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AN AUDACIOUS ARCTIC ADVENTURE

AN AUDACIOUS
ARCTICADVENTURE
The 2020 Alcan 5000 Rally
TEXT AND IMAGES BY MERCEDES LILIENTHALAs darkness sets in, temperatures
plummet to -30 degrees. Blackness quickly surrounds everythingas crisp snow squeaks underheavy-duty boots. Your mind is weary, bodyhungry, as you slowly grab the first loadof gear from your rally rig. The rear door
creaks begrudgingly as you shut it andtrudge your way into warmth.
The lack of sleep and constant concentration sears deep into your body. You’re here
in the middle of the frozen Arctic tundra.
You’re here to challenge yourself and yourvehicle beyond anything you’ve ever done
before. Almost hitting a wolf on the Dempster Highway, winching your rally rig out of asnowdrift at the Arctic Circle, and narrowly
being sideswiped on the Dalton Highway byan oncoming big rig—these were just a few
of the hair-raising moments we faced during
our Arctic adventure. This was the 2020
Alcan 5000 Rally.

J U LY/A U G U S T 2 0 2 0

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AN AUDACIOUS ARCTIC ADVENTURE“OUR LITTLE PAJERO WENT FROM THE ONE THATPOSSIBLY COULD TO ONE THAT DID. WE STAYED ON
ROUTE FOR ALL TSDS, FINISHED THE RALLY STRONG,
AND COMPLETED ALL EXTREME CONTROLS.”

This event showcased extreme weather conditions, long hours of navigation, and driving
over ice- and snow-covered roads, as well
as body damage and pitted windshields.
Additionally, several time-speed-distance(TSD) sub-rallies were held within the maincompetition—all while covering over 5,120
miles of remote terrain within 10 days.

2020 Alcan 5000 Rally

A bucket list item,driving 146 miles ofa legitimate ice roadto get from Inuvik,
NWT, to Aklavik,NWT, and back.

Words can’t describe the pastel
beauty of an Arcticsunrise.

My husband, Andy, and I were one of nearly
40 teams from across the country vying for
the ultimate adventure of snow, ice, andbitter cold. Vehicles of all shapes, sizes, andabilities showed up to rally. Mini Coopers,
Subarus, Porsches, Toyotas, and even Jeeps
came out to play. A few unique and oddballrigs showed up as well: a ’73 Ford Capri, an’88 BMW 325ix, and also two Mitsubishis(one of which was our ’91 JDM diesel-powered Pajero 4x4). Each was outfitted withthree-peak-rated or winter tires, extra fuel,emergency gear, and auxiliary lights.
This year’s Alcan 5000 Rally started in Kirkland, Washington, and wound its way aroundremote villages, traveling due north throughall of Canada (British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and the Northwest Territories). Ralliers
then reached Inuvik, a small city near thetop of the world. Then, we dipped south toTREADMAGAZINE.COM

J U LY/A U G U S T 2 0 2 0Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory,over to Fairbanks, Alaska, and finished inAnchorage, where entrants enjoyed theceremonial start of the 48th annual Iditarod
dog sled races. Additionally, rally competitors could even partake in a fun and festivepre-Iditarod race called the Running of theReindeer (Garrett Arendt from Team 40 did).
Costumes and belly laughs were abundant, asrandom reindeer scampered through runningcontestants.

The Running ofthe Reindeer took
place to start offthe Iditarod race inAnchorage, Alaska.

As each day of the Alcan 5000 progressed,
the daily grind from normal life became a
distant shadow in the night. Gone were thedays of work emails and house chores. Here
were the days of variety, extreme challenges,and amazing rewards. Teams were waking up
before dawn, suiting up with several layers ofclothing, and heading out to rally the unknown.
Even though our Pajero was slow, we
completed all optional trips dubbed “extremecontrols.” These included tricky treks fromInuvik to Tuktoyaktuk and the Arctic Ocean,from Fairbanks north to Coldfoot—driving
500 miles on your day off just to get fueland turn around—and 146 miles via alegitimate ice road to get to the sleepy townof Aklavik, Northwest Territories, and back.
Participants completing all extreme controls
were awarded the Go Farther accolade.
Established in 1984, the Alcan 5000 Rally
is held every other year, switching seasons(summer, winter, summer, and so on). Even
though this road rally started over 30 years
ago, it’s little known, yet one heck of a difficult competition. Different from races, roadrallies, or TSD, competitions are typicallymandated to run at or below posted speed
limits and are held on open public roads.
No racing nor carelessness found here—oryou’ll be booted from the event.

Arctic Animals
In addition to our four-wheeled companions
and two-legged, sometimes kooky, rally personalities, an abundance of wildlife accompanied our adventure. A herd of big-horn sheep
grazed in a valley near Summit Lake (beingAlaska Highway’s highest area of elevation).
Dozens of wood bison pushed snow asidewith their muzzles to feed on morsels below.
Moose were everywhere. Thankfully wedidn’t see a moose in the road right before

It was a huge
milestone to arriveat 66°33’55”N136°18’26”W on theDempster Highway
in Yukon, Canada, tosee the first Arctic
Circle sign.

The 48th annual
Iditarod dog sledraces was an exciting experience towatch.

Bucket
List Items
We achieved several life-longbucket list items during the rally:
1. Rallying successfully together
as a married couple
2. Driving to Tuktoyaktuk and theArctic Ocean
3. Driving on an ice road
4. Driving the Alaska, Dempster,and Dalton highways
5. Seeing Alaska and the Iditarod
dog sled races
6. Successfully recreating Rod
Hall’s run to Inuvik, Northwest
Territory
7. Passing over the Arctic Circle
four times in two countries—inless than three days!

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AN AUDACIOUS ARCTIC ADVENTURE

Near blizzard conditions were seen on
the Dempster Highway, but thankfully
all the ralliers got
through before theroad closed.

Having proper
recovery gear andknowing how to use
it helped many get
un-stuck during thecompetition.

“THE LACK OF SLEEP AND CONSTANT CONCENTRATIONSEARS DEEP INTO YOUR BODY. YOU’RE HERE TO
CHALLENGE YOURSELF AND YOUR VEHICLE BEYOND
ANYTHING YOU’VE EVER DONE BEFORE.”

a white-out snowstorm, but Team 27, Johan
Cardenas and Joe Salvadori, did. “We werehaving trouble seeing when driving and allof the sudden ... boom! We saw a gigantic
moose walking very slowly on the roadside,”
Cardenas exclaimed. “I literally froze andcouldn’t stop staring at it; very exciting to seeit in real life!” A red fox, wild caribou, deer, awolf, and a martin were also witnessed—itwas challenging to keep our Pajero on theroad while watching for Arctic critters.

Pajero Power (or Lack Thereof)
Our Mitsubishi Pajero, aka the “Terra Tractor,” isn’t fast. Admittedly, it’s pretty slow

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at highway speeds so we mounted a 3-D
printed snail atop our rear spare tire for therally. Even though it lacked speed, it didn’tlack in reliability and personality. Hailing as
the only righthand drive of this year’s rally,
our Pajero proved solid, steady, and safe.
Armed with upgrades like dual Optima Red
Top batteries and Webasto Thermo Top Evo
programmable coolant heater, our vehicle
demonstrated daily starts that rivaled thoseof a normal day.
In addition to emergency triangles and road
flares, the Terra Tractor was equipped witha customized cold weather medical kit from
Chiron Remote, a robust Warn recovery
kit, along with a Rhino Rack Pioneer roof
platform that housed four Maxtrax recovery
boards and a DMOS shovel. A heavy-duty
ARB winch bumper and Warn M8-S winch
adorned the Pajero’s front end for recovery
opportunities, and Lightforce auxiliary lights
topped it off for improved visibility.
Along with vehicle recovery and starting in
Arctic conditions, ride comfort and stability
were also important. Our Pajero’s used FJ
Cruiser wheels were wrapped in studded
Nitto Exo Grappler tires—a great choicefor the Alcan 5000. Along with the Nittos,
Rancho RS9000XL shocks kept the Pajero
planted on uneven roadways, especially
Alaska’s “frost heave” highways. Additionally, Scheel-Mann Vario F heated seats kept
our bodies safe from major fatigue as weoccupied the Pajero for 11-15 hours eachday during the 10-day rally. Roam Adventure
Co. storage totes housed additional gear:
tools, spare parts, liquids, Mountain House
meals, an MSR diesel-powered stove, andhand warmers.
Fuel range was paramount. Teams wereencouraged to have a minimum range of
300 miles between fill-ups. Oregon City,Oregon’s Wanderlust Overland installed aLong Range America Automotive auxiliary tank for us. After the install, the Terra
Tractor boasted a mighty 500-mile range. As
other teams stopped to empty jerricans insub-zero temps, we simply pushed a button
to allow for 13-plus extra gallons to flow
into our main tank while driving.
Our little Pajero went from the one thatpossibly could, to one that DID! We stayed

AN AUDACIOUS ARCTIC ADVENTURE

HONORINGGREATFRIENDSPHOTO BY RICHARD HEELEY

This year’s rally was dedicated to notable racers and Alcan 5000 friends whomwere recently lost: Gary Bockman, Jim Elder, Greg Misbach, Paul Oskamp, Steve
Richards, Steve Skogmo, Ramey Stroud, and the legendary off-road racer RodHall, whose career included approximately 180 race wins with a streak of 35
back-to-back victories in the ’80s. Rod Hall was the only person to race 50 consecutive Baja 1000s. Whereas other teams have a 50 percent chance to finish arace, Hall’s percentage was 50 percent to win that race.
In 1986, Rod Hall competed in the summer Alcan 5000 Rally in a Mitsubishi-built
Dodge Raider, similar to the Mitsubishi Pajero we piloted in 2020. Hall’s team
was one of only five teams to reach Inuvik, Northwest Territories, that year.
Since Hall’s death in 2019, rally owner Jerry Hines asked if we’d compete in hismemory. Humbled, we said yes, and did our best to represent him. Day 5 wasdedicated to Hall’s run and after a brutally cold morning, we triumphed andaccomplished the same trek he did 30 years earlier.
Special memories were shared through thisold print photo from 1986 of Rod Hall and theDodge Raider on a ferry. Another Alcan 5000
competitor shared it with the author and herhusband, Andy, at the Anchorage banquet.
Photo by Rod Sorenson.

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on route for all TSDs, finished the rally
strong (and in one piece), and completed all
extreme controls successfully.
Other competitors fulfilled their dreams: seeing the Northern Lights and the Arctic Ocean,driving on an ice road, witnessing the soft
pastels of Arctic sunrises, reaching Tuktoyaktuk and the Arctic Circle for the first time,
understanding what -40 degrees actually
feels like, as well as experiencing Alaska andthe famous Iditarod dog sled races.
Life up north is very different. Vast expansesof nature surround giving, kind, hard-working people. The locals we encountered
were very friendly. From the carving artistat the 70 Mile House General Store to theAlaskans who helped us locate the Iditarodrace course, it was the people who truly
made this trip special. Between the rallygroup, the locals, and Andy, it was an epic
adventure I won’t soon forget.

AN AUDACIOUS ARCTIC ADVENTURETeam 30 getting
help with recovery
on the Dempster
Highway.

Teams drove
through mysterious
mountains alongroute north to Tuk.

“HERE WERE THE DAYS OFVARIETY, EXTREME CHALLENGES,AND AMAZING REWARDS.”