First Swedes Ever to Complete the Yukon Arctic Ultra

After 11 days on skis, David Erixon and Niclas Bentzer covered 700 km to reach Dawson City in the Yukon Arctic Ultra. They are the first Swedes ever to complete the race.

The ultra marathon Yukon Arctic Ultra is a long-distance race that stretches through the Canadian wilderness. Participants follow a trail and pass 10 checkpoints along the way. At each checkpoint, every participant’s physical condition is checked before they’re cleared to continue.

The race is contested at various distances, from marathon to 700 km, in the disciplines of foot, bike, or skis. Traveling on foot is the most common.

The Yukon Arctic Ultra calls itself the world’s coldest and toughest ultra marathon. In 2015, the race truly lived up to its reputation. For many participants, it became a fight for survival rather than a competition. During the first 24 hours of the race, more than 20 people dropped out due to cold that at times reached -48°C. Several participants had to be immediately transported to hospital for emergency treatment of frostbite and hypothermia.

David Erixon and Niclas Bentzer arrived at their final destination in Dawson City at 3:15 PM on Thursday afternoon (12:15 AM Friday Swedish time) after just over 11 days on the trail. Of the 31 total starters in the longest class, only 12 made it all the way to the finish. The duo came in at a shared eighth place, regardless of category. They thus became the first Swedes ever to complete the Yukon Arctic Ultra’s longest distance, the first team ever to complete the longest distance, and the third to ever successfully complete the race on skis. Daily stage lengths varied between 40 and 73 kilometers, and a typical day involved 10 to 15 hours on skis. They carried approximately 25 kg of equipment each, distributed between backpack and pulk sled.

– We’re of course incredibly proud to have accomplished this exactly as we wanted. With a focus on experiences and feeling good. But of course it’s an enormous challenge to ski so many hours every day in the extreme cold, says David Erixon.

Before this year’s edition, only one person had previously skied the entire distance, despite many having attempted it. Italian Enrico Ghidoni managed the feat in 2013 on his second attempt. First to cross the finish line on skis in 2015 was Frenchman Mathieu Bonnier. A man used to completing great challenges, having among other things rowed solo across the Atlantic and rowed his 120 kg boat Tico through the Northwest Passage, which is known as one of the world’s most challenging waters.

The Swedish duo’s participation and completion made an impression on everyone around them. On the Yukon Arctic Ultra’s official website, race director Robert Pollhammer states:

“Niclas and David have impressed us all with their perfect race strategy and of course we all loved their great humor and spirits. I should also mention that physically they seem to have returned from a short walk in a park. Of course they are tired but they do NOT look as if they have just been on xc-skis for more than 400 miles in conditions that some times were more than extreme. Congratulations!”

– This has been a great experience for us and we’re taking away loads of new experiences for future trips. We now have confirmation that we can handle really cold temperatures, concludes Niclas Bentzer.

Follow David and Niclas’s ski adventures at www.deluxeturer.se

Photo: David Erixon