Raid Ukatak
Keeping the Show on the Snow
Rob / 21.01.2003
Ukatak always has a very high attrition rate and before the second night of the race was over 3 more teams withdrew, leaving only 10 teams out on the course from 18 starters. The overnight departures were the all female team, ChiroTag.com from Canada, Team Eider of Vermont and the international team, Rage. Eider and ChiroTag both withdrew at the end of the first mountain biking stage, and Rage carried on into the night on the snowshoe/ski stage, but withdrew at PC4.It’s not surprising so many teams have pulled out so early in the race. Many of the local teams have limited experience of this kind of expedition race, and most of the visiting teams have never experienced the sort of cold or conditions they encounter in the Quebec winter. Only teams with the best winter and navigational skills can hope to get round, and only if their team dynamics and equipment are spot on. And only if they are lucky and make no mistakes. The race is totally unforgiving and any mistake, be it a lost glove, a broken snow shoe or a poor route choice can be impossible to recover from.
Overnight reports are that one team has had made a mistake, or had some bad luck, and were in need of assistance. With temperatures expected as low as –30C and a strong wind blowing an emergency call reported a racer had fallen in the River des Martres. It may be a fall on the ice rather than onto the river, which is likely to be frozen, but in such conditions any accident and immobilisation is dangerous and race staff were moving to the area and holding the teams who’d not reached that point yet.
Daylight will bring more news.
The Toughest Volunteers
Those going to help, and the race staff all around the course, are some of the most dedicated and toughest race volunteers in AR anywhere in the world. Setting off on a potential rescue at night in –30C conditions with severe windchill is a lot to ask of anyone.
And while the racers will aim to keep on the move to counter the cold, PC marshals may have to remain in the same place for long periods in the numbing cold. Many of the PC’s and transition areas have to be where there is some warmth and shelter, though one or two can be more remote. They are in resorts, camps or remote hunting lodges, sometimes in Parc huts or ranger stations. Last year one was in the kitchen of a private house and CP 5 this year is an unusual tented camp of teepees and yurts.
Just moving around the course to man the checkpoints is an adventure in itself and wouldn’t be possible without the extensive use of Skidoos, and riding on a Skidoo at 20mph into a headwind in –30C is a chilling experience! Raid Ukatak is an adventure for everyone involved, not just for the racers.See All Event Posts
