Andes Pacifico – the experience of a lifetime

Another ‘you only live once’ moment and I found myself booking my fourth ‘trans’ race within a year and a half. I seem to have developed a bit of an obsession! We were flying out to Chile to race Andes Pacifico. A four-day blind enduro, racing from the Andes mountains to the Pacific coast.

Trans races are the ultimate test. Usually held over four to six days, often in the backcountry with big days. They are purest form of enduro racing. Going as fast as you can on a trail you’ve never seen before. Each unique in the challenge it throws at you. Andes Pacifico proved to be no exception.

We arrived at our meeting point at Mall Sports in Santiago (yes, that’s a mall dedicated to outdoor sports, my kind of shopping!). We loaded our bikes on to the truck, met our fellow racers and boarded the bus to take us to the start. Almost two hours later, we’d still not left. We’d lost two of the racers into the deep dark depths of Mall Sport shopping. Seven hours later, and 400km further south, we finally arrived in Las Trancas Valley. Tired, bleary eyed and hungry, we waited for registration to open. Registration provided a shock. The map and stats for the days were up. Day one +1880m climbing, day two +2300m, day three +2290m, day four +2065m. Holy moly. Those were some of the biggest days I’d have ever ridden on the bike, let alone back-to-back! I slept poorly, nervous at the huge days to come.

Take each day as it comes, that’s what I’ve learnt from these races. Don’t think about the four days. Get through the first day. And so, setting off on my bike for day one I was feeling much more positive. We pedalled up through a lush pine forest, singletrack lined with bright orange flowers. Soon popping out above the tree line and the view opened out to an incredible lava field in the valley below. A geologists dream! The terrain became sandier and sandier, until we were pushing our bikes up through deep sand pits. Reaching the top, I took in the views. We were immersed in nature.

The contrast between the lush forest and the destructive lava flows was astonishing. Condors circled above us; their huge wings outstretched. After a group photo, we dropped in to stage one. Here we go! Sprinting through a sand pit was certainly a different start compared to racing at home! Rock gardens and a few mean punchy climbs kept us on our toes. The rest of the trail was lovely flowing singletrack through the pine forest. It was fantastic.

We pedalled to stage two on flat double track filled with deep sand. It was like pedalling in treacle, then suddenly you’d get cross-rutted and thrown off your bike! The liaison didn’t get any easier. We pushed our bikes for a couple of hours up a steep rough trail. I say trail, more boulder field at times! It really took it out of me. We had a long wait at the top. It was three pm by this point, we’d had no lunch and hadn’t even dropped into stage two! The stage was a shock. So technical. Huge rocks, 90degree turns, big drops with blind rocks in the landing. What if the rest of the trails are like this! I wearily made my way back to the event village, desperate for food. I got a bit lost by myself on the way back and shed a few tears.

A HUGE salty delicious focaccia awaited me, bursting with avocado, salad and ham. It was bigger than my face! Just what I needed after almost 12 hours between breakfast and lunch. It was half five and we still had two stages left! Relief washed over me as we heard we were getting a shuttle. It was an exciting ride to top of stage three with crazy amounts of dust billowing out as the pick-ups struggled their way up. It was starting to get dark in the trees, so the final stage was cancelled. Stage three was great fun and much easier than stage two. At half nine we finally rolled back into the event village. Dumping our bikes we ran to the shower to wash the thick layers of dust off before dinner. Day one done, and quite literally dusted.

Day two started with another brutal hike-a-bike. Step by step I pushed on. The first stage was awesome! Starting with techy pine forest singletrack and lots of line choice. Then a long climb before bombing down flat-out singletrack with multiple river crossings. At the bottom we had the added excitement of getting chased by three snarling dogs when we got lost! The climb to stage two was another huge hike-a-bike for over two hours. But wow was it worth it! When we reached the top, we had incredible views of snow-capped Andean volcanoes. The scenery was breathtaking. The sun shone down as we tried to find shade under the tiny bushes left at this altitude.

Another fantastic stage. I was buzzing! Flat and pedally to start, trying to avoid the sharp volcanic rocks strewn across the path. Then into steep dusty sand filled corners, and flowy singletrack to the finish. I walked a few of the steep sandy chutes. I still couldn’t commit to the lack grip. Unfortunately, it was the fire road that caught me out and I crashed near the bottom. Dusting myself off, thankfully the bike and I were unscathed. After lunch, we had a pedallable liaison to the next stage.

We were all exclaiming in delight at pedalling our bikes after two days of intense hike-a-bikes! We were also treated to more amazing views. Trees carpeting the hills as far as we could see. We dropped in to the last stage of day two. A fire road blast. Genuinely. No singletrack. Just bombing down a fire road. It was terrifying! I kept thinking I’d gone wrong then someone would fly past me at warp speeds. They’d create huge dust clouds for me to navigate through. It was weirdest stage I’ve ever done, but honestly kind of fun! We stopped at a little Chilean corner shop and bought some beers for the bus ride home. Day two done! Time to rinse off the dust and head out for food.

We were halfway! Day three started with some organisational challenges. Setting off on the bus two hours behind schedule. It was exciting to arrive in a new location though. Watching the change in scenery as we left the mountains behind. We arrived in a town called Ninhue and were dropped off at a mini bike park, oozing with chilled vibes. Ninhue trails are well established and raced in the Chilean National Series. The first trail flowed through the tight trees at the top and as it wound its way to the valley floor it got drier, dustier, rutted and rocky. It became survival-mode. Trying to hold on with aching hands. The next two trails were new for the race. It was still so dusty here but somehow different to day one and two. More like riding on coffee beans! I lost my momentum on one off camber section and jumped off my bike to run back on track, but it was impossible as I wallowed in the beans! At the bottom of the last stage, sharing our woes of all getting lost, we crowded into the back of a pickup. Way too many people holding on to a tiny rope to stop us falling out as the truck sped its way back into town.

Some chill time by the pool and dinner awaited us back at base. That night we stayed with local families. A mum and daughter warmly welcomed us to their home. Through the fog of our fatigue, we conjured up our best Spanish to thank them for welcoming us, say we were tired and ask what time breakfast was. They were up at four AM baking fresh bread and putting on a delicious spread for breakfast. The family were so kind. A highlight of the race, and an amazing way to kick off the last day.

There was a buzz on the bus with the anticipation for the last day. We’d made it! Though with eight stages planned for the day, and having only managed three a day so far, we weren’t sure we were going to finish by midnight! We were all excited for our first glimpse of the pacific coast. After a long but fun stage one, we had a lovely liaison through farmers’ fields with verges bursting with orange and red flowers to reach a little town. We stopped at a corner shop to buy an ice cream as local children gathered to ride the next stage with us. We pushed up a steep tsunami evacuation route into a beautiful forest. Seeing a tarantula on the way up gave us the heebie-jeebies whilst we stood waiting at the top.

The stage was almost bike park. Super flowy with some very sketchy looking wooden table tops and drops, which I obviously avoided. At the top of our next stage, we got our first glimpse of the sea! The stages were much shorter than previous days. I felt like I could finally push and race my bike! Only three days too late! After snoozing under the shade of trees in a plaza during lunch, we shuttled to the penultimate stage. Another fantastic stage! I was grinning ear to ear down the fast trail, flying through the pine trees. Pedalling along the road all together towards the final stage, the stoke was high. Only 750m of stage between us and the sea! The wait at the top provided ample opportunity to take photos of the spectacular view of the coast as excitable chatter filled the air. We decided to party train down the final stage. The trail was so flat and bumpy to start. Even the e-bikers made it look like hard work! I pedalled as hard as I could (after four days, that’s not fast) and the party train quickly left me behind! It was fun having people chase me down. It was short and delightfully sweet!

We’d done it!

High fives and fist pumps all round as we cruised into the finish. The result sheet got a quick glance, we threw the bikes down, found our tents, and ran to the sea! The locals warned us how cold it would be. Clearly, they haven’t swum in the North Sea! There’s no better way to end a race than a dip in the sea and sitting by the firepit drinking pisco sours with the amazing people you’ve shared the struggles and stoke with. Andes Pacifico, you promised the experience of a lifetime, and you delivered!

Words: Katy May