Savoie Mont Blanc offers some of its most spectacular locations for the 1st edition

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In two weeks some 40 international teams will be gathering in Morzine, eager to discover a new race concept in one of the world's number 1 outdoor destinations.

Not only will teams discover a new race concept, that promises to be fast, technical and full of suspense until the last day in La Clusaz, but also an opportunity to compete in an awesome environment.

At this time of the year the valleys are green, the meadows in flower, the river's full of 'white water', and the peaks glistening in the sun. The region is a paradise for outdoor sports: hiking, biking, canoing, canyoneering, via ferrata, climbing, mountaineering..you name it - it's all possible!

The first challenge for the teams will be mountain biking around Morzine and Les Gets, the following day mountaineering is on the program, starting in Les Contamines / Montjoie at the foot of the Mont Blanc range. Than it's time to excel in white water sports, on the famous Isere river: canoing, white water swimming and kayak.

On Friday in Les Bauges, the mountain range between the Lakes of Bourget and Annecy, the competitors need to prove their rope skills on one of most challenging via ferratas in France, the day also includes canyoneering, climbing and caving.

The last day will start early. At midnight teams will take off on a long adventure running stage that will take them to some of the most spectacular vistas in the Aravis range, and arrive downtown La Clusaz.

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A local man caught in currents and stranded 11 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico is now safe after being rescued by a casino cruise ship, just minutes before dark Thursday night. The US Coast Guard says 49-year-old Michael Graham spent 54 hours bobbing in the water before being rescued.

Graham told 10 News he went canoeing early Tuesday, but got knocked out of his boat during a severe storm later in the afternoon. Unable to get back in the canoe and without his oars, the currents took him further and further out into the Gulf.

“I'd done said all me goodbyes to everybody,” Graham said as he was wheeled to an ambulance after being brought to shore by a Coast Guard boat.

It turns out the St. Petersburg resident was spotted by the Casino ship's engineer just before dark. Crew members positioned the ship to pluck Graham from the water. He was brought on board, suffering from hypothermia, dehydration, and a severe sun burn. A nurse on board helped stabilize Graham while others provided him with water, fruit and blankets.

Captain Tom Howell says Graham was brought on board around 8:20 PM. “My guess is he would probably be dead by morning if we didn't spot him,” Howell said.

Graham was taken to St. Anthony's hospital Friday morning and later released.

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A Georgia woman drowned Sunday in northwestern Montana after her canoe overturned on the South Fork of the Flathead River below Hungry Horse Dam.

Teresa Yawn, 43, was canoing with her fiance, Ian Joubert, both of Gainesville, Ga.

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“They were here visiting his parents” in Columbia Falls, said Sheriff’s Lt. Bob Provo, a deputy Flathead County coroner.

The couple launched a canoe in the river below the dam, just upstream from a section called “Devil’s Elbow.”
“They were in the water for about two minutes when their canoe flipped over,” Provo told the Daily Inter Lake newspaper in Kalispell. “They were unfamiliar with the area, so they went in on one of the most hazardous parts of the river without life jackets.”

Yawn and Joubert were able to swim to the west shore of the river, where there are no roads.

“They decided to swim back to the east shore to get back to where the road is,” Provo said. “She made it about halfway across and was exhausted and got swept down the river.”

Joubert dove back in and tried to save Yawn, but could not reach her.

Flathead sheriff’s dispatch got a 911 call at 3:05 p.m., reporting that a person was missing in the river.

Yawn and the canoe were swept through Devil’s Elbow, a torrential and tight turn in the river with rock walls on either shoreline. With a deceptively shallow appearance, the turn in the river drops through solid bedrock and is actually deeper than 40 feet in some places with harsh currents.

A North Valley Search and Rescue boat, launched at about 3:40 p.m., was able to recover Yawn’s body.

Two years ago, a man drowned in the same stretch of water.