Rock and Ice Ultra

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A Sparkler for a Wedding Ring

Rob Howard / 19.03.2007

At 17.03, Philip Mees, the winner of the Rock and Ice Ultra K-Rock 160 crossed the finish line at Yellowknife to win the title and a half carrot Ekati diamond as his prize.
And as his finance, Kyla, was waiting on the finish line and their wedding is in August it looks like the diamond is already accounted for!

Mees, his face and hair encrusted with ice, skied across the line just 4 minutes in front of local multi-sport racer Damien Panayi, who had given chase all day and was greeted by his family and excited children. But it was Mees who lead throughout and Panayi said, “Philip is a great skier, I’ve got something to aspire to if I want to race him again and catch him up.�

Mees is from Edmonton, and is a regular Classic ski racer, but this distance was a new and tough experience for him. “I’ve raced up to 3 hours or so, but these were 7 to 8 hour days, going hard all the time. I’ve never done anything like that before! That first day was so tough as I was feeling ill with flu symptoms and I was so close to giving up. Luckily I slept well that night.�

“When I got to Jennejohn last night they were still setting up the teepees, but there was one warm tent so it was OK. It was a colder, more uncomfortable night though. And then today Damien chased me all the way. He skied so well today.� [It was -40C last night, so cold even the beer bottles exploded. A disaster!]

The racer’s gear boxes had not yet arrived with their warm kit to put on (the result of a snow mobile breaking down), but the warm and cavernous tents of Matrix camp were beside the finish and everyone dived in there to get warm and celebrate in advance of the cultural evening which starts shortly.See All Event Posts