Posts from — February 2020

Cody is almost finished and Olivia and the Red Lantern are resting at Pelly Crossing.

At 5:30PM CST Nora is at Braeburn and Olivia is about a half hour from McCabe Creek.

The Current Standings at 5:30PM CST ( 3:30PM PST):

Finished At Whitehorse
1 Brent Sass (15)
2 Michelle Phillips (11)
3 Cody Strathe (2)
4 Allen Moore (4)
Beyond Braeburn
5 Torsten Kohnert (9)
6 Ryne Olson (8)
At Braeburn
7 Nora Själin (6)^R
Beyond Carmacks
8 Richie Beattie (1)
9 Rob Cooke (12)
10 Pat Noddin (13)^R
Beyond Pelly Crossing
11 Olivia Webster (7)^RΦ

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Olivia is making the last climb of the trail while Brent is within 41 miles of the finish. Dawson to Pelly Crossing is over 200 miles with one major and several medium climbs involved. Michelle trails Brent by just under 20 miles.

Brent made it to the finish just before 5PM CST.

There is fresh snow on the trail between Braeburn and Whitehorse.

At 9PM CST Olivia is resting at Stepping Stone while Pat is at McCabe’s Cabin and Michelle finished at Whitehorse.

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

Finished At Whitehorse
1 Brent Sass (15)
2 Michelle Phillips (11)
Beyond Braeburn
3 Cody Strathe (2)
At Braeburn
4 Allen Moore (4)
5 Torsten Kohnert (9)
Beyond Carmacks
6 Ryne Olson (8)
At Carmacks
7 Nora Själin (6)^R
8 Richie Beattie (1)
Beyond Pelly Crossing
9 Rob Cooke (12)
10 Pat Noddin (13)^R
Beyond Dawson
11 Olivia Webster (7)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Michelle and Brent are leap-frogging each other and resting on the trail. She had an hour lead out of Carmacks and the tracker says that he’s within a mile of her now. They have about 150 miles to go to Whitehorse.

At 8PM CST While Brent and Michelle are taking an 8-hour mandatory stop at Braeburn, Olivia is resting at Scroggie Creek, and Nora is about 8 miles from Pelly Crossing.

The Current Standings at 9:30PM CST ( 7:30PM PST):

At Braeburn
1 Brent Sass (15)
2 Michelle Phillips (11)
Beyond Carmacks
3 Cody Strathe (2)
At Carmacks
4 Allen Moore (4)
Beyond Pelly Crossing
5 Torsten Kohnert (9)
6 Ryne Olson (8)
At Pelly Crossing
7 Nora Själin (6)^R
Beyond Dawson
8 Rob Cooke (12)
9 Richie Beattie (1)
10 Pat Noddin (13)^R
11 Olivia Webster (7)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Live Tracking shows Michelle at Pelly Crossing with Brent about two hours behind at 10:25AM CST. Dave is set to leave Dawson in a half hour with Chase leaving in the afternoon and Olivia in the evening.

The Canadian Rangers reported an excellent trail out of Dawson, but significant moose activity on the trail to Pelly Crossing.

Brent blew through Pelly Crossing to take the lead back from Michelle who was resting there. Dave Dalton scratched at Dawson because some of his dogs had contracted a stomach virus. Chase Tingle also decided to scratch at Dawson for the “good of his team”. [Dawson has road connections and the dog handlers and truck were there for the 36-hour break.]

The Current Standings at 7:30PM CST ( 5:30PM PST):

Beyond Pelly Crossing
1 Brent Sass (15)
2 Michelle Phillips (11)
At Pelly Crossing
3 Cody Strathe (2)
Beyond Dawson
4 Allen Moore (4)
5 Torsten Kohnert (9)
6 Ryne Olson (8)
7 Nora Själin (6)^R
8 Rob Cooke (12)
9 Richie Beattie (1)
10 Pat Noddin (13)^R
11 Olivia Webster (7)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Brent and Michelle are approaching Scroggie Creek. Olivia made it to Dawson early this morning, she won’t be leaving until afternoon tomorrow. Allen Moore and Rob Cooke are the only ones still running with all their dogs in harness.

Nora is the last to leave Dawson tonight. Tomorrow Rob and Richie will be out at about 3:20AM CST. Pat gets to leave at around 5:30AM; Dave at 11AM, Chase just after 3PM (the one hour penalty); and Olivia gets back on the trail at 6:45PM. All times CST, Subtract 2 hours for the local time zone.

The Current Standings at 9:15PM CST ( 7:15AM PST):

Beyond Dawson
1 Brent Sass (15)
2 Michelle Phillips (11)
3 Cody Strathe (2)
4 Allen Moore (4)
5 Torsten Kohnert (9)
6 Ryne Olson (8)
7 Nora Själin (6)^R
At Dawson
8 Rob Cooke (12)
9 Richie Beattie (1)
10 Pat Noddin (13)^R
11 Dave Dalton (10)
12 Chase Tingle (14)
13 Olivia Webster (7)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

This morning everyone is in the Yukon. Brent can’t leave Dawson until 7:43PM tonight and there will a slow day as the last six make their way to Dawson and rest.

At 7:43PM CST – Brent left on time and Michelle has an hour and 11 minutes before she can go.

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

Beyond Dawson
1 Brent Sass (15)
2 Michelle Phillips (11)
At Dawson
3 Cody Strathe (2)
4 Allen Moore (4)
5 Torsten Kohnert (9)
6 Ryne Olson (8)
7 Nora Själin (6)^R
8 Rob Cooke (12)
9 Richie Beattie (1)
10 Pat Noddin (13)^R
Beyond Eagle
11 Chase Tingle (14)
12 Dave Dalton (10)
13 Olivia Webster (7)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Michelle should be in Dawson shortly while Allen and Cody are 30 miles back. Since Brent was the last to start he is truly the race leader as the other teams have to serve their start differential in Dawson.

At 2:30PM CST everyone is beyond Eagle and Cody and Allen are almost in Dawson.

At 5:30PM CST Olivia has crested American Summit. It’s all downhill from here.

At 10PM CST no changes until tomorrow morning. The last 6 teams are still in Alaska. The leaders are on their mandatory layovers.

The Current Standings at 5:30PM CST ( 3:30PM PST):

At Dawson
1 Brent Sass (15)
2 Michelle Phillips (11)
3 Cody Strathe (2)
4 Allen Moore (4)
Beyond Eagle
5 Torsten Kohnert (9)
6 Ryne Olson (8)
7 Nora Själin (6)^R
8 Rob Cooke (12)
9 Pat Noddin (13)^R
10 Richie Beattie (1)
11 Chase Tingle (14)
12 Dave Dalton (10)
13 Olivia Webster (7)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

This occurred in the county to my west. I dealt with some pretty dumb people when working in upstate New York, but no one this dumb. ‘Florida man’ strikes again.

The race is passed mile 400 and Brent is about 30 miles from the border on American Summit. Olivia has left Slaven’s.

As Olivia approaches Trout Creek Brent has crossed the border into the Yukon and Pacific Standard Time at 4:30PM CST [2:30PM PST].

Olivia is resting at Trout Creek and Brent has stopped at Clinton Creek at 7:30PM CST [5:30PM PST].

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

Beyond Eagle
1 Brent Sass (15)
2 Michelle Phillips (11)
3 Cody Strathe (2)
4 Allen Moore (4)
5 Torsten Kohnert (9)
6 Ryne Olson (8)
7 Nora Själin (6)^R
At Eagle
8 Pat Noddin (13)^R
9 Rob Cooke (12)
10 Richie Beattie (1)
11 Chase Tingle (14)
Beyond Circle
12 Dave Dalton (10)
13 Olivia Webster (7)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

You never, ever use new software in a production setting unless it has been stress tested for at least 6 months and the end users have been trained and participate in the final stage of testing. That said, they used paper ballots, so no data was lost. The big ‘problem’ is that there was no instant answer after the caucuses had all ended.

The caucus system is a bad idea that gives a flawed result. Just hold a primary and find out who the voters really prefer. Not everybody can make it to the meeting place on a Monday night – some would need babysitters, some are working, some don’t have transportation, etc. There is nothing democratic about a process that excludes a significant number of voters in the state.

The problem of the Iowa Democratic Party staging an archaic process, in a small rural state that only has 6 of the 535 votes in the Electoral College, is hardly indicative of problems of any Presidential campaign. It does highlight the problem of front loading the candidate selection system with small rural states.

This morning the leaders are on the Yukon River more than 300 miles from the start and the rear of the field is 100 miles back at Circle (50 miles south of the Arctic Circle).

Chase Tingle (14) received an hour penalty for replacing broken pieces on his sled at Mile 101 in violation of Rule 11. The Quest is very strict on its ‘one sled’ policy.

Jason Campeau (3) and Denis Tremblay (5) have scratched at Circle in the best interests of their teams and the leaders are at Trout Creek at 4PM CST.

At 8PM CST the leaders are about 20 miles from Eagle and Olivia is about 12 miles from Slaven’s.

The Current Standings at 8:00PM CST ( 5:00PM AKST):

Beyond Circle
1 Michelle Phillips (11)
2 Brent Sass (15)
3 Allen Moore (4)
4 Cody Strathe (2)
5 Torsten Kohnert (9)
6 Ryne Olson (8)
7 Nora Själin (6)^R
8 Pat Noddin (13)^R
9 Chase Tingle (14)
10 Rob Cooke (12)
11 Richie Beattie (1)
12 Dave Dalton (10)
13 Olivia Webster (7)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

This morning they are leaving the road behind and hopping on the Yukon River when they leave Circle. Hopefully the Yukon is frozen hard and not too bumpy. There are no roads until the other side of the American Summit in the Yukon Territory.

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

Beyond Circle
1 Michelle Phillips (11)
2 Brent Sass (15)
3 Allen Moore (4)
4 Cody Strathe (2)
5 Torsten Kohnert (9)
6 Nora Själin (6)^R
7 Ryne Olson (8)
At Circle
8 Jason Campeau (3)
9 Denis Tremblay (5)
10 Richie Beattie (1)
11 Pat Noddin (13)^R
12 Dave Dalton (10)
13 Chase Tingle (14)
14 Rob Cooke (12)
Beyond Central
15 Olivia Webster (7)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

02022020

Two over Rosebud stopping at the cabins on Steese Highway before heading up Eagle. Teams use 14 puppies on the Quest and the check points are few and far between, so the sleds are carrying more food weight than the Iditarod.

The Current

Standings at 10:00PM CST ( 7:00PM AKST):

Beyond Central
1 Brent Sass (15)
2 Michelle Phillips (11)
3 Allen Moore (4)
4 Jason Campeau (3)
5 Nora Själin (6)^R
At Central
6 Cody Strathe (2)
7 Torsten Kohnert (9)
8 Ryne Olson (8)
Beyond Mile 101
9 Denis Tremblay (5)
10 Richie Beattie (1)
11 Pat Noddin (13)^R
12 Dave Dalton (10)
13 Rob Cooke (12)
14 Chase Tingle (14)
At Mile 101
15 Olivia Webster (7)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.