Adventures, challenges to be part of Questival
A new competition is coming to Las Vegas on Feb. 20 and 21 that is sort of a combination of “Survivor” and “Double Dare,” if those competitions were exclusively undertaken by kind-hearted, charitable people.
Questival has taken place twice in other cities, but this is the first time it has come here, and it’s the kickoff of the event’s national tour. The 24-hour event brings teams together to complete various tasks in categories ranging from eating a specific food to rappelling down a cliff.
“It’s a high-adventure scavenger hunt,” said the event’s local liaison, Danny Earl. “Participants have a list of high-adventure or funny or weird things they can do to get points.”
The event is put together by Cotopaxi, a year-old outdoor gear and apparel company that focuses on not just selling but on giving back. All the items it sells are connected to a cause, and a portion of each item’s cost goes to that cause. Buy a backpack and you might also be donating to help build a school in Ghana. Buy a water bottle and you might end up helping to bring clean water to a place where it isn’t readily available.
“Cotopaxi was born from the idea that a company should do as much good as possible in this world,” said Seth King, vice president of events for the business. “We try to not just provide quality products, but we also try to make sure everything is above board, and we do everything we can to create a healthy manufacturing environment.”
That commitment goes beyond simply establishing fair trade and safe manufacturing for the items it sells. The level of honesty provided by the company can be jarring for those accustomed to constant public relations spin.
“Questival is a marketing tool to make people aware of the brand,” King said. “It’s a marketing opportunity to get in different cities and introduce people to what we’re doing.”
The grand prize for Questival is an international trip where the winners get to perform charitable work.
“The first Questival was in Salt Lake City,” Earl said. “The winners went on a humanitarian trip to Peru. There are 24-, eight- and four-hour challenges. The eight-hour prize is a domestic trip. The four is just for fun.”
The Las Vegas winners will get to go on a trip through Central America.
The tasks aren’t all high-adventure. Mixed in with sleeping beneath the stars in February and hikes that participants verify by sending a photo from the apex of the trail to social media are activities such as volunteering at a homeless shelter or drinking a jar of pickle juice. Many of the events benefit local charities. The tasks were to be announced to participants five days before the challenge, which is set to begin at 5 p.m. Feb. 20.
“We want to get people to see things in their city and try things they haven’t done before,” King said. “For example, I’m from Utah, and I know a lot of people who haven’t ever been snow skiing. We want to challenge people to get out of their comfort zones.”
The time levels are staggered to end simultaneously Saturday night, when all the participants can gather at a free festival slated from 5 to 9 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Llama Lot, 900 E. Fremont St. The event is open to the public.
Prices for participation range from $20 to $45. More details are available at questival.cotopaxi.com.
Contact East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 702-380-4532.
