500km across the Roof of Australia for teams of four and two
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. Teams move continuously, day and night, navigating their own route between checkpoints with map and compass while the country gets bigger, colder and more spectacular around them.
There is nowhere in Australia quite like the Kosciuszko high country, and Alpine Quest is built to make you earn every view it offers.
THE JOURNEY
Teams gather 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.
The opening stages climb hard. Mountain bikes carry teams along the old Snowy Scheme fire trails and the flowing singletrack of valleys, threading through snow gum forest toward the alpine resorts.
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.
And then there is the water. Alpine Quest puts a paddle in your hands more than once. There is 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. And there is 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. There will be a lot of snow melt at the end of October..
THE FORMAT
Alpine Quest is a linear, unsupported (organisers with volunteers will transport all your gear) expedition race based out of Jindabyne. Teams register in town, are transported by bus to a remote start line deep in the ranges, then race one continuous course all the way back to the finish in Jindabyne. Event transport moves you and your gear between the major stages, so every leg is fresh terrain — never a retrace.
AQ Expedition — the complete 500km expedition race. The whole range, the whole journey, the full test. Teams of two and four have 5 days to finish, with the fastest expected to complete in around 3 to 4 days of near-continuous racing. There will be a shortcut for those who need to drop some kilometres if needed.
Other disciplines and surprises may be added at the organisers' discretion — a swim, an abseil, a strategic decision that splits the field. That's the nature of expedition racing, and it's the nature of this country.
CAN YOU DO IT?
Alpine Quest rewards preparation, navigation, teamwork and the kind of quiet resilience that only shows up at 2am on a high ridgeline in the cold. It will test your skills, your strategy and your bond as a team in ways a single-discipline event never can.
The mountains don't make it easy. That's exactly why you'll never forget it.
Alpine Quest. The Roof of Australia awaits.
The winning team of four is getting a free entry to the 2028 ARWS World Championship in New Zealand
