cool thank-you note.

Once I was on board for the Wickeds and the TRIOBAs, Yak asked if I'd like to cover the Mighty Mo Expedition, a new multi-day adventure race set in Missouri in May. Of course! So now I'm knee-deep in planning for Missouri. I've already written a preview feature about the Mighty Mo, which will appear on Checkpoint Zero in coming days.

I'm in the army now. I am not, however, an army of one. I (dramatic pause) am an army of zero.

Colinoba II Adventure Race Draws Exclusive Crowd in Seattle

2006-03-13T22:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Justin and Joel Yeager, directors of the TRIOBA adventure race series in Washington state, run through the streets of Seattle, Wash., during Colinoba II.

Athletes from all over the Pacific Northwest converged on Seattle for Colinoba II on Saturday, March 11. The annual adventure race is open only to invited teams, and marks the birthday of Colin Ness, now 45. Ness is a fixture on the regional adventure racing circuit not because he is handsome or charming (which he is), but because his wife, Connie (also an adventure racer) is stunningly beautiful and absolutely enchanting. I could go on and on and on. So back to the race.

Three of the race checkpoints were in famous Seattle pubs, and each team at Colinoba was assigned a beer name as its "team name" for the day. The phrase, "I hate to drink and run, but I gotta go," wore a little thin on the barkeeps after more than a dozen racers laid it on them, then ran out the door.

After a penalty was assessed to those sneaky Yeager boys for skipping the roller coaster checkpoint at the Space Needle, team Guiness were declared the winners. Guiness included Ryan and Jen VanGorder, normally of the DART adventure racing team, and Jerry Gamez, who usually races with team Missing Link.

During the awards ceremony at yet a fourth Seattle brewpub, I received a trophy for "Best Action Shots." What a vote of confidence that Colin awarded it to me without having seen any of the photos yet! They're on my website (www.bittonphoto.com) if you want to see.

Timberline Halfpipe Competition Produces Stellar Photos

2006-02-26T17:27:00.000-08:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
A competitor in the USASA halfpipe competition at Timberline, Ore., catches major air.

Sunday saw me on beautiful Mt. Hood again, photographing a snowboarding competition sponsored by my friends at Next Adventure, Portland's Alternative Sporting Goods Store. I'd never shot halfpipe, so was unsure where to stand or what to look for. Through some trial and error, I found some spots that worked, and switched lenses often enough to decide a wide was usually too wide, and that my telephoto produced much more dramatic results. See above.

Next Adventure hooked my 10-year-old daughter, Ashton, up with a demo board, and we made a couple of runs down Bruno, AKA Timberline's beginner's area, before the halfpipe competition began. We had a great time! Many thanks to Next, and to Tony and Jill at Timberline for taking such great care of us.

Blue-Bird Day Encourages Snowboarding Practice

2006-02-20T12:46:00.000-08:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
The south-slope of Mt. Hood is home to the famous Timberline ski resort, where I snowboarded Feb. 19, 2006.

Apparently, I arrived late at Timberline for the USASA Halfpipe competition on Sunday, Feb. 19, because when I got there, it was already over. Very few participants showed up, and the runs down Stormin' Norman were over in less than 30 minutes. Sharp contrast to the USASA's slope style events I shot at Timberline a few weeks back, which went on all day long. Not one to waste an opportunity, I asked for and got a lift ticket from Mountain Services (thanks, Jill!), and bravely made for the bunny hill with my demo gear from Next Adventure. It would be my third time on a snowboard.

I slummed around the top of Bruno, the bunny hill named after one of Timberline's mascot dogs, hoping to overhear a few free pointers from the Timberline snowboard teaching staff. "Just strap in your downhill foot and skate around a bit on this flat stuff," was the first tip, which I tried. It worked for me! Another tip: "When you need to stand up, flip over onto your belly and push yourself up," which I thought sounded a little loco, but I tried it. It worked! Instantly up and out of control! I was so pleased to see many-a-30-something there on Bruno, struggling to get into their bindings; trying to figure out how to stand up; and slipping around once they got upright. I was truly among peers. Next week I'm scheduled to shoot the USASA halfpipe competition again. I will arrive a few hours early, just in case.

Matt Hart Sets Personal Record for Elevation Gain During 24 Hours of Sunlight Ski Race

2006-02-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

Photo by my brother, David Bitton
As the sun sets during the 24 Hours of Sunlight ski race at Sunlight Mountain Resort in Glenwood Springs, Colo., Matt Hart of Seattle, Wash., climbs toward the top of Compass Mountain.

Matt Hart of the DART adventure racing team invited me to be his support crew at the 24 Hours of Sunlight ski race in Glenwood Springs, Colo. The race began at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11, and ended at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12. Matt's showing was impressive. He completed 17 laps for a total elevation gain of well over 26,000 feet. He took eighth place out of 18 in the men's solo division. The course required participants to climb more than 1,500 feet to a ridge on Compass Mountain at the Sunlight ski resort, then ski, snowboard or simply hike back down. As his only support crew, my job was to meet Matt at the bottom of the hill each time he skied down, and get him ready to head immediately back up the hill. I'd hand him vitamins, coffee, energy drinks and food, put the climbing skins back on his skis and send him on his way. Forty-five minutes or an hour later, I'd do it again. Then again. And again. My brother, David Bitton, staff photographer for the Gazette newspaper in Colorado Springs, Colo., joined us at the race. Because he sent his photos to the Associated Press, his coverage of the 24 Hours of Sunlight ran in newspapers all over Colorado. What an awesome trip! I got in some great brother time, and was able to support one of the best endurance athletes I know. The more time I spend with Matt, the more impressed I become. Congrats, Matt! You are super-human in my book!

Adventure Racing's Team DART Packs House at REI Flagship Store

2006-02-02T17:56:00.000-08:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Erik Nachtrieb, manager of Seattle area adventure racing team D.A.R.T., introduces himself to a crowd of more than 70 during a lecture at the R.E.I. flagship store in Seattle, Wash.

Seattle area adventure racing team D.A.R.T. packed the house at the flagship R.E.I. store in downtown Seattle, Wash. for a lecture about multi-sport endurance racing. The presentation included videos and still photographs of the team in action. Most of the still photographs were shot by me during the 2005 racing season. The first slide of the team's presentation, shown in the photo above, is one I took of team member Matt Hart during the Wicked Gorge adventure race in 2005. I love hanging out with D.A.R.T. and trying to capture the team's intensity. Seeing so many of my photographs on R.E.I.'s gigantic screen made me feel like a bit of a rock star. I'm stoked to go shoot more racing in 2006! Special thanks to Ryan and Jennifer for letting me sleep at their West Seattle home.

Next Adventure Sponsors USASA Timberline Classic Series Slopestyle and Halfpipe Events

2006-01-25T16:56:00.000-08:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
A competitor in the USASA Timberline Classic Series Sloopestyle competition catches air off the third jump in a snowpark spnosored by Next Adventure.

I love being associated with Next Adventure, "Portland's Alternative Sporting Goods Store." I shoot a lot of the events the store sponsors. This year, Next Adventure is sponsoring the snow parks at the famed Timberline Lodge ski resort on Mt. Hood, Ore. The USASA series will have events at Timberline every weekend through the end of February, so I'd wager I'm about to become very familiar with the drive from my house to Timberline Lodge! The banner in the bottom left corner of the shot is from the store. Owners Deke and Bryan will be elated!

Riverboarders Brave Winter on Oregon's Fish Creek, Hope to Appear in Wend Magazine

2006-01-25T16:34:00.000-08:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Riverboarders Ice (left) and Docta P hike upstream along Fish Creek in the Upper Clackamas River drainage near Estacada, Ore.

I photographed Portland, Ore., riverboarders Ice and Docta P back in August 2005 for a New Orleans fitness magazine. Hurricane Katrina soon put the magazine out of business.

But these adrenaline junkies have successfully pitched an article on their addiction to a new magazine in Portland called Wend (as in "wend your way," or find your own way in the world). Hopefully, some of the shots from September's shoot can accompany some of the new winter shots I got today.

How cold was the water? The Ice Man and Docta P were both double-wrapped in neoprene wetsuits, and still squealed like babies in a chilly bathtub.

Mergeo Defeats DART at TRIOBA 24-Hour Adventure Race

2005-09-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Members of Team Mergeo.com approach Transition Area 3 during the TRIOBA 24-Hour adventure race near Ellensburg, Wash.

I spent the weekend in and around Ellensburg, Wash. (North of Yakima) photographing the third and final race of the 2005 TRIOBA adventure racing season. Seeing my friends on various teams has become just as much fun as taking pictures, as we spend hours before and after the race finding out what everyone has been up to.

This final race was billed as a 24-hour event, but the fastest teams surprised everyone and finished in just over 10 hours. Team Mergeo.com came in first, with Team DART just two minutes behind. DART had won the first two races in the 2005 TRIOBA series, and were the series chapmions in 2004. But a subtle error in navigation during the trekking section of the course cost DART nearly an hour, which allowed Mergeo.com to take the lead late in the race. DART left the final transition area about 15 minutes behind Mergeo.com. DART nearly caught up in the end, but could not beat Mergeo.com.

Matt Hart Takes Third in Age Group at 24 Hours of Adrenalin Solo World Championships

2005-09-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Seattle endurance athlete Matt Hart takes a 10-minute break between laps 14 and 15 during the 24 Hours of Adrenalin mountain bike race in Whistler, B.C., Canada. After this photo was taken, Hart completed two more laps.

An invitation to join Matt Hart in Canada for the world championship 24-hour mountain bike race was too tempting to refuse. He'd pre-arranged to write race reports for some publications and needed photos to accompany them. I'm so glad he thought of me! I'd never been to Canada, and had always wanted to see British Columbia. I met up with Matt and his girlfriend, Tina, in Seattle, then rode with them in Matt's V.W. Westfalia van all the way to Whistler, B.C. Joining Tina as Matt's pit crew was Canadian Jennifer Segger, who often competes alongside Matt with the DART adventure racing team. Also on board for the event as Matt's bike mechanic was Duncan Sailors, an adventure racer from North Bend, Wash. Jennifer's friend, Jo, hooked us up with a room at the Fairmont Hotel in Whistler Village so we wouldn't have to camp out Friday night before the race. Thanks, Jo! The race began at noon on Saturday, Sept. 5, and ended at noon on Sunday, Sept. 6. The course was a 10-mile loop in and around Whistler Village. For much of that time, rain poured down. As the event wore on and the weather did not let up, Matt suffered imensely, as did his bikes. With carefully selected food and hydration, Tina and Jen kept Matt in the competition. With resourcefulness I'd thought only thieves posessed, Duncan kept the bikes functioning just well enough that Matt could stay in the race. When the competition ended, Matt took third place in his age category of 30-35 by completing 16 laps. Conisdering it was only the second 24-hour mountain bike race Matt had entered, I believe he did astonishingly well.

Portland Riverboarders Run Oregon Rapids to Promote Sport in Big Easy

2005-08-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
Riverboarders "Ice" (left) and "Docta P" are flushed through a class IV rapid on the Upper Clackamas River, Ore.

"Ice" and "Docta P," two Portland, Ore., adrenaline freaks in dire need of photographic proof of their lunacy, invited me on a riverboarding trip to the Upper Clackamas River. They needed photos for a magazine article that's going to run in a few weeks. It's a small mag based in New Orleans, and I predict its readership will think these two gents are off their respective rockers. After I photographed them shooting class III and IV whitewater for three hours, they invited me to dive on in. I did, and had a white-knucked ride through Carter Falls (sorry, no photos of ME doing this!). Adventure sports photography has led me to many places, and to try many things. This was among the most thrilling, and I will go again.

Sunrise Hike Reveals Mt. Rainier's Stunning Glacier View

2005-08-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

Photo by Mike Bitton
The morning light was gorgeous when I made this self-portrait at Glacier View near the base of Mt. Rainier.

I made my first trip to Mt. Rainier National Park over the weekend for a family reunion. Sunday morning, I hiked from the visitor's center up to Glacier view. There were no clouds in the sky, and the light was stunning. I sat on one of several flat rocks at the overlook and practiced my meditation as the sun warmed my face. What a serene feeling! It was just what I needed, and a memory I will reflect upon if I feel stressed out in the future.

BYOBoat Kayak Race, Portland, Ore.

2005-08-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a shot of me racing the boat my friend Judson built and gave to me. Photo by Todd Phillips.

Tonight I took my new kayak to the Bring Your Own Boat "pick-up" race ind downtown Portland, Ore. I was there for my first time and all the athletes went out of their way to make me feel truly welcome. My friend recently gave me a boat, and I feel so lucky to have these races to attend to build my confidence and skills! Even though I came in last, you wouldn't know it by the heart-felt cheering I paddled past at the finish line.

Kayak Lake Shasta

2005-08-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

Judson Clark built this pair of wood-strip kayaks. He gave me the one on the right.

My friend Judson Clark built a pair of wood-strip kayaks during the past couple of years. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, so I met him at Lake Shasta in Northern California for a weekend of paddling his beautiful boats. When it came time for me to drive home this morning, Jud sent me home with a boat! Thanks, Jud!

Nike Run Hit Wonder

2005-07-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

Photo by Ashton Bitton (my daughter)

Here I am lined up with the "back of the pack" in Portland, Ore., for the Nike Run Hit Wonder.

I ran my first 5-K race today in downtown Portland, Ore. It was more fun (and a whole lot easier) than I thought it would be. My goal was to finish in less than an hour by walking most or all of the race. Instead, I ran/jogged the entire course, because the energy level was so high! My finish time was under 45 minutes. I'm generally no fan of running, but if the race comes back next year, I'll do it again.

TRIOBA 12-Hour Adventure Race, Snoqualmie Pass, Wash.

2005-07-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

Nelson Yu of team Dozer scrambles over a deadfall between checkpoints 14 and 15 during the TRIOBA 12-hour adventure race July 23 at Snoqualmie Pass, Wash.

I spent all day at Snoqualmie Pass, Wash., photographing the TRIOBA 12-hour adventure race. Even though I've only been around adventure racing for one year, I already have many friends in this tight-knit community. When Eric and Karyn Abraham, members of team PureFit/MissingLink, learned I intended to spend Friday night cramped in the back of my Explorer in the Hayak Lodge parking lot, they insisted I return to their home in the Seattle suburbs for a comfortable night in a real bed. How awesome! Early Saturday, we went back to the lodge, which served as the start and finish line for the race. I spent the hour before the start scouting nearby locations and decided access was easy. I skipped the start and instead picked out a spot on the lakeshore to photograph teams carrying their inflatable boats to the water. I got some great shots! Next I drove to a transition area to shoot some mountain biking, but the light wasn't much good. I hiked over half-a-mile in search of open shade, but never found what I was looking for. Hoping for thicker trees higher up, I drove to checkpoint 11/14 (both at the same spot), where I found what I was looking for. The leg from 14 to 15 was on a mountain bike trail in thick woods. The trail was barely passable on foot, let alone on a bike. Racers call this a "hike-a-bike," or a "bikewhack." I made many great pictures where a large pine had fallen across the so-called trail. Athletes had suffered mightliy to get to that point, and to see a 3-foot-tall obstacle in front of them was not pretty. Some teams scrambled right over the tree, but others looked at it and shook their heads, probably questioning their sanity. I felt honored to be there to witness people at what had to be the low point of their race day. They were spent, but they had to give a little more. I am most proud of those photos.

Wicked Gorge Adventure Race, Beacon Rock State Park, Washington

2005-07-16T23:33:00.000-07:00

Teams come ashore after completing the kayak section of the Wicked Gorge adventure race. Photo by my brother, David Bitton, who flew in from Colorado Springs to help me cover the event.

Teams that competed in the Wicked Gorge adventure race July 16 were assaulted by stunning Pacific Northwest scenery as they navigated a course in and around Beacon Rock State Park. As the director of photography for the Wicked Adventure Racing series, I was allowed to drive to several points along the course. It's not possible to be everywhere at once, so at the end of the day, some teams get more coverage than others. Athletes experienced more than 3,000 feet of vertical gain from the banks of the Columbia River to Three Points Rock due north of Beacon Rock State Park. My brother, David, a staff photographer at The Gazette newspaper in Colorado Springs, Colo., came out to help me provide more complete coverage. To see our photos, visit www.bittonphoto.com. For race results, go to www.wickedar.com.

Team DART Invites Bitton to X-Adventure Raid

2005-06-27T16:58:00.000-07:00

DART at the X-Adventure Raid race included (from left) Cyril Jay-Rayon, Matt Hart, Jennifer Segger and Ryan VanGorder.

Seattle adventure racing team DART invited me to document its participation in the X-Adventure Raid race in Bend, Ore., June 24-26. DART dominates the adventure racing scene in Oregon and Washington, where I normally photograph adventure sports. Even though DART has won many of the races I've covered, I rarely captured them in action. I'd see them at the start, and after the race. The rest of the time, DART was so far ahead of the field, I had to let them go so I could photograph other teams. The prospect of covering DART for two or three days straight appealed to me. I'd certainly have a chance to make great photos of the team. I believe such photos will be in demand in coming years, as DART is an up-and-coming elite adventure racing team. I'd be the proud owner of the finest DART photo gallery, the go-to photographer if a magazine editor needed shots of the them.

I had a delightful time with DART and its support crew during the X-Adventure Raid. The photos I made are among the best of my career. Best of all, I now count DART as friends. No one witnesses what they went through during that two-day adventure race without growing fond of the team's ability to cope with difficulty and strive for excellence. I am proud to say I know these athletes, which I predict will be among the world's best adventure racers in years to come.

2005-06-04T23:55:00.000-07:00

An Adidas NW team member is reflected in the windows of the KOIN Center tower in downtown Portland, Ore., as she rappells from the roof of a nine-story parking garage.

Wicked Urban Race Takes Athletes on Radical Rose City Tour

2005-06-04T23:10:00.000-07:00

PORTLAND, Ore. (June 4, 2005) – Athletes who competed in the Wicked Urban adventure race got an insider’s look at the Rose City as they ran, pedaled, paddled and rappelled through Portland.

Fast teams completed the pro course in about six hours, while slower teams raced for about 10. Twenty-five teams entered the pro division, while a dozen teams entered the shorter, sport course, category.

Race Director Shane Gibson designed the pro course knowing he’d have to challenge top Pacific Northwest teams like NW Nike ACG, D.A.R.T. and Mergeo.com. Yet he also provided a gentler alternative in the sport course, which many first-time adventure racers completed successfully. Results are available at the Wicked AR website (www.WickedAR.com).

Next Adventure (www.nextadventure.net), Portland’s Alternative Sporting Goods Store, sponsored a massive gear giveaway for those in attendance. Packs from GoLite, LaFuma, Granite Gear and Mountainsmith were among the most coveted prizes.

I was recently named the director of photography for Wicked AR, and I put the best photos on my website (www.bittonphoto.com). At the request of several athletes, I posted the images in team galleries. Now, participants and fans can quickly navigate to the images they want to see.

The 2005 Wicked Adventure Sprint Series began March 26 with Wicked Mountain on Mt. Hood, Ore. Wicked Urban, held June 4, was the second race in the series. Wicked Gorge will take place in the Columbia River Gorge July 16, and will be covered by the Adventure Sports Magazine Mobile Tour. http://www.adventuresportsmagazine.com/mobile/index.html
The 2005 series finale, Wicked Ocean, will take place at Nehalem Bay State Park, Ore., Oct. 1.

2005-05-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

Competitors in the Boater-X head-to-head whitewater kayak race battle for position at Carter Falls on the Upper Clackamas River, Ore.

NWRA Whitewater Festival, Upper Clackamas River, Ore., May 14-15, 2005

2005-05-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

I learned of this event from Next Adventure, a sporting goods store in Portland, Ore. The store is a spnosor of the festival, and asked me to shoot some photos for a gallery they'd like to have on their web page. I let the event organizers know I was coming, and told them I often offer photos for sale on my website, and they welcomed that idea.

I'm relatively new shooting whitewater, so I asked a lot of people where I should be to get the best shots. Everyone was very helpful.

The first day was filled with practice runs, and ended with a fun event called the Anything But a Whitewater race. Participants ran the river in an odd variety of craft, including a home-made pirate ship!

The second day was filled with races. I was able to shoot nearly every run. Highlights included watching the inflatable kayak race, during which most participants took a swim, and the hard-shell kayak head-to-head race, called "boater-cross," where paddlers battled for first-place as they descended Carter Falls through a series of numbered gates.

Spending a couple of days next to a river is very relaxing for me. I will find ways to shoot more whitewater in the future!

2005-05-01T23:14:00.000-07:00

Paddlers fight for position on the East Fork of the Lewis River near Battleground, Wash., during the Boatercross Sprint race, part of the Oregon Cup whitewater race series.

2005-05-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

Oregon Cup, "Boatercross" Sprint Race
East Fork Lewis River, Washington

Day two of my adventure in whitewater photography found me super sore from paddling Lake Merwin, and from bouncing off the face of that cliff yesterday at Canyon Creek. I got to the race location plenty early to scout angles and try to chat up the crowd a bit. I got advice from several experienced paddlers, but in the end, settled on a location of my own invention. There was one rapid at the top end of the course that bottlenecked the participants into an area that just was not wide enough for more than one boat at a time. Since the race was a head-to-head event, groups for four and five would be paddling like mad through this narrow strip of water. I decided to go with it. I figured they'd still be in a pack so close to the start. Most of the time, they were. I am happy with the resulting photos. I've got a few of competitors banging into eachother, and I think that was the peak action of the race. Some of the facial expressions are very telling of the tension of the moment.

2005-04-30T22:41:00.000-07:00

Luke Spencer slips off the last waterfall before the finish line at the Canyon Creek Extreme Race April 30, 2005.

Oregon Cup - Canyon Creek Extreme Race

2005-04-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

I've got a bunch of new friends at Next Adventure, a sporting goods store in Portland, Ore. Among them is Luke Spencer, and he's really into whitewater kayaking.

Luke invited me to come along to the first two races in the Oregon Cup (presented by All Star Rafting and Kayaking and Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe), a whitewater kayak racing and rodeo competition. I'd never shot whitewater, so I was excited to give it a try. I borrowed a Necky flatwater kayak and other necessary gear from Next Adventure's demo program in advance, then met up with the organizers and racers on Saturday, April 30, where the bridge on Washington Highway 503 crosses the upper reaches of Lake Merwin. From there, several observers were going to padde up to the place Canyon Creek dumps into Lake Merwin, to watch the most dramatic part of the race. There were two big "class five" waterfalls in sight of the finish line, and participants were going to have to run them to complete the race.

I carried my boat, paddle and Pelican camera case to what I thought was the water's edge, and discovered the lake was at least 30 feet below. The obvious access point was a chute of rocks and mud, bodererd on both sides by moss and ferns. A canoe was tethered to a root at the bottom of the chute. This must be the place, I figured. I decided to take it really slow. About a quarter of the way down, the chute sort of flattened out, so I let go of the boat to go back for my camera case. Suddenly I heard knocking and scraping, followed by a big splash. My boat was gone! And it still had pretty good speed as it continued out into the lake. I scrambled down to the water and wondered what to do. How would I get the boat? I climbed into the canoe and tried to reach my boat with my paddle. No good. I climbed out of the canoe and thought a little more. Looks like I'm going swimming. The water was so cold I could hardly breathe. I got to the kayak, pulled it toward me, then gave it a good shove back to shore. What a way to start a day!

After a soggy paddle along the righ-hand bank of Lake Merwin to Canyon Creek, some spectators helped me beach my boat, and told me which waterfalls the spectators and photographers usually sat in front of. We started the short hike to that area, which required some tricky hiking on slick, steep terrain, or tricky wading on slippery boulders in fast water. I'd watched others go in front of us, and they'd hiked, so I did the same. At one point, I had to jump from a fallen tree to a muddy bank. Again, I'd watched others do it, so thought nothing of hopping across the two-foot gap. In a flash I found myself scraped raw by the face of the cliff I'd tried to land on top of. I looked up, and realized I'd fallen nearly 10 feet. My Pelican camera case had taken much of the fall for me. I sort of rode it down like a sled. Battered and humbled, I opted to carefully wade to the place I needed to be to take pictures.

Lots more spectators arrived, and soon, racers were appearing at the top of the waterfalls. Participants were timed as they sprinted through boulder gardens and waterfalls. The course was not particularly long, with most athletes finishing in less than four minutes. Despite my serious setbacks earlier in the day, I got some memorable images. I need to rest up. Tomorrow morning I'll be back at it again, shooting pictures at the second race in the Oregon Cup series, "Boater Cross," at the Hyacinth Bridge on the East Fork of the Lewis River.

2005-04-17T21:33:00.000-07:00

TRIOBA Sprint - Kenmore

TRIOBA Sprint - Kenmore Rains, Then Shines

2005-04-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

On April 16, 2005, I photographed the TRIOBA Sprint adventure race in Kenmore, Wash.

Rain pounded my giant golf umbrella as I walked from the parking lot to the race headquarters at St. Edward State Park in Kenmore, a suburb of Seattle. The sound of the drops rattling above my head was disturbingly familiar. Just a few weeks earlier, I’d photographed an adventure race on Mt. Hood, Ore., and wondered if a lifejacket should have been on the list of participant’s mandatory gear. This day could end up being as miserable as that one was.

Nearly 50 teams had come to race, but nobody was moving very fast. Mountain bikes were lined up along the bike stands, and gear boxes, lids on tight, were snuggled up next to the bikes. A few athletes, easily identified as rookies or stupid, were puttering around by their bikes and boxes in the driving rain. Everyone else was huddled under a scattering of Easy Up shelters, wondering if the race would start on time. It didn’t.

Joel and Justin Yeager, organizers of the TRIOBA series of adventure races, called a pre-race meeting. They apologized for the weather, and then lined everyone up for the start. Maps were handed out at the last second, along with the admonition, “Do not look at the maps!”

The wail of an air horn told the teams to run run run to the first checkpoint. Some did, and ended up turning right back around. The first several checkpoints were nearby, but not every team’s map had the points in the same order. Following the fast teams (a common strategy in adventure racing) was only good if the fast teams had the same map you did! Utter chaos ensued for about 15 minutes. The photos were comical, showing teams running in opposite directions.

After the initial melee, teams grabbed their inflatable boats and headed down to Lake Washington. What some didn’t realize was that Lake Washington was about a mile-and-a-half down the hill. Because the rain was still pouring down, I decided to walk a few hundred yards toward the lake to shoot photos of the teams carrying their boats. I’d skip the paddling, thank you very much. I sure didn’t want to hike a mile-and-a-half uphill from the lake if the rain wasn’t letting up!

Soon, the fastest teams were on the way back up the muddy trail, carrying their boats back to the starting area. There, they began another trekking section that would take them to all parts of St. Edwards State Park. I got some shots of teams launching themselves off the trails in search of checkpoints. The rain was unrelenting. My camera soon stopped shooting. Was it finally soaked through? No, my memory card was full. No way was I changing it in the rain when my car was in a parking lot a short walk away. Back to the car I went. I swapped out the card, and, while I was in a dry spot, my camera’s rechargeable battery as well.

I went back to the headquarters popup tent to ask about the mountain bike leg, because so far, I wasn’t happy with the pictures I’d made. I was told there was a good single-track (hiking trail) section nearby. I decided to go there. As I was leaving, the first-place team, called Team DART, was running toward its bikes. I was going to have to move fast to beat them! I drove to a mini-mart near the trail and hurried to the checkpoint all teams would have to ride to. Just as I arrived, so did a team, but it wasn’t DART. “We’re in third place,” they told me. Man! I missed two teams! At least I knew I was in a spot that the remaining 45 would have to come to. The faces of most of the racers were splattered with muddy water. Photo op!

I scouted up and down the trail and found a spot where I thought I could shoot each team twice. I’d get them once on a flat part of the trail as they approached the checkpoint, and once again on a steep section of downhill single-track right after they left the checkpoint. I felt like a genius! But this strategy only worked on the teams that stayed on the single track after the checkpoint. For the dozens of teams that decided to take a paved road to the next checkpoint, it meant there would be half as many photos of them. I figured the teams all knew they couldn’t use the road, so I hiked away from checkpoint 18, in the direction of checkpoint 19. Very few teams came in the hour I stayed. A wiser move would have been to walk from 18 back toward 17. Every team had to get to 18, and there was no alternate route. Next time, I’ll think a little harder!

I headed to another spot the bikes had to hit. The rain had stopped and the sun was poking through white, fluffy clouds. I shot a few more teams at and near the checkpoint. Then I went back to the headquarters. The awards ceremony had already ended. Stragglers were showing up. There was hot food. I got a plate and filled up. Then I got in my car and made the three-hour drive back to Vancouver, Wash., with a big, goofy grin on my face. What a blast!

The 400 shots have been edited down to about 100. They’re all now online. I’m especially proud of the mountain bike pictures I made at this race. It’s never easy to shoot adventure racers. Once the race starts, they do everything as fast as they can!

2005-03-27T21:17:00.000-08:00

Athletes snowshoe up a ski run at Mt. Hood Meadows on Mt. Hood, Ore.

Mt. Hood Adventure Racers Face Wet Storm

2005-03-26T23:36:00.000-08:00

As a photographer at a March 26, 2005, adventure race on Mt. Hood, Ore., I was stationed on an exposed ski run during the wettest storm in months. A hike from the lodge several hundred feet up the run left me drenched in sweat, making a joke of my supposedly waterproof and breathable rain jacket. Its brilliant blue fabric was soaked through from the inside by be, and from the outside by snow that wasn’t cold enough to stay frozen.

Fierce wind howled through tall stands of pine on either side of the ski run. I was watching for racers to appear from the blizzard so I could get some shots and leave this exposed spot. Suddenly, there they were! They’d picked a route on the right side of the run, I’d gambled left, and now had little-to-no time to close the gap. The athletes made great time, even though the incline was punishing, and they all wore cumbersome snowshoes to stay afloat. I struggled to contour around to the athletes’ side. When I was finally close enough to fill the frame with racers, there were only half-a-dozen left. I’d nearly missed the whole thing! I was mad at myself for missing two-thirds of the racers. I tried to be calm about it, to just let it go. There would be other chances for photos on other parts of the course today. I vowed not to miss any more photo ops today.

I hobbled down the hill in near white-out conditions. Losing my balance on snowshoes in deep, wet snow, I fell half a dozen times. When I got back to the lodge after 30 minutes of hiking, I was soaked-through and exhausted. I was also really mad at myself. I’d fought nature for two hours, and I knew very well that I maybe had one good shot to show for it. Time to regroup. I needed a new strategy. The clock was running, and I had to figure out how to salvage the so-far dismal photographic day.

Shane Gibson, a friend from Portland, Ore., was the race organizer. I voiced my frustration and he could feel my pain. He wasn’t in love with the weather, either. The lack of snow the week prior had prompted him to cancel the cross-country ski portion of the course, and add a 20-mile mountain bike leg. Today’s six-to-12-inches of snow wasn’t consistent enough to bring the skiing back, but it clearly nixed the bikes. And I thought my day was going badly!

Gibson suggested I head to a checkpoint at the top of a waterfall. It was pretty easy to access by road, followed by a short, level hike on a closed road, then a quick scramble along a creek to the top of the falls. Sounded good to me! I tried to dry out my gear, soon gave up, and just headed for my car and what I hoped would be great pictures at the waterfall.

It was easy to find the “closed road” location where Gibson told me to park. But the main road into the resort had been plowed, leaving a good two foot barrier of snow between the cleared road and the small section of closed road where I was to park. I put the car in four wheel drive and punched through the snow and ice. Once in the deep stuff, I parked. I strapped on the snowshoes, grabbed the photo backpack, opened my golf umbrella and headed out. Soon I came to one of those old, moss-covered concrete bridges common in the Cascades. This was the place! The waterfall was partially frozen. I could see no teams at the top, where the checkpoint would be found. I decided to head up top and see if there were any tracks of racers who had already been there.

Hiking in snowshoes is probably most effective in snow. What I encountered on the way to the top of the falls was not just snow, but downed trees, big rocks, and random shrubbery. My giant golf umbrella, which was keeping my camera gear from getting soaked, got stuck repeatedly as I ducked under thickets to make my way up the hill. Eventually, I learned to close the umbrella whenever I had to squeeze through a tight spot. At the top, the checkpoint was easy to find, out on a bit of a ledge overlooking the falls. It was not staffed, so an orange-and-white orienteering course marker hung in a tree. A special hole punch, which created a mark unique to this checkpoint, dangled from the marker. The snow around the checkpoint showed no footprints. I had beaten all the teams!

I staked out a location where I could not miss any athletes approaching the checkpoint from any direction. And I waited. And waited. And waited.

Two hours later, the first racers arrived. What looked like a two-man team was actually a pair of soloists who were, for the moment, traveling together. They asked how many people had been through already. They seemed surprised to hear they were the first I’d seen. They punched their passports and were immediately on their way. I shot a few pictures and they were gone.

More teams were right behind them. I shot more pictures. Still more teams, still more pictures. I was ecstatic! This more than made up for what I’d felt was a failure at the beginning of the race. Now I knew I had at least a dozen great shots!

I worked the angle of the trail outside the checkpoint, and then went in to the checkpoint and shot some wide angle image in there. With that in the camera, I decided to head back to the lodge and shoot finishers. The rain pounded as I slowly made my way down the hill. I got back to the closed road. What was snow a few hours earlier was now four inches of slush. Not good for walking! I was really proud of my Gore-Tex boots. They never soaked through, not in the constant rain, and not in the final mile of sticky slush.

Back at the lodge, the walk from the car to the lodge soaked me right through all over again. I went in to dry off before trying to shoot finishers, and caught a chill. Out of dry clothing, I decided my day was done. I pulled up a chair and started to chat with the teams, volunteers and sponsors.

It was decided unanimously that we were all crazy for being out in the wettest storm the mountain had seen in months. Yet we all relished the experience. Taking on a challenge and finding a measure of success is truly rewarding. That we all suffered a little more than we expected made the day even more memorable.

2005-02-28T21:44:00.000-08:00

Woman at the window. Hidalgo, Mexico.

Extreme Adventure Hidalgo 2005

2005-02-28T09:38:00.000-08:00

I spent Feb. 21 through 28 making pictures in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. There, Ernesto Rivas, a Mexico City adventure racer, has put on an enormously popular multi-sport endurance race for the past three years. His race runs over four days, and includes three stages. The fist stage is 12 hours long, the second is 24, and the third is six.

My friends from Big Bear, Calif., adventure racers Karen Lundgren and Paul Romero, told me back in September 2004 about Ernesto, and that I should photograph his race. I contacted Ernesto and he welcomed me with open arms.

JOURNEY DAY ONE -- Monday, Feb. 21, 2005
Getting to the race start took 22 hours of travel from my house in Vancouver, Wash. (the suburbs of Portland, Oregon). I flew from Portland to Los Angeles, and from Los Angeles to Mexico City. Ernesto had a large, modern bus at the airport to take racers and media on the five-hour drive to the race start at a mining camp/company town called Otongo in the state of Hidalgo.

JOURNEY DAY TWO -- Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005
Our bus arrived at Otongo at 4 a.m. My stomach had lurched for the final hour of our trip. Several hours of tight curves and livestock-sized pot holes had shaken me deeply. Relieved to be off the bus, I shuffled around the hotel parking lot taking deep breaths while others tried to figure out where our rooms were. The only help found at the front desk was a security guard who was not about to wake anyone up to get us our keys. It looked like we'd all have to crash in the lobby, and nobody was awake enough to care. Minutes later, Ernesto arrived. "Ernesto!" those who knew him shouted. "Good to see you! Where are our rooms?" "I'm not Ernesto," the Ernesto-looing man said. "I'm his twin brother." That did not register well in our tired minds. "When did you guys get here?" the very Ernesto-looking non-Ernesto asked. "Just a few minutes ago," racers answered. "And there's nobody here to give you your keys?" he asked. "No," he was told. "I'll get somebody," he said. "By the way, all the international media has a house at the bottom of the hill. If you're international media, come with me." Lisa and Dan from Adventure Sports Magazine followed the non-Ernesto, and I just stood there in the lobby. I wondered, am I international media? Lisa and Dan and the non-Ernesto were halfway across the parking lot already. Well, I'm not with a team, I told myself. And I gues I am media, I'm here to take pictures. But am I international media? Maybe I am. This is Mexico. I'm not Mexican. Better go ask. I hurried across the lot as they were opening the doors to a pickup and piling in. "Yes," Lisa and Dan told me. "Hop in." We were driven down the hill to our house -- a duplex really. It had three bedrooms already occupied by international media, so Lisa and Dan and I were assigned cots in the living room. I laid down and was asleep almost immediately. Woke up later this morning to the sounds of birds I did not recognize. Opened the door of our house and saw vegetation I did not recognize. Every tree and bush seemed to have a flower on it. This village of Otongo sits near the top of a mountain, and the valley is clearly visible at least a thousand feet below. The peaks are jagged but covered in vegetation. I hike up to the hotel and see many faces I remember from the Subaru Primal Quest adventure race in September 2004 in Washington state. Several of them recognize me and call to me by name. A captain's meeting was to begin in the auditorium right away. Where's the auditorium? Back down the hill, and then some. I hike down with Karen Lundgren, captain of team SOLE Custom Footbeds. In March 2004, I volunteered for West Coast Adventure Racing's first-ever event, set in San Diego County, California. A few months later, in June 2004, I attended Karen's adventure racing training camp at Big Bear, California. I'd seen her again at Primal Quest, but this was the first time we'd seen eachother since then. We caught up on the walk down. The meeting began and I started taking pictures. The Mexican television network Televisa had the stage lit up beautifully, so I didn't use my flash. I got shots of the race officials, then got shots of teams transposing checkpoints onto their maps from the master maps. The meeting broke up. Instead of heading up the hill to the hotel, I roamed the streets of the town for a few hours, making pictures as I went. Later that night, the welcome dinner kicked things off in memorable fashion. A man with a flaming cow on his head marched around the party area. The cow had a variety of fireworks attached. People ran for cover left and right whenever the cow approached. Once the party ended, Ernesto hosted a quick media meeting to tell us what we were in for. It all sounded pretty seat-of-the-pants, but I was eager to get going.

JOURNEY DAY THREE-- Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005
Race Stage One, 12 Hours, Otonogo to Huejutla
Race start was at a very gritty manganese mine. Our media van tried to stay ahead of the racers as they made their way to a slot canyon, but the athletes were sprinting down hillsides that road engineers wisely contoured around. As a result, we missed most of the teams in the slot canyon section. Those we did see looked happy and eager to get on with it. I stayed at the top of the canyon to shoot teams before they entered the narrows. Others went downstream and came back soaking wet. One photographer even submerged a camera. I made a mental note -- next race, bring a dry bag from the kayak gear! Then I could have gone down with no worries. Back in the van and we rushed to a town along a river to watch a kayak leg. The school kids were officially out of class to cheer for the athletes. This resulted in a noisy scene at the riverside. Trees had been laid across the channel so teams would have to jump out and lift their inflatable kayaks over the obstacle. A good time was inevitable, as were good photos. One team had to drop out at this point, and they were stuffed into the media van for the ride to the finish line in the city of Huejutla. Motion sickness reared its ugly head again. One of the racers who'd dropped out had to get out and throw up. I was so close to being right behind her! Luckily, I kept it in and we arrived in Huejutla to find thousands of locals at the central plaza, waiting at the finish line for the teams to show up. Got my hotel assignment -- rooming not with Adventure Sports Magazine anymore, but a father/daughter film crew from the Yukon Territory of Canada, Allan and Angela Code. I shot the teams as they arrived, then retired to the hotel lobby to download all the photos of the day. As my card reader flashed red, reading the day's work, I watched Mexican soccer on the televsion. What a great adventure!

JOURNEY DAY FOUR-- Thursday, Feb. 24, 2005
Race Stage Two, 24 Hours, Molongo to Mineral del Chico
First thing I did this morning was find a pharmacy to get my hands on some dramamine. No more car sickness! The medicine worked really well for about an hour and a half. Lucky for me, that's when we arrived in the town of Molongo. The race wasn't going to run through the town, but the people were so eager to welcome the racers, that organizers agreed to have the athletes walk down the main street. Kids were again officially out of school, and ready to cheer. Many had flags of the nations the athletes came from. I got some great shots of a group of kids with Mexican flags. As the group paraded through town, I searched for a high angle and found one. A second-story window was in a perfect spot, where the lineup was to take a right turn. I asked the owner of the house if I could go up, and she escoreted me to the exact spot I had in mind. It was perfect! But the shot I got after the athletes passed was even better. The mother of the owner was in a window to my left, watching the same scene unfold. Lost in her own thoughs, she didn't notice me aiming my lens at her. The resulting photo is one of my favorites from the whole trip. Next we went to a nearby lake where the 24-hour race was to begin with a swim. got OK photos of the start, but better ones of racers climbing out of the water at the end of the swim. Back in the van and we hurried across the valley to a trek/bike transition area. We beat all the teams there, so had a great time shooting nearly everyone. A rare occasion! The light kept changing as clouds came and went. Thunder even rolled across the hills for a time, and the heavens opened up and dumped a bunch of rain. Eventually we left for a second lake, where teams were to transition from bikes to kayaks. The light continued to change, but this time for the better. The photographers in the van were getting antsy. Many stops were requested, but few were granted. When we finally got close to the second lake, a rainbow lit up the sky. Incredible! Down at the lakeside, team Nokia was lamenting the recent rain, because it had tuned the silty soil to something like peanut butter in stickyness. One of their teammates got injured trying to force his way through the muck. They were out of the race. We didn't know it at the time, but so were we. The sun was fading fast as we tried to find a way to get to where the boats were. by the time we got there, it was dark. We were out of business. So we got back in the van and went to Mineral del Chico. At a camp outside of town, the media was assigned a cabin. I immediately began to download the work of the day off my memory cards. I slept very happily in the loft.

JOURNEY DAY FIVE-- Friday, Feb. 25, 2005
Race Stage Two, 24 hours, Molongo to Mineral del Chico
I believe I hiked at least 10 miles today with most of my gear. The hike out to the rappell was three or four miles, I think. Once there (I arrived two hours after I started hiking), the views were stunning. Some of the ropes crew tried out the tyrolean traverse and the light was good then. By the time teams came, clouds blocked the view. Athletes took a ride on a rope having no idea where it would end! I started to feel sick on the drive back to Chico. I took a shower and a three-hour nap. I didn't want to miss the finish line party in Chico, so I headed down to town from our camp up on the hill. It must be two miles from camp to the plaza. Hungry and tired, I shuffeled into a restaurant for dinner. Forty pesos later, I felt pretty good. I hung out a bit with my Yukon friends. They recognized I was in bad shape and did a great job taking care of me. At times, covering an adventure race is miserable. But just like the racers, we all have great stories to tell in the weeks, months and years that follow.

JOURNEY DAY SIX -- Saturday, Feb. 26, 2005
Race Stage Three, six hours, Mineral del Chico to Pachuca
The final stage of the race today was FAST! The highlight for me was the town of Real del Monte, or Mineral del Monte, depending on which map you use. Racers rode their bikes through the mining town. It has tiny, winding streets and much colonial architecture. My dad told me befor ethis trip to watch for a town he could live in. I don't think a finer Mexican town exists. We got from Mineral del Monte to Pachuca in about 30 minutes on freeway-like roads. Soon we were in a traffic jam near the center of town. Streets around the plaza had been closed for the finish, so traffic was a mess. We walked the final four blocks to the plaza, just in time to see the winning team, Montrail, arrive. This crowd was many times larger than the one in Huejutla. Again, kids were in the streets cheering the athletes. It was a weekend, so they probably didn't have to be there, but they were, all in their school uniforms and waving flags. Eventually we got to our hotel. I roomed again with my Yukon friends. There were two parties that night. The awards ceremony party was at the fairgrounds in Pachuca, right across the street from the Plaza de Toros. After that, the real party took place in the basement of our hotel. The tequila flowed all night long. Not really my scene, I chatted with a few people I knew, then went to my room to download my final photos. I was in bed by 11 p.m.

JOURNEY DAY SEVEN --Sunday, Feb. 27, 2005
The race organization bus from Pachuca to the Mexico City airport was full, so I rode in a luggage pickup with one of the guys I'd been talking to all week. We had a good time chatting about all that we'd seen in the past several days. I hung out in the airport for about two hours, thinking I would save money by not getting a hotel room. I eventually gave up and got a skycap to show me how to catch a hotel van out front of the airport. About 30 minutes later, I arrived at the Mexico City East Holiday Inn. I walked across the street to Wal-mart and bought some clean clothes. Ten bucks outfitted me rather nicely. Had dinner, went to bed. Early van to the airport tomorrow!

JOURNEY DAY EIGHT -- Monday, Feb. 28, 2005
Caught the hotel van to the airport at 4 a.m. Got through security and checked in for flight. got to my gate and settled in for my flight to be called. First leg was four and a half hours to San Francisco. Got to see Copper Canyon and Los Angeles on the way. Second leg was about two hours. Clouds blocked the view, and I arrived in Portland in the rain. What an amazing trip! And what a privelige to be living my dream.