For our 2016 MYAU we have a new local sponsor. Fraserway RV will support us with a winterized RV for our crew. And also friends and family from athletes can rent an RV at a special rate. A 23-foot Motorhome with built-in generator for up to 5 nights costs only CAD 699 + tax (additional nights possible at regular winter rates). This amazing offer includes: Preparation Fee, CDR Insurance ($750 deductible), Convenience Kits (bedding, dishes…) and 1000 free kilometers.

For more information please contact Denise at the Fraserway RV Whitehorse location at denise.s@fraserway.com. She is looking forward to hearing from you soon!

In 2016 we will work with SPOT satellite tracking devices again. As with any technology, there are pros and cons. But overall the positive aspects are more than the negative ones. The main reason we have SPOTs is for their 911 function. And thankfully, so far it has only been used a couple of times. The 911 button to us means there is an absolutely life threatening situation. This also means if there is no life threatening situation, IT CAN’T BE PUSHED! Please keep in mind that the cost for a 911 rescue operation can be enormous and it has to be paid by the athlete or his/her insurance. Obviously, if life is at risk it just has to be done. But if you are lost, tired, exhausted or have any other problem that a good rest and common sense can solve, do not push that botton. If a good rest is of no help, there is a button on the SPOT that is called exactly that: „Help“. It is a signal to the race organisation that you do have a problem and want to end your race then and there. But otherwise you are fine and will wait for us to come.

The third function that is great for us and all those following you at home, is the tracking function. If your SPOT has got good exposure to the sky it will send your position to us several times per hour. This will then be updated to a MYAU section on Trackleaders.com.

The cons are that of course sometimes people use the „Help“-button when they really could have solved the problem themselves. Or they decided to use that button rather than going back to a checkpoint. Mind you, if you can’t walk anymore, that’s fine. Push it. But being tired is no reason. Please just take a good rest and decide then. Because if we have to „rescue“ someone who is actually perfectly fine and at the same time something serious happens, it is bad to have resources bound.

Another con is that it’s technology and it does not always work. Usually this is due to not operating the SPOT correctly. But it also may be technical failure. It means we don’t get a signal and people back home start to worry. In most cases race headquarter knows what’s going on, e.g. because we got in-/out times of a checkpoint or just recently had contact with the athlete. Anyway, over all I would say the safety that SPOT brings to the race make it worth its while.

For 2016 the rental fee (tracking service, shipment and set-up included) is EUR 50/unit. If you bring your own SPOT, the set-up fee is EUR 20/unit. All those of you who bring their own SPOT and did not tell me that already, please email me by December 10th. If I have not heard from you I will assume you need a rental unit and I will order one for you.

Rescue Missions

Above I already talked a bit about SPOT and rescue. Now I just want to make sure everyone understands that no matter if it’s a „Help“ or a „911“ message, rescues in the winter wilderness of the Yukon will likely not be as quick as you would think. If a „Help“ message is sent or a checkpoint calls us and asks for transportation of an injured athleted from a remote checkpoint, it depends on various factors as to how fast we can be. If for example an athlete is in relative saftey at that checkpoint and the weather is extremely cold and it would be a risk to send a ski-doo guide, then it will take as long as there is no more risk.

In places like Dog Grave Lake or Ken Lake there may also be the need for air evacuation rather than ski-doo. Depending on the circumstances it can be safer and quicker for a plane to do the rescue there. PLEASE note that air rescue to 100% has to be paid by the athlete! Also, we try to avoid ski-doo rescue at night. So, if you push the help button in the middle of the night it is very likely that only in the morning you will see us arrive.

Even a 911 mission can take hours. And again, if the weather does not permit, there is no air rescue at all. That is also, why it is so important to have basic survival skills, enough food, warm clothes and the right sleeping system. I will not talk about survival skills or what to do or not to do in serious or dangerous situations. There is a lot of interesting literature on the market and pretty likely you have read at least one of these books already. Or you may even have had survival training. In any case, it’s good to be prepared and think about certain scenarios and what you will do.

The Montane Extreme Smock is one of the first pieces of clothing that our title sponsor put into the market more than 20 years ago. Since then it has proven in countless expeditions that it is perfect kit for extreme challenges in the cold. Over the years it of course has been improved and gotten even better. After the premiere for this year’s race, we are now offering it again to MYAU athletes.

Athletes can purchase the MYAU Extreme Smock for EUR 134.95 (RRP is EUR 164.95). Anybody interested in purchasing one, please send me an email to info@thegreatoutdoors.de.

Logo Patches

We also have great looking logo patches. There are these rectangular ones with different backgrounds selling for EUR 5.95/patch:

I also still have some of the “Wolf Logo Patches” left. These sell for EUR 2.95.

As with the smock, anybody interested please send me an email to info@thegreatoutdoors.de.

As the Official Fuel Supplier, Primus will supply the participants with either LPG gas cartridges or, for colder conditions, white gas. LPG Gas is not just any gas. Its the Primus Winter Gas which was first launched 1 year ago.

The secret of this product is the Vapor Mesh, a special absorbent paper on the inside of the LPG cartridge. Increasing the surface from where the liquid pressurized gas can evaporate, it can be used at temperatures down –22° C compared to –12° C with conventional canisters. Although we do not recommend LPG gas stoves for the MYAU, we are fully aware that some athletes prefer this kind of set-up and have used it successfully. The innovative Primus Winter Gas will make this type of stove more reliable and it is of course great that we can give it out free of charge. But don’t worry that only LPG cartridges will be for free. Everybody who uses a stove that runs on white gas will get Primus PowerFuel free of charge, too. Details as to when and where the fuel will be handed out will follow.

Rental Stove Kit

Thanks to Primus we can also offer rental stoves. It is not easy to get liquid fuel stoves so clean that they actually don’t smell anymore. So traveling to Whitehorse (or back home) can be bit of a headache: There is no guarantee that security check at the airport are not going to keep your stove anyway. Not having to buy a stove can also help keep down cost and decrease luggage weight and volume. We rent out the Primus OmniLite Ti. It is light, state of the art and expedition proven. The rental package will also include a Primus Eta pot 1.0 l and the Primus Powerlighter. The recommended retail price of this package is EUR 284.85 (stove = EUR 229.95, pot = EUR 24.95, lighter = EUR 19.95). The rental fee will be EUR 80.00. For more details on this and all other rental gear please check the rental section on this website.

Yesterday I updated race rule #13. The basic message of this rule remains the same. Anybody participating in the MYAU needs to have sufficient insurance cover for medical emergencies. The new part is concerning the fact that from now on we need to see paperwork that proofs the existence of this insurance cover. I do not particularly like it as it adds to the “bureaucracy” of the race. However, circumstances left me with no other choice. And since it is in each participant’s very own interest I hope it will not cause too many issues.

In general, it would be good if all athletes familiarize themselves with the race rules. Every now and then we have participants who seem totally unaware of some of the important information that is contained there. Needless to say that the consequence can be quite stressful – both for the participants and everyone involved in organising.

Our race in 2015 once again demonstrated that the low temperatures can bring the participants to their limit. -50 degrees Celsius caused a lot of problems. It it gets this cold you really want a perfect sleeping bag. That’s why I am very happy that Carinthia has joined the group of companies supporting the MYAU. The Austrian specialist company makes some of the world’s best products for the cold and the Carinthia ECC Expedition 1200 is now our official sleeping bag.

This product has got the unique DIScover (Dry Insulation System) feature. This system, designed and patented by Carinthia, ensures a quicker moisture transport and more effective way to get rid of humidity that would otherwise stay in the down – in this way you remain warmer and drier, especially during periods of extended use. Which is exactly what athletes in the 300 and 430 mile race are looking for. Overall it is probably the sleeping bag with the best warmth to weight ratio on the market. A fact that helps the management of space in any sled.

In general the specs of the ECC Expedition 1200 (size M) are great. 1,200 g CQ-Down™ snow goose down 95/5, 800 Cuin, trapezoidal baffle construction, differencial cut, pre-formed down lined thermo collar, zipper heat strip and overall great quality make this sleeping bag a perfect solution for the MYAU. The extreme temperature rating (DIN EN 13537) of – 65.2 degrees Celsius is more than our rules require. Its weight is around 1,890 g and the recommende retail price is EUR 1,149.99. Participants of the MYAU can rent the Carinthia ECC Expedition 1200 for EUR 250.00. For more details on Carinthia’s great range of products please visit www.carinthia.eu.

The Application & Waiver for the Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra 2016 is ready. Anybody interested in signing up please send me an email to info@thegreatoutdoors.de. Entry fees will go up after the end of May.

Any race veterans coming back please note that there have been some updates to the rules. Most importantly:

1. The temperature rating for the sleeping bags was changed from -35 to -45 degrees Celsius (extreme range).
2. There is now an expedition down jacket on the mandatory gear least with a minimum required down fill.
3. Participants will now have to bring their own meal (recommended is an expedition meal that only requires boiling water) to the Dog Grave Lake checkpoint.

Once again I want to make clear that the mandatory gear list only states some of the most vital gear. It is there to guarantee survival in extreme weather situations and/or emergencies. However, it does not include all gear and clothing that of course an athlete should have. Anybody who is in doubt about what else to take a long, please get in touch with me. I will soon also have an English recommended gear list with advice ready.

Checking mandatory gear

On our facebook group we are having a vote as to whether all mandatory gear should be checked prior to race start. In past years only the sleeping system and stove lighting have been checked. So far, the majority is in favor of a complete check. If you want to voice your opinion on this, please do so in our facebook group. I will keep an eye on this and make a final call later in the year.

All MYAU 2015 race photos taken by Yann Besrest-Butler are now available on www.yannbb.com for purchase. And there are a lot more photographs than what had been posted on arcticultra.de or in our facebook group. Yann worked very hard to be out on the trail as much as possible. It definitely was worth it. The photos are great! I hope you all enjoy them and buy plenty so Yann can come back in 2017 at the latest. Here is a message from him as to how the purchasing works:

“The official photos from Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra race 2015 are now online across 6 galleries. The galleries are ordered according to the photos that were taken between the checkpoints of each race distance. So if you did the 430 miler then there’s a chance you’ll be in all the galleries! If you would like to order digital downloads of your images, please make a note of the file number for these images (e.g. http://yannbb.com/430-miles/yau2015-4358) from the address bar and list them in the order form provided in the shop section of my site. If you choose the ‘ALL’ option, don’t worry about listing all your file numbers. List just one and I will source the rest. I hope this all makes sense. I wanted to make this a click and pay process but with 1,000 images to choose from my site had a panic attack! Hope you like the photos as I sure had fun taking them. Please go ahead and ‘LIKE’ my Facebook page YBB Photography as I’ll be posting a blog post of my turn events and favourite photos from the race. If you have any questions or require anything further, please do not hesitate to contact me (yann@yannbb.com). Cheers, Yann Besrest-Butler“

Another MYAU is history. It was a tough one. Temperatures of – 45 degrees Celsius, in some places on the trail possibly even down to – 50 degrees Celsius during the first couple of nights influenced the entire race. After all the warnings about frostbite and other cold related problems I was actually very happy to see all athletes arrive at Rivendell Farm in pretty good shape. That’s all except Ignatios who had a bad cold and Renzo who had stomach problems. Both scratched at Takhini Bridge.

The marathon of course was not easy. I believe a lot of water bladders froze at some point and running 42 k with little or no water is difficult. But you all made it!

There have been some discussions in our Facebook group if someone running with a dog should be ranked in a different category. Other races do that. As for the MYAU we will not differentiate. Our marathon is not sanctioned. As is the case with the ultra distances our marathon is more about being part of something very special. Records and categories are not a priority.

More ultra athletes scratched at Rivendell Farm. They did the right thing as continuing may have caused serious problems. But they had no frostbite. Most of the problems ocurred on the way to Dog Grave Lake and some after. It’s a long way to get there. It’s night and it’s still the beginning of the race when there has not been a lot of time to adapt to the cold. So, getting to Dog Grave Lake without any major issues was a big challenge and even at the checkpoint things were not easy. At that point quite a few more athletes had decided to call it a day. Some did so before they ran into more difficulties. Some already had frostbite. And as much as I know it can happen I always feel sorry for any participant who is faced with this problem. All the training, preparation and money spent and the race is over after the first night. I believe all athletes who did get frostbite will be fine. However, Michal’s case was and is pretty severe. I am sure most of you will have seen the newspaper articles or TV news on his participation. Our first Polish competitor has always kept his spirits high and one of his hands is out of danger. He will know about his other hand in about 4 weeks time. I wish him all the best for the continuing recovery!

Were it not for Michal’s case things were within the limits of what I would call „normal“ in these temperatures. I will make some changes to the rules, e.g. temperature rating of sleeping bags and other mandatory gear. However, one thing needs to be clear to all future athletes. And we have always said that. If temperatures do get that cold, this race is dangerous. We can check on everyone as much as we want. The crew can’t be there all the time. And 5 minutes and one mistake are enough to get frostbite.

I also want to congratulate all athletes who followed our instructions and dealt with any problems as they were happening or made the decision to scratch before the cold could harm them. And I want to thank the athletes who were so kind to help others!

Whilst it was sad to see so many athletes scratch, it was also amazing to see that a lot of athletes got through the cold quite well. Our 100 mile winner Kyle McCoy for example arrived in Braeburn and looked in very good shape. I would say he is a strong candiate for the 300 or 430 miles! Congratulations also to all other 100 mile finishers. You did great!

As the race progressed, temperatures were warming up considerably. At this point the worst was over but of course slightly softer snow, wind that made the trail disappear on the lakes, very tough trails on some river sections and simply the long distances still made the going tough. As a consequence some athletes who had gotten through the cold still needed to scratch, e.g. due to tendonitis, skin infections, flue, back or other problems. Therefore, the 300 mile distance only saw three finishers. First in was Neil Thubron (England) followed by Daniel Benhammou (US) and Ryan Shaw (England). Congratulations, guys!

On to the 430 miles. It was great to see how Derek Crowe from Whitehorse made sure his fellow competitor Enrico Ghidoni (Italy) got help solving the problem with his bike. Jonah from Icycle came all the way up from Whitehorse for a repair. Unfortunately, it did not last long and Enrico basically pushed his fat bike all the way from Dog Grave Lake to Carmacks. Once there he received a new wheel and then there was no more stopping him. As most of you will know Enrico had already finished the 430 miles as a runner and xc-skier. In these categories he placed 1st each time. And he did it again this year. But what makes Enrico such a special athlete to me is more about his attitude. No matter what difficulty he is facing he always is going strong and his favourite statement: „No problem“ just says it all. Derek came second and really enjoyed his experience. He also wrote a nice article for Yukon news and took some very nice pictures.

Up next were Hanno Heiss (Italy) and Peter Felten (Germany). Peter had overtaken Hanno before the finish line but decided to wait for the athlete from Pfalzen just bevor the finish banner and they crossed the finish line together. Hanno was our first athlete into Dawson on foot this year. It was great to see him get there as in Carmacks things were not looking so good for him. Dr. Mathias Steinach had helped him take care of his swolen calves and Hanno got better and better afterwards.

Pat Cooke-Rogers (England) came 5th with her fat bike. It was so great to see her finish! It also made her the first woman from Europe to ever reach Dawson.

Joel from Spain came 6th overall and 2nd in the foot category. He had bad feet for quite some time but did not let that get to him and just pushed on.

Mathieu Bonnier (France) ranked 7th overall and 1st in the xc-ski category.

To the sound of ABBA music we then celebrated the arrival of David Erixon and Niclas Bentzer, both from Sweden. They placed 8th overall and 2nd in the xc-ski category. They are also the only team ever to make it to Dawson. They looked amazingly fresh at the finish. We all were impressed with their perfect strategy and their steady performance. Like so many others they were a great example of just being postive all the time, too.

Bernhard Hasenbalg (Germany) came in as 10th overall and 3rd in the foot category. Followed by Jessie Thomson-Gladish (Canada) who placed 11th overall and was the first in the women’s foot category. With her was Julie Pritchard (England) who had skipped one stage and therefore did not get ranked. But I am sure had she not been sick for two days she would have made.

Last but certainly not least, Sean Brown (England). It was Sean’s 4th try at the 430 miles. We all knew that if he made it through the first two nights it would be his year. And he did get through the initial phase of the race. Not without pain and suffering. But Sean is tough and he had learnt from his mistakes. To me it was very special to see him reach his goal. Something I certainly will never forget.

I want to thank everybody who made the MYAU 2015 possible:

Our sponsors and local partners, the entire crew on the snowmobiles and at the checkpoints. You were all amazing and once again made this race a very special experience for all the athletes and myself.

Thank you also to Yann Besrest-Butler our race photographer and the journalists and media crews. Any athletes interested in purchasing photos from Yann, please email him at yann@yannbb.com.

To all those of you who are on Facebook. We used our Facebook group quite a lot for updates, sharing of photos and links. If you are on Facebook, please join our group there and you have immediate access to plenty of interesting information about this year’s MYAU.

As for the next edition, all interested athletes please keep in mind that in 2016 we do not have the 430 mile distance. It will be happening again in 2017. Entries for next year should be possible in about 2 weeks time. If you want to take on the challenge, please send me an email (info@thegreatoutdoors.de) and I will provide you with the paperwork.

At 13:52 today Bernhard Hasenbalg from Germany reached the finish line in Dawson City. He was all smiles of course and told me that several times he was close to pushing the help button due to stomach problems. But he didn’t. Instead he took longer rests and slowed down. And it worked. So great to see him here. Bernhard like so many finishers we see her has got a super positive attitude. Bernhard ranks 10th overall and 3rd in the foot category.

Next up were Jessie Thomson-Gladish and Julie Pritchard at 15:55. Like Peter they really impressed us with their big smiles whenever we met them on the trail or at checkpoints. Both looked like they could keep on going to Fairbanks without any problems. Jessie ranks 11th overall and she is the 1st in the women’s foot category. As a matter of fact there has only been one woman ever before making it all the way to Dawson.

Unfortunately, Julie had to skip the stage from Pelly Crossing to Pelly Farm. She had been sick for two days and consequently was slower than she had planned. But she recovered and decided to continue from Pelly Farm and do the rest of the race unranked with Jessie.

Gary and Josh from the crew left at about 14:00 to drive back to Whitehorse and they took Pat Cooke-Rogers with them. The entire rest of the crew and the athletes who are still here are now waiting for Sean Brown. Go Sean! Go!