Participants didn’t have to battle the typical frosty elements the Fulda Challenge has become so well-known for this year.

The event, usually held in the dead of the Yukon winter in January, was moved up to November this year for promotional reasons by the German tire manufacturer.

“When we do it in January, all of the winter tire sales in Germany are done,” event organizer Holger Bergold told the Star. “In November, people are still thinking about putting winter tires on.”

The 14th annual event took place Nov. 14 to 21 and saw participants travel from Whitehorse to Eagle Plains, competing in a number of extreme winter activities along the way.

“We had a spectacular drive on the Dempster,” Bergold said. “We got kind of a mini-blizzard on the way back. For me, that drive was the highlight for sure.”

The challenge saw 10 participants do battle in a unique Arctic decathlon.

Events included mounting tires onto their vehicles, biathlon, and driving a slalom course blindfolded with the help of a teammate in the passenger seat.

Other highlights included driving ATVs in the Carcross Desert, a unique broomball event on the small airfield next to Braeburn Lodge, and an eco-discipline task where drivers were challenged to use as little fuel as possible while driving a defined route.

Sandra Höllnsteiner of Austria won the women’s title, while Swiss triathlete Urs Lüthi took the men’s side – each earning $1,500.

Lüthi and teammate Martina Ziegler won the mixed team event, each taking home a gold nugget from Dawson City.

Bergold admitted holding the event in November didn’t provide the same winter extremes for participants.

“It’s not really cold yet,” he said. “Really, the most interesting things are the frozen lakes that you can drive on. That was missing this year.”

Bergold said the Yukon was already deep into the throes of winter last November, but no such luck this year. “Blame it on global warming,” he said.

As usual, the tires showcased well on Yukon roadways.

“But we can showcase them better on ice and lots of snow,” Bergold said.

“I personally think that January is the more spectacular date because you can go on the ice.”

He said changes may be in the works that could see the event completed in March or April, but not released to the public until November.

The Yukon government provided $100,000 in support to the Fulda Challenge this season.

“The Yukon government is proud of its partnership with Fulda,” tourism minister Mike Nixon said in a press release.

“As always, we are very happy to welcome the Fulda Challenge to Yukon.

“Our ongoing relationship makes us both stronger as we work together to promote our respective brands in German-speaking Europe.”

According to Nixon, the Fulda Challenge directly contributes about $1 million through equipment rentals, accommodation, food and beverages, transportation, staging of events and other services.

Meanwhile, the territory’s terrain provides the appropriate training ground for Fulda’s winter tire line, and each of the events attempt to provide an analogy to tire performance.

The Fulda Challenge has been hosted in Yukon since 2000.

“We have a very good relationship with the Yukon, and it’s a spectacular area,” said Bergold. “It’s a natural for tires, too.”