The third annual Guide Olympics took place under mostly cloudy skies, but with a thick sense of competition and camaraderie as guides raced against each other while tying knots, pumping up rafts and “saving” swimmers.

The event saw seven teams of six people take on both dry land and water challenges, all while most guides sipped beers and eagerly awaited the after-party. But despite the jovial atmosphere, these teams were there for bragging rights.

Adirondack River Outfitters sported two teams and book-ended the competition, taking first and seventh. Wild Water Outdoors Center took silver while North Creek Rafting Company earned the bronze. Adirondac Rafting Co. placed fourth, Square Eddy took fifth and Adirondack Adventures was sixth.

“This is the first year Square Eddy has had a team in the Olympics, so I was really happy to participate,” guide Peter Nightingale said. “Right now, there’s kind of a river community in North Creek so I’d think it would be great if this got bigger for the sake of it. But right now, it’s really kind of neat that all the companies that work together on the river are competing together right now and showing off our skills and seeing how everyone else does stuff.”

Brad Rafferty of Adirondac Rafting Company tosses a throw bag at a target Monday during the Guide Olympics in North Creek. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

Organizers said they’d like to see the event expand to include river guides from other northeastern states like Maine and Vermont.

The teams of six participated in a number of events, beginning at the Snow Bowl. First, teams had to use ropes and pulleys to move a small bus, then inflate a raft, carry it to a trailer and stack it on top while tying it down. From there, they moved on to a knot-tying competition. The first round ended with a throw-bag toss that culminated in a fellow guide falling into a dunk tank.

The second round saw the teams move to their natural habitat: the water. Teams had to swim around strainers — or water obstacles like dead trees — to an overturned raft. After righting the raft, the teams had to get two swimmers safely to shore before rescuing a third swimmer who was on the other side of a number of obstacles. Then the teams split into groups of three and rescued another pair of swimmers from shore.

In addition to the hopes for the future, organizers also said they’ve listened to competitors after last year’s Olympics fell a little short. They said due to some grueling challenges the first year, not many people competed last year.

“They wanted to have an event that focused on guides using their skills,” Stephanie Leonard, one of the organizers said. “Because they sometimes don’t get the chance to use these skills that they have to know everyday. And so it’s fun to kind of watch because last week you saw the guides practicing their knots and getting ready for the competition.

Ali West, of team Square Eddy, ties a knot during the fourth phase of the Guide Olympics competition Monday at the Ski Bowl in North Creek. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

“And so I think that’s exactly why they started it and it has really shown through that that’s exactly what they’re doing is getting them to hone in on their skills.”