Primal Quest competitor killed by fallin g boulder

“Just came over the news. Australian adventure racer, Nygal A.... was killed when a 400 lb boulder fell on him during the Subaru Primal Quest.

Ouch!”

“That'll leave a trace.....!”

“Was he driving a Subaru?”

“It wasn't me - I swear!”

“Subaru Primal Quest Competitor Nigel Aylott Suffers Fatal Injury
September 22, 2004

Team AROC's Nigel Aylott. Photo by /Holmstrom Photography/Dan Campbell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2004

Rockport, Wash. -- Subaru Primal Quest LLC announces with great sadness that Team AROC member Nigel Aylott sustained fatal head injuries yesterday in an accident during the trekking/orienteering segment with his team.

The race was put on hold due to the accident. The future disposition of the race will be revealed at 6:00 p.m. PST today.

In an emergency incident meeting with race managers, the racers and witnesses reported that Nigel, a native of Australia, was struck by a very large rock. Team Montrail member John Jacoby sustained a leg laceration in the same incident, as AROC and Montrail were traveling closely together. Jacoby is not hospitalized and is in good condition.

The accident was reported immediately after it happened to race headquarters via satellite phone at 4:34 p.m. PST. Two helicopters were then dispatched to the site near Illabot West, with medical teams responding.

With the race on hold, all 56 teams have been recalled to the closest Transition Areas (TAs) on the course.

The Subaru Primal Quest is an adventure race of roughly 400 miles, with co-ed teams of four competing in multiple disciplines throughout the course, which began on Orcas Island, Washington on September 19th.

We will post information regularly on the web site, www.subaruprimalquest.com, as soon as additional details are available. For press comment and availability, please contact Gordon Wright at 306.367.2222, xt. 1020.

We deeply regret Nigel’s passing and wish to extend our most sincere condolences to his family, teammates and friends.

...from the Subaru Primal Quest website”

“wow, just goes to show, you never know whats gonna happen.”

“I guess if your name's Nigel or Nigal, you can expect a lot of stones being thrown your way.”

“If one is crushed by a 400lb boulder then how do they know he died of head injuries?”

“Wow, what a bunch of insensitive sociopaths.”

“LMFAO, good one bacpac.”

“We are being insensitive. Could someone post all deaths that have occured in the last 24hrs so we might pay our respects?”

“"#&%!$ happens". That's a shame though.

Are they working in teams, because I heard someone say they will go on in his name. What bull#&%!$, they want the money. Isn't there a lot of money involved in this thing. I haven't been following it.”

“4 person teams. Once you lose a teammate there is no official finish for the team and therefore no prize money. This is a small sport and comraderie and competition is high. They go on not for the money but to honor their teammate and his love of the sport. A similar response occured in the Raid Gaulioses when a woman drowned during one of the stages.”

“Money or not...it should still go on.

Very sorry this happened but why ruin it for everyone else. Two minutes of silence to pay your respects.....”

“The Subaru Primal Quest is returning to Orcas Island in an attempt to honor the memory of Team AROC member Nigel Aylott. The race restarted in a competitive format at 12:01 a.m. on September 23rd with a shortened course. Race directors worked closely with Nigel's family and teammates to determine the best course of action. (from the website)”

“what an insighful post LH.”

“that's a shame”

“birch, so I was wrong in this case. Though I still think they should have kept going in his memory.

I think his family said he would have wanted the team to go on. How do they know for sure? Maybe the guy would say I don't want another teamate to die. Okay, I know, he would have wanted them to go on or really he would have wanted them to do what they wanted to do actually.”

“If I were squashed by a boulder, I would want them to go home and not waste their time. Go home and mourn me, attend my funeral, and instead of sending flowers, donate money to the "Awareness of Boulders Fund".”

“I know I wouldn't want people to stop living because of me. I'm glad they went on with the race. To me, it seems like a very fitting way to show respect.”

“LH, if you worked as hard as those people do to get to the race and participate, getting gear, getting money and getting their bodies and their minds in shape you would go on. Everyone there is there for the love of the race and competition. To finish is the main goal.”

“Reminds me of a quote from the Outside story about that guy that had to cut his arm off (and worth remembering)
"geologic time includes now"”

“Sass, I understand what you are saying, but you never know if there is one in the bunch that would have liked to have been done with it because they can't win, and because they are too sad about this man losing his life.

Apparrently, if anyone did feel like that, they overcame that for themselves, the group and for the man's family.”

“Interesting post from another site about how well they took care of their mess.

For those of you not familiar with the area, imagine 400 people in an area that looks like this...
”

“Further developments.


"Throw me some more gear, we haven't crushed all the vegetation yet!"”

“That's a crying shame.

Usually there are stiff penalties for leaving garbage of any kind on the course. I haven't been in contact with an operation that big but the racers I know are all very cognizant of the environmental impact of our sport.”

“Sorry to hear the Subaru feels they can trash the environment for some silly race. Too bad people feel compelled to partake...”