As protesters continue to ambush the Olympic torch relay headed to Beijing, a team of athletes carried a flame down, up and over Squamish on Friday (April 25) in order to raise awareness for the conflict in Sudan's western province of Darfur.The UBC chapter of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) led two local legs of the Outdoor Adventure Relay by mountain biking from Diamond Head to the base of the Stawamus Chief, passing off to another group climbing the Grand Wall route to the top before passing off a makeshift torch (an altered flashlight) to hikers heading back down the back trails.Climber and organizer Jeremy Frimer said the relay, which started at the top of Whistler Mountain and ended in Vancouver on Sunday (April 27), is meant to showcase local outdoor opportunities while pointing out that Olympic hosts are responsible for being international human rights leaders."Everyone agrees genocide is wrong," said Frimer before the five downhill hikers finished their leg at the Chief. "It's really a question of priorities and whether it's a priority for Canada, for example, to take a leadership stance and prioritize an intervention."Ninety-five athletes took part in carrying the makeshift torch over nine days. Teams skied and snowboarded down Whistler Mountain, backcountry snowshoed and skied past Black Tusk to Garibaldi Lake, traversed the Garibaldi Neve passing Mt. Garibaldi before mountain biking to Squamish. After the climb and hike, teams continued the journey by cycling cross-country along the Indian River and paddling down Indian Arm. The relay closed with a critical mass cycle from Deep Cove to a rally at the Vancouver 2010 Countdown Clock.New Zealander Simon Buckett led four riders down popular trails including Cakewalk and the Powerhouse Plunge. He said the crisis in Darfur is a lot more prominent in the media back home than in Canada."There's a lack of news about it and as we've gone around trying to get people involved, the more we've done it the more disappointing it's been how little people know about this," he said after passing off to Frimer and three other climbers. "It really seems like a shame, so it was worthwhile to get involved and do something we love doing and that we can do, you know that sort of freedom, and hopefully raise some awareness."Frimer, who is a member of an international coalition of athletes called Team Darfur, said he hopes the relay and rally encourages people to write letters to Prime Minister Stephen Harper appealing for greater action in Darfur. This week, UN emergency relief coordinator John Holmes reported that as many as 300,000 people have died from war, disease and famine since the conflict began in 2003 when ethnic African rebels accused the Arab-dominated Sudan government of discrimination and took up arms.
