Despite subfreezing temps and getting run over by a moose, Greg Mills ’01, ’03 came in second in the ski division of the Iditarod Trail Invitational, the world’s longest running winter ultra-marathon, last March.
He skied 350 miles from Anchorage to McGrath, Alaska, in 8 days, 14 hours and 19 minutes. Pulling a 40-pound sled with all his gear, he logged about 30 to 40 miles a day, starting about 4 a.m. and going to well after dark. If he didn’t make it to a lodge or public-use cabin, he would sleep in a tent despite temps below zero.
“Sometimes the weather was gorgeous,” says Mills, a master brewer who lives in Anchorage. “Often the weather was unbelievably bad with high wind, no visibility, and temps lower than -20F. On my third night on the trail, I was attacked by a moose. It knocked me off my skies and stomped me. I fought it off and was miraculously uninjured.”
