The Alaska Wilderness Classic has been on my radar for about as long as I've been in Alaska. Each year, two "adventure race" events occur where people push their mental and physical limits on a wilderness trip in Alaska- one in the summer and one in the winter (called the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Ski Classic, or AMWSC).

I've mimicked summer Classic routes before on my own time, such as the Eastern Alaska Range traverse that John and I did in the summer of 2016. But I always believed that participating in the race was over my head. After all, when we traversed 140 miles across the north side of the Eastern Alaska Range, it took us seven days and was the hardest trip I'd ever done. For reference, during the summer Classic years earlier, Andrew Skurka did it in under four.

In 2018, I almost signed up for the Brooks Range winter classic. I'd heard from other participants that, aside from the potential extreme cold of the Arctic in April, the route was a gentler version of the winter adventure race. I chickened out mostly because I didn't want to do the trip solo. The following fall, my friend and adventure buddy Emily Sullivan asked me if I wanted to sign up for the 2019 AMWSC with her, set to take place in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in mid-March.

In all honesty, I wavered back-and-forth until the last minute. A lot of strong wilderness people - people I've come to refer to as "Alaska Famous" - participate in this adventure race. I'm not a racer. I don't cut corners in the backcountry. I like a decent margin for error. I carry a light pack, but I don't saw off the handle of my toothbrush or skip breakfasts to get moving in the morning. The idea of skiing for 30 miles a day for a week was appealing, except I'd never done anything that big before. After a healthy amount of peer pressure from Emily, and some enthusiastic encouragement from my friends and community, I decided to take the leap. If I thought about it as just a wilderness trip in the Wrangells with Emily, I wasn't intimidated. And when I allowed myself to accept the element of an adventure race, I knew the framework would help me push my limits, mentally and physically, to see what I was capable of on skis in the mountains. And the truth is, I thought that maybe if I finally found my limit on this trip, I might stop asking what that limit is and start having a lot more Type-1 Fun in the backcountry.

We trained. Not as hard as we could have. But a lot. We participated in an online workout group (Ski Babes- it's amazing), followed a detailed plan for interval workouts and rest days, covered miles on our own time, and went on a few trips together when our schedules allowed.

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