They’re Off!
The 24 teams of 14 dogs and a musher began leaving the Fairbanks Start at 2PM CST in the balmy 10°F late morning heat on their way to Whitehorse in the Yukon. It is still mostly cloudy in the area.
The Fairbanks News-Miner reports that Most mushers carrying GPS tracking devices for first time during Quest, the single exception being Gerry Willomitzer, who decided not to get involved.
You can find out where people [except Gerry] are by clicking on the Yukon Quest Live Tracking link.
The current record for the course was set last year by Sebastian Schnuelle at 9 days, 23 hours, and 20 minutes, so you have time to eat, sleep, and visit the facilities without worrying about missing “the big play”.
2 comments
good thing i’ve got some spare time on my hands. i’m totally in love with the gps tracking and it’s not even a very follower-friendly system.
It has one very important feature that is lacking in the Iditarod system – it’s free, designed for the fans, not as a source of revenue.
Gerry is just being Gerry by not carrying one. I would have expected Hugh Neff to have refused after last year, but he may have been “encouraged” by the other mushers.