Yukon Quest Wrap-up

It's over although not all the racers are in. It'll be another day or two--maybe even more. Of the twenty five starters, forty percent scratched at various points along the trail, most citing the welfare of their teams. It was a very tough race with brutal cold for the first half-plus and then a sudden rise in temperatures to near or above freezing.

The leaders--two teams-- got in to Fairbanks late last night (right behind the site of my background photo here!) at temps in the upper twenties with freezing rain/snow mixed slushing down on them. Brent Sass got his win; I cannot begrudge him. He ran a fine race and was in the lead much of the time. Allen Moore came in second. He was briefly ahead but could not hold the place. The next two are far behind and will be in late this evening--Ed Hopkins who is "Mr. Michelle Phillips" and a guy I do not know or had not previously heard of although he may be a regular racer in Canada. He's not been on the Iditarod roster that I can recall. Hugh Neff is a distant fifth place.

Slower than the Iditarod, this race crosses several mountain ranges and is known for the brutal cold. At times it has been as low as 60 below zero. It wasn't quite there this year but the cold lasted--very little easing even during daylight hours. The run time was just under ten days for the two top places. I think that is about par for the last few years. I'll have to research the speed record.

Moore and the Black Team ran a good race. I can't armchair quarterback but I do have a theory. The last checkpoint and stop was at Two Rivers, the community north and a bit west of Fairbanks where Allen and Aliy have their kennel. Although the stop was not right there, the dogs had to know with their keen sense of place and direction that they were not far from home. They were tired and had already run some 950 tough miles. Why was Dad asking them to get up and go some more?

They are good loyal and willing dogs and they went but their hearts could not have been 110% in it. Also, Quito was leading, I think. She is an amazing dog but she is Aliy's dog and many of these huskies are very much one-person dogs. She works well for Allen but maybe not with that tiny extra bit of will. Then, as a YQ multi-winner, I doubt that Allen was quite as hungry for that win as Brent was plus for Brent's dogs it was just another checkpoint. Who knows? That's just my very amateur analysis.

So we've  one big one down and the other to go. The Iditarod Trail Committee has recently announced that the official start will be in Fairbanks this year. They will do the normal ceremonial start in Anchorage but then take an extra day to trek north because the area around Wasilla and Willow and even farther north and west just does not have any snow. This has been done a few times before--I'll know exactly by the time I report again--so is not unprecedented but it will put a very different twist on the race as about a third to half the trail will not be the familiar one. How this will impact the top ten or fifteen racers and teams who know the normal route well remains to be seen. More on that in the next couple of weeks!

Anyway my congratulations to Brent Sass--who is single, gals, if you have ambitions to move to Alaska and get involved with mushing! He's 34 and lives in Eureka, AK although originally from Minnesota. His kennel is called Wild and Free and he's working hard to make a name for it and himself. Congratulations as well to Allen Moore and the Black Team, many members of which will be running in Aliy's Red Team in three weeks. The real start of the Iditarod will be on March 9. There is little doubt second place in these big races is no small feat and deserves serious kudos IMHO! Anyone who finishes in whatever order is a real champ; it's something so many could and would never even try. So no second place finisher needs to hang his or her head!

Here's a shot of Allen last August when I visited SP Kennel. He was talking about dogs and racing and equipment, all subjects clearly near, dear and very important to him! He is a really nice guy, kind of droll but as charming in his quiet way as is Aliy. They are just great folks! I feel so honored to have met and talked with them and hope to do so again. Hike, hike!