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NewsBookmark this page to see the latest information from the America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race. Updates will be posted here as they are released.
High Adventure! Photos and Videos from the 24th America's Challenge
October 8, 2021
The 24th America’s Challenge is in the history books – a history preserved on photos, video, and social media. Here is a compilation of interviews shot by our America’s Chall…
It's Official! Forden/Padelt Are America's Challenge Champions
October 7, 2021
Posted Thursday, October 7, 2021, 10 PM MDT (0400Z Friday, October 8) The data is parsed, the tracks are analyzed, the numbers are crunched, and while there were a few little tweaks, the resu…
Forden/Padelt Unofficial America's Challenge Winners
October 4, 2021
Posted Monday, October 4, 2:00 PM MDT (2000Z) Final race results will be released after pilot debriefings and analysis of the tracker data, but unofficially, the winners of the 24th America's…
Some Views from the Teams
October 4, 2021
Posted Monday, October 4, 0830 AM MDT (1430Z) While we wait to see whether Team 4 will prevail or Team 1 will slip into the America’s Challenge lead, we just couldn’t resist sharin…
Race Leaders Land in Texas; The Chase is On!
October 4, 2021
Posted Monday, October 4, 0830 AM MDT (1430Z) The America’s Challenge Command Center has received word that Team 4, Noah Forden and Bert Padelt, have landed safely at the airport in Big…
The Hare and the Tortoise
October 4, 2021
Posted Monday, October 4, 0545 AM MDT (1145Z) As we come towards the finish line of the 24th America’s Challenge distance race for gas balloons, it’s as simple as the old children&…
Team 2 Lands Safely Near NM/TX Border
October 3, 2021
Posted Sunday, October 3, 9:00 PM MDT (0300Z, Monday, October 4) The America’s Challenge Command Center has received word that Team 2, Mark Sullivan and Cheri White, has landed safely ne…
Decision Time! Teams Ponder Whether to Fly Through the Night
October 3, 2021
Posted Sunday, October 3, 5:00 PM MDT (2300Z) As sunset nears in Texas and New Mexico, the three America’s Challenge gas balloon teams still aloft have a big decision to make. Do they w…
America's Challenge Team 3 Lands Near Pecos
October 3, 2021
Posted Sunday, October 3, 10:15 AM MDT (1615Z) The America’s Challenge Command Center has been advised that Team 3, Brenda Cowlishaw and Brian Duncan, has landed safely near Rowe, NM, so…
A Long, Cold Night . . .
October 3, 2021
Posted Sunday, October 3, 6:00 AM MDT (1200Z) Definition of torment (gas balloon race style): Being at 15,000 feet, on oxygen, in the dark, with temperatures in the teens and twenties . . . an…
