View ALCAN 2008 Blog UPDATES here:  http://alcanblog2008.blogspot.com  and www.myspace.com/arcticchallengers

Alcan 2008:  Summary
You will have to view all the blogs linked to ours above to get the "full view" of this grand event. But in a nutshell:  It is long, It is hard, and It is FUN.   Our goal was to win the event overall, even from a Class 3 car which means an SUV with no rally computer equipment in it.  We will rely on our wits, our skill in driving on icy roads and the brainpower of my co-driver Kala to use only the stock tenths reading odometer to get us to each hidden checkpoint exactly on time.  Together we will challenge cars rigged with computers, electronic odometers and GPS units, and will beat most, if not quite all of them.

Along the way, we will see tremendous sights of the Arctic in winter, including wildlife, nightlife, dog sled races, can-can girls, fur rondy, ice sculptures, ice highways, and more.

The quick report is that we WON OUR CLASS!  We came in 6th overall after 10 days and 5000 miles of rally. We let a few of those computer cars beat us, but did quite well.

Pictures to follow, but most already posted in our blogs (links above)

Getting ready
The 2008 Alcan Rally demands a lot of preparation and honing of driving skills.  The team will travel in this reliable Subaru Forester XT, properly equipped with Arctic survival, protection and navigational gear.
The route, traced in detail in this Alcan 5000 map, starts as usual in Kirkland, Washington and travels through Yukon territory to tiny Tuk (actually Tuktoyakluk) on the shore of the frozen Arctic ocean. The route south now terminates in Jasper, Alberta.
The team, to be composed of veterans Paul Eklund, RDale Kraushaar and Kala Rounds, will compete in Class 3 (Seat of the Pants -- no rally computer) event, but hope to win overall with the combined skills of these experts.  Kala and Paul won in this class in 2004, bettering the scores of almost all of the competitors in any class (see Alcan 2004), using Paul's driving skills and Kala's mathematical wizardry. The Primitive Team's sponsor is the Subaru Northwest Region.
PAST OVERALL WINNERS:
1984 Tim Paterson/Douglas Paterson : Mazda RX7
1985 John Buffum/Tom Grimshaw/Paul Choiniere : Audi 5000 CS Quattro
1986 Gene Henderson/Mike VanLoo : Subaru RX 4x4
1987 Ken Maytag/Glen Bjorkman/Steve Richards : Audi 5000 CS Quattro
1988 Ken Maytag/Glen Bjorkman/Steve Richards : Audi 5000 CS Quattro
1989 Tim Paterson/Penny Thomas : Porsche 911
1990 Gene Henderson/Ralph Beckman : Subaru Legacy Wagon
1991 Ken Knight/Bob Dart : Subaru SVX
1992 Ken Knight/Greg Lester : Subaru Legacy Touring Wagon
1993 Russ Kraushaar/Satch Carlson : BMW 2002ti
1994 Paul Dallenbach/Johnny Unser/Tom Grimshaw : Isuzu Rodeo
1996 Paul Dallenbach/Johnny Unser/Tom Grimshaw : Isuzu Rodeo
1998 Walt Kammer/Jackie Adams : BMW325IX
2000 RDale Kraushaar /Larry Richardson/ Paul Eklund :  Subaru Impreza
2002 Gary Webb/John Kisela/Richard Mooers : Subaru Outback
2004 Gary Webb/Pete Schneider/Ron Ahrens : BMW X5
2006 Revere Jones/Brian Deno/Tom Gould
2008 Gary Webb/Greg Hightower/Russ Kraushaar: Subaru RS

 

 Class 3 WINNERS: 
      (Class 3 -- no computers, only pen & pencil)

2004  Paul Eklund / Kala Rounds /Gary Reid: Subaru Forester  (3rd overall) 
2008  Paul Eklund / Kala Rounds  Subaru Forester XT (6th overall)

TEAM WINNERS:
2004  Challenge Driving Events
2008  Primitive Arctic Challengers

 Subaru Forester
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