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Participants didn鈥檛 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.

鈥淲hen we do it in January, all of the winter tire sales in Germany are done,鈥� event organizer Holger Bergold told the Star. 鈥淚n November, people are still thinking about putting winter tires on.鈥�

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.

鈥淲e had a spectacular drive on the Dempster,鈥� Bergold said. 鈥淲e got kind of a mini-blizzard on the way back. For me, that drive was the highlight for sure.鈥�

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 H枚llnsteiner of Austria won the women鈥檚 title, while Swiss triathlete Urs L眉thi took the men鈥檚 side 鈥� each earning $1,500.

L眉thi 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鈥檛 provide the same winter extremes for participants.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not really cold yet,鈥� he said. 鈥淩eally, the most interesting things are the frozen lakes that you can drive on. That was missing this year.鈥�

Bergold said the Yukon was already deep into the throes of winter last November, but no such luck this year. 鈥淏lame it on global warming,鈥� he said.

As usual, the tires showcased well on Yukon roadways.

鈥淏ut we can showcase them better on ice and lots of snow,鈥� Bergold said.

鈥淚 personally think that January is the more spectacular date because you can go on the ice.鈥�

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.

鈥淭he Yukon government is proud of its partnership with Fulda,鈥� tourism minister Mike Nixon said in a press release.

鈥淎s always, we are very happy to welcome the Fulda Challenge to Yukon.

鈥淥ur ongoing relationship makes us both stronger as we work together to promote our respective brands in German-speaking Europe.鈥�

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鈥檚 terrain provides the appropriate training ground for Fulda鈥檚 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.

鈥淲e have a very good relationship with the Yukon, and it鈥檚 a spectacular area,鈥� said Bergold. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a natural for tires, too.鈥�