Hay River's Ilona Gyapay survived the Yukon Arctic Ultra extreme race earlier this month.
And in this case, surviving can be viewed as winning in a race in the Yukon wilderness where temperatures plunged well below -40 Celsius.
Gyapay was eventually pulled from the race because of frostbite.
"I was the second last person standing out of 20-some athletes," she said. "Athletes were being pulled either due to medical issues or just the sheer exhaustion or loneliness of it. I was skiing 12 to 18 hours a day with two to five hours of sleep. You go through some hallucinations. Any little mistake can be life or death, really, in those temperatures."
Gyapay endured extreme sleep deprivation, and actually fell asleep about three times while skiing.
"I was just skiing early in the mornings or late at night, and I'd just find myself dozing off," she recalled. "And once I woke up or kind of jerked awake my skis had hit a snowbank and I wasn't moving forward. So that alerted me."
Gyapay believes she was at the 370-km mark when she was pulled from the race, held from Feb. 1 to Feb. 8.
She noted organizers had shortened race, so she estimates she had about 57 km to go to a modified finish line.
Only one of 21 competitors made it to that modified finish line.
Gyapay's hands were frostbitten, especially two fingers – one on each hand – which had turned black. Initially, there was concern the tips of the two fingers would have to be removed, but that didn't happen.
"I'm doing well right now," she said late last week from Canmore, Alta.
After being pulled from the race, she was hospitalized for a day in Whitehorse.
Late last week, an Italian racer was facing possible amputations because of frostbite suffered in the race.
Gyapay noted extreme athletes from all over the world competed in the race, which she entered for the first time.
She explained competitors can run, ski or ride mountain bikes, although there were no riders this year.
"I was one of two skiers," said the 25-year-old. "I was the only female and one of two Canadians, and the youngest athlete."
The race is self-supported, meaning competitors drag supplies behind them on sleds and camp out on the land.
Gyapay said all racers understood the risks.
As for whether she would do the race again, she hasn't decided.
"It's been a week, and mentally I still have nightmares at night," she said. "The mental aspect of it was really tough."
In Hay River, her parents were worried during the race, particularly because of the extreme cold.
Her mother, Christine Gyapay, said they could follow their daughter's progress online, but had no direct contact with her.
"I give huge credit to her for keeping it together physically and mentally and going as far as she did under the conditions," said Christine Gyapay.
She said all extreme athletes are adults and it's their choice to pursue the sport.
"So you have to support," Christine Gyapay said. "And as parents we, of course, have to worry, as well."
The organizers of the Yukon Arctic Ultra make no secret of the potential hazards.
"The threat of frostbite hangs over you like the sword of Damocles," reads on online description of the race. "The hours of darkness are brutally long clouding your judgment and playing with your mind."