Government Camp native Keree Smith, along with her partner Rebekah Coats, won first place in the women’s ski division, while Petr Kakes, along with Todd Palin, placed seventh in the men’s division at the Arctic Man Ski and Sno-Go Classic in
Summit Lake, Alaska on Saturday, April 9.

A combination of speed and endurance, the Arctic Man event is considered
one of the world’s toughest downhill ski races. Competitors travel 5 and 3/4
miles in just over four minutes, combining extreme downhill skiing with the
horsepower of a snow machine pull.

Smith, 18, was the youngest person to ever come in first in the 26-year-old
event, held on remote Hoodoo Mountain, 150 miles south of Fairbanks.
A resident of Government Camp, who graduated from Sandy High School in
2010, she grew up skiing at Mt. Hood Skibowl, starting at age 2. She trains
there now with the Mt. Hood Academy race team, and her mom Raylene, is a
Mitey Mite ski instructor at Skibowl.

Kakes, 51, the owner of the Olympic Ski School and Hurricane Racing at
Skibowl, is a perennial Arctic Man finalist. He has competed 18 consecutive
years, won the men’s title three times and still holds two nearly unbelievable
and long standing course records.

“Petr is a legend up here and now there’s another Government Camp racer
that has made history at our event,” said Howie Thies, founder and race
director.

The Arctic Man is a race for teams of two skilled competitors that tests the
strength of an athlete and the horsepower of a snowmobile. Courage and
training are essential elements of this team of snowmobile and skier. The
skier begins at a summit elevation of 5,800 feet and drops 1,700 feet in the
first part of the course, that covers a distance of 1.75 miles. At the bottom of
a narrow canyon, the skier picks up a tow rope, or in the case of KM Racers,
an aluminum pole attached to the partner’s snow machine and is
pulled through the canyon and uphill for 2.25 miles uphill at speeds well over
80 miles per hour. At the top of the hill, the skier and snowmobile part, and
the skier drops another 1.75 miles to the finish line.

“I heard about the race from John Creel, who I’ve known since I was five,”
Smith said. “He and Petr encouraged me to compete in the women’s’ division
and I spent a lot of time skiing the Upper Bowl at Skibowl before I went to the
event.”

Creel, a member of the Hoodland Fire Department, is part of the KM Racing
team, founded by Kakes and his former snowmobile racer John Martin. When
Martin retired several years ago, Todd Palin joined on as Kakes’ new race
partner.

Mike Hays, a former Olympic ski technician now living in Hood River, is also
part of the KM Racing team. He was in charge of all the ski equipment and ski
waxing.

Smith was teamed with 32-year-old Alaskan Rebekah Coats. A snowmobile
enthusiast, it was Coats’ first time competing as well. When her original skiing
partner backed out, Smith and Coats connected on line. They met at the
Fairbanks airport and made the three and a half hour drive to Summit
Lake. There, upwards of 16,000 spectators and sponsors create a small city
of motor homes, trailers and snowmobiles. During the week long event, Arctic
Man becomes the fourth largest community in the state of Alaska.

While she didn’t get to run the entire 5 and 3/4 mile course before the
competition, Smith said she did get some practice on sections of the course
before the race and she got used to being pulled more than 70 miles per hour
behind the snowmobile.

“That was a little unnerving the first time, but that was nothing like the actual
race day,” Smith said. “There was a ton of snow and the course was super
bumpy, especially at the bottom. At some point, I couldn’t even feel my legs.”
Thirty skiers started the race – 27 in the men’s division and three women’s
teams. (18 boarders also competed – 15 in the men’s division and three
women’s teams.)

While Smith and Coates finished first in the women’s ski division, their final
time placed them 14th overall. Notably, Smith’s speed, of 1:40:90 to the
pickup point at 1-3/4 miles placed her eighth among all ski competitors, two
seconds and one spot behind Kakes. Six ski teams did not finish the race.
Smith came close to not finishing, according to Kakes, who watched her race.
“She is very tough,” he said. “At one point in the third section of the ski
canyon, Keree caught an edge and traveled for 400 yards outside of the
groomed course. She was so close to a crash, but she held it together. She
was unbelievably impressive.”

That’s high praise from the Arctic Man champion who won the race in ’96, ’99
and 2004 and who according to Theis, “still kicks racers a lot younger and
holds two course records.”

In 2003, Kakes set the speed record for the first leg of the downhill, covering
the 1.75 miles in a record setting pace of 1:17:25. The fastest time this year
was 1:32:62.

In 2004, Kakes traveled from the release to the finish in a time of 37:84,
traveling more than 97 miles per hour. The fastest pace this year was 42:28.
One of the innovations introduced by KM Racing at the event this year was an
innovative aerodynamic cone attached to the tow pole handle. Designed by
Creel, the cone provides a shield for skiers from the flying chucks of snow
and ice thrown from the snowmobile treads.

“That was a big help,” Smith said.

It’s an innovation expected to be adopted by more Arctic Man teams in the
future.

According to Theis, Arctic Man race was started on a bet in a bar, 26 years
ago. He admitted that skiers and snowmobilers typically don’t coexist so the
combination of both in one race is unique in itself. At 62, he is working now
with a production company to document the history of the event.
Kakes, KM Racing and now Smith will most certainly be featured. The film is
expected to be released in the fall including a special viewing in the Portland
area.

More information about the event can be found at www.arcticman.com.