No Espresso in Tuktoyaktuk; RALLYISTS HEAD NORTH FOR FUN AND ADVENTURE IN THE ALCAN 5000.(News)

Byline: JIM ELDER

The Alcan 5000 Winter Rally is billed as "The World's Longest, Coldest Winter Rally. At 10 days and 4,710 miles, the 2008 running to Tuktoyaktuk, 315 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Canada's Northwest Territories, was not the coldest in the event's history; the low of -17 degrees Fahrenheit was about 40 degrees warmer than usual. Nor was it the longest, ending this year in Jasper, Alberta, rather than the traditional end point of Anchorage, Alaska.

But it did attract the most entrants. Twenty-four teams left Kirkland, Wash., on Feb. 17. Drivers, co-drivers and navigators came from eight states, three Canadian provinces and Britain. Entrants included a record 17 women, who, along with the men, drove long, hard transits and ice-racing events and some time-speed-distance (TSD) stages. There were husband-wife, father-son and father-daughter teams. A third of the 24 teams have already signed up for the 2012 rally.

Vehicle choices were diverse, but all-wheel drive was a common trait. Subaru, as usual, dominated, with 11 entries. There were two BMW 325xi's and two X5s, two Mitsu-bishi Outlanders, one Dodge Ram and one Chevy pickup, an Audi 80 Quattro, a Volks-wagen Passat W8, a rented GMC Envoy, a 1985 Saab 900T and an "08 Honda CR-V.

A rented Envoy? Yes, but don't tell the rental company. Rentals have been entered in the past, once taking second place overall. But with the possibility of a stealth GPS in the Envoy, the team had to ...