E-mail A Friend Tell a friend about the information found on this page by sending them an e-mail.   Your Name: Your E-mail:   Type an e-mail address, then click add: Add a Personal Message: (Optional)

The Adventure Zone

Past stories Outward Bound Canada Let it snow Children of Winter Bruce Peninsula Mountain Bike Adventure Frontier Adventure Challenge MEC Big Chop Summer Paddle Series The Calgary Stampede Moraine for Life Adventure Relay Monarch Redux Rockies Bird Festival Arctic Winter Games Bolivia's Acotango Mount Kilimanjaro The Drambuie Pursuit Canadian Aboriginal Festival Mountain Mania Adventure racing Manitoulin Island Star Party Celebration of Light Algonquin Park Ottawa Race Weekend Maple syrup festival Cain's Quest Have Snowshoes, Will Travel Quebec Ice Hotel In the Eye of the Storm Arctic Aurora Borealis Canada's 'Deep South' Agawa Canyon Ablaze Mahone Bay Boat Festival Vancouver Island's rocky trail Wild Women Expeditions Eco-Endurance Summiting Canada Gourmet getaway Yukon Arctic Ultra Canadian Wind Riders Winnipeg's urban pathways Canoeist/artist Bill Mason Take a hike Whitewater kayaking The 2005 Sea Cavalcade Moonstruck - Adventure racers Delta Marsh Birding Festival Climb for conservation The Eagle has Landed Gold Rush Trail Whistler Film Festival Fit to ski Whyte Museum of the Rockies Cheakamus Challenge "Super Dave" Norona Ontario's French River region Cabot Trail Relay Race Point Pelee Festival of Birds Canmore Ice Climbing Festival Winterlude Yeti Mountain Snowshoe Series Golden Horseshoe Orienteering Club Banff Mountain Book Festival Haliburton Highlands Sand Sculpture Championships BC Mobility Society Bathtub Race Championship Bike Month Running off the road Birds of a Feather Grand Plans in Grand Cache Le Festival du Voyageur Raid Ukatak Around the World Alone November culinary adventure Mountains in Miniature In the Belly of the Dragon Raid the North Extreme!! Making a splash! Volunteer for nature Cycling for sustainability Working for Wildlife Whale of a time Canadian Death Race Mont Tremblant Skiing Nanook of the North Eco-challenge Climate Change Caravan Royal Regatta Unleash the hounds World Cup mountain bike race Yukon River Quest On top of the world Canada's World-Class Heritage Gliding across the silver screen Marathon Madness National Ski and Snowboard Week Christmas Bird Count Banff Festival Adventure racing Coast-to-coast trek Whitewater rodeos In praise of parks Watching Canada's wildlife Canada's Highest Peak Alaska Adventure Racer

Photo courtesy Yukon Arctic Ultra

When adventure racer Robert Polhammer founded the Yukon Arctic Ultra (YAU) event in 2003, he called it "the world's toughest and coldest human-powered winter ultra,' and the hardy souls who've trekked, skied or biked the YAU course in the frigid dead of winter agree — there's no race like it.

This year, the unstaged race sets out from downtown Whitehorse, Yukon, on the morning of February 11, following the established trail of the Yukon Quest sled dog race. Whatever their choice of distances — a one-day 26-mile marathon (42 km), a 100-mile (161 km) stretch to be knocked off in three days or 320 miles (515 km) that have to be put away in eight — racers must stick with their discipline throughout, be it feet, skis or bikes. Once en route with their supply-laden sled, they can grab some snacks and zzz's at a series of staffed checkpoints or bivouac trailside. Otherwise, they're on their own, although volunteers keep a close eye on all racers via snowmobile. When the average temperature is minus 25 degrees C but can plummet to minus 50, the risks are all too real.

Adventure racing is always part brain/part brawn, but in the unrelenting Far North, intelligent planning takes on additional heft. The sheer solitude and physical challenge of the long-distance course demands that participants also have deep psychic resources. After dropping out of the 320-kilometre race at the 100-mile mark last year, one disappointed competitor described the YAU as "a contest in purposeless suffering.' Predictably, he'll be back in 2006. "I have unfinished business in the Yukon,' he says.

"People will think that you are absolutely crazy if you decide to do this,' says Polhammer. "The way I look at it, people who have never faced such a challenge are a lot crazier.' With more than 75 racers signed up for 2006 edition (including the first ever ski-jor competitor), it looks like Polhammer has the inside track on what makes the adventure racer tick.