The page about the trail has received an update today. It now features two embedded Google maps of both loops that make up the Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra. This gives all of you interested in participating next winter the full details of where the trail will take you. This page now also contains the most important waypoints. However, please note, trail details may change. If this happens before the race we will update the page again and also talk about it in the race briefing.
Once again, Per and his team from Rimfrost Adventures will be hosting the MLAU training course. It will take place immediately before the race and thus enable athletes to do both the course and the MLAU in one trip. However, it is also possible to do the course in one winter and return to the race in another year.
Feedback to the course of 2022 has been excellent. Therefore, there will not be many changes to the original format. One difference to last winter will be that one indoor session will be done online prior to departure. That will allow for even more outdoor training time when the participants are in Sweden. Another change is the location. Rather than being in Kalix, which is quite a distance from Överkalix and Jockfall, this time the course will take place in Jockfall. For the athletes this is very convenient because Jockfall is also where any pre-race activity after the course takes place – see Race Info. So, no more transfers needed.
To book the training course, please get in touch with Per. For contact info and an overview of the course details, please check out the Training Course information on our website or go straight to the Rimfrost Adventures website.
Impressions of Rimfrost Adventure’s 2022 Arctic Survival Course – photographed by Linnéa Isaksson @Follow The Sun Photography.
It took a bit longer to set next year’s start date because there was a delay regarding confirmation of the timing for the Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra. Now that this is out of the way I am very happy to be able to announce that the Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra 2023 will start on March 5th in Överkalix. The distances offered will be 185 and 500 km. There could be some minor changes to the trail but by and large it will be the same as this year, i.e. a loop of 185 km to the northeast of Överkalix and a second loop of 325 km to the northwest of Överkalix. Time limits will be 4 days for the 185 km and 10 days for the 500 km race. Disciplines to choose from are foot, xc-ski and fatbike.
Entries are possible as of now. Our Application page features the entry fee in Euros. Please note that entry fees will go up after the end of June and again after the end of August. Anybody who wants to sign up, please send an email to info[a]thegreatoutdoors.de. Then you will get the necessary paperwork.
Updated information on the training course should be available soon.
It is here! The documentary of the very first Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra is now online 🙂
Thank you Silverbullet Film for the hard work while filming and the many hours of editing. A big thank you of course also to the European Regional Development Fund and our title sponsor Montane who helped financing this film project. Last but not least, once again, thank you to everyone else involved – all athletes, crew, sponsors and supporters.
Happy Easter!
So, this is it. My first winter of organising two Montane Arctic Ultras is coming to an end. What an experience it has been. After a challenging race in Canada – with very strict Pandemic rules and an „out and back“ race format that had to be changed twice due to overflow – it was time to travel to Överkalix. At this point in time some of the trails we were going to use were not in the best shape. A lot of fresh snow meant we had to re-groom large parts. Also, a lot of marking still needed to be done. Everybody joined in once more and thanks to the hard work by Robin Landin, Daniel Cedering, Henrik Drugge, Niclas Bentzer and countless helpers from the region’s snowmobile club, we got it done. The weather was on our side, too. Thus we had a fairly hard packed and really well marked trail on March 6th.
While we were busy with the trails, a bit further South, near Kalix, Per from Rimfrost Adventures and his team welcomed the participants of the very first MLAU training course. Temperatures at this point in time were fairly mild but the athletes got very valuable input during indoor sessions and plenty of time to train much needed outdoor skills, like preparing a camp, lighting stoves and wood fires.
Eventually, all athletes and crew arrived in Jockfall, with our amazing hosts Robin and Ann-Sofie Landin. Hans Landin could not be with us because of a recent surgery. He is on the way to recovery and the entire MLAU team is looking forward to also meeting Hans next winter!
Some athletes also opted for a stay at the Grand Arctic Resort in Överkalix and drove up to Jockfall for the pre-race briefing and dinner. Everybody felt good and anxious to get going.
Unfortunately, we had a couple of athletes who were unable to start. Needless to say that, this is an absolute horror scenario for any athlete. After all this time of preparation and the expense, not being able to have your adventure. On top of that, there is a war in Ukraine. It felt a bit selfish in those times to be 100% committed to a project like the MLAU but like I wrote in a facebook post as much as these are troubled times I think it’s important that we also enjoy life and have some normality. Hopefully, most agree with this way of looking at it.
Our start line at the Grand Arcitc Resort in Överkalix was absolutely amazing! In almost 20 years of organising extreme challenges I have never seen this many people checking out what we are doing. Therefore, a big thank you to all local visitors who created this great atmosphere. It seems many of them consequently have become addicted to „dot watching“ 😉
It was also nice that it was a bit colder again. – 15 degrees Celsius is not extreme but it’s cold enough to be challenging and also dangerous when making mistakes. The speed of the athletes was fast. Initially, I was afraid not many would see the spectacular Laxforsberget checkpoint in daylight but the opposite was the case. It was challenging to get up. However, many participants arrived way before the time we had anticipated.
Even tough some trails were soft on the surface, our mountain bikers were speeding right along. I don’t even want to think about what they would have done if the trails were rock solid … Even when we got fresh snow and later on warmer temperatures again, they were way ahead of the athletes on foot or ski. Their speed quickly meant that we were 1 day ahead of schedule and we needed to open a large number of checkpoints. A few of our volunteers were not able join us – due to Covid-19 they could not travel to Sweden – which meant that the work load for the crew at each checkpoint and at Race Headquarter was immense. Luck has it that I always get the chance to work with absolutely fantastic volunteers and they put in endless hours every day to make sure we could be there for all athletes when they needed us.
The checkpoints themselves were the perfect variety. Laxforsberget with an incredible setting, powered by Jockfall and a romantic cabin with a newly repaired door – thank you Sveaskog! Jockfall itself with the great restaurant facilites and cabins, Polar Circle Cabins #1 and #2, the Ice Hall and Sports Hall in Överkalix, the Folkets Hus in Lansjärv, the Snowmobile Club House in Leipojärvi, Hembygsförening in Nattavaara and the beautiful Rikti-Dokkas. A special mention to the really great cooks at Lansjärv who took perfect care of us there and the incredible members of the Snowmobile Club in Leipojärvi who also provided us with superb meals and most important of all, with the world’s greatest hospitality. We all felt really at home with you guys the minute we walked in the door.
The 185 km race was won by Michaela Senft from Switzerland. 2nd rank went to Olivier Vriesendorp (Netherlands) and the third overall finisher was Ben Clayton-Jolly (England). Other finishers were Katy Parrot (England), John Beel (England) and David Abratt (England). Some had to withdraw and some were not able to start, due to the Pandemic and other reasons.
In the 500 km race biker Stefan Zahlten had to scratch on day 2. His front tire sustained a damage before the race and it could only be replaced with a „summer“ tire that prevented him from riding over long distances. In the foot category we saw a super race between Tiberiu Useriu and Kevin Leahy. Initially others were part of this leading pack but towards the end these two were left. Behind them, all athletes had their highs and lows, too. The main obstacles were warm temperatures and the resulting softer trail surface. It meant that many km were done with snowshoes on. Hot temperatures and sweating during the day time also meant that the nights felt colder. Even tough it did not go below -10 for many nights, I have seen participants wearing rather thick layers at times. I think it was also the lack of sleep that made many of them more sensible to the cold. We have seen a few athletes push very hard initially, to cover maximum ground but they were clearly struggling with not sleeping enough. For some of them this resulted in missing some clearly marked turns. Thanks to the Fjällcom Tracking Page we caught them all before they went too far. Of course it still resulted in frustration for the respective athletes but all I can say to future participants is to remember this. It never pays of to go beyond a certain level of tiredness. Not only can you make serious mistakes but also at this stage progress is usually so slow that it makes much more sense to rest, eat and recover a bit before pushing on.
With Jeff Lau from Malaysia we had an athlete who seemed to go completely „the other way“. He took very long breaks and went fairly slow. Several times I thought he won’t make the finish line in time. Since we had the crew in place we let him continue and I am glad we did because he would reach Överkalix in time and can now call himself a MLAU finisher.
For our only skiers, Beate and Martin Klein, there were good days and bad days. Sometimes they were struggling with the frozen surface. Other times they were able to go the speed they had intended. In any case, they finished well within the time limit and judging by their smiles and positive feedback, they really enjoyed the adventure.
Jeroen Roodenburgh had to withdraw after reaching Lansjärv because he sustained an injury when he broke through soft snow going the wrong direction. Another athlete who could not continue was Paul Fosh from England. Jeroen took an earlier flight home and Paul, after some days rest, was able to cheer others on and experience a bit more of this beautiful part of Norbotten.
Everybody else was able finish. Which is amazing and exactly what I was hoping for, i.e. a race with significantly higher finishing rates than what we are used to in the Yukon. It was particularly great to welcome Russ Reinbolt (USA) and Kike Trull Maravilla (Spain) who both have had some tough races in Canada, at the 500 km finish line. I was able to talk most of the athletes and they all really enjoyed their time in and around Överkalix and Gällivare.
The overall 500 km winner was biker Florian Reiterberger (Germany). Followed by William Robertson (Scotland) who was very close to Florian most of the time but in the end had to admit defeat. The third athlete and first on foot to cross the finish line was Tibi (Romania). Similar to the guys on bike, Kevin Leahy (Ireland) was hot on his heels for many days but in the end Tibi he was unstoppable. However, Kevin has achieved something that won’t be easy to „copy“. He did this year’s 300 mile MYAU and finished 2nd overall and 1st on foot. Now he finished the MLAU 500 km on foot and is 2nd on foot. And most important of all, he is injury free. I certainly don’t recommend doing both races back to back but something tells me it’s not been the last time we have seen athletes attempt this.
It was great to see so many others do well, too. Kasper Vanherpe (Belgium/5th), Dennis Pemsel (Germany/6th), Laura Trentani (Italy/7th/1st woman), Joel Juht (Estonia/8th), Brian Bell (Ireland/9th), Victor Hugo Docarmo (Switzerland/10th), Glen Walker (England/11th), Judith Havers (Germany/12th/2nd woman), Luc Atgé (France/13th), José Luis Romero and Enrique Trull-Maravilla (both Spain/14th), Russ Reinbolt (USA/16th) Marios Giannakou (Greece/16th), Andrew Bond (England/18th), Beate and Martin Klein (Germany/19th and 1st xc-ski – which makes Beate also 3rd overall woman), Scott Donatelli (Canada/21st), Hervé Acosta (Switzerland/22nd) and Jeff Lau (Malaysia/23rd).
Congratulations to all of you!
I think for a first edition, we have done very well. As I said during the briefing March 5th, we made a few mistakes and it was not all perfect but we came pretty close and in some cases were able to improve immediately. Some other things are easy to fix for next winter. In general, I am happy to say that the feedback that has reached me so far has been excellent and I welcome any ideas that will help us get even better.
Time to say thank you to all who were instrumental in making the MLAU become a reality. Thank you Niclas Bentzer for suggesting Överkalix as a location for the race and for having been so involved in organising, together with Linnea Nilsson-Waara. You introduced me to many of the people who have now become an integral part of team MLAU. Thank you Robin, Ann-Sofie and Hans Landin from Jockfall. You have been amazing. You went out of your way to make sure we succeeded. Especially Robin, thank you for all the time before, during and after the race – preparing and marking trails, cooking, guiding and problem solving! Thank you to Daniel Cedering and Henrik Drugge for the many days of trail work and also for guiding during the race. Thank you Roger, Arnold, Roland, Hannes, Klas, Stig, Lars, Robert, Algirdas, Peter (Cedering), Peter (Isaksson), Oskar and Hilding for the excellent work as guides. Thank you to the Överkalix Kommun and especially Sara Söderberg for always being there with answers and solutions. Thank you Gällivare Kommun for supporting us, too.
Thank you to all our checkpoint locations and hosts. We all loved your hospitality and can’t wait to be back.
Thank you to the world’s best volunteer crew – Thank you Diane for finding and preparing this great crew and then being at Race Headquarter with Lucy (and Bodhi), working 24 hours a day to make sure we are all fine. Thank you Callum, Pat, Peter, Mike, Michi, Lauren, Emily, Alex, Chris, Sam, Eleanor and Alistair. You were incredibly good. It was an honor to work with you and I look forward to having you with us again!
Thank you to the visiting film/media teams and journalists from Ireland, Taiwan, Greece, Canada, France and the UK. Thank you to Silverbullet Film – who were in charge of providing much of the social media content you have seen. And who will soon release a documentary about the MLAU 2022! Thank you Linnéa Isaksson, our official MLAU photographer, for the many great images. Athletes who want to purchase photos, please contact Linnéa direct or through me – and make sure you respect the copyright.
Thank you to our many sponsors and supporters, Montane, SOTO, Kahtoola, Atlas Snowshoes, Sveaskog, Fjällcom, Jockfall, Explore Jockfall, Acapulka, Heart of Lapland, Swedish Lapland, Överkalix Kommun, Gällivare Kommun, Peter Mild Design, Reko, ICA, Grand Arctic Resort Överkalix, OutMeals AB and Nybergs.
Last and certainly not least – and I think I can speak on behalf of all involved, athletes and crew – thank you to our partners, husbands, wives and families for being so patient and supportive. Our „strange“ hobby takes up much time and resources and we could not do it without your help!
I need a bit of time to recover and catch up on work that has been piling up on my desk. So, I may need a little more time than I normally do to get everything ready for next winter. The first question to deal with will be the dates. This will depend on the Yukon Quest’s timing for their race and also possible time frames in general. In other words things may pretty much be the same as this year but there could also be changes, i.e. we start with Sweden and then go to Canada. I will let you all know as soon as possible and hope to have everything ready for taking entries from April or early May.
We managed to be very active on social media but there has been little times for detailed updates here on the website. So, if you want to catch up on what has been happening our instagram and facebook pages are the best places to check out.
I will try to sum up the first 5 days in this quick update.
It has been challenging. Both for the athletes and the crew. The great news is that we have our first winners. Also, the 185 km race is over. Not all athletes for this distance showed up or were able to finish. The overall winner in the “short” distance is Michaela Senft from Switzerland. Other finishers are Olivier Vriesendorp, Ben Clayton-Jolly, Katy Parrott, John Beel and David Abratt. Congratulations to you all! A big thank you to Roger Cook, Jo Bradshaw, Thomas Werner and Jonty Warneken for having tried.
Florian Reiterberger reached the 500 km finish line with his MAXX fat bike a few hours ago. William Robertson was hot on his heels for most of the race and he still is the one likely coming in 2nd rank. Both have been extremely strong and steady. Congratulations to Florian!
Some of the 500 km participants had to withdraw. At the moment that is Stefan Zahlten, Thanh Vu and Jeroen Roodenburg. Everybody else is still going.
Like Florian, William is on a bike. The first guys on foot are Kevin Leahy and Tiberiu Useriu. They are now in absolute competition mode and really trying to outsmart each other for the podium. I would not be surprised if at some point soon they will actually start running to see who gets tired first. Not saying they are not tired already … Most other athletes will be focused on finishing rather than a certain rank. All of them have their little struggles. We have seen a lot of blisters and very wet feet but we also have seen many of smiling faces.
The last couple of days have been very warm. Too warm really. As this means the trails are soft and the average speed they all can achieve is slower. In these conditions layer management remains important. With too many wet clothes, even – 5 degrees can become unpleasant. This is especially true with wet footwear and being exhausted.
We had an absolutely fantastic pre-race dinner last night at Jockfall and as if that was not enough, when we were done eating, all could see some really great Northern Lights.
Today then we all gathered for the start at the Grand Arctic Resort in Överkalix. It was simply amazing. The weather was great, everybody really happy and a lot of locals to come and cheer the athletes on. Thanks to Kaati’s Reindeers we even had some reindeers with us 🙂
It has been a very busy few weeks. Many people here in the Heart of Lapland have joined forces to make sure the participants of the first Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra (MLAU) will have an adventure of a lifetime. The regional snowmobile clubs and volunteers like Robin Landin, Henrik Drugge and Daniel Cedering have spent countless hours grooming and marking trails.
The weather has changed considerably. Not long ago it was – 25 degrees Celsius and all trees were covered in snow. Wind and warm temperatures have impacted the landscape. Now most trees are green. Luckily there is still plenty of snow on the ground. If it does get colder again for the race, the warm temperatures now are not so bad. They will help the trail to firm up where it was groomed. And it looks like it will get a bit colder again. However, we could still be in for soft trails during the day. Often that turns out to be more of a problem than extreme temperatures. All we an do now is hope for the best.
Diane Patrick, who will head the volunteer crew, arrived today and more crew will join us March 3rd and 4th. I was able to meet and talk to the school kids who did our beautiful signs and we have started to put these in place. Jockfall is ready and our hosts are looking forward to all the international guests. Also, the recently re-opened Grand Arctic Hotel in Överkalix will have some of our athletes. All the checkpoints are ready and can’t wait to be part of this.
In the meantime, 12 MLAU participants have started their training course with Rimfrost Adventures near Kalix. I dropped off some kit earlier today and they all were in a great mood, looking forward to the rest of the course and the race.
During the race you can follow the athletes on the SOS Satellite tracking map embedded here on the website. Also, we will keep you up to date via social media and news.
To all athletes: Please have a look at the schedule and make sure you are aware of the timing before the race.
Sveaskog has got more than 800 employees throughout Sweden and is owned by the Swedish state. This company owns 14% of the forest land in Sweden, making them the country’s largest forest owner. Sveaskog sells sawlogs, pulpwood and biofuel to customers, primarily in the pulp and paper and sawmill industries. They also works with land transactions and develops the forest as a venue for hunting, fishing and other nature-based experiences. Sveaskog is the Swedish market leader within forest regeneration and seedlings through Svenska Skogsplantor. The forest and its assets are Sveaskog’s core business. Conducting forestry operations and developing new business opportunities and applications for wood raw material, wood products and forest land are a major responsibility. Sustainable development permeates every aspect of Sveaskog’s business. A tree that is planted today will be harvested in 60 to 120 years. The growing forest and production of wood raw material make a substantial contribution to counteract climate change.
A lot of the trails we are using go through Sveaskog forests and we are lucky enough to be able to use some of their cabins as checkpoints, too. So, for the Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra it was a logical move to see if Sveaskog somehow wants to get involved. Thanks to Sveaskog’s strategic goal to develop forests also for activities, they were interested in finding out more and soon after decided to come on board. What’s great about the MLAU is that it helps develop and promote infrastructure that is there for anybody to use, particpants in our race, tourists and of course locals who enjoy the winter trails in the region – on foot, ski or snowmobile. Therefore, Sveaskog is happy to contribute with efforts that will go into trail breaking, maintenance and marking and maintenance of cabins. All absolutely vital things for the MLAU and great for all others who will venture out on this trail. Thank you Sveaskog!
There are more dangers to the winter than hypothermia and frostbite. It’s an obvious one! Yes, I am talking about slippery surfaces due to ice or snow. Right when I started organising the Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra, almost 20 years ago, I knew it’s something I should look into. I quickly came across Kahtoola, a US-based company that was started by climber Danny Giovale in 1996. He had slipped on snow while descending from a mountain in the Italian Dolomites. Afterwards, he searched for a packable traction device for flexible footwear that could be used in more versatile situations than a bulky, heavy mountaineering crampon. Back then, Danny did not find anything that convinced him and invented the first KTS Hiking Crampon for flexible boots. The rest is history.
Since then Kahtoola has invented their famous MICROspikes which have helped make mountain adventures a lot safer. This combination of a chain and spikes is light, compact and super easy to use on any running or hiking shoe, and makes them well suited for steep, challenging snow and ice.
Another great product for winter running are the Kahtoola EXOspikes. They excel on a wide variety of terrain and surfaces because of the innovative profile and spike solution they feature. Plus the EXOspikes are incredibly abrasion-resistant and you can leave them on if your run or hike takes you over areas with no snow or ice cover. From fall to spring, when there is a chance of coming onto slippery trails in the mountains where I live, I have got my EXOspikes with me.
For the MLAU you can use either. The MICROspikes will give you a bit more grip on the steep up- and downhills. If your plan is to mainly use your spikes for those situations and otherwise you are confident you will be fine without them, that’s the product you should go for. If you feel more comfortable with traction also in less steep terrain and you want to wear them as a precaution a lot of the time, then I recommend the EXOspikes. They will feel more natural when the surface is hard.
For more information about Kahtoola please check out their website kahtoola.com.
