Channel Hopping Winch Challenge

To everyone's delight, they kept their promise. Long parts of the tasks from the previous day were assigned to be driven in the opposite direction, but beside this, the tasks now included a respectable number of almost-perpendicular climbs and descents. Again there was a drive through the caves, but now they added an extra dimension. Halfway down the route, the competitors would lower into a ditch, just to be confronted by a perpendicular rock face of over 6 feet. Ladders were a must here, and happily this was one of the pieces of equipment the participants were required to have.

The fact that no one managed to finish all the tasks proved how difficult they really were. The numerous heads under the bonnets of the vehicles were further proof of the difficulty of the challenges. From one team, only one vehicle managed to finish the race. The surviving car also happened to be driven by the only female participate of the event, Harriet Gowing. First place eventually went to Danish competitor Per Bertelsen; the "Spirit of the Event Award" was given to the Dutch team of Remco Peter van der Waarden and Remco Kerklaan. After the event, the organization announced that they would organize more events like this during 2006, from which two or three were scheduled to take place on Les Cinq Piliers. The news was received with thunderous applause. Need we say more?

Euro 'Wheeling

Planning a European 4x4 vacation? You can tour the Five Pillars-and other challenging trails in northern France-as part of a weekend 'wheeling expedition. Log onto Mudplug Ltd. at www.mudplug.co.uk for details, and check out www.4x4winches.com for information on the Channel Hopping Challenge.