Already the winningest duo in Arctic Man history, Heil, 44, and Story, 48, had nothing to prove to the 12,000-plus spectators gathered at Summit Lake north of Paxson to celebrate Alaska's motorhead version of Woodstock.
Come race day Friday, though, Heil and Story proved that age and experience can still sometimes trump youth and enthusiasm. Competing in their 20th Arctic Man, the duo won a record fifth title in the men's ski and snowmobile division.
"It was just intimidating all week," said Story, chief operating officer for R and M Consultants in Anchorage. "Not only were skiers young, but snowmachiners too."
With Story driving his always-reliable 2003 Arctic Cat snowmobile and Heil riding a pair of long downhill skis, they finished one of the world's toughest and craziest races in 4 minutes, 21.31 seconds.
The victory was their first since 2005. It came 16 years removed from their first Arctic Man championship.
"It was a year for the books," said Heil, a teacher at Goldenview Middle School in Anchorage. "People talk about how out of control the (Arctic Man) parties are, but there's so much more to this event."
Arctic Man is a creation of Howard Thies of Fairbanks, who thought up the wild idea of encouraging skiers to drop almost 1,700 feet straight down a mountain to meet a snowmachiner with a tow rope and link up for 1,200-foot tow up a mountain gully at speeds up to 90 mph only to be whip-cracked over a hilltop and fired off on another 1,200-foot descent to the finish line.
To master such an outlandish string of events would require plenty of practice, right?
Wrong.
On Monday, Heil and Story arrived at Summit Lake with four days of training between them all winter -- and all four of those practice runs belonged to Heil.
He trains for Arctic Man at the Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood, but didn't have much time this winter. He was too busy with a home-improvement project, adding a second story and a garage to his house, that took 10 years to finish.
A former UAA alpine skier who grew up carving slopes in Colorado, Heil used to spend every winter weekend skiing until this past season.
"I spent more time at home, living a mellow life," said Heil, a father of three. "It was a nice change."
Only three years removed from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, Heil kept in shape by coaching youth soccer and running intervals on a track at The Dome.
Story, meanwhile, was even farther removed from any sort of competitive training. He hadn't been on a snowmachine since January of 2008.
He hadn't even run Arctic Man 2008. He took a break and lent his Arctic Cat to Eric Quam, who finished runner up with Heil.
Though Story and Heil didn't train even fraction as much this year as they did in years past, it didn't seem to effect their speed or their chemistry.
"It was like putting fish back in the water," Heil said, which was a good thing given the conditions.
On Friday, Heil said, racers encountered one of the roughest courses he'd ever seen.
"The sleds were just getting pounded," he said.
Snow conditions had been hard and fast early in the week, Heil said, leading the duo to believe they could be the first team to break the coveted four-minute barrier.
But their dreams were dashed Thursday when six inches of snow turned the course into a sluggish mess. Visibility was so bad that day, officials canceled training runs.
"Limited training lended itself to no advantages," said Heil. "Len and I saw all the youngbloods and hoped we could hold it all together.' "
Heil needed more than just hope, though, when he released from Story's tow rope going at least 85 mph past a spot called First Aid during the race on Friday. First Aid is where the snowmachine tow ends and the last hill drops away toward the finish line. It is named First Aid because it has caused some epic wrecks.
Story said the roller at the top is so steep that "to climb up it you have to use your hands and feet."
Heil went airborne off the roller and nearly lost control.
"I thought I was going down," he said. "Everybody ran to the edge (of the course) and waited to see carnage."
The skier held it together, though he later compared his landing to that of Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards. The Eagle was a British Olympic ski jumper known for a lovable, goofy style that made every landing look like a crash was imminent.
Heil's landing was, like the Eagle's, inelegant, but he stayed up to continue to the finish line in one piece.
"They were disappointed," he said of the crowd.
Heart-pounding moments such as these are why Heil wanted the 2006 Arctic Man to be his last. He finished runner up with Story that year, but then found himself unable to stick to the plan for retirement. He still had that four-minute dream.
The first team to break five minutes in Arctic Man, Heil and Story wanted to be the first to bust four minutes, as well. They still haven't done that, though they admit the desire lingers.
There were no announcements of retirement this year.
"If anyone asks if we'll be back next year, we don't know," Heil said. "You'll have to show up and find out."
Find Kevin Klott online at adn.com/contact/kklott or call 257-4335.
Alaska Army National Guard
Arctic Man Ski and Sno Go Classic
Friday's Men's Ski Division Results
1) Eric Heil (skier), Anchorage, Len Story (snowmachiner), Soldotna, 4 minutes, 21.31 seconds. 2) Dave Duncan, Vancouver, B.C., Mike Vasser, Anchorage, 4:28.23. 3) Dan McKay, Unknown, Robert Graeber, New York, 4:32.89. 4) Graham Bell, London, England, Todd Minnick, Wasilla, 4:33.00. 5) Dennis Keeling, Anchorage, Rick Davis, Fairbanks, 4:34.65.
6) James Scott, Fairbanks, Casey Boylan, Anchorage, 4:37.95. 7) James Binkley, Fairbanks, Luke Smith, Fairbanks, 4:44:.89. 8) Steven Denning, Fairbanks, David Watts, Fairbanks, 4:57.55. 9) Luke Clement, Anchorage, Micah Huss, Unknown, 4:58.71.
10) Petr Kakes, Oregon, Johnny Martin, Fairbanks, 4:59.01. 11) Brad Krupa, Fairbanks, Nick Possenti, Fairbanks, 5:05.87. 12) Joshua Foreman, Anchorage, Thomas Johnson, Anchorage, 5:14:29.
* Seven teams did not finish or were disqualified.
Friday's Men's Snowboard Division Results
1) Joe Fullwood, Nome, Mike Morgan, Nome, 5:49:54. 2) Tom Nulle, Anchorage, Colin Clayton, Anchorage, 6:18.34. 3) Travis Hunt, Fairbanks, Mona Bradshaw, Fairbanks, 6:54.77. 4) Ed Leigh, London England, Carly Davis, Fairbanks, 7:23.31. 5) Steven Brunk, Unknown, Stanley James, Unknown, 8:11:34.
* Five teams did not finish or were disqualified.
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