Yukon Arctic Ultra 2007
Race Directors report February 21st
20:15 (local time) Andy Heading wins a shortened 460 mile race
With temperatures expected to go down to - 61 tomorrow and "warmer" temperatures only arriving by Sunday it was decided to stop the race. We also took into consideration the progress Tom, Pearse, Klaus and Joachim have made in the last 24 hours. They managed to do roughly 17 miles in that period of time.
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Before making the decision I talked to trail expert and Canadian Ranger John Mitchell and local pilot Dan Reynolds. For John Mitchell the glaciers on the trail were the main problem for evacuations north of Scroggie. That and the considerable elevation. Dan told me that in these kind of temperatures small planes only take off in life or death situations. We knew this before but I wanted it confirmed. So, considering all input and circumstances I would say it was the right decision.
This makes Andy Heading from England the winner of a race course that now measured 337 miles. It is very likely that Andy would have made it to the finish line in Dawson City in one piece and in time. However, I am also sure that he understands and accepts why race officials had to hold him at the checkpoint. And he already went into this last leg knowing this might happen as I personally informed him about our safety procedures for prolonged and extremely cold temperatures.
Klaus and Pearse were brought to Pelly Farm and I am told they are slowly warming up and happy. Tom was evacuated to our new checkpoint 6 km north of Scroggie. Joachim is the only one who still might be on the trail. However, it was Mike's plan to make sure he gets to the checkpoint safely, either on his own feet or on the back of a snow machine.
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