Mushers reach halfway point of Yukon Quest sled dog race
One of the world’s great Arctic events and races is now at the halfway point in -27 Celsius weather.
Mushers in the Yukon Quest annual dogsled race reached the halfway point yesterday afternoon and evening in the epic 1600 km race run annually between Fairbanks Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon.
On its website, the idea of the race is explained:
The race began on February 4. Of the 21 mushers starting this year, there are several Americans, a few Canadians, a Belgian Canadian, a British-Canadian, a Swede, a musher from France, and one from Japan. Several women are among the mushers as well, in this gruelling endurance test.
Here’s Hugh Neff arriving in Dawson City in second place. pic.twitter.com/R9Y7dRHzAO
— Cheryl Kawaja (@CherylKawaja) 8 février 2017
Three teams have pulled out just before the halfway point at Dawson City.
One was Canadian Jason Campeau, another was American Laura Neese, both citing conern about the condition of their dogs. Neese’s husband Ed Stielstra also scratched but said it was in support of his wife’s future racing goals.
In Dawson there is a mandatory 36 hr layover where dogs and musher’s conditions are checked. Sass will be the first to start out from Dawson City on Thursday morning.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Struggle to control dangerous stray dogs across northern Canada, Radio Canada International
Greenland: Siberian huskies, Greenland sled dogs share DNA with today’s canine companions, Radio Sweden
Norway: Finnmarksløpet 2015 dog sledge race underway in Europe, Barents Observer
Russia: Smoke from Russian fires detected in Finland, Yle News
United States: Hundreds of sled dogs rescued from Alaska wildfires, Alaska Dispatch
