Raid Ukatak

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Dogs, Kites and Scooters

Rob / 19.01.2003

As competitors from 18 teams gathered for the start of the 3rd Raid Ukatak, completed their skills testing (including an indoor ropes test in the ballroom of the Sofitel Hotel!) and prepared their extensive list of mandatory equipment the race organisers were preparing some surprises for them.

They’d already made it clear this year’s course would have less emphasis on cross-country skiing and more on snow shoeing and mountain biking. Past courses have favoured good skiers, and they wanted to allow teams who were not expert skiers a greater chance to do well. However, when the route was given out they found it covered six maps, with 15 transitions. There are several rope stages including rappelling and a Tyrolean traverse, and the major surprise was the addition of THREE new winter sports – dog-sledding, ski-scooters and para-skiing!

Those who get to the finish (and only 3 of 13 completed the whole course last year) will cross the line on dog sleds, a traditional way of getting around in the outback of Quebec. Before that though they will try out para-skiing on the frozen Saguenay River (that’s being towed along on skis behind kites) and use the ski-scooters to descent Mont-Édouard.

They start out from the port in Pointe-au-Pic at La Malbaie on Sunday at 11:00 am local time, then head out into the wilderness of the Charlevoix and up into the Saguenay Fjord region, which is new territory for the race. The leaders are expected to take just over 4 days to reach the finish at the ski resort of Mont Grands Fonds, but there is a shorter option for teams who are not fast enough to go the whole way and beat the cut-off at noon on Friday 24th. Natalie Pelland, co-director of the race said: \"Considering the extreme nature of the race, we know some teams won\'t finish the entire course. But they\'ll still have the satisfaction of knowing they attempted this incredible challenge.\"

The challenges are not just the new sports and the extreme endurance, many racers will be coping with conditions entirely new to them, some of them have never competed in a winter race before. They’ll also be carrying more than ever before, including a bivouac tent and cooking equipment, which are part of the mandatory safety gear. Two team members must be certified in winter survival and they need enough equipment to keep them alive if they are forced to stop in extreme sub-zero conditions. That’s only for emergencies of course – they plan to keep moving and go as fast as possible by ski, snow shoe, rope, bike, kite, scooter and dog team to the finish!See All Event Posts