Trouble on the trail. Several teams are long overdue at their checkpoint on the Yukon Quest 1,600 km sled dog race.
Rookie Whitehorse musher Saul Turner and Alaskan mushers Phil Joy, Jennifer Cochran and Yuka Honda have yet to reach the checkpoint at Central after leaving the Mile 101 dog drop Sunday evening. Some have taken more than 15 hours to complete what should be a five-hour leg.
They’ve been bogged down on the Eagle Summit by a white-out and blizzard-like conditions.
Officials sent out snow machines and planned to send out spotter planes Monday morning to look for the teams. However, the planes were grounded and at least one snowmobile was forced to turn back because of poor weather conditions on the summit.
[…]
“I can’ t remember last time I was that scared or out of control, it was absolutely insane,” said Lance Mackey, who won the Quest last year.
“I would not be surprised if someone wasn’t killed out there today,” said veteran champion Hans Gatt.
Keeping all our fingers, and all our paws, crossed for their safe return.
Update – They’ve been found and at least some have been airlifted out – the report adds that Randy Chappel’s missing team has also been located.
The Yukon Quest website is reporting the same.
I hope for the dogs and sledders too.
But, have you noticed that the Western Standard website seems to be down? I wonder why?
Yes, this is scary. At least death by cold isn’t as painful as by drowning or fire. I do hope they didn’t forfeit safety gear (tents, hand warmers, etc) for weight. Then again if this was a five hour race, why need it? What I don’t get is organizers seeing some take 15 hours to do a five hour trek should have set alarm bells off.
Then again hindsight is well, just that.
As for the Western Standard being down, I think it’s mostly rubberneckers at an accident. It’s up now and whoever they host with doesn’t give much bandwidth. My little site has 400GB bandwidth, so wonder how comparable that is to his.
cheers
tom
Tom, the race is 1000 miles. The distance and time that they are talking about is between checkpoints.
That said, it is a warm year and it shouldn’t be the cold that they are worried about. Far more it seems to be white out, and ice from melting/freezing that seems to be the problem.
As for how long it takes certain people to realized that something is wrong? I heard that they were sending out sleds (snowmobiles) when I turned on the local news first thing this morning.
In any case I agree with both your and Kate’s sentiment.
Oh yeah, I alomost forgot.
More info on the ‘Toughest Sled Dog Race on Earth’
http://www.yukonquest.com/servlet/viewnewslist
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the missing mushers and their teams. Here’s hoping for a safe return for all.
Ditto – It sounds like they medevaced some, but didn’t give names. Here’s hoping for them
May they all get home safe.
UPDATE: They found them all (even, it sounds like, the missing team of dogs) safe & have airlifted them out.
http://www.yukonquest.com/servlet/viewnewslist
good to hear the sledders and dogs are ok,
and at 10.40 pm saskatchewan time, the Western Standard is ok too…
I had tried it earlier, but nada.
will it be up tomorrow? time will tell…
another post had mentioned “hackers” doing their best (worst?) work on the site, but if nobody notices your journalism, why bother?
In the G+M today it was mentioned that some are trying to have “hate crime” charges brought, I looked, but didn’t find any mention of “incitement to violence” maybe that isn’t a crime in Canada?
Watch out where the huskys ‘go’, and don’t you eat that yellow snow-Frank Zappa.
With a mil-spec Artic sleeping bag, (waterproof on the bottom)- you can tunnel into a snowbank- push the sleeping bag in front of you, take off your mucklucks, and place them, ( and whatever else you take off- into the bottom of the sleeping bag. Your tunnel opening may snow over, but that’s okay. Rest! And in the morning, get your duds back on and crawl out, for a look-around:
Bleak! White! Wait a minute- where are the dogs? Where did they go? What the hell!
But the dogs must have heard you moving, and here and there, a dog’s head appears from the snow cover, and looks at youse! “We go now? You gonna give us something to eat first?” Have a nice day! (Hope the mushers are all okay.)
An awesome event that is totally under-reported by the Canadian MSM.
There is more Canadian identity in the dogs in this event than in the most self-important GTA liberal defender of Trudeaupia.
Great reporting. A good example of how the new media is a credible news source that thinks outside the confines of traditional big media. As someone else pointed out, a very Canadian story as well.
Oh,.. oh, …missing SLEDDERS ..NOT Shredders.
My mistake!
I was going to say look in deposed liberano$ garages at their gold plated homes.
They probably are still busy … burrying the bodies so to speak.
From a dedicated icefisherman that’s been in the water, I’m glad everyone is accounted for.
I love the winter in Canada it’s sort of an identity characteristic of Canadians.
RELEASE THE LUNKERS
happy to hear that all are safe.
The Yukon Quest is an obscene example of animal cruelty disguised as entertainment. Anybody who supports this event or gets excited about it is an IDIOT, plain and simple.
The mushers have always gambled with the lives of the dogs and now the incompetent fools who manage the race are gambling with the lives of the mushers. If it weren’t for the United States Air Force and a little help from Mother Nature, they would have been dragging bodies of mushers and dogs down from Eagle Summit. By doing this, the USAF probably saved the sorry asses of the Quest officials themselves.
“More Canadian identity in this event than …? [whatever the hell you are talking about WL Mackenzie]
“A very Canadian story, Adrian Pocobelli?”
Educate yourselves people about the Quest, Iditarod and the dark side of mushing at: http://helpsleddogs.org
Terry: you have obviously never been anywhere near a sled dog. How do I know this? It easy to say that a poor puppy pulling a heavy sleigh appears cruel, but thats about all the ammunition you have. I have see with my own eyes how excited and happy ALL of those dogs get at just the mere sight of the pulling harness. They are doing back-flips and cartwheels and are truely wanting to be harnessed and race. I Have watched the start of the Quest every second year for the last 20 yrs. I have also seen the finish of the Quest on alternate years. I can assure you, the health and well being of the dogs is taken very seriously, and are vet-checked before the race, and at every check-point throughout the race. There are mandatory stop-overs in key locations all along the route. Any dog not fit to race, as judged by a Veternarian, is removed from competion, and if a musher lose too many dogs to sprains, or fatigue, the musher has to quit the race.
The entire premise of the Quest started from the very beginning as not so much a pure race, but to honour the memory of the tradional mode of transport in the north. Back when dogteams were the only game in town, all mushers put their lives in the hands of the dogs, and their own care and concern for the dog’s well being. Back in the day, if your dogs were not healthy, you just plain died out on the trail.
Look up the ‘Lost Patrol’ of the RCMP back in the early 20’s near Ft McPherson NWT for proof.
The Quest has always been all about the dogs. And the other main theme has been that the musher’s recieve no help from anybody on the trail. They can help each other, which they often do, but no outside help. It’s supposed to reflect the isolation and harsh reality of a lone musher on the trail, you have nothing but your witts, your knowedge and your dogs.
But I guess you already knew that, having already read all about the Yukon Quest, and dog-mushing in general. NOT!
There is nothing cruel about dog mushing, the dogs were bred for it, and they have mushing in their veins. Its what they were born to do.
Terry, you’re an idiot.
I went to the start of the race and watched all the teams start. You don’t know shit about sled dogs or mushing.
All you’ve got is your little girl college opinion about how cruel it is, based on what *you* think. You cannot hold an opinion without experience to back it up. Oh, I know, you’ll point to your savesleddogs web page. But here’s a clue for you: That’s not fact. That’s just another uneducated opinion from someone who knows nothing about the very thing they’re against.
The most ironic part of their site is the fact that they’re from Miami. Florida. Where they have a lot of sled dogs.
*sigh*
I bet Terry’s a fan of the ban the Newfie seal hunt club.
Those poor innocent big eyed pups, being beaten by a savage race of rock dwellers.
Well not if you’re a cod who only gets 1/4 to 1/2 eaten…