Alcan RallyLog

Järvi 17

I peered out the small starboard-side port on the Herc and it hit me: "Whoa! Are those Viggens? Or MIGs???? Did Willey forget to file the paperwork? And just how far off course *are* we???? And in what direction?" Järvi 17 sits inside an inactive artillery range, but very close to the border east of Lammasjärvi. The people at the Ministry are a bit touchy and you *gotta* do your paperwork!

I was about to have a stroke and was turning my local chart in just about every direction to figure out where we went astray when the two boy-racer fighter jocks waved their wings, passed about 500 feet below us, and disappeared.

Did I overreact? Sure, I was in a bad mood, had overslept, and wasn't having the best trip so far, but we wouldn't have been the *first* rally team to get blown out of the sky over some stupid paperwork snafu. Ten minutes later, though, we could all relax. As promised, our hosts Simo and Jukka had raised a windsock on a snowbank and Terry, our pilot for the past 7 years, threw the LC-130F in for an absolute greaser in a mild crossbreeze on the clear, arrow-straight eastern shore of the lake. Thanks to my sleep habits we were about an hour late, but we made the best of the circumstances and popped the tie-downs from the BMW and WRX in record time.

What can I say about the next 5 hours? Our search for the perfect frozen lake was worth it. Yes, some locals had laid in a race course -- with a horse-drawn plow from the looks of the occasional dropping along the lake shore -- but the course was nearly perfect and there wasn't another person or car in sight. Save a few minor rough spots, the lake surface was wonderfully smooth, groomed and solid as a rock. For 5 hours we could throw our cars down the lake with fairly complete abandon. Snow cover was pretty shallow, but just enough to help "guide" us back on track when we overshot.

(Eric obsesses over BMW tire pressures as WRX zooms by)

We all took turns driving the two cars. On Winter Alcan, the rules for the 4 planned slaloms dictate that both drivers must take turns -- 2 runs per driver for each of the 4 events with the best 2 of 4 counting -- so this training trip was essential. Dan and I spent most of our time taking laps in the WRX, but we each took some turns in the BMW 325ix. We both agreed with Eric up to a point. The Bimmer felt lighter and a bit more sure-footed -- more deliberate with its somewhat stiffer steering touch. The WRX waggin was, in contrast, a bit more tail-happy on the ice, especially as things warmed up and conditions got slicker. That being said, I'm not sure I would trade the WRX for anything. For 0-70 on ice, the WRX+studded Hakka combination is pretty tight, and the mild tail-happiness became a predictable, absolute joy in an esses on the backstretch.

(Dan gets WRX somewhat sideways..)

(....more sideways)

Maybe it goes without saying. We had a blast. About 2 hours into our laps I think we all said: "I know what we're doing next year on this holiday! Back to Jarvi 17!"

(Steve whips the BMW around the finish corner)

We all took some reluctant last laps and prepared for the long trip back to Seattle. Simo commiserated and Jukka offered to put us up in the guest house if we wanted to stay, but Terry's time doesn't come cheap and the four of us - dedicated public employees all - knew that duty called.

As much as we would have loved to stay with Jukka and enjoy some of his wife's famous stew once again, we came away pretty happy knowing that some serious ice time lies ahead in February on the Alcan!