Expedition Alaska
Expedition Underway
Pyro / 28.06.2015
And finally, they were off.
After 4 days of preparation, gear checks, training and briefings, the Expedition Alaska Adventure Race got underway at 10am from Eklutna Lake. In amongst a crowd of tourists, local ATV (quad bike) riders, supporters, well wishers and mosquitoes, the countdown commenced and the teams raced off across the shore and onto the lakeside trail for the haul up to to the Eklutna Glacier.
Team SORB (Special Operations Recruiting Battalion) lead the charge off the line, cutting through the grass between the photographers and film crew, and headed onto the trail first, though Columbia Vidaraid were the first to arrive at the first point of note (though not an official tracking checkpoint, listed in their routebooks as 'Pro1' was the pick-up point for their snowshoes, ice axes, ropes and other glacier-crossing hardware). They paused here briefly, and Team Tecnu took the lead in the final stretch up to the glacier itself.
The race crew have now moved and based themselves at the Alyeska ski resort, and will be waiting until somewhere around lunchtime tomorrow for the first teams to appear. At 6pm, the frontrunners all look to be moving well across the glacier, with Tecnu first to pass CP1, with Equilibre, Columbia Vidaraid, Yogaslackers and North Zealand Outdoors all stretched out over the mile behind them. The Personal Adventure Challenge teams of Everyday Adventures and Southern Exposure are bringing up the rear of the race, with the 2-person teams of Boom Boom Pow and Team Orion just ahead of them. For safety, the two duos will be teaming up for the ice leg itself so they're running close together for now.
For the rabid dot-watchers and tracker fans amongst you, tracking is now live at the race website - http://expeditionak.com/ - as is Trail Mail, which will be distributed to teams at transitions. From the relative comfort of the Alyeska ski lodge, it's a bright if slightly overcast day with intermittent drizzle and occasional squally showers. Up on the ice itself, conditions could probably be better, but could also be a lot, lot, worse.
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