And, they are off....

And they are off - the 30th annual Yukon Quest

Sat Feb 2nd, 2013 -  Whitehorse, Yukon

The official start line - Whitehorse, Yukon

Musher Rob Cooke and his pups, from the UK, 

are the third team to depart from the start line

The defending champ, Hugh Neff, hugs each of

his dogs shortly before the start of his race

Lance Mackey departs

Misha Pedersen and her team depart Whitehorse

Excited pups

Darrin Lee and his team

Ed Abrahamson's team

Scott Smith's team departs Whitehorse

One pup who did not make the race

My choice for the winning team

The last few days here in the Yukon have truly been remarkable ones.  A week ago yesterday, with temperatures approaching the zero degree Celsius mark, twenty-six dog teams departed Whitehorse for the 30^th running of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.  The 1000-mile journey retraces the historical Gold Rush sled dog route that once connected Whitehorse (Yukon) with Fairbanks, Alaska.  The course follows the frozen waters of the Yukon and Pelly Rivers, crosses over four mountain summits, and travels through some of the harshest yet most pristine wilderness imaginable.  In the past mushers, and their dogs, endured minus 40-degree temperatures and horrific blizzards, treacherous ice conditions and unexpected obstacles such as open water.  The first of the mushers usually crosses the finish line some ten days later.

Along the route there are eight official checkpoints, mandatory rest stops, and several hospitality stops where race veterinarians and officials check on the health and wellbeing of the pups.  Dogs can be dropped from the race if the vets, and or musher, deemed the dog(s) unfit to continue on.  Race officials also check to ensure each musher is equipped with food supplies, snowshoes, an axe, sleeping bag, and their vet logbook.  Penalties (both time deductions and monetary fines) are issued to any team failing to follow race rules.

 

Each team has a group of handlers that meet the mushers and the pups at each of the checkpoints.  They are responsible for taking care of the dropped dogs and for cleaning up after once the team departs.  Mushers cannot accept help at any point along the race.

Musher Brian Wilmshurst and his 14 excited dogs was the first to depart Whitehorse at 11am.  Each team thereafter left at three-minute intervals with Crispin Studer’s team being the last to depart at 12:15.

Later that afternoon, 18 teams departed on the Yukon Quest 300, a shorter race that finishes at Pelly Crossing.

The thrill of being surrounded by so many excited pups, a spirited Yukon Quest crew and a team of international volunteers carried through for the remainder of the week.  I'm already looking forward to next year's Quest!

Stayed turned for more photos from the Pelly Crossing Checkpoint in the coming days.

For more information and current standings on the Quest please visit their official website at www.yukonquest.com

More images from the start in Whitehorse can be found on my photostream on Flickr.