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The 6th edition of the Artic Route Adventure is the first one on North America soil. The objective is to drive from Vancouver, BC to the top of Alaska, thus reaching the Arctic, and coming back down. The vehicle of choice for this 18-day, 10,000-plus-km trip is the Porsche Cayenne SUV.
Three Auto123.com journalists will each ride and drive one leg of the expedition: Matt St-Pierre will cover the leg from Vancouver to Whitehorse, Yukon. Lesley Wimbush will cover from Whitehorse to Anchorage, Alaska after reaching the end of the road way up in a town called Deadhorse. Last but not least, Rob Rothwell will cover the drive back down, from Anchorage to Vancouver.
It's going to be a helluva ride.
Day 1 - 1:12 PM
Here I am, at the airport waiting for my flight to Vancouver. Admittedly, I'm nowhere near as nervous as I was the last time I traveled up north.
Not only because I am now a seasoned pro this time around, but the simple fact that I'll be sharing driving duties behind the wheel of a new Porsche Cayenne. I'm convinced that you will be reading nothing but praise for the big Porsche from myself, Lesley and Rob.
Tonight, I will meet with my co-pilot and colleague journalist, Mr. Harry Pegg, Porsche PR Laurance Yap and the members of the Arctic Route Adventure.
Tomorrow, we'll get acquainted with our snazzy wheels and we'll be off very early. We've got 1,000 km to cover before sundown.
At the moment, I'm boarding my Air Canada flight to Vancouver, always looking forward to take-off Gs.
More to come.
Onward and forward!
Matt
Day 1 - 7:45 PM
At dinner, formal introductions were made.
Our Italian friends, generous and funny, presented a number of keepsakes to Mr. Yap as a token of their deep appreciation for everythhing he and Porsche Canada had done to make this event see the light of day.
Harry and I received ultra-cool schwag, namely a fleece sweater embroidered with the Artic Route Adventure logo and others.
After a brief discussion on departure time, most of us headed to bed.
A long day awaits us tomorrow!
Matt
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