I was remember the first I heard of Expedition Alaska was an announcement about the same time as last years ARWC in when I was in Ecuador. Alaska has a wild reputation and while known as the 49th state of USA, it really seems like a different country. I didn’t know that much about Alaska but the promo pictures immediately caught my attention, especially the ones featuring kayaking past tidewater glaciers. Fortunately Team Tecnu also wanted to race, and with the racing joining the AR World Series there was another reason to race. 

The last few weeks had been very busy for me and the family. With the Geoquest 48hr Adventure race the weekend before I left, I needed to get home, work 4 x 12hr shifts and then head straight to the airport. Yeah i was just a little tired, but fortunately our boy Mattias handled the 30

photo credits

Kaori Funahashi

Pyro Armer

Chris Radcliffe

Aya Kubota

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Then perhaps you’d prefer to listen to Kyle’s review of the race with Randy Ericsson on TA1 podcast.

Race links

Expedition Alaska Website

Expedition Alaska Facebook

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Other race reports

2nd Place Team Yogaslackers

3rd Place Team Rogue

Team links

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Tecnu website

EXPEDITION ALASKA

TEAM TECNU RACE REPORT BY ROB PRESTON

Team (from left) Garret Bean, Rob Preston, Mari Chandler, Kyle Peter

hrs of travelling from Melbourne to Vancouver very well. We met my parents in Vancouver and then had a 7 day cruise up the Inside Passage route to Seward, Alaska. Wow what a great start to a holiday, good chance to catch up on sleep and start the pre-race fuelling with all-you-can-eat-for-7-days (though post-race cruise would have been even better for the eating!!). 

We picked up an RV in Anchorage, then headed north to Denali National Park. Mt Denali is the largest mountain in North America but it is often shrouded in cloud so viewing can be frustrating. Though to our surprise our viewing was obscured by smoke from bushfires not clouds! After a few days of wildlife viewing and a few walks and rides it was time to head to McKinley Princess Lodge to meet our teams and start the pre-race preparations. 

After 3 days of gear checking, glacier rescue training, first-aid and Bear safety presentations, and a bit of map studying, we were on the bus to Lake Eklutna for the start of a 7 day expedition to Seward, on the south of Kenai Peninsula. The first leg was 40mile Glacier traverse, but to get to the start of the Eklutna Glacier there was a 12mile run along the side of the lake before collecting our mountaineering gear that had been dropped off by the organisers. This route is a seldom used glacier/ski-touring trip normally taken over 3 days with some small huts along the way.

Course details (stolen from Liam of Rogue Adventure)

Stage 1  – The 40 mile Eklutna Traverse across a number of glaciers, including a “Prologue” run along Eklutna Lake.Stage 2 – A 22 mile packraft and hike from the town of Alyeska to Whittier, including a “bailout option” which would cut off the end of Stage 2, all of Stage 3 and the start of Stage 4.Stage 3 – a 32 mile ocean kayak on Prince William Sound.Stage 4 – a 55 mile packraft and hike over Portage Pass and up the Turnigan Arm.  This was followed by an 11 mile whitewater paddle on Six Mile Creek in a guided white water raft.  Stage 5  – a hike followed by a long 70mile MTB leg on the Resurrection trail. Stage 6  – a “32 mile” (actual distance was closer to 34km fortunately) flat water kayak on Kenai Lake.Stage 7, 8 and 9  – To be announced, but essentially loops of packrafting, hiking and biking with teams finishing up in SewardEpilouge  – Mt Marathon run.  Teams had to complete the Mt Marathon run course (3022 feet elevation in a 3 mile return run) the day after the race course closed to be considered ranked in their finish positions.

Stage 1 The pace from the gun was fast, with SORB (Special Ops Recruiting Battalion) on the front with Columbia and Tecnu marking each other and the other contenders slowly dropping off the front. I felt the weight of the pack was really dragging me down and I was just counting time to get onto the glacier where the pace was sure to slow down. We collected our gear, changed into boots and within 5mins were wading through a fast flowing literally ice cold river which of course resulted in wet socks for the next 22hours. This river crossing was a huge wake up for all teams about the nature of Alaskian terrain and what we were to expect in the next 7 days. Certainly having good experienced team mates, good gear and knowing how to look after each other was going to be the key to making the finish line. This first river pushed over many racers, caused the film crew the loss of several expensive cameras, and more inexperienced racers to turn back and find alternative routes. 

We want to take a moment to thank all of our wonderful partners without them all of our adventures most likely wouldn't happen.

We want to thank Tecnu, and Tecnu Extreme makers of an amazing lotion that rids poison sumac, oak, and ivy from our bodies and gear.

We want to thank Champion Systems for our killer new racing kits that makes us look sharp and fast out on the racecourse.

We want to thank Darn Tough Vermont socks for blister free socks that are unbelievable

Epic paddles for the best four piece breakdown carbon fiber paddles on the market.

Thank you to The Probar for killer nutrition,

Princeton Tec for making bomb proof, leak proof lights that survived the last frontier.

Thank you to Headsweats for great performance hats,

Julbo USA for killer Trail, Pipeline and Dust Sunnies.

Thank you to Skins for killer compression gear,

Kinesys for greaseless sunscreen,

Outthere USA packs by Mike Kloser which rock.

Thank you to Pacific Health Labs and Second surge gels and Endurox R4 for our secret weapons for nourishment.

Thank you for to Adventure Medical Kits for great breathable biivy sacks and medical kits for the back country.

Thank you to Survive Outdoor Longer for the killer backcountry gear.

Thank you to Leki for their awesome trekking poles.

And thank you so much to all of our friends and family for their amazing support as they follow our crazy adventures all over the globe. Without you guys, and the love you give us and the patience you show as we train all hours of the night, none of this would be possible. From all of us at Team Tecnu, we thank you. Adventure on!

Earring Doug.

Columbia Vidaraid and Yogaslackers were just in front, but took a route high to the left that looked very sketchy from our viewpoint in the bottom of the valley. But we made it to the glacier just in front and sat down on the ice edge to rope up. In what was the start of a bad day, Marco from Columbia decided the ice looked like a good spot to set up, tripped over Kyle while trying to get there, popped his dodgy shoulder out of its socket, and then asked Garret to put it back in! We soon headed up the steep start to the glacier with 4 teams all close behind. The icefall section was a very slow, technical maze as we picked out way through crevasse after crevasse which involved far more side-ways movement than forward. But after several hours we found our way onto the easier section and took a junction to the left valley. Mike Kloser was out on the course keeping an eye on the top teams and helping adjust the route to keep the following teams on safe(ish) path. Mike, while very skilled in this terrain, spend time roped up to our team (and later other teams) to keep himself safe and to grab some video for the film crew. Its not every day you get to tow a 4 time AR World Champ and legend of the sport up a glacier is it

Kyle! ;-)

As conditions changed we swapped our crampons for snowshoes. This was the first time I’d used snowshoes and after a few frustrating and embarrassing falls I eventually felt pretty comfortable and with Garret setting a smashing pace up front we pulled a 15min lead by CP1. Though it was always going to be hard to make big gaps on the glacier while we broke in the trail and as the GPS route we were following wasn’t idea and we had to make several diversions to find the CP’s or traverse around dangerous cliff passes. At the out and back detour to the hut for CP2 there were still 5 teams within about 15mins. After climbing to the top of Eklutna Glacier, then traversing Whiteout Glacier (both with great views to the east) we descended into Eagle Glacier. This

was again quite difficult with many crevasses and steep rocky scree moraines and at the bottom we were again swapping to crampons. Yogaslackers took a better route here and for a short while were were travelling parallel before we veered left and started the long climb up Eagle Glacier. It was getting close to midnight now and when daylight disappeared the moon came up and it was a magic time to be on the glacier. While the vertical climb of this section wasn’t great, there was a visual illusion that tricked you into thinking you were almost at the top saddle but it still took another couple of hours of walking to get there. 

The descent off the glacier involved a short section of snow, then a steep shoot canyon with lots of loose rock. It was dark enough to need a headlight for a few hours hear and I was glad to get through before any other teams came to shower us with loose debris. We had thought it was a bit strange we couldn’t see teams close behind as we climbed Eagle Glacier, but as history will record, Columbia and Yogaslackers were slowed by Marco’s 2nd fall, this time into a deep crevasse. Having just looked at some of the photos and hearing stories of the situation it is very relieving that Marco was rescued promptly, and with relatively small injuries. Unfortunately this was the end of Columbia race (though 3 members completed several other course sections) and we were disappointed not to have a good showdown against the world’s No1 ranked AR team.  The light had returned by the time we picked up CP3 and continued the steep descent to valley bottom. For a time there was a trail, but this disappeared and we had our first experience with Alaskian vegetation favourites Devils Club and Side Alder. Hopefully the following teams appreciated the many good trails we left them! The final part of the leg involved a ‘hand tram’ across a nice gorge and then pleasant trails into the ski resort Alyeska. It had been a tough but amazing first 23hrs and we took a few hours in

TA1 to fuel up and catch 90mins (poor quality) sleep before heading out again on foot. 

Stage 2- 22mile packraft and hike, dubbed the ‘Soul Crusher” Leg. We were fully loaded with another 24hrs food supply, packrafts, pfd’s, paddles, helmets, dry suits and the regular compulsory equipment. The first 12miles were on a nice walking trail along upper Winner Creek to a beautiful alpine pass before descending into the TwentyMile Valley. We caught up to a couple of local guys heading down to the river for a packraft trip. It was good to chat with them and learn about the popular packraft rivers, hikes and also the cost of medi-vac  or helicopter charter as they were both nurses with experience of mountain rescue. Our first packraft of the race would prove to be eventful, for us and all teams behind us. Whilst we walked the edge of the river for a while passing what we thought were the difficult sections, within 30secs of pushing off, Mari and I were capsized in a strainer and spluttering in freezing cold water. Fortunately I managed to keep my eye on Mari’s paddle as it continued down without us and with a bit more swimming we again had all our gear. This was a real eye opener and my confidence in packrafting was very low. This wasn’t the only scary moment, but we did get better at judging our ability and the river did widen and get a bit easier. 

Before long I made the call to pull out, pack up the boats and head overland to CP 7. There was a tough little pinch through relatively nice forest but with glacial moraine terrain there were many small ups and downs before we got down to the next valley. We had also stayed dressed in our drysuits which was interesting, and we would stay in them for the next 24hrs to the end of the leg. The next section of forest would start to contribute to the Soul Breaker aspect, with incredibly difficult Side Alder and moraine reducing movement down to less than 1 mile/hr. With

next to no features to work with I relocated when we reached the glacial river and we made our way to the lake. Back in the pacrrafts we had a photoshoot with me climbing a small iceberg, then heading to the CP7 location closer to the glacier face. Another short, difficult bushwack took us to CP8 on the edge of Carmen Lake. We fortunately had calm conditions for our paddle along the lake and it was one of those race locations you felt that perhaps no one had ever travelled to before. We packed up the rafts again for the last time in a while as we had a tough climb over a range then down to the ocean before a final packraft into the port town of Whittier. This was the classic crux leg of the race, with several route choices, all of which looked to have difficulties and certain unexpected obstacles. We chose the route straight up the centre ridge rather than spending more time in the vegetation choked valleys on either side. But first we had to overcome multiple beaver dams and a deep river that was braided into about 20 steams. This was extremely frustrating, physically and mentally draining and again involved some swims across fast flowing water. I did hear of other teams using their packrafts to ferry across some of these streams which must have been very tedious and probably no safer as there were no obvious crossing points. Checking the GPS data post-race I learned it too 2hours to travel just 1km to the base of the ridge.  One in the forest again we had a very steep, but technically easy climb up to 1500feet where the forest opened up, and so did the heavens. Rain started to get heavier and it was cold even in our dry suits. Travel along the ridge was quite fast and we could see the far saddle we wanted to

hit. The terrain looked tough, but passable and with no big cliffs to stop our progression. But as we started to contour along the right hand side of the ridge it turned out to be very difficult with ravines to cross that were out of sight and what looked to be a nice grassy slope was in fact very steep slippery tundra. Our arch-nemesis the Side Alder now became our friend as we could climb up and down using the branches like a ladder. At several places I thought we might get cliffed out altogether and some of the terrain we had crossed would be almost impossible to travel in the reverse direction. I had visions of pulling out the satellite phone and needing a

helicopter to get us off the mountain, certainly the first time I’ve considered this option. But we were able to climb back to the top of the ridge as the weather seriously disintegrated. After climbing right to the edge of the steep final summit on the ridge we were now traversing snow sections interspersed with rocky moraine. I was now very scared of the steep snow slopes as we had no safety gear to stop a fall and the consequences would be very serious. Slowly we crossed about 10 snow slopes, and climbed over or under many more. The visibility has dropped and we could no longer see any significant features to navigate by. I was now feeling extremely cold and was very close to suggesting we put up a tent, or even dig a snow cave. The pressure of navigating this terrain was breaking me and I had no idea where our saddle was. But we eventually found a large fully snow capped hill which we were able to recognise. Finally we could start descending over the ridge and towards the ocean. This descent was still very difficult was made easier as the visibility improved and we could weave through the cliff lines easier. Finally we were back into the forest for a monkey-like down climb to the valley floor and then through some moose marshes to another river.  We got back in the packrafts and we rewarded with a short but rollercoaster ride to the ocean. The leg finished with another final hour paddling into Whittier. It was nice and calm and good to have a bit of chat with the photographers who came out to visit in a boat. The leg had taken

33hours and while leaving us very tired it was just relief to get to TA2. I then had another two days worrying about my wife Kathryn who was racing with Aussie Team Rogue until I knew they were out of the mountains safely. Stage 3- Whittier kayak It would have been easy to take a sleep now, but the team rallied to complete the next 32mile kayak, this time in sea kayaks, with the carrot of having a good sleep later in night 3. This kayak was very beautiful but it did get dark for the last few hours which brought on the difficulty of keeping the team awake. A highlight was some of the wildlife including Bald Eagles and an otter, or a “Sea Beaver” as Kyle liked to call it. At 3pm we pulled back into TA2/3 and climbed into the back of a Uhaul truck for what is one of the best race sleeps I’ve ever had. In a land of little

darkness its surprising how good a fully dark truck with a few packing bags to lie on could be. After 3 hours the TA crew awoke us with the subtleness of an avalanche and the film crew proceeded to watch 4 drunk-like racers slowing pack for another 55miles of trekking and pack rafting. The only team to finish Leg 2 before we left was the 3 remaining members of Canadian Team Equilibrium and with no full teams in we knew we had a significant lead. 

Leg 4- The Queen stage 55mile trekking/packrafting Leg 4 had some great highlights including paddling past another glacier face, then some nice down river paddling, this time without the constant threat of strainers. As we left the river and entered Turnagain Bay, the tides didn’t favour us and to collect two CP’s required some portaging along the coast. This region has one of the biggest tidal variances anywhere in the world with up to 12m from high low. We also started passing some of the short-course teams along here as the two courses diverged. Another 6 hours or so of trekking up to Turnagain Pass in some relatively nice forest, and a new section of the Iditarod trail and just before midnight we were again preparing to packraft down Glacier creek and into the top of Six Mile Creek. I considered this one of the highlights of the course, the creek started quite narrow and required much concentration to weave in out out of the best lines before opening into the wider Six Mile Creek. From 12 to 2am we could still paddle without a headlight just relying on the faint reflective light and and the valley views were magnificent. The finish of this leg wasn’t a true TA, but  our gear tubs were there along with several teams awaiting the mornings first White Water Rafting trip. We caught up on some stories, ate some hot food before another good 3-4hrs of sleep. 

The Six Mile Creek is an iconic white water rafting trip that the race organiser Dave was keen to get as many teams through as possible. This meant teams arrived via several long/short courses and also dial-a-bus picking up teams and driving them to the start to make the final cut-off. After a briefing from the guides every racer had to complete a river swim to prove competency. We were pretty thankful to use the guiding companies dry suits rather than the ones we had been bushwacking in for the last two days. The rafting included 3 gorges with Grade 5 rapids and required some precision steering from our guide, Jon Brown from Crested Butte (note not Jon Brown the ARer also of Crested Butte). We managed to keep all members in the boat until the final challenge, to swim the last few hundred metres of the river. 

Leg 5- 70mile MTB. I’m not sure if there has ever been an Adventure race before where you didn’t hop on a bike until day 5. But first we had just a little trek to find the bikes in the next valley. When looking at the

maps pre-race, and listening to race directors descriptions you would think this was going to be a little stroll down to the local park along a bike path to pick up the bikes. But no it was another 4000ft climb through tough Side Alder. But just as everyone was at breaking point again we broke through the tree line to an amazing open alpine mountain range with more amazing views. It was warm at 2500ft, but then freezing at 3500ft with no visibility in the clouds, but again warmed up by the time we descended to the Bike drop. 

The bike leg was over Resurrection Pass, a popular walking/XC ski trail and historically important overland route to gold rush towns in Alaska. Everyone would agree this was one of the best AR bike legs we have done, with almost entirely single track. It was dark again soon after we passed the pass but were rewarded with the best blood moon I have ever seen. Again we finished this leg about 3am

and bedded down for a few hours in the back of another truck. 

Leg 6- Kenai Lake paddle. Another nice morning greeted us as we had a (not quite) 32mile paddle on a stunning lake surrounded by snow capped mountains. Despite the Z shaped orientation of the lake we had an increasingly strong headwind for the whole paddle. Again the sleepmonsters were kicking in but the snow drifts on the hills gave plenty of fuel entertaining hallucinations. 

TA 6 was the end of the ‘full course’ with several different options to reach the finish in Seward depending on how much time teams had before the deadline. For us Leg 7 involved emptying our gear tubs and seeing home much we could fit in our backpacks, and bikes, as we had bike gear, trekking gear, and again our packrafts. We must have looked like we were trying to head to the gold

fields with our compulsory 12months supply and mining equipment on our backs. We rode to Exit Glacier near Seward, about 25miles on sealed road. Dropped the bikes, hiked for 4hours to collect CP34 on the worlds dodgiest bridge across a ravine then back to Exit Glacier for a 8mile pack raft. While the wide, braided river looked quite tame while riding along it, I soon realised we were in for another action filled whitewater ride. I had only just clipped my backpack onto the boat when I got flung off the back of the boat. As I emerged from the water I could see Mari still paddling away oblivious to my absence! Fortunately I was floating as fast the boat and I quickly pulled myself back in. But the next hour I was again fighting severe cold and couldn’t wait to get off the river. It was a short walk to TA7 which was in the outskirts of Seward town. 

Stage 8a- Lost Lake MTB. While were weren’t overly tired we decided it was best to have 90min sleep in TA before heading out on the bikes again about midnight Day 6. It was a tough technical climb on the bikes to Lost Lake, and I found it pretty difficult to stay on the bike with heavy fatigue affecting my coordination. Darkness passed as we peaked the summit and there were again great views of surrounding mountains and cool singletrack though open glacial landscapes. The final 7miles of descent back into TA6 were great fun. Arriving at 6am there were lots of teams camped at TA6. We had a chat to race director about how much more course we could hope to finish on the final day and it was agreed we wouldn’t quite finish the full course having to skip a coasteering section.

After a very relaxing break we headed out on the final bike ride back to Seward via the old Iditarod dog-sledding trail. What looked easy on paper was anything but in reality. Very slow, technical riding with the every present chance of seeing a Brown Bear that that eluded us all race. The section along Bear Lake had bear scats every 20m, but still we didn’t find a bear. The last section of trail opened up to easier riding and our thoughts were on an easy ride into Seward. However there was one more sting in the course- 5 more freezing river crossings. It was with much relief we met the film crew near the end and knew the finish was near. As we rode into Seward and headed for the Itidarod Trail Zero marker we saw a street full of runners coming towards us before turning left and proceeding up the hill. It was 3.05pm and this was the start of the Mt Marathon running race, great timing! The finish CP was a bit of an anticlimax as we knew we couldn’t really relax until tomorrow’s finale- a repeat of the Mt Marathon course that would remain open for Expedition Alaska teams. I met my parents, then headed around to a bar on the main street to meet my wife Kathryn and Team Traces of Nuts who had recently finished. It was a great to watch the Mt Marathon race on TV then walk outside to watch Killian run across the finish line in record time. 

Night 7 involved a catch up with teams back at TA7 hearing battle stories. The team was a bit tired and slow to get moving on day 8, getting to the startline was our biggest challenge of the day. All teams regrouped for a 9am start of the 3000ft accent of Mt Marathon. It was a stunning day and the views from the top again finished an amazing week. It took us over 2hours to complete what Killian did in 41mins, but finish was all we needed to do to officially win the first Expedition Alaska. 

From a team, and personal perspective, we had a great performance, even if we were pushed only by the terrain and course rather than the teams behind. While this is only the 2nd time we have raced in this team roster we really have a great mix of skills and personalities to race at a high level but still have a laugh at ourselves along the way. Congratulations to all the teams who attempted this course, I hope you have taken home many good memories. And congratulations to 2nd placed Team Yogaslackers and 3rd place Aussies Team Rogue. 

Dave Adlard and his amazing team had provided everyone with a truly memorable week. I don’t think anyone will doubt that Dave’s hype of the difficulty of the terrain and course was not backed up in reality. I have read some discussion about whether racing across glaciers for 24+hrs is appropriate for Adventure Racing. I believe it was a brilliant leg for an ARWS level event, and the race organisation did a great job in training teams on glacier rescue and there was no doubt in our minds of the dangers of the course. The Soul Breaker leg provided just as much difficulty as the first leg, but in a more remote and less travelled area. A leg like this can be greatly

impacted by current weather, and snow conditions, and the quality of the maps and terrain made route choice a bit of a lottery. There was no way you would want to do this leg with a team you did not have total confidence in. But that’s what makes it one of the great legs I have completed in 10years of AR. I really hope Dave can find the time to organise more Expedition Alaska events as Alaska is an amazing place perfectly suited to expedition AR. So a big call out to racers to support future races and I’m putting my vote

in for AR World Championships 2017 in Alaska!