Sisters man competes in adventure races across western U.S.

Paul Schneider navigating. photo provided Paul Schneider of Sisters has a strenuous definition of fun.

He is an adventure racer, competing in challenging 12- to 24-hour competitions involving segments of kayaking, trail running and mountain biking. All segments rely heavily on accurate navigation by map and compass. No GPS (Global Positioning System) allowed.

An Adventure Race will generally contain eight or more checkpoints. Each team member carries a "passport" that must be stamped or punched at each checkpoint. Teams of one to four competitors are required to stay within a certain distance of each other throughout the competition (usually 50 to 100 meters) and all must complete the course.

Assistance crews are allowed at transition points to help prepare the team's changes of gear, water, food, and clothing.

The day before the race, each team receives maps and coordinates for all checkpoints. Some organizers require pre-race certificates attesting to a competitor's proficiency in each phase of the competition.

Schneider, owner of Sisters-based Summit Solutions, is a member of BARC, Bend Adventure Racing Club. Schneider became involved after moving his family and business from Washington, D.C. to Sisters.

The BARC team competes in the four-person coed category.

Negotiating singletrack on the mountain biking leg. photo provided

Schneider explained that there are no rules on how a team travels from one checkpoint to the next. Each checkpoint is a two-foot diameter orange ball, frequently hidden from view. With no rules on the route traveled and legs as long as seven miles, navigation skill becomes a premium.

According to Schneider, the BARC team's navigation skills have allowed them to reach checkpoints earlier than some professional teams, even though the pros were much faster afoot.

Most races start around midnight Saturday, necessitating in-the-dark navigation. Schneider says night navigation is easiest on foot but becomes much more challenging on the bicycle legs because of the speeds involved. Day or night, a small error can be greatly amplified before it is discovered.

In competitions this year the BARC team has finished sixth of 34 teams and seventh of 22. The seventh place finish involved an epic ocean kayak challenge along the California Coast.

According to Schneider, the 24-hour Cal Eco Fort Bragg started at 5:40 a.m. on May 15 in Mendocino with a 14-mile kayak paddle to Fort Bragg. Beginning in moderate seas, at the seven-mile mark, swells were 10 to 15 feet with 25-knot winds. At the half-way point the BARC team calculated their forward speed at 1/3 mph. At about that time the U.S. Coast Guard arrived in a zodiac raft to transport the team to a USCG cutter further offshore.

The Coast Guard had decided that conditions had become too dangerous for the light-weight kayaks. They had already picked up nine teams behind the BARC team and were evacuating all teams who had not finished the kayak leg by that time. Competitors already aboard the USCG cutter had succumbed to seasickness. Even one Coast Guard sailor was sick.

An irony of the race is that the winner of the kayak leg had researched the weather more thoroughly than their competitors.

In anticipation of the rough seas, they "checked in" at the mid-point checkpoint buoy, reversed their course back to Mendocino, put their kayaks on dollies, and ran to the first transition point ahead of all other competitors.

(Remember, there are no rules on how you get there, just that you do get there.)

Then followed 35 miles of mountain biking and 25 miles of trekking. BARC was the fifth fastest team on the land portion of the race, which gained 7,500 feet in elevation. Unranked because of the kayak rescue, BARC finished the overall race in a time of 16 hours 27 minutes. Ten teams did not finish.

When asked what he does for conditioning Schneider replied that he stays in shape with twice-weekly hikes up Black Butte and mountain bike rides totaling 100 miles a week.

That's on top of running a successful business from his office in downtown Sisters.

Schneider's business, Summit Solutions Group, began in Washington, D.C. as a consultant in the construction of cellular towers.

Licensed in six states, the business has evolved into a full contracting company that builds cell towers for its clients.