Heights of Winter Cancelled

12th June 2014

We have taken this decision following a joint site visit yesterday with our event base host *farmer, and supported by the NZRA committee.

This decision is on the back of ongoing flood-inducing rain in North Canterbury, capping an already-wet season. Specific concerns affecting the event’s integrity include (1) saturated soils both in the car parking/catering area and on the course, and (2) flood flows in the central Blythe Stream and possibly side-streams. Neither will self-correct by Saturday. You would not thank us for the wet underfoot conditions either. We also have respect for our 12 host landowners and community services which have their own challenges right now.

While we note the irony that Saturday should (at last) be a great day weather-wise, we found no alternatives (such as shortened duration, down-sizing the map) that would properly resolve the above. Those of you with travel bookings, we give you the maximum-possible notice. Watch the web site for a decision on partial compensation. This decision will be made when the expenses already incurred have been added up.

While this result disappoints us as well, hey, it’s part of the adventure challenge of rogaining!

Yours,
The organising team

*We acknowledge the unbounded support of Stephen and Mrs Field of Blythe Valley. Even as he contemplated 200 cars parked up their homestead driveway (in lieu of a paddock) they undertook to continue to support whatever decision we took.