They’re Off

The first of 29 teams left at 11:00 AM local time on the trail to Fairbanks. The current conditions at race time were partly cloudy and -9 °F, so the trail should be fast. The time difference between the teams is made up at the Dawson City layover.

You can get Race Updates here, and this is the official trail map.

The Daily News-Miner has a Google map, but they haven’t updated it for this year, although they do have a web cam for current conditions in Fairbanks, a stifling 19°F. The temperature is expected to return to the normal 0° high next week. [Note: that is hot for February in Fairbanks, and it means taking off a set of long underwear.]

The list of mushers is below the fold, with the ^R indicating first time competitors. In addition to Canada and the US, Austria, France, Germany, Jamaica, Japan, and the UK are represented.

1. Mark Sleightholme^R [Mossley, UK]
2. Kyla Boivin [Whitehorse, YT]
3. Jean-denis Britten [Dawson City, YT] France
4. Mike Ellis [Rumney, NH]
5. Luc Tweddell^R [Yukon]
6. Colleen Robertia^R [Kasilof, AK]
7. Newton Marshall^R [Chukka Cove, Jamaica]
8. Martin Buser^R [Big Lake, AK]
9. Iris Wood Sutton^R [Fairbanks, AK]
10. Jerry Joinson^R [Fort St James, BC]
11. Russ Bybee [Willow, AK]
12. William Kleedehn [Carcross, YT]
13. Brent Sass [Fairbanks, AK]
14. Dan Kaduce [Chatanika, AK]
15. Josh Cadzow^R [Fort Yukon, AK]
16. Hans Gatt [Whitehorse, YT] Austria
17. William Pinkham [Glenwood Springs, CO]
18. Jon Little [Kasilof, AK]
19. Warren Palfrey^R [Yellowknife, NT]
20. Sebastian Schnuelle [Whitehorse, YT] Germany
21. Dave Dalton [Healy, AK]
22. Becca Moore^R [Willow, AK]
23. Hugh Neff [Skagway, AK]
24. Yuka Honda^R [Nenana, AK] Japan
25. Jason Mackey^R [Kasilof, AK]
26. Michelle Phillips [Tagish, YT]
27. Didier Moggia^R [Whitehorse, YT] France
28. Wayne Hall [Eagle, AK]
29. Norman Casavant^R [Quebec]