On September 29, the press conference for the "Red Bull 24 Hours" Plateau Challenge — the highest-altitude comprehensive mountain outdoor competition in China — was held in Kunming. The event will take place on October 25–26 in the Kunming Jiaozi Snow Mountain Scenic Area, with the highest elevation reaching 4,223 meters. A total of 25 teams from Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Nepal will participate in the race, where competitors will climb a total of 2,200 meters within a 24-hour period, experiencing the cycle of the four seasons — spring, summer, autumn, and winter — amid constantly changing temperatures and scenery.
Read more:
The "Red Bull 24 Hours Plateau Challenge" has become one of the few elite competitions due to its average altitude of over 3,500 meters, the greatest elevation variation, and a vertical drop of nearly 1,000 meters — all of which make the race highly challenging. Participants must tackle assessments in off-road capability, high-altitude mountaineering, mountain orienteering, teamwork, and wilderness camping (competitors must set up tents as a team and cook by building their own fires). They also face descents via cliffs and zip lines. Without solid outdoor skills and strong mental resilience, these tasks are insurmountable. In addition to physical endurance, the event tests experience and strategy. There are no route markers during the mountain crossings, and orienteering has always been a weak point for domestic athletes. Competitors must use GPS to locate 6–8 coordinate points before finishing the race. Of course, the challenge isn’t solely about enduring hardship. To boost the fun factor, the bike-run relay — where two teammates alternate between cycling and running — doesn’t use mountain bikes but tandem bicycles. One can imagine that synchronization, cooperation, and adaptability between the pair could be either the key to success or a source of humorous mishaps.
Statistics from the first two editions of the "Red Bull 24 Hours Plateau Challenge" show that fewer than 70% of teams completed the race within the stipulated 24 hours. Luo Zhouquan, the deputy chief judge, observed those teams and offered advice to future participants: "Lack of experience is the biggest factor in failure. Most teams are formed ad hoc, with poor coordination, varying fitness levels, and little to no prior exposure to outdoor skills such as cycling and rappelling. The legendary New Zealand outdoor sports couple, the Usheers, once described our competition as a professional-level event for amateurs, with increasing difficulty. We hope everyone comes prepared so they can truly enjoy the race." Currently, a quarter of the participants are professional athletes, which delights the organizers. "The 'Red Bull 24 Hours Plateau Challenge' is growing in difficulty and influence, attracting new participants every year," said Luo Zhouquan. "Our ultimate goal is to make it an international event."
In the previous edition, the legendary couple, the Usheers, were invited by Red Bull to visit Jiaozi Mountain. Before the race, they held training sessions on outdoor preparation, fitness, and techniques at the Yunnan Military Academy — a famous military school in modern Chinese history. Later, the couple teamed up with top Chinese outdoor athletes and won the championship with a time of 17 hours, 1 minute, and 11 seconds. After the race, Richard Ushear commented, "This was a one-of-a-kind racing experience in my life." His teammate, Irina, also noted, "Competing at altitudes above 4,000 meters, both running and cycling are physically grueling for every participant. The intensity is several times greater than competing at sea level." A year later, when asked by the media, the Usheers still fondly recalled the amusing moments from racing with their Chinese teammates: "They didn’t speak English, and we didn’t speak Chinese, so we had to agree on some gestures. Thumbs up meant everything was okay, thumbs down meant trouble." After the exhausting race, the couple went on to shoot the iconic Red Bull commercial they endorsed — a powerful advertisement that encapsulates the essence of the "Red Bull 24 Hours."