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Under Development, check back for updates, last update: November 26, 2007

Rocky Mountain Challenge

2008 Canadian Nationals
  August 2, 3, 4, 2008

   The "Sentinel" at the entrance to the Crowsnest pass through the Great Divide. Click to view.    Ride Maps--> Draft 50
 
  Ride Location Coordinates:   51°41'21.18"N      114°58'38.07"W    Google earth Placemark
 
   If you need a free Google Earth Viewer , go to:  http://www.earth.google.com

Official Ride Site:   http://www.canadiannationals.org

The official site will be operational shortly. In the meantime, a bit of information on the ride.

The ride will be on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains mainly on the Red Deer River Ranch and Provincial Crown Land.  Camping will be in a field on the Ranch.

The Canadian Nationals will include Competitive Trail, Ride and Tie and Endurance.

This link deals with the endurance aspect only, and will likely only be available until the official web site has sufficient information.

The Canadian Championship Ride which will be held at the Red Deer River Ranch near Sundre, Alberta, August 2, 3, 4 .  The Red Deer River Ranch is a 1000 acre ranch connected to 50,000 acres of grazing lands plus the provincial forest.  http://www.reddeerriverranches.com/riding.htm

Access to the site is on paved roads.

The Endurance Ride will be FEI sanctioned and Endurance Riders of Alberta sanctioned but we plan to sanction the ride with AERC so that those coming from the US to the FEI ride can have their AERC miles included, plus they might come with a friend that just wants to do AERC.

There will be  a 50 mile FEI on Saturday August 2 and a 100 mile FEI ride on Sunday August 3, with BC judging on Monday the 4th.   We are proposing an AERC 25 and 50 on the 2nd, same trail, and a 100 mile AERC on the 3rd same trail .... but as "separate" events.  ie - entrants can enter under one, two or three organizations.  Oh yes - four potentially as we are also looking at sanctioning with the Arabian Horse Association.  It has been proposed that placings in each organization will be kept separately, but for BC judging we would only look at the top ten finishers regardless of what organization the competitor registered in to keep the BC judging work to a minimum and as simple as possible.  The other tracking is fairly straight forward record keeping which will be handled by spreadsheet and separate leader boards at the base camp.

Hay will be available on site.

Stay tuned for more information.

For those that might want to come and ride before the ride, or after the ride, information about the area is included below.

Also be aware this area borders on the forestry and can have wild animals such as bears, wolves cougars and others. Be animal aware.  A bear awareness link is included below.

      Great Divide Ride 2010                                                              Horses for sale

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

This ride will be on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains/Great Divide.  Weather changes can be severe.  It can go from 30 degrees Celsius (90 degrees F) to below freezing in less than an hour.  Weather can be clear and sunny and change to rain, hail or snow in a few minutes.  Dress and carry gear accordingly.

Most of the trail will be in a wilderness area in Forest Management Area 13, under the management of Sundre Forest Products who has a license for harvesting wood in this 500,000 hectare area. You should consider carrying a survival kit (first aid, knife, whistle, reflective blanket etc.) and emergency rations.  The reflective blankets are excellent for keeping injured people warm and make a good marker for a landing area in the case of the need for a helicopter rescue.

In a lot of the back country area cell coverage is sporadic but often available at high points.  Most of the area is covered by 911 calls and Stars Air Ambulance services in case of emergency.   Out of province or out of country visitors should be sure to have appropriate medical insurance coverage.

There is no cell coverage at the ride site.  There will be satellite internet, radio club service, and emergency land line access through the Ranch.

The Ranch is about 30 kilometres from Sundre (18 miles for our American friends)

Some corals will be available. 

Horse water will be supplied by pumping from a local creek, solid waste disposal containers will be provided, a sewage pump out truck will be available to empty holding tanks for a fee.

FEI riders will have to park in designated segregated areas away from other competitors in accordance with FEI requirements.

Additional information will be added as it becomes available and links added to the official site.

This information is likely to disappear as the official site is developed so make sure you bookmark the official site.

Tourist Information:

Be "Bear Aware".  See http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/fishwildlife/livingwith/bearfacts/bearsmart.aspx

Cougar Guidelines:  http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/fishwildlife/wildlifeinalberta/cougar/default.aspx

Other wildlife issues and information for this area can be found by navigating the above sites.

Camping rules for wilderness camping in Alberta are located at:   http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/lands/usingpublicland/recreation/pdf/07_Random_Camping_Final.pdf 
 

For information about Sundre and the ride area see http://www.Sundre.com and http://www.sundrechamber.com/tourinfo.html   
South West of Ride Site - Ghost/Waiparous Management Area: http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/fieldoffices/southernrockies/ghostwaiparous/planinformationlinks.aspx
                                                                                                  http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/fieldoffices/southernrockies/ghostwaiparous/brochuremaps.aspx
West and North of the Ride Site - Big Horn Wilderness Area: http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/fieldoffices/clearwater/bighornbackcountry/default.aspx

North west central Alberta:

Location map, local trail and local history available at:  http://www.grandecache.ca
Black Cat Ranch:  http://www.blackcatguestranch.ca/
Hinton Information: http://www.town.hinton.ab.ca
Cadomin:  http://www.ghosttowns.com/canada/alberta/cadomin.html
Big Horn Wilderness Area: http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/fieldoffices/clearwater/bighornbackcountry/default.aspx
Clearwater County including Rocky Mountain House and Nordegg information: http://www.rockymtnhouse.com
Nordegg Historical Society: http://www.nordegghistoricalsociety.8m.com
Caving, Hiking, Helicopter tours:  http://www.icefieldheli.com  or  http://www.nordeggheli.com
Columbia Icefields Tours:  http://www.explorejasper.com/sights/columbiaicefield.htm
Jasper National Park:  http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper/index_e.asp
Kootenay Plains and Siffleur Wilderness Areas: http://www.whereadventurebegins.com/scenicfalls.htm
Information on the Rocky Mountain House National Park is at : http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ab/rockymountain/index_E.asp

Just South of Sundre along the TransCanda Highway:

Cochrane Ranche:  http://www.abheritage.ca/pasttopresent/rural_life/cochrane_ranche_history.html
Rafter Six Ranch:  http://www.raftersix.com/
Banff:  http://www.banff.com/       Banff National Park:  http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/index_e.asp
Kananaskis Country:  http://www.cd.gov.ab.ca/enjoying_alberta/parks/featured/kananaskis/

Farther South along Highway 22 and Highway 3:

History of the Oldman River Basin and the Fur Trade in Alberta: http://www.abheritage.ca/alberta/fur_trade/fur_images.html
Frank Slide:  http://www.frankslide.com/       Hillcrest Mine Disaster: http://www.crowsnest.bc.ca/coal09.html
Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump:  http://www.head-smashed-in.com/
Municipality of Crowsnest Pass:  http://www.town.crowsnestpass.ab.ca/
Bar U Historical Ranch:   http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ab/baru/visit/visit1_E.asp 
Castle Special Management Area:  http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/fieldoffices/southernrockies/castlearea/default.aspx

And even further South along the eastern slopes:

Castle Mountain     http://www.skicastle.ca/index.cfm
Two Parks were established at the initiative of Teddy Roosevelt as one of, if not the first International Parks in the World - Waterton Glacier International Peace Park.   For more information see:        http://www.watertoninfo.ab.ca/    and    http://www2.parkscanada.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/waterton/index_E.asp
 

And for those trekking back through southern BC:

Fort Steele Historical Site:  http://www.fortsteele.bc.ca/visitor/main/index.asp
Kimberly:   http://www.kimberleychamber.ca/
Cranbrook:   http://city.cranbrook.bc.ca/

Reference: Camping in BC - http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/camping/        http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/rec/rec.htm
 
 

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