500km across the Roof of Australia for teams of four
This is the highest, wildest expedition adventure race on the Australian mainland.
Alpine Quest sends teams a single, unbroken line across the Snowy Mountains — 500 kilometres of trekking, mountain biking, white water and lake paddling that climbs from the valley floor to the very summit of the continent and brings teams all the way home across the water. It is a one-way journey, not a loop. Every kilometre takes you somewhere new, while the country gets bigger, colder and more spectacular around you.
- Distance~500 km
- Time limit5 days
- DisciplinesTrek · MTB · White water · Lake paddle
- Race HQ & finishJindabyne NSW
- StartRemote, by bus
There is nowhere in Australia quite like the Kosciuszko high country, and Alpine Quest is built to make you earn every view it offers.
Jindabyne and the Start
Teams register in Jindabyne, the alpine town that serves as race headquarters, before being transported by bus to a remote start line deep in the ranges. From the gun there is only one way home — race the length of the Snowy Mountains and bring your team all the way back to the finish in Jindabyne. Event transport moves your gear between the major stages, so every leg is fresh terrain — never a retrace.
The Ride
The opening stages climb hard. Mountain bikes carry teams along the old Snowy Scheme fire trails and the flowing singletrack of the valleys, threading through snow gum forest toward the alpine resorts.
The Main Range
The trek across the Main Range is the heart of Alpine Quest. On foot, teams navigate the highest ground in the country: across the glacial cirques and tarns of the Main Range, past the historic alpine huts and the windswept saddles where the weather can turn from blue sky to white-out in minutes.
There is no easy route here. There is only the route you choose, and the strength to hold it together when the ground stops being kind.
The Water
Alpine Quest puts a paddle in your hands more than once.
White water
Fast, cold and loud, where the alpine rivers tumble out of the high country. Rapids and split-second decisions that test nerve as much as fitness. With plenty of snow melt in late October, expect the rivers to be running high and cold.
Flat water
Long crossings on open lakes where the surface looks deceptively calm and rarely stays that way. The wind comes off the high tops and leans on every stroke, and tired arms learn fast that flat water is its own kind of test.
Current and stillness, river and lake: both reward the teams who read the water best.
Alpine Quest. The Roof of Australia awaits.
The winning team of four is getting a free entry to the 2029 Alpine Quest
