Posted: December 8, 2004

Adventure Racing: 'Nevada Passage' TV Event Will Promote Nevada's Adventure Attractions to 2 Million Viewers

RENO, Nev., Dec. 7 -- The Nevada Passage, a made-for- television adventure competition May 19-24, 2005, will promote Nevada as an exciting destination for rugged adventure travelers to 2 million TV viewers across America, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt said today.

Dramatic high-desert landscape near Ely, Lamoille Canyon near Elko, Sand Mountain near Fallon, downtown Reno's new whitewater park and kayak course, Lake Mead and Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas will become adventure performance headquarters for about 20 athletes as they are filmed for a one-hour TV program chronicling their six-day, multi-sport competition.

"The Nevada Passage will give our state an extraordinary opportunity to reach more than 2 million television viewers and show them what Nevada's small towns and rural areas have to offer adventure travelers," Hunt, chair of the Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT), said. NCOT is sponsoring the Nevada Passage along with Paul Mitchell, Nissan North America, Inc, and XTERRA Gear.

"Viewers across the country will see Nevada's extremely diverse landscape as the athletes venture down the sparkling Truckee River, cross the expanse of Lake Mead and hike up the green, aspen-laden mountains of Lamoille Canyon," Hunt said.

The athletes will be required to demonstrate extremely diverse skills as they are presented with different athletic challenges including rock climbing, jet skiing, four-wheeling, biking, hiking, sandboarding and kayaking. After each day of intense competition athletes will be escorted to the venue of the next day's competition. Each team must do all of the challenges, and the winning team will have the total highest score at the end of the last stage.

The Nevada Passage, produced by event organizer TEAM Unlimited of Honolulu, will be syndicated in more than 80 markets including New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Sacramento, Seattle and Portland. Event highlights also will be included in two half-hour XTERRA Planet television programs on major networks and cable affiliates. TEAM Unlimited also produces and NCOT sponsors the Nissan XTERRA USA Championship Race at Lake Tahoe every September.

TEAM Unlimited will invite athletes who have regular jobs to participate in two-person teams composed of one man and one woman paired by profession, such as doctor, lawyer, teacher and journalist.

Information about selected athletes will be available this month on The Nevada Passage Web site, www.nevadapassage.com, scheduled to be completed soon. The site will include course maps, descriptions of each stage, an online press room, newsletter sign-up and television schedules and trailers.

"We expect the adventure race to be a very effective way to depict Nevada as a top destination for adventurers because it will show off the state in a new and entertaining way," NCOT Executive Director Bruce Bommarito said. "Viewers will see Nevada as we have never shown it before: a rugged adventure landscape that's also very beautiful."

The adventure stages of The Nevada Passage, which are subject to change because of weather and other conditions, are planned as follows:

May 19 -- Stage 1:
Adventure -- Rock climb and scramble
Location -- Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Description -- Teams must climb a vertical face of stone together, demonstrating total teamwork to keep from falling. Once the rock climbing competition is complete, athletes will follow a marked route through Red Rock Canyon back to the start. The winning team will produce the fastest combined time.

May 20 -- Stage 2:
Adventure -- Time trials on personal watercrafts
Location -- Lake Mead Marina to Echo Bay Marina
Description -- Team members will ride together on a personal watercraft. This will be a long and difficult trial where both members must drive part of the way and complete specific tasks. The winning team will have the fastest total time plus confirmation of tasks.

May 21 -- Stage 3:
Adventure -- Four-wheel drive rally and treasure hunt
Location -- Historic areas near Ely
Description -- Instructions will require teams to drive to specific locations and collect information. Athletes will travel off-road through historic areas including Pony Express stations, ghost towns, historic mining areas and more. Results are based on completion of tasks, not speed.

May 22 -- Stage 4:
Adventure -- Bike and trek
Location -- Lamoille Canyon near Elko
Description -- Cyclists will start en masse for the trip up Lamoille Canyon Road -- 12 miles and 3,000 feet of climbing. Athletes will change gear at the Thomas Canyon Campground and hike over a ridge to Right Fork Canyon then five miles back to Lamoille Campgrounds. Snow and rugged conditions are expected for this stage. The winning team must have the fastest combined cycle and trek.

May 23 -- Stage 5:
Adventure -- Sandboard time trials
Location -- Sand Mountain near Fallon
Description -- Athletes will compete one at a time on a challenging giant slalom/freestyle course down the dunes with gates, jumps, and other obstacles. Teammates' times will be added together to determine the team's official time.

May 24 - Stage 6:
Adventure -- Whitewater kayaking
Location -- Verdi to downtown Reno's Whitewater Park and Kayak Course
Description -- Two-person kayaks will be put in the Truckee River at Verdi, near the California border. This will be a mass-start event with the leaders positioned at the back. Several difficult Level 3 rapids will await athletes. The finish will be at the new Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield in downtown Reno.

TEAM Unlimited and R&R Partners, an integrated marketing communications firm, created the six-day event to showcase Nevada's dramatic landscape and adventure opportunities. TEAM Unlimited also has produced the Nissan XTERRA USA Championship Race at Lake Tahoe.

Since the first year, participation in the Lake Tahoe race has grown from 125 athletes to 700, and the race was voted the best off-road triathlon of 2003 by the 50,000-member USA Triathlon, the national governing body for triathlon in the United States. Along with 5,000 live spectators, the 2003 race reached more than 5 million television viewers through syndication of the championship show and associated XTERRA Planet programs.

SOURCE: Nevada Commission on Tourism
Web Site: www.nevadapassage.com