Posts from — February 2015

Dave and Brian made it in early this morning. Ryne, Lance, and Kristin are sleeping away their 8-hour mandatory stop at Two Rivers. The only ones working are Rob and the Siberians who have made their way over Eagle Summit and are almost to Mile 101 with the Red Lantern.

At noon CST Rob is resting at Mile 101 while Ryne and Lance are on their way to the finish from Two Rivers.

The final four teams are all on the trail at 3PM CST.

Ryne finished at around 4PM.

Rob is at the top of Rosebud and ready to descend at 5PM CST. Lance is about 30 miles from the finish with Kristin about 30 miles behind him.

Rob is at Two Rivers for the mandatory 8-hour stop and Lance has finished his race.

The Official Standings are currently messed up.

The Current Standings at 8:30PM CST (5:30PM AKST):

Finish
1 Brent Sass (2) 2/17 1:52AM CST
2 Allen Moore (1) 2/17 3:06AM CST
3 Ed Hopkins (20) 2/17 11:02PM CST
4 Damon Alexander Tedford (7)^R 2/18 4:32AM CST
5 Hugh Neff (26) 2/18 6:11AM CST
6 Normand Casavant (3) 2/18 10:25AM CST
7 Jason Campeau (24)^R 2/18 4:43PM CST
8 Torsten Kohnert (14) 2/18 6:42PM CST
9 Nicholas Vanier (5)^R 2/18 9:44PM CST
10 Mike Ellis (22) 2/18 10:40PM CST
11 Dave Dalton (11) 2/19 2:43AM CST
12 Brian Wilmshurst (17) 2/19 5:24AM CST
13 Ryne Olson (16)^R 2/19 3:56PM CST
14 Lance Mackey (8) 2/19 8:23PM CST
Beyond Two Rivers
15 Kristin Knight Pace (12)^R
At Two Rivers
16 Rob Cooke (21)Φ
[Read more →]

Damon Tedford had a very successful first attempt at the Quest, coming in fourth early this morning and Hugh’s 7 puppies brought him in a couple of hours later.

Rob Cooke’s Siberians with the Red Lantern are in Central.

Mike Ellis and his Siberians complete the top 10 finishers. He always has the most beautiful team in a race.

The Current Standings at 11:50PM CST (8:50PM AKST):

Finish
1 Brent Sass (2) 2/17 1:52AM CST
2 Allen Moore (1) 2/17 3:06AM CST
3 Ed Hopkins (20) 2/17 11:02PM CST
4 Damon Alexander Tedford (7)^R 2/18 4:32AM CST
5 Hugh Neff (26) 2/18 6:11AM CST
6 Normand Casavant (3) 2/18 10:25AM CST
7 Jason Campeau (24)^R 2/18 4:43PM CST
8 Torsten Kohnert (14) 2/18 6:42PM CST
9 Nicholas Vanier (5)^R 2/18 9:44PM CST
10 Mike Ellis (22) 2/18 10:40PM CST
Beyond Two Rivers
11 Dave Dalton (11)
12 Brian Wilmshurst (17)
At Two Rivers
13 Ryne Olson (16)^R
Beyond Mile 101
14 Lance Mackey (8)
15 Kristin Knight Pace (12)^R
At Central
16 Rob Cooke (21)Φ
[Read more →]

Year of the Green Wooden Sheep

Chinese New Year
[Spring Festival]

[Note: The new year begins on the new moon and that occurs today in the US. Because of the International Date Line, it is the 19th in China.]

In the end is wasn’t close with Brent gaining an hour on Allen in the run to the finish at Fairbanks at 1:52AM CST with Allen coming in at 3:06AM.

Ed Hopkins made it in at 11:02PM CST.

Rob Cooke and the Red Lantern are now in Circle.

The Current Standings at 11:30PM CST (8:30PM AKST):

Finish
1 Brent Sass (2)
2 Allen Moore (1)
3 Ed Hopkins (20)
Beyond Two Rivers
4 Damon Alexander Tedford (7)^R
5 Hugh Neff (26)
6 Normand Casavant (3)
Beyond Mile 101
7 Jason Campeau (24)^R
8 Torsten Kohnert (14)
9 Mike Ellis (22)
At Mile 101
10 Dave Dalton (11)
11 Nicholas Vanier (5)^R
12 Brian Wilmshurst (17)
At Central
13 Ryne Olson (16)^R
Beyond Circle
14 Kristin Knight Pace (12)^R
15 Lance Mackey (8)
At Circle
16 Rob Cooke (21)Φ
[Read more →]

The last day before the beginning of Lent on the Gulf Coast that once belonged to France, it is Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday”: Laissez les bon temps rouler!

It was first celebrated in Mobile, Alabama, but the big show these days is in New Orleans, and it is a holiday in the state of Louisiana, because people wouldn’t show up for work anyway, so why fight it.

The tradition is to serve King cake, which is a circle of cinnamon bun dough with a white frosting on top sprinkled with sugar colored purple, gold, and green. If that weren’t bad enough, they put the figurine of a baby in the dough, and whoever finds it in their piece is supposed to be lucky. Actually if you find it and don’t choke on it, I guess you are lucky. You should use a small ceramic figurine, as some of the cheap plastic versions melt in the oven [yummy].

Allen waited and made his move at Mile 101. It is going to be a sprint to the finish. Allen is bedding down at Two Rivers with Brent just outside.

Rob Cooke and the Red Lantern are resting at Trout Creek.

Update: The bad news for the finish is that Fairbanks is already at 21°F at 6AM AKST. The puppies are going to have to trade their jackets for sweat bands for the final 70+ miles. The teams have gone from the freezer to the oven in this race. (There has been an 80°F temperature differential from the start to the end, without considering wind chill.)

Update: Ed Hopkins seems to be stalled near the top of Eagle Summit only a few miles from Mile 101. Meanwhile Rob is about 50 miles out of Slavens.

Update: 11:15PM CST Allen and Brent are about 20 miles from the finish, while Rob Cooke is less than 10 miles from Slaven’s Roadhouse.

The Current Standings at 10:40PM CST (7:40PM AKST):

Beyond Two Rivers
1 Allen Moore (1)
2 Brent Sass (2)
Beyond Mile 101
3 Ed Hopkins (20)
At Mile 101
4 Hugh Neff (26)
Beyond Central
5 Damon Alexander Tedford (7)^R
Beyond Circle
6 Normand Casavant (3)
7 Jason Campeau (24)^R
8 Torsten Kohnert (14)
9 Dave Dalton (11)
10 Mike Ellis (22)
11 Brian Wilmshurst (17)
12 Nicholas Vanier (5)^R
At Circle
13 Ryne Olson (16)^R
Beyond Eagle
14 Kristin Knight Pace (12)^R
15 Lance Mackey (8)
16 Rob Cooke (21)Φ
[Read more →]

The Fairbanks News-Miner had a couple of interesting articles on the effect of the super cold temperatures at the start of the race: Jeff Richardson’s Yukon’s extreme cold takes toll on people, dogs and John Schandelmeier’s
Why so many dropped dogs? Deep cold, risky strategy.

Jeff King’s scratch at Pelly Crossing highlights another issue – appetite. Jeff has been competing in 1000 mile races for decades, and certainly knows how to pack a sled for a run, but he was blind-sided by the change due to the cold. In a normal race each dog consumes about 25,000 calories per day and mushers load their sleds with that much plus a reserve. If you drop a dog, you have to leave at least 4 pounds of food per day for the dog to eat when it isn’t working.

Jeff left Pelly Crossing and got to the Scroggie Creek Dog Drop and saw that the dogs were eating much more than normal. At the stop he concluded he didn’t have enough food packed to ensure they were fed all the way to Dawson, so he returned to Pelly Crossing. There was no way for him to obtain the extra food he felt he would need for the trail to Dawson, so he scratched.
[Read more →]

Allen is closing on Brent on the way to Central. Allen tends to stick to his race plan for resting and running which seems to be working for his team. It is also easier for a team to chase than lead.

Hugh Neff has a tough call as he came in to Circle with 7 puppies pulling and 1 riding. The two big climbs, Eagle and Rosebud, are coming.

Rob Cooke and the Red Lantern are about 30 miles from Eagle.

Allen joined Brent at Central and Rob Cooke arrived at Eagle.

The Current Standings at 11:20PM CST (8:20PM AKST):

At Mile 101
1 Brent Sass (2)
Beyond Central
2 Allen Moore (1)
Beyond Circle
3 Ed Hopkins (20)
4 Hugh Neff (26)
At Circle
5 Damon Alexander Tedford (7)^R
Beyond Eagle
6 Normand Casavant (3)
7 Torsten Kohnert (14)
8 Dave Dalton (11)
9 Mike Ellis (22)
10 Brian Wilmshurst (17)
11 Jason Campeau (24)^R
12 Nicholas Vanier (5)^R
13 Ryne Olson (16)^R
14 Kristin Knight Pace (12)^R
15 Lance Mackey (8)
At Eagle
16 Rob Cooke (21)Φ
[Read more →]

This morning Brent is in Circle which is 50 miles South of the Arctic Circle, not on the Circle as the founders believed. He reported that the river ice is really jumbled as a result of the warm temperatures in January followed by the recent hard freeze expansion. He has finished three-fourths of the race.

Magnus Feren Kaltenborn (23)^R scratched at Dawson. Joar Ulsom has returned to Eagle, but hasn’t made a decision yet. Lance is moving very slowly and taking long breaks which may just be the result of having a team of two-year-olds.

Joar has scratched. Rob Cooke is the only team left in the Yukon. He is resting at the 40-Mile Hospitality Stop.

Cody Strathe has returned to Eagle to think things over. In addition to the early frigid temperatures the jumble ice is apparently a major problem and there have been encounters with moose and caribou which view a team of sled dogs as a wolf pack.

Cody decided to scratch for ‘the good of the team’ and Rob Cooke is in Alaska.

The Current Standings at 10:00PM CST (8:00PM PST 7:00PM AKST):

Beyond Circle
1 Brent Sass (2)
At Circle
2 Allen Moore (1)
Beyond Eagle
3 Hugh Neff (26)
4 Ed Hopkins (20)
5 Damon Alexander Tedford (7)^R
6 Normand Casavant (3)
7 Torsten Kohnert (14)
8 Dave Dalton (11)
9 Mike Ellis (22)
10 Brian Wilmshurst (17)
11 Jason Campeau (24)^R
At Eagle
12 Ryne Olson (16)^R
13 Nicholas Vanier (5)^R
[Read more →]

Why are you being hustled by street vendors to buy sad and drooping former roses, vegetative matter that missed the cut for bouquets, or were too late to the hospital?

Blame Esther A. Howland (1828 – 1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts. Her guilt is writ large by the Greeting Card Association’s Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary. She imported the concept to the US from Britain to bolster her father’s stationery store in 1847.

Of course, it wasn’t long before the stationers had infiltrated school boards and imposed the now mandatory exchange in the classroom to push the low end product of Asian children and prisoners.
[Read more →]

Brent and Allen convinced the Border Patrol that they weren’t entering the US to pick tomatoes and have left Eagle after the mandatory stop.

At the back of the race Magnus finally made it to Dawson this morning with the Red Lantern.

The Current Standings at 9:00PM CST (7:00PM PST 6:00PM AKST):

Beyond Eagle
1 Brent Sass (2)
2 Allen Moore (1)
3 Hugh Neff (26)
4 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (18)
5 Ed Hopkins (20)
Beyond Dawson
6 Cody Strathe (4)
7 Normand Casavant (3)
8 Damon Alexander Tedford (7)^R
9 Torsten Kohnert (14)
10 Mike Ellis (22)
11 Brian Wilmshurst (17)
12 Dave Dalton (11)
13 Lance Mackey (8)
14 Ryne Olson (16)^R
15 Jason Campeau (24)^R
[Read more →]

Watch On The Yard

I see you…

[Editor: I have no idea what CC is staring at, but she has been watching something for a very long time.]

The Friday Ark for lots of animal pictures.

This morning Brent is in Alaska and Allen is still in the Yukon about 20 miles behind according to the satellite tracking. The back of the pack is between Scroggie Creek and Dawson.

Update: Rolland Trowbridge (13)^R hit the panic button on his tracker and the Canadian Rangers were sent to locate the team. While musher and dogs are relatively healthy, they didn’t feel able to continue. The team will be escorted to Dawson.

Update: Iditarod veteran Ray Redington Jr (19)^R decided to scratch at Dawson. This wasn’t a surprise as he came into Dawson with only 8 dogs left on the team and 500 miles to go.

The Current Standings at 11:00PM CST (9:00PM PST 8:00PM AKST):

At Eagle
1 Brent Sass (2)
Beyond Dawson
2 Allen Moore (1)
3 Hugh Neff (26)
4 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (18)
5 Ed Hopkins (20)
6 Cody Strathe (4)
7 Normand Casavant (3)
8 Damon Alexander Tedford (7)^R
At Dawson
9 Torsten Kohnert (14)
10 Mike Ellis (22)
[Read more →]

Brent can’t leave Dawson until after 5PM CST, but he has a 6-hour lead on Allen. Both of them arrived at Dawson without having to drop a dog, and the temperature is back to a more seasonable -15°F, a balmy day in this part of the world.

Brent dropped a dog at Dawson. There is no place to drop a dog between Dawson and Slaven’s Roadhouse because there are no roads near Eagle.

The Current Standings at 11:30PM CST (9:30PM PST):

Beyond Dawson
1 Brent Sass (2)
2 Allen Moore (1)
At Dawson
3 Hugh Neff (26)
4 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (18)
5 Ray Redington Jr (19)^R
6 Ed Hopkins (20)
7 Cody Strathe (4)
8 Normand Casavant (3)
9 Damon Alexander Tedford (7)^R
10 Torsten Kohnert (14)
Beyond Pelly Crossing
11 Lance Mackey (8)
12 Rolland Trowbridge (13)^R
[Read more →]