Segment Details
1) Ski/snowboard - yes, of course, you have to first climb the mountain, which, yes, might be the hardest part of the whole thing. The skiing conditions are iffy in mid summer with potentially huge suncups and potentially high snow levels which means a bit of hiking toward the bottom. Most people camp at Lunch Counter on South Climb the night before. On event day the hike to the summit is approx 3 hours. The event starts down from the summit around 10am. It usually takes a couple of hours to get to Cold Springs (parking area).
2) Mountain Bike - There are about 5 miles of fun, steep single track heading directly down from Cold Springs, ending with about 3 miles of dirt road until intersecting with the paved South Climb Road near the Trout Lake Big Tree.
3) Road Bike - The total length is about 16 miles. The first several miles are steep, winding, and lots of fun. The rest cruises through Trout Lake and on down to BZ Corners. It can get quite hot on this stretch but the thought of jumping in the White Salmon on the next segment keeps you going.
4) Kayak/raft - This combines the middle and lower stretch of the White Salmon with a paddle across Northwestern Lake (about 8 miles total). Difficulty is class 3+ at low water with Husum Falls as a class 4/4+ or portage.
5) Run - The run is about 3.5 miles. It starts at Condit Dam and follows a dirt road past the powerhouse. It then involves a steep descent to the river (it's important to carefully WALK this part). There is a river crossing involving a chilly swim just below the old bridge. About a mile of uphill (OK, so its not ALL downhill) running on the old Cook-Underwood Road takes you to the new Cook-Underwood Road for another half mile of downhill to the mouth.
6) Canoe/kayak/windsurf -Basically any way (non-motorized of course) you can get across the Columbia to the Event Site is legit. It'd be a tough swim though not completely out of the question. It's about 0.8 miles and slightly upstream.
Finish - The total time has ranged from about 6 hours to 9.5 hours (from the summit). It could probably be done a lot quicker for those wanting to push it a bit. There will be people really taking it easy and others wanting to move along more quickly - either approach is fine. Pizza and beer at the Event Site is the reward for the hard day!