Alpine Quest and the Adventure Racing World Series
Expedition adventure racing has a global stage — and Alpine Quest is built to stand on it.
The Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) is the worldwide championship circuit of our sport. Founded in 2001, it brings together the best endurance athletes on the planet to race in some of the wildest and most beautiful landscapes on Earth, navigating non-stop, day and night, as teams of four. For anyone who races expedition adventure, the ARWS is the pinnacle — and Alpine Quest belongs in that conversation.
Here's how it all fits together, and what it means for the teams who line up in the Snowy Mountains.
How the World Series Works
The ARWS is organised into six global regions — Oceania, Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and South America — with a clear pathway that runs from your first taste of the sport all the way to a world title.
At the top sit the Qualifiers: full expedition races, typically five to seven days of continuous racing over 400 to 500 kilometres, where teams trek, mountain bike, paddle and navigate around the clock. The winners of these races earn an automatic, free entry to the Adventure Racing World Championship, and every team that competes earns points in the ARWS global rankings.
Beneath them are the Regional Series races — shorter, more accessible events of roughly 100 to 250 kilometres run over 12 to 36 hours. These are the gateway into the sport, where new teams cut their teeth and ranking points are won, and each year one of them hosts a Regional Championship.
It's a true ladder. Race a regional event, build your team and your skills, step up to an expedition, and chase a place on the start line of the World Championship.
The World Championship
Once a year, the best teams on Earth gather for the Adventure Racing World Championship — an eight-day, non-stop expedition of around 500 kilometres that crowns the world's finest adventure racers. Teams of four navigate a secret course on foot, by mountain bike and on the water, racing through day and night until they reach the finish.
The host nation changes every year, taking the world's best to a new corner of the planet each time. Recent and upcoming editions have been staged in Ecuador, Canada, Corsica in France, and Croatia — an extraordinary tour of the planet's wild places, and the dream destination for every serious expedition team.
Our Region: ARWS Oceania
Australia and New Zealand punch well above their weight in this world. The ARWS Oceania region is home to some of the best adventure racing anywhere, from women's stage races to mid-distance regional rounds to full expeditions.
Right on our doorstep, the X-Marathon Adventure Race on the Central Coast of New South Wales carries the ARWS Oceania Championship, and across the Tasman, New Zealand's South Island hosts a 500-kilometre, six-day expedition that serves as the region's World Championship Qualifier. This is the company Alpine Quest keeps: a 500-kilometre expedition across the highest country in Australia, designed to the same scale and standard as the best races in the region.
What This Means for Alpine Quest Teams
Alpine Quest isn't just another race on the calendar. It's a genuine expedition test — 500 kilometres across the roof of Australia, with trekking over the Main Range, mountain biking through the high country, and both white water and flat water paddling — built to belong in the world of expedition adventure racing.
And the stakes match the ambition. The winning team of Alpine Quest will earn a free entry to the Adventure Racing World Championship — a place on the start line of the biggest expedition race on the planet, racing against the best teams in the world. For an Australian team with global ambitions, there's no bigger prize, and no better launch pad than the Snowy Mountains.
This is your chance to test yourselves against the best in the country, in the most spectacular alpine terrain in Australia, with a path to the world stage on the line.
