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December 2021

robert
In NEWS ENGLISH

Fjällcom – our partner for GPS tracking and communication

In recent years, tracking athletes during a race and thus making the adventure more visible for us and everybody back home, has become a very important feature. The Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra was one of the first races to use trackers for its participants. So, there has been no doubt about doing the same for the Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra. Especially in a remote location and with a non-stop race mode, where the field of athlete spreads out over extremely long distances, getting regular updates on people’s positions is a real advantage. In addition to that, tracking devices usually allow athletes to send messages to Race Headquarter, like „help“ or „I am okay“. And in case of a life threatening emergency, a participant can push the 911 button and initiate search & rescue.

For a service this important any race needs a reliable partner. For Sweden we have found a company like this and we are very happy to have them involved. It’s Fjällcom, a company based in Sweden and Israel, serving travelers all over the world. Anybody who is going on an adventure can rent trackers and satellite phones with them. In addition Fjällcom offers their own map solution and also a mobile APP that complement their service. For the MLAU they are developping an extensive map/tracking solution that will be embedded on our landing page and it will also available to any other races interested in working with Fjällcom.

In the Yukon we have always used SPOT trackers. Due to the less extreme temperatures in Sweden we will try out Fjällcom’s Garmin inReach devices. This comes with the great advantage that athletes will have 2-way communication via satellite at their hands. That way, if there is an issue, the person with the inReach can contact us with an individual message and receive an answer. This is obviously a perfect when it comes to quick solutions and dealing with some of the emergency scenarios.

Athletes can either bring their own inReach or rent one via MLAU. All information about how we use the inReach and Fjällcom’s services can be found in our FAQ section.

robert
In NEWS ENGLISH

OutMeals – our official supplier of expedition meals

Studies conducted by Dr. med. Mathias Steinach from the Center for Space Medicine Berlin during the Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra have confirmed that athletes during an extreme winter race burn incredible amounts of calories. We also know that eating enough is a key factor in avoiding hypothermia and frostbite. Like in Canada, we will provide a hot meal at most checkpoints during the Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra. However, that’s by far not enough. All athletes need to complement this with additional meals. The most popular way for athletes to achieve this, is by taking along expediton meals. As you would want from any meal, these should be of high quality and tasty. Something to look forward to on the next big break. That’s what OutMeals stands for since 2014. This Swedish company sells different brands and their focus is business with the military. However, they also sell some consumer brands, amongst them Blå Band.

As our official supplier OutMeals enables us to offer MLAU athletes to order Blå Band “Dry” meals at a reduced price. In addition OutMeals will make a free of charge bulk shipment to Jockfall of any pre-ordered food. That helps participants who make use of this offer to reduce weight in their luggage and/or to gain room for other items they need to bring with them.

Thank you OutMeals!

robert
In NEWS ENGLISH

Cumulus Excuistic 1200 – the official MLAU sleeping bag

At any multi-day winter adventure the sleeping bag is a key piece of equipment. It will determine if you have a great night’s sleep or if you suffer. In really tough conditions it can even make the difference between life and death. So, when it comes to your choice of sleeping bag you do not want to compromise. At the same time, for most adventures weight and space are important factors. You want that durability and warmth but you also want to save as much weight and space as possible. Cumulus has got sleeping bags that have these traits. That is why I am super happy to announce that the Polish company Cumulus is now our official partner for sleeping bags.

Every product that is designed at Cumulus has to be as light as possible. They use advanced technical solutions, world-class fabrics and constantly improve their manufacturing techniques to achieve this goal. Cumulus was founded in 1989 by Zdzisław Wylężek who knew about the superb qualities of Polish down. From the beginning, Cumulus has closely cooperated with PERTEX®. Combining their lightweight fabrics with Polish down, Cumulus started the production of quality sleeping bags. By now they are an internationally recognized brand used by outdoor professionals all over the world. They completely control the production, which is fully based in Poland and meet highest ethical standards.

The official MLAU sleeping bag is the Excuistic 1200. Cumulus have created the Excuistic series with polar and winter alpine expeditions in mind. In designing them they used not only their vast experience in the production of down sleeping bags, but we also carefully listened to the needs of users. All Excuistic bags are filled with 900 Fill Power best Polish goose down and made with the reliable, water resistant outer fabric PERTEX® Quantum Pro 36 g/m². The Excuistic 1200 has as many as 53 down chambers, and their arrangement in two layers minimises the risk of creating cold spots. The side panels, running along the length of the sleeping bag, further reduce the possibility of any migration of down and help to stabilise it where the risk of disturbing efficient insulation is the highest. The advanced design of the hood and of the foot box gives extra protection to the most vulnerable parts of the body. The hood is adjusted by elastic cords, and the long pullers on the sliders are easy to grab with thick gloves. The sleeping bag has two internal mesh pockets, thanks to which it is easier to manage the pockets’ contents. The wider cut makes it possible to sleep in large expedition clothing and also to keep several items in it that most need protection from the cold. Cumulus have applied all these solutions while bearing in mind the need to keep the weight of the sleeping bag as low as possible, so that it still weighs only 2,145 g, of which 1,200 g is down.

Cumulus Excuistic 1200 Features:

  • Fill: 900 Fill Power ethically sourced Polish goose down
  • Shell: Pertex® Quantum Pro 36 g/m², 20-denier ripstop, DWR finish (100% Nylon)
  • Liner: Pertex® Quantum 29 g/m², 15-denier ripstop, DWR finish (100% Nylon)
  • 120 cm, 5 mm YKK® zip with 2 self-locking sliders
  • Zip slider with anti-snag system
  • Independently filled top and bottom of the sleeping bag
  • 2 down-filled zip insulating tubes
  • Additional anti-snag tapes on zip insulating tubes
  • Mummy shape
  • Anatomically shaped hood with an advanced, 3D construction
  • Advanced foot area construction for better protection
  • Construction: Double H-shaped chamber design
  • Differencial cut design
  • Separately filled front and bottom
  • 2 inner pockets for small items
  • Can be opened and ventilated
  • Can be combined with other Excuistic sleeping bags
  • Hang loops for storage and drying
  • Stuffsack and storage sack included

Cumulus Excuistic 1200 Specifications:

Down quality: 900 FP
Total weight: 1,920 g
Down weight: 1,200 g
Weight of unfilled sleeping bag: 720 g
Comfort temperature: -27 ℃
Limit temperature: -40 ℃
Extreme temperature: -62 ℃
Maximum user height: 192 cm
Length: 210 cm
Width (top/bottom): 87/60 cm
Stuffsack’s dimension (height/diameter): 30/29 cm
Stuff sack’s volume: 19 l
Number of down chambers: 53
robert
In NEWS ENGLISH

BICO tutorials mandatory for all MLAU athletes

Hypothermia and cold injuries are amongst the main concerns when participating in any outdoor activity in winter. So, knowing how to avoid these dangerns is very important for all MLAU athletes. Unfortunately, we also know that – even with perfect preparation – participants can suffer from both, hypothermia and frostbite. In that case it’s important to know the warning signs, different stages there are and how to treat any injuries. This not just goes for self-analysis but also for a scenario where an athletes comes across a fellow competitor who is in trouble. When this happens, knowing how to help can safe someone’s life.

Therefore, I am very happy that the “Baby It’s Cold Outside” course exists. It’s an awareness and educational program about hypothermia and cold injuries developed for professional Search and Rescue Responders. It’s also great for anybody venturing out into nature during the cold time of the year.

So, any athlete in the MLAU needs to do the BICO course. It’s online, it’s free of charge and it can be split up over several sessions if need be. At the end of the course the system issues a certificate. To all athletes, please email me your certificate once you have done the course. Personally, I suggest you do it just a couple of weeks before the race. That ways things will be fresh in your memory. If you already did the course earlier this year, I suggest you do it again. Unless you are 100% sure you still know the answers.

robert
In NEWS ENGLISH

Please meet Silverbullet Film

Whilst we will have the adventure of a lifetime, our friends, family and collegues only can follow us from at home. They will get to see some great photos and I already introduced you to Linnéa Isaksson, our local race photographer. Now I want you to get to know the company that will film the very first Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra. They will play a vital role for everyone not in the race who wants to witness what we are doing. And of course all athletes and crew members will enjoy seeing film material, too.

The company that will film the MLAU is Silverbullet Film. It’s a Swedish-based production company with extensive international experience, specializing in video production and digital distribution. They produce commercials, editorial content and digital concepts as well as communication strategies and creative thinking. They have not filmed any extreme winter ultras before. However, they have got plenty of experience filming in the outdoors during all seasons and they know how to tell a great story.

Our approach this time will be a different one to what we have done in the Yukon in the past. Rather than producing little features of 5 to 10 minutes for every second day of the race, we will try to have several shorter videos that we will share with you every day. After the MLAU is over, Silverbullet Film will then make a longer documentary for all of you to enjoy.

I can’t wait!

Here is a nice example of what Silverbullet Film can produce: