Comments on: Yukon Quest 2011 – Day 6

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 01:42:48 +0000

The main problem is the weight of the sled. Without the check points, the teams have to carry straw bedding and dog food in the sled sufficient to make the next checkpoint where they have food bags. If there are a lot of checkpoints, the team can disperse its food at them, and only carry emergency rations in the sled as they race. A sled dog team can go through a 50 pound bag of food in no time on the trail, so being able to pull into a checkpoint where fire and water are already available, instead of starting a fire to melt snow, saves a lot of time and energy. That 200 mile run into Dawson is done with a very heavy load.

You don’t need television or computers if you have puppies getting into everything and leaving reminders all over.

By: JuanitaM

JuanitaM — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:11:24 +0000

Goodness, just having half the checkpoints would make it plenty harder, wouldn’t it? More stops for a little rest, hot food, and hot drinks make a lot of difference between the two runs. At least to me, I like my little comforts. But then, I could never do this stuff which is probably why I’m so fascinated with it. Every year I’ve followed the Iditarod, I wonder: how in the world can they do this, and many of them, year after year?

And yeah, Bryan, I certainly do have a puddle of puppies. And they’re beginning to …um…puddle all over. Quite the job. Got the mother from the local Animal Shelter – pregnant at the time. I agreed to take her if one of the local animal welfare groups would take the puppies. Our PAWS group agreed, so I’ll only have them for another 2-3 weeks. As much work as they’ve been, I’m really going to miss them!

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 04:43:44 +0000

That is a large puddle of puppies, Juanita. You have the start of a team.

The easiest way of comparing the two is to look at Lance Mackey in 2007. He won the Yukon Quest with a winning time of 10 days 2 hours 37 minutes. Two weeks later he started the Iditarod, which is about 100 miles longer, with essentially the same team and won in 9 days 5 hours and 9 minutes. Now, he started the Iditarod with a team of 16, while the Quest is run with 14.

The Quest has about half as many check points and it means more camping, which also means carrying the extra supplies to do it. The Quest only allows one sled – if it breaks, you patch it.

I think the Quest is a tougher race for a lot of reasons, and, the current run from Whitehorse to Fairbanks is the toughest of all. That double climb around Mile 101 is a nightmare, coming at the end of the race, with musher and dogs tired. That part of the trail is just evil, especially at night, or in blowing snow.

By: JuanitaM

JuanitaM — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 19:26:30 +0000

Wow, look at all the rookies still hanging in there. That's great to see. In the "degree of difficulty" department, how does the Yukon Quest compare to the Iditarod? I've been fairly tied up lately with some new additions to our family! If you have a minute, take a look: Puppies More Puppies