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Ready to get fired up?

The word is out... Arctic Man is a go! The course is open today through Thursday for practice with the race start planned for Friday, April 11th at 1:00PM. Saturday and Sunday are reserved as back-up days if the start has to be delayed because of weather conditions.

ArcticMan Photo Courtesy of Anchorage Daily News Wait... What IS Arctic Man? Well, it's the culmination of winter sports in Alaska - a weekend long party where adrenaline junkies, snowmachiners and skiiers/snowboarders come to together to, well, play in the snow. Held in the HooDoo Mountains, aka, "the middle of nowhere" Arctic Man turns the area around Summit Lake, near Paxson, Alaska into the 5th largest community in the state with nearly 17,000 temporary 'residents'.

An annual even held at Summit Lake, Alaska, Mile 196 Richardson Highway, near Paxson, AK. If you are into snowmachining, downhill skiing or extreme sports, Arctic Man is the place to be this weekend. Racers and spectators come from across the state to watch the one day race as well as spend the weekend riding through layers of fresh powder in some of the most incredible country known to man. what began as a total party weekend has morphed into a family event where folks of all ages can come and have a good time. The Alaska State Troopers will be on hand to keep things somewhat under control as well as the Alaska Air National Guard to provide EMS evacuations to Fairbanks via several Blackhawk helicopters that will be on standby should they be needed.

The Arctic Man Ski and Sno-Go Classic is certainly a one-of-a-kind event; The race goes like this: the skier/snowboarder starts at 5,800 ft. and then within two miles drops 1700 ft. into a canyon and meets up with their snowmachine partner. The skier grabs a towrope and the pair continues back uphill for upwards of two miles going anywhere from 70-90 mph. At the top of the second mountain, the pair separates and the skier plummets down another 1200 ft. to the finish line. Piece of cake!

The whole course covers a total of 5.5 Miles. The record speed to date for both sled and skier is 88.3 mph in 1999 by Johnny Martin on a Yamaha 600 pulling skier Petr Kakes. The Quickest overall time of 4:04.46 was set by Polaris rider, Tyson Johnson and skier, Sasha Gros in 2003. Have you got what it takes to be an Arctic Man?

For more information, visit ArcticMan.com. See you on the slopes!

Jesse & Kathy Clifton, better known as 'The Spouses' are full time Realtors serving Fairbanks Alaska buyers and sellers. They specialize in residential real estate; new and existing construction as well as undeveloped land in Fairbanks, North Pole, Ft. Wainwright, Eielson Air Force Base and Interior Alaska. Visit their website to review the fee market reports designed to keep you updated on the local Fairbanks Alaska real estate market. Have specific questions? Feel free to contact them anytime. They would love to hear from you.

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Posted by Fairbanks Real Estate Broker Jesse Clifton on 04/08/2008 02:09 PM

Comments (14)

jesse and kathy clifton, arcticman

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14 Comments on Ready to get fired up?

Wow, this looks like it would so much fun IF I were in Alaska! What beautiful pictures. I am assuming it is daylight there now?

04/08/2008 02:11 PM

by Mesa, Arizona Real Estate *** Teri Ellis, Broker, ABR,CRS,GRI,ePRO,MRE (Homes Arizona Real Estate LLC)

Wow....Looks quite interesting but not for me. I'm not a cold weather type of person and unfortunately to have snow, you have to have cold temperatures. Thanks for sharing. Let us know how you all do in the race.LOL

Sean Allen

04/08/2008 02:22 PM

by International Financing Solutions

Jesse & Kathy,

God bless you guys and Alaska!!! Nice video! Thanks, Fran

04/08/2008 04:49 PM

by Fran 'The Title Man' Gaspari Title Insurance-PA & NJ (Patriot Land Transfer, Inc.)

Jesse, You certainly live in a great place!!! Now is Kathy doing the pulling or the skiing? Ok so I'm trying to picture you holding on for dear life as Kathy drags you along at 90mph!!! Now that would make a great video! Get right to it .....OK?

04/08/2008 05:58 PM

by Bryant Tutas-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc

that looks like a super cool event. I love snowboarding and skiing. I have a friend that just moved to alaska for the military. If i make it up there, maybe I can plan a trip and go check out this huge event yall have..

04/08/2008 08:16 PM

by Christopher Watters, Realtor - Greater Austin Texas Area (Texas Ranch & Home Realty)

Ok - Cowabunga Dude!! Don't ever tell my husband about this - :)

04/08/2008 09:48 PM

by Jo Soss | Bremerton WA Real Estate (Skyline Properties, Inc.)

No sir. You are the fool that wants to ride that ride. I am staying in the motorhome.

04/09/2008 01:51 AM

by Kathy W. Clifton ~ Spouses Selling Houses (Jesse Clifton Real Estate)

Maybe I should just bring Tundra and Jade and buy a SLED.....they are sled dogs after all - and Jade's mother was the lead dog of a sled team in upstate NY.....

04/09/2008 03:43 AM

by Ruthmarie Hicks (Keller Williams Realty)

Wow Jesse, This looks as if it would be a blast! Too bad that I live so far away and am too damn old to do this.

04/09/2008 05:23 AM

by Michael Thornton - Nashville, TN area Home Inspector (Complete Home Inspections, Inc.)

Fun, fun, fun!!! This looks like a blast!

04/09/2008 08:11 AM

by Linda Scanlan ~Selling All of North Texas (Hall Team Homes)

Teri - We have tons of daylight now... It's not getting dark until almost 10. Pretty soon we won't be able to tell the difference between 4PM and 4AM. :)
Sean - We're just spectators... we watch the races then generally go with some friends to do a little non-extreme riding across the mountains.
Fran - Thank you, sir. God bless you as well. Good to see you.
Bryant - I'm trying to get Kathy to let me pull her behind the snowmachine this year but so far no luck... imagine that!
Christopher - We have it every year... there are literally anywhere from 14,000 - 17,000 people there every year. It's quite the event.
Jo - I'm going to email him a race form... you'll do the skiing while he pulls you, right?
Darlin' - You know you want to jump that ridge!
Ruthmarie - I'm sure Tundra and Jade would love it... they would be in their element.
Michael - I'm right there with you on the too damn old part. We're just spectators at this point.
Linda - It should be a very fun weekend.

04/09/2008 06:09 PM

by Fairbanks Real Estate Broker Jesse Clifton (Jesse & Kathy Clifton, REALTORS - 907.699.6024 - )

Jesse and Kathy, thanks for giving us all the action from the top of the world where you all reside. It looks so COOL : ) and fun!! I don't know how they keep their balance going that fast.

04/10/2008 11:22 PM

by Gary Woltal - REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty)

Gary - I don't either. It's all I can do to hold onto the snowmachine at 50MPH, let alone a pair of skis at 80. They are either braver or crazier than I am.

04/20/2008 09:25 PM

by Fairbanks Real Estate Broker Jesse Clifton (Jesse & Kathy Clifton, REALTORS - 907.699.6024 - )

Jesse and Kathy,

So much fun! No snow in the Twin Cities now, not anymore at least.

Have fun!

05/09/2008 04:05 PM

by Twin Cities Minnesota Real Estate - Marzena Melby (Counselor Realty, Inc.)