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A very modified four-wheel-drive Jeep tackles the Nemesis II obstacle along Patzcuaro s Revenge trail in the Robledos Mountains on Thursday. It was one of the about 200 off-road vehicles registered for this year s Chile Challenge, an event that pits man and machine against rocks, small cliffs and desert trails. To see more photos and a video of the rockcrawlers, visit www.lcsun-news.
For more information about the Chile Challenge, click here.

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LAS CRUCES - Buggies with super-sized tires, lifted bodies and extra-flexible suspensions crept one by one up major rock obstacles - sometimes with the help of a tow line - in a canyon northwest of Las Cruces.

About 25 vehicles wound their way Thursday along Patzcuaro's Revenge Trail, as part of the 21st Annual Chile Challenge. Others navigated the adjacent Rocotillo Rapids Trail.

Both are among the most extreme routes in the four-day Chile Challenge, an annual rock crawl event that draws participants from across the country. Some attend from Mexico. Organizers said about 200 vehicles registered this year.

Most trails are located in the Robledo Mountains.

The event is in its third day today. Officials said the Patzcuaro's Revenge Trail won't be run on Saturday, in an attempt to curtail attendance by the public.

Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443

 

 

Schedule

Today

• 7 to 9 a.m. - registration at Do-a Ana County fairgrounds

• 8 a.m. - Trail runs start, including at Patzcuaro's Revenge and Rocotillo Rapids, two of the most extreme routes in the Robledo Mountains.

• 5 to 9 p.m. - registration and vendor displays at fairgrounds

Saturday

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7 a.m. - Southwest Four Wheel Drive Association meeting

• 7 to 9 a.m. - registration at fairgrounds

• 8 a.m. - Trail runs start. Patzcuaro's Revenge Trail, the most popular route, located in Branson Canyon, won't be run to curtail attendance by the public. Rocotillo Rapids Trail will be run.

• 6 to 9 p.m. - event dinner at fairgrounds.

 

Speakout: Why do you participate in the Chile Challenge?

"It's about seeing the people's vehicles. It's about seeing what kind of stuff works off-road and what doesn't. It's about seeing different folks from out of state who you've never wheeled with before and old friends you haven't seen in five years. We love it."

- Bill Ritchie, 43, an anesthesiologist from Albuquerque, who has attended for about 10 years