Photo by Flo Hagena
Jay Quilan grabs serious air in Austria in a previous Red Bull Fuel and Fury entry. The snowmachine stunt contest takes off in Alaska this week with riders filming themselves anywhere they want and an awards ceremony in Anchorage on April 15.
Contest to capture craziest snowmachine stunts
Head Out
Published: April 6, 2006
Last Modified: April 11, 2006 at 03:26 AM
Imagine getting off the tram at Alyeska Resort and finding yourself watching fearless sled-heads competing for $20,000 on tricked-out snowmachines. Sound crazy?
But this unprecedented event atop Mount Alyeska on Gunmount Ridge, just below the upper tram terminal, is more like sno-go insanity.
It's called Red Bull Fuel and Fury, and it begins Saturday on any snowmachine-friendly terrain near you.
Then it will come to Girdwood April 14 for the final day of a weeklong competition.
A little confused?
OK, here's the scenario: More than a dozen of the world's best snowmachine riders, including eight from Alaska, have eight days to collect the most gnarly, whacked-out sno-go tricks on video.
Whether it's a backflip off some rocky ridge in Turnagain Pass or a 150-foot plunge off a Mother Nature-made jump in Valdez, these guys are looking for territory that could earn them the $7,000 top prize.
And the best part is: You vote online (www.redbullfuelandfury. com) to choose whose trick was the trickiest, whose bravery was the bravest. Then the winner will be announced at a Red Bull-sponsored party April 15 at the 4th Avenue Theatre.
Each rider has one videographer, who follows on a snowmachine, and one boundary -- Alaska, or about 580,000 square miles. No rider is expected to ride and film in the Alaska Range, Talkeetna Mountains or Brooks Range, of course. But according to Red Bull's media relations director, Jordan Miller, sled-heads are allowed to ride and film anywhere in the Last Frontier, as long as they're back for the Girdwood finale and the 4th Avenue party.
Most of them will congregate in Turnagain Pass and the Valdez area, Miller said.
This year's competition is much different from previous years, when Fuel and Fury riders competed in Milwaukee at an abandoned Pabst Blue Ribbon brewery atop wood chips.
"We just set them loose in the backcountry this year," Miller said. "And they just go crazy.
"It's insane what they do. You often wonder, 'How the heck did they pull that one off?'?"
Anchorage snowmachiner Dane Ferguson, 25, knows how to pull off plenty of tricks.
He and his videographer will prowl Turnagain Pass throughout the week, looking for ridges where he can get prolonged hang time.
"Nobody can ride Turnagain Pass better than I can," Ferguson said. "At least I hope so."
Red Bull rules say only one rider is allowed to be filmed in individual videos. But that doesn't mean snowmachiners can't ride together.
Ferguson -- who competed in this winter's Tesoro Iron Dog, an 1,800-mile race across Alaska's wilderness that requires riders to travel in pairs for safety -- plans to ride Turnagain with fellow Anchorage snowmachiner Jimmy Blaze.
"I feed off other people's stunts," Ferguson said. "I won't do any gnarly tricks by myself.
"What if I flip my sled, land upside-down, bury myself five feet deep in snow and the only person to help is my video guy who's a mile downhill?"
Ferguson has ridden Turnagain for four winters, and safety comes first. Whenever he rides there, he finds "strength in numbers."
Riders will need all the muscle they can muster at the finale in Girdwood, where they'll convene on Gunmount Ridge and have a jam session.
Alyeska Resort's ticket office said Chair Six, which lifts skiers past the tram and Gunmount and toward Glacier Bowl, will be closed for skiing and snowboarding.
Don't panic, sled-haters: Night-skiing sections of the mountain will still be open, and lift tickets will be discounted.
And besides, why would anyone ski Alyeska that day?
Ride the tram or chill at the Sitzmark and watch an event that's never been to Alaska.
• Daily News reporter Kevin Klott be reached at kklott@adn.com.
Red Bull Fuel and Fury
Backcountry freeride
When: daily through Thursday
Where: across Alaska
How much: free to watch (if you can find them)
Gunmount Throwdown
When: 3 p.m., Friday, April 14
Where: Upper Tram Terminal, Alyeska Resort, Girdwood
How much: Tram ticket, $14 per person
Vision and Decision viewing party and awards ceremony
When: 7 p.m. to midnight, April 15
Where: 4th Avenue Theatre
How much: Free
Web: Watch videos and vote at www.redbullfuelandfury.com
