Hundreds take on 25th Emperor’s Challenge for final race along Mount Babcock route

TUMBLER RIDGE, B.C. — Hundreds of runners stepped up to scale a mountain near Tumbler Ridge for the 25th annual Emperor’s Challenge at the weekend. 

On Saturday, August 9th, people battled strong winds to race a nearly half-marathon distance – 20.3km – up Mount Babcock. That’s 2,637 feet of elevation over about 10.5km to the summit. 

More than 600 entrants avoided disqualification by completing the course in under five hours, and there was a gold medal up for grabs for anyone who finished in under two hours.

Only 22 people managed that feat, with Kris Swanson logging the fastest time of one hour, 32 minutes and 11 seconds.

Finishers between two and three hours secured a silver medal and those who crossed the finish line between three and five hours received a bronze medal. 

It was Amy Kaempf’s 16th time taking on the challenge. The first time, she did not yet know she was pregnant with her now-teenage son.  

“This one was tough,” the Dawson Creek local told Energeticcity.ca at the finish line, after she completed the race in two hours, five minutes and 49 seconds. 

“You can train and train, and then you show up, and whatever the temperature is or the weather is, that’s your hindrance. So today…you were fighting the wind. It was extremely windy.

“But you know, every time I show up I’m like, ‘I’m not, not doing this.’”

The race was organized by the Wolverine Nordic and Mountain Society, which develops all aspects of “people-powered outdoor recreation” in Tumbler Ridge, it says, including the creation, maintenance and improvement of trails for hiking and cross-country skiing in the area.

It is the non-profit’s main fundraising event. 

Another racer was 26-year-old Fort St. John physiotherapist Gabrielle Caillier, who achieved a bronze medal by clocking in a time of three hours, 12 minutes and 26 seconds. 

“The community here is so incredible,” she said. “All along, just the energy that people got was amazing.”

When asked if her work at Freedom Physiotherapy and the Fort St. John Child Development Centre helped her train for the challenge, she answered “for sure, yeah,” before joking, “and then treating my injuries afterwards!”

This was the 25th iteration of the event and the final time it will be held along its current Mount Babcock route due to mining operations expected to ramp up in the area in coming years.

The event was first held on Mount Roman in 1999.

Friends Sabrina Friesen and Corissa Culmer, both 29, travelled from Fairview, Alberta to take part. 

They both logged a time in the two-hour, 58-minute mark, which Culmer described as “squeezing in” for a silver medal.

Frisen added: “I didn’t think I would be able to make that so, yeah, I’m happy with my time.”

Culmer “loved the wind,” she said: “It’s really fun to just be out here, and I’m so glad it was not hot…there was so much to focus on, so many people and so much beautiful scenery.”

Alongside the main 20km event, there were also two-kilometre and four-kilometre options for children.

Sponsors included Conuma Resources, the District of Tumbler Ridge, Lake View Credit Union, Swamp Donkey Oilfield Services, Peace Country Rentals, Tumbler Ridge Community Forest, Capital Power, West Fraser, Ridge Rotors and Pattern Energy. 

Find out more about the Wolverine Nordic and Mountain Society on its website.