Expedition Alaska
A Sunny Alaska Day
Pyro / 26.06.2015
On a strangely warm, sunny Alaskan summer day, a tented village appeared in a parking area behind one of the accommodation buildings at the Princess McKinley Mountain Lodge. Crates, bags and boxes, piled up in the centre space, spilled their loads and burdens of kit out onto the gravel floor. The preparation has commenced, and the Expedition Alaska Adventure Race Circus has rolled into town.
The lodge, just north of Talkeetna, is the host venue for the race prep, mandatory training, gear checks, and the teams seem to be settling into their surroundings, in clear view of Denali itself, quite well. Some have been here for a few days, acclimatising to the mountains and taking in the sceenery. Others had rushed journeys, landing in Anchorage and diving straight onto the event shuttle bus for the 3hr drive north.
Not all have had smooth roads up to the Last Frontier either, bike problems look to have been rife. Team Tecnu seem to have had the roughest deal, with both Rob Preston and Kyle Peter on loaned rides after breakages of their own – Robs cracked after Geoquest, Kyle noticed what he termed 'a pretty fatal crack' in his frame as he was boxing it up to travel to the race. Team Boom Boom Pow were also scratching around for a spare derailleur hanger bolt for one of their bikes at gear check, a knock to the frame in transit had sheared one, and they sourcing a replacement was taking up costly time. Team Goals AR were apparently more prepared, perhaps a little bit too prepared. They'd arrived with, in their own words, “enough food for two expedition races. Accidentally...”
The two teams making use of the assisted Expedition Alaska Challenge, Southern Exposure and Everyday Adventures, had it easier – they just didn't bring bikes. They're here on what could be termed an extended adventure holiday, and are looking to push themselves and get a feel for what expedition AR is like. They've decided to take on the trek stages, ropes, packrafting and whitewater and as much of the rest as they can manage. They're going fully supported though, and the giant U-Haul truck acting as their support vehicle is decked out with beds, coolers and a nightstand. With that much support, even the youngest team member, at 14, seems relatively undaunted by the challenge ahead.
With kit check, crevasse rescue training (an early stage takes them up for a long glacier crossing), packraft training (on the swollen and muddy grey-brown Chulitna river) done, all paperwork and forms signed and handed in, the evening's entertainment involves a keg of local beer and some yarn-spinning by Mike Kloser and Roman Dial. Time to get out and enjoy the late evening sunshine – which Alaska is currently enjoying 21hrs of, plus unseasonably warm 30+ degree daytime temperatures. The teams are certainly in for a fairly unique experience (and I don't just mean the talk by Roman and Mike…)
SleepMonsters
