Part of the adventure in adventure racing is the achievement of navigating to your checkpoints. GPS is not allowed. Some basic map and compass skills are needed. We provide navigation clinics and help at the races for newcomers to navigation. We welcome everyone at our races, and you can do it! We will provide you the help you need if notify us prior to the event.

Big Mountain Adventure wants to help you get started. We've all been there at some point! Your best bet is to attend an adventure racing training clinic hosted by BMA. We plan to have at least one of these clinics per year. Join our newsletter to keep up to date with our training clinics. We can also do our best to help you at your first race with navigation and general planning.

At some events you may need to plot UTM coordinates either before and/or during the event. For information on how to plot UTM coordinates click here

No, but it helps of course! We host a variety of events with a variety of difficulties. We have events for all skill and athletic levels. Even with the more difficult races, the course is designed for everyone to finish. The course may be altered for a team if they are running behind or have unforseen difficulties. Our goal is for all participants to finish our events!

Our courses are designed for everyone to finish! If a team is running behind or has unforseen difficulties, the course may be altered to allow teams to finish. If a team cannot finish... that's ok! Adventure racing is challenging.

Please check the mandatory gear list for the event in which you are interested. The mandatory gear list outlines the necessary equipment to complete the course safely. A non-exhaustive recommended equipment list is also given. Generally the following are core items for an adventure race:

• Mountain Bike and helmet
• Climbing Harness and belay device
• Trail Running Shoes
• Paddle (for some events)
• Small backpack
• Hydration System (bladder, water botles, etc.
• Compass
• Emergency Blanket/First Aid Kit

Adventure races are most fun in a team setting. The premiere and elite divisions in the sport are typically 4 person coed. We offer a variety of divisions to help you easily participate in our events. You can look for a teammate by checking out our Forum (TBD), our blog, or the FROG website (TBD). If you can't find teammate we also have both a male and female solo division.

There are no refunds due to weather. In case of inclement weather, the course will be altered/shortened to make it safe and able to be completed in a timely manner.

Refunds can be processed if requested 1 month prior to the race date. Only the race entry fee and USARA day membership fee (if applicable) can be refunded. Any active.com or other ancillary fees cannot be refunded.

If a racer cannot attend the race and notifies the race director between 2 weeks and 1 month before the race, no refund can be given but the racer's entry fee and USARA day membership fee (if applicable) can be applied toward a future race. Less than 2 weeks prior to a race, no refunds will be processed and no credit toward future races can be guaranteed. At the race director's discretion a partial or full future race credit may be given in some circumstances. These refund rules are due to factors outside of BMA's control such as the logistics of land use permits, insurance, race-related purchases that had already been made prior to the given dates, etc.

When losing a teammate, the team has 3 choices. The team is welcome to have a substitute racer join the team. If the change is made less than a month prior to the race, the new substitute racer will have to register and pay for the event. Greater than a month a refund to the lost teammate can be processed and the new racer will need to register and pay. However, the easist action in this case is if the substitute racer pays the lost teammate directly and the substitute racer sends their registration info, but no fee, to the race director. Another option is to contact the race director and ask if there are other racers that have expressed interest in joining a team or being a substitute. Often there is a waiting list for the race if the race registration closes early. There may be another person who would be happy to join the team. The third option is to continue to race as a team but in a different division. However, if the team drops into a 'non-existent' division (such as from 4 open to 3 coed but the team doesn't have both genders), the team will be ranked below the official teams in the division and are not eligible for prizes.

Big Mountain Adventure has public liability insurance to cover its events. This does not cover personal injury for the participants. If this is a concern, we recommend that you take out personal insurance to cover unexpected events in your outdoor endeavors. We recommend WIN insurance agency for this and all your insurance needs.