I got the chance to visit DirtFish Rally School near Snoqualmie last week for an article I’m writing for The Seattle Times.  Rally racing is the X Games version of motor sports (think sliding around tight corners and flinging mud).  Bucket list adventurists who sign up for a class can experience what it’s like to drift around corners at impossible speeds.  At DirtFish, if you don’t get your car muddy, you’re doing something wrong.

Participants drive all-wheel-drive Subaru Impreza STIs that are highly modified with things like performance brakes, suspension and a roll cage.  Beginners practice sliding sideways on the gravel skid pad, and learn to “dance the car” on a slalom course before putting it all together in “The Boneyard.”

Rally is unique in that it uses two person teams.  Drivers are not allowed to drive the course before a race, so they must rely on a navigator with a computerized odometer and a detailed route book to communicate what lies ahead.

Many races are timed, and travel hundreds of miles over dirt, sand, gravel, ice and snow. Cars move between stages under their own power, so they must remain street legal.

DirtFish is one of only three rally schools in the nation (the others are in New Hampshire and Florida).  Classes range from 2 hour intro classes to three day intensives.  www.dirtfish.com