All twelve teams set off on the two-day Rogaine at 9am this morning from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing Mangatepopo Car Park. Conditions were warm and clear, with a reminder for teams to plan their water collection carefully: the day would be hot, and not every blue stream on the map means there will be water.

To start, teams travelled about 1km along the track to meet their instructors, who were waiting with their course maps. From there, three different routes were chosen, and the journey began!

Teams have until 5pm to collect as many points as possible before setting up camp, and that deadline matters. From around 3pm, they will start choosing their campsites and checking with their instructors that the spot is suitable. A team that isn’t at its chosen site by 5pm loses half the points it collected today, and a team that hasn’t reached camp by 6pm loses all of them. Camp selection and time management are as much a part of the rogaine strategy as the route itself.

The 5pm cut-off also gives teams time to rest and recover before heading out again at 7am tomorrow.

The best way to follow along is with the live tracking link: https://hillary-challenge.bendracing.com/

The maps the teams were given are below. Which route would you have chosen?