Macartney rips off record time to win Arctic Man

U.S. Ski Teamer Scott Macartney held off teammate Marco Sullivan to win his second consecutive Arctic Man Ski and Sno-Go Classic title in record time over the weekend in rural Alaska.
U.S. SKI TEAMER Scott Macartney held off teammate Marco Sullivan to win his second consecutive Arctic Man Ski and Sno-Go Classic title in record time over the weekend in rural Alaska.
    The Arctic Man blends downhill skiing and snowmobiling in a grueling endurance test. The skier begins at a summit elevation of 5,800 feet and skis 1,700 vertical feet in less than two miles before hooking up with a snowmobile-driving teammate. The snowmobiler meets the skier — on the go — with a tow rope and pulls the skier more than two miles uphill. The skier then separates and drops another 1,200 feet to the finish line.
    Last year, Macartney and snowmobile-driving partner Tyson Johnson won in 4 minutes, 14 seconds. The time, the duo took advantage of hard-packed snow in the Hoodoo Mountains to win in a record-breaking effort of 4:01.49.
    Four-time winner Eric Heil held the old record of 4:04.33, set in 2005. Heil and partner Len Story finished third this time around in 4:06.82
    “It was good. The ski parts were fine,” Macartney told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. “Our tow was actually pretty eventful.”
    Macartney said he endured some unplanned air over a knoll on the course, and he almost lost hold on the tow rope while reaching a top speed of 88 mph. He then reached a top speed of 82 mph on skis and crossed the line almost 2 seconds ahead of Sullivan and partner Tyler Acklestad (4:04.46).
    Though he lost one record, Heil did set another this year, clocking 91 mph on the tow section to break his previous top speed of 89.3 mph set in 2005.

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