Category — Yukon Quest

Michelle and Aliy (+ 8 seconds) made it to the finish line 2 days, 7 hours, and 20 minutes after the race started. It took Colin 3 days, 14 hours, and 15 minutes to cross the line with the Red Lantern. The first 7 teams finished in under 3 days.

Five of the original 18 teams dropped out along the way. At the end it was the mushers who had to quit because they weren’t ready for the exhaustion that comes from staying awake for days at a time with only brief naps.

The final standings:

1 Michelle Phillips (58)
2 Aliy Zirkle (56)
3 Jerry Joinson (55)
4 Olaf Thurau (59)
5 Yuka Honda (53)
6 Marcelle Fressineau (54)
7 Tamra Reynolds (51)
8 Ryne Olson (65)
9 John King (57)
10 Gaetan Pierrard (60)
11 Jennifer Levy (63)
12 Jonathan Lucas (62)
13 Colin Morrison (52)

Michelle won the sprint by 8 seconds to win the 2013 Yukon Quest 300 last night at 10:20:02PM PST. She and Aliy have been minutes apart, swapping the lead since Carmacks, but Michelle obviously timed her final sprint correctly.

Update: Debbie Knight (61) has scratched at the McCabe Creek Dog Drop.

Update: Lucy Tyrrell (68) followed Debbie’s example and also scratched at McCabe Creek.

The Standings as of 11PM CST:

Finished
1 Michelle Phillips (58)
2 Aliy Zirkle (56)
3 Jerry Joinson (55)
4 Olaf Thurau (59)
5 Yuka Honda (53)
6 Marcelle Fressineau (54)
7 Tamra Reynolds (51)
Beyond Pelly Crossing
8 Jonathan Lucas (62)
9 Gaetan Pierrard (60)
10 John King (57)
11 Ryne Olson (65)
12 Colin Morrison (52)
13 Jennifer Levy (63)

Allen passed Hugh at the Scoggie Creek Dog Drop to take the lead. Unfortunately his GPS unit is down so the Live Tracking isn’t working at the moment.

Ed Abrahamson (22) become the first team to scratch at Carmacks. He wasn’t making any time and the trail conditions aren’t what you want for a come back. There is a lot of speculation that Lance may scratch at Dawson because he has had to drop 5 dogs already, and he isn’t happy with the condition of his team. He has been rebuilding as the teams that won multiple Quests and Iditarods have retired from competition.

Standings at 11PM CST:

At Dawson
1 Hugh Neff (4)
2 Allen Moore (11)
3 Jake Berkowitz (20)
Beyond Pelly Crossing
4 Kelley Griffin (8)
5 Brent Sass (18)
6 Susan Rogan (10)^R
7 Abbie West (17)
8 Normand Casavant (7)
9 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
10 David Dalton (21)
11 Ed Hopkins (25)
12 Dan Kaduce (15)
13 Crispin Studer (26)
14 Cody Strathe (5)^R
15 Scott Smith (23)^R
16 Lance Mackey (6)
17 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
18 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
19 Darrin Lee (24)^R
20 Matthew Failor (14)^R
21 Rob Cooke (3)^R
22 Misha Pedersen (16)
23 Dyan Bergen (19)^R
24 Randy MacKenzie (9)^R
25 Christina Traverse (12)^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 selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

The field has decreased again this morning with Paige Drobny (65) scratching at Carmacks, while her husband, Cody Strathe, made his big move in the standings for the 1000. Paige was running fourth when she made the decision. Meanwhile Aliy and her husband, Allen Moore, as sitting in second in the two races, and Michelle’s husband, Ed Hopkins, is having trouble reaching his stride.

Update: Aliy and Michelle are sprinting on the ‘loop’, the stretch of trail beyond Pelly where you go out and come back to finish at Pelly Crossing checkpoint. The finish will probably show seconds between them when they cross the line.

Standings at 10:30PM CST:

Beyond Pelly Crossing
1 Aliy Zirkle (56)
2 Michelle Phillips (58)
At Pelly Crossing
3 Jerry Joinson (55)
4 Marcelle Fressineau (54)
5 Yuka Honda (53)
Beyond Carmacks
6 Gaetan Pierrard (60)
7 Tamra Reynolds (51)
8 Olaf Thurau (59)
9 John King (57)
10 Jennifer Levy (63)
11 Ryne Olson (65)
12 Jonathan Lucas (62)
13 Colin Morrison (52)
At Carmacks
14 Debbie Knight (61)
Beyond Braeburn
15 Lucy Tyrrell (68)

Hugh is at the Stepping Stones Hospitality Stop on his way to Dawson. This leg is over 200 miles, so changes at the front will have to depend on Live Tracking. Satellites are the most reliable mode of communications in the area. The only ‘grid’ in this area is on maps.

At the temperatures now on the trail, the more teams that run over any section of trail, the worse it becomes. The teams at the back are fighting ruts dug by the runners of the teams ahead of them. If the ruts are deep enough the sled will bottom out.

The Standings at 11PM CST (9PM PST):
Beyond Pelly Crossing
1 Hugh Neff (4)
2 Allen Moore (11)
3 Jake Berkowitz (20)
4 Brent Sass (18)
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
6 Kelley Griffin (8)
7 David Dalton (21)
8 Normand Casavant (7)
9 Lance Mackey (6)
10 Susan Rogan (10)^R
11 Abbie West (17)
12 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
13 Cody Strathe (5)^R
14 Ed Hopkins (25)
15 Crispin Studer (26)
At Pelly Crossing
16 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
17 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
18 Dan Kaduce (15)
Beyond Carmacks
19 Darrin Lee (24)^R
20 Rob Cooke (3)^R
21 Matthew Failor (14)^R
22 Misha Pedersen (16)
23 Dyan Bergen (19)^R
At Carmacks
24 Randy MacKenzie (9)^R
25 Christina Traverse (12)^R
26 Ed Abrahamson (22)

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 selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

The YQ 300 field is in or beyond Braeburn and has fallen to 16 teams. Kyia Bouchard (67) made the decision to scratch after reaching Braeburn

Standings as of 10PM CST:

At Carmacks
1 Michelle Phillips (58)
2 Aliy Zirkle (56)
Beyond Braeburn
3 Jerry Joinson (55)
4 Paige Drobny (65)
5 Marcelle Fressineau (54)
6 John King (57)
7 Gaetan Pierrard (60)
8 Yuka Honda (53)
9 Tamra Reynolds (51)
10 Olaf Thurau (59)
11 Jonathan Lucas (62)
12 Jennifer Levy (63)
13 Ryne Olson (65)
14 Colin Morrison (52)
15 Debbie Knight (61)
16 Lucy Tyrrell (68)

Allen Moore was the first team into Braeburn, followed by Lance Mackey. Hugh, Susan, and Brent decided to take their mandatory 4-hour stop at Carmacks and blew through, putting them in the lead temporarily.

The numbers for Lance aren’t adding up. To fulfill the requirements for the mandatory stop, he should have been at Braeburn for 5 hours, the 4-hour stop plus the 60 minute start differential, but he was only there for 4 hours and 25 minutes. Either he is pulling a head fake on the field and will make a 5 hour stop at Carmacks, or the numbers were entered wrong. [Update: Lance is playing with Allen Moore’s head and will take the stop at Carmacks.]

Note that after Carmacks the standings are the overall standings in the race. At the moment Allen Moore has a small lead when you adjust for the start time advantage. After Carmacks the start time is equalized and the positions are real.

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

Beyond Carmacks
1 Hugh Neff (4)
2 Allen Moore (11)
3 Jake Berkowitz (20)
4 Scott Smith (23)^R
5 Brent Sass (18)
At Carmacks
6 David Dalton (21)
7 Susan Rogan (10)^R
8 Lance Mackey (6)
9 Normand Casavant (7)
10 Abbie West (17)
Beyond Braeburn
11 Kelley Griffin (8)
12 Cody Strathe (5)^R
13 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
14 Crispin Studer (26)
15 Dan Kaduce (15)
16 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
17 Ed Hopkins (25)
18 Matthew Failor (14)^R
19 Darrin Lee (24)^R
20 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
21 Rob Cooke (3)^R
22 Misha Pedersen (16)
23 Ed Abrahamson (22)
24 Christina Traverse (12)^R
25 Randy MacKenzie (9)^R
26 Dyan Bergen (19)^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 selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Four hours after the first team left on the Quest another group queued up to start their own race – the intermediate distance Yukon Quest 300 that will follow the same trail, but end at Pelly Crossing. To qualify for the 1000-mile Quest or Iditarod you have to prove your team’s competence by completing intermediate distance races, like the YQ 300.

This year’s contestants include some familiar names:

1 Tamra Reynolds (51)
2 Colin Morrison (52)
3 Yuka Honda (53)
4 Marcelle Fressineau (54)
5 Jerry Joinson (55)
6 Aliy Zirkle (56)
7 John King (57)
8 Michelle Phillips (58)
9 Olaf Thurau (59)
10 Gaetan Pierrard (60)
11 Debbie Knight (61)
12 Jonathan Lucas (62)
13 Jennifer Levy (63)
14 Paige Drobny (65)
15 Ryne Olson (66)
16 Kyia Bouchard (67)
17 Lucy Tyrrell (68)

Aliy Zirkle is the only woman to win the Quest, but now her husband, Allen Moore runs the Quest, while she checks out dogs who might be on her Iditarod team. Last year Allen finished 26 seconds behind Hugh Neff, so he really wants it.

Yuka Honda finished her first Quest last year [as did Marcelle Fressineau and Paige Drobny], but she wants nothing to do with the Quest on odd years after her day and a half climb over Eagle Summit in 2009.

Bib 64 is missing because vets didn’t like the condition of David Mason’s dogs and he had to scratch at the starting gate. No one has said what the problem was, but I would suspect coughing on the team. This is a problem when the temperature warms up. People don’t get colds at -40° because the viruses die at those temperatures. When things warm up a bit people and dogs get sick.

Updates on the 300 are slow in coming. It should take 3 days or less to complete, but there are no guarantees.

The start went off without any major problems with teams leaving at 3 minute intervals between 11AM and 12:15PM PST. The Quest teams favor 14 dogs rather than the 16 that is normal for the Iditarod.

Update at 11PM CST – the decision has been made to change the route between Dawson and Eagle. Trailbreakers have reported that the trail is impassable over American Summit in several places, so teams will stay on the Yukon River. This change shortens the race by about 50 miles.

At 11:30PM CST it is Hugh, Lance, Allen, Normand, Brent, and Abbie in that order according to Live Tracking. Hugh is about 15 miles from Braeburn.

The Standings at 2:30PM CST (12:30PM PST):

Beyond Whitehorse

1 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
2 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
3 Rob Cooke (3)^R
4 Hugh Neff (4)
5 Cody Strathe (5)^R
6 Lance Mackey (6)
7 Normand Casavant (7)
8 Kelley Griffin (8)
9 Randy MacKenzie (9)^R
10 Susan Rogan (10)^R
11 Allen Moore (11)
12 Christina Traverse (12)^R
13 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
14 Matthew Failor (14)^R
15 Dan Kaduce (15)
16 Misha Pedersen (16)
17 Abbie West (17)
18 Brent Sass (18)
19 Dyan Bergen (19)^R
20 Jake Berkowitz (20)
21 David Dalton (21)
22 Ed Abrahamson (22)
23 Scott Smith (23)^R
24 Darrin Lee (24)^R
25 Ed Hopkins (25)
26 Crispin Studer (26)

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 selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

The race starts at 11:00AM PST in Bib order. The difference in start time is usually adjusted at the first mandatory stop in Braeburn. The mushers with a “R” after their names are Quest rookies, while those in Bold are former winners.

Brian Wilmshurst (1)
Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
Rob Cooke (3)^R
Hugh Neff (4)
Cody Strathe (5)^R
Lance Mackey (6)
Normand Casavant (7)
Kelley Griffin (8)
Randy MacKenzie (9)^R
Susan Rogan (10)^R
Allen Moore (11)
Christina Traverse (12)^R
Denis Tremblay (13)^R
Matthew Failor (14)^R
Dan Kaduce (15)
Misha Pedersen (16)
Abbie West (17)
Brent Sass (18)
Dyan Bergen (19)^R
Jake Berkowitz (20)
David Dalton (21)
Ed Abrahamson (22)
Scott Smith (23)^R
Darrin Lee (24)^R
Ed Hopkins (25)
Crispin Studer (26)

There is currently about 8 hours between sunrise and sunset with the length increasing by more than 5 minutes a day. The temperature at the start is forecast to be in the 20s F, which a bit warm for the dogs. The moon will be in the last quarter on Sunday, so it won’t be much help for night runs, which some mushers may elect to do to keep their puppies cool.

It’s time for the Yukon Quest and this year it goes from Whitehorse to Fairbanks, the hard course. Don’t expect the race times to be close to last year’s pace because the worse bit of the trail is at the end when you go West, and the teams and mushers are tired.

Whitehorse 2089 feet [637 meters] Start
Braeburn 2326 feet [709 meters] 100 miles [161 km] 4 Hours + Start Offset Stop
Carmacks 1722 feet [525 meters] 77 miles [124 km]
Pelly Crossing 1558 feet [475 meters] 73 miles [117 km]
King Solomon’s Dome 4002 feet [1220 meters]
Dawson 1050 feet [320 meters] 202 miles [325 km] 36 Hour Stop
American Summit 3920 feet [1195 meters]
Eagle 880 feet [268 meters] 147 miles [237 km] 4 Hour Stop
Circle 597 feet [182 meters] 159 miles [256 km]
Central 435 feet [133 meters] 74 miles [119 km]
Eagle Summit 3685 feet [1123 meters]
Mile 101 2250 feet [686 meters] 33 miles [53 km]
Rosebud Summit 3640 feet [1109 meters]
Chena Hot Springs 750 feet [229 meters] 42 miles [68 km] 8 Hour Stop
Fairbanks 440 feet [134 meters] 45 miles[72 km] Finish

It is around 1000 miles [1600 kilometers].

The trail between Central and Chena Hot Springs checkpoints is really a nasty piece of work, going up and down two mountains at the end of the race. In the even years it is out of the way early while mushers and teams are fresh. In 2011 the run up Eagle Summit in bad weather took out veterans. Brent Sass’s Silver, one of the best weather dogs ever has retired, so we can hope that at least the weather will be decent.

The race starts on Saturday.

Hugh Neff finally overcame his Quest jinx as did Yuka Honda: he finally won it, and she finally finished it. It was a good year, as 19 of 23 starters, finished and there were no serious problems with anyone’s dogs.

There was an above average rate of dogs dropped, that can be traced back to the warm weather and a number of young dogs. The dogs were overworking in the ‘heat’ and didn’t recover like they normally would have. Lance Mackey commented on that problem with his team, after he noticed them slowing down. [He blamed himself for spending too much time running in the daylight, instead of the cooler night hours.]

The major award winners were:

Golden Harness – Walter & Juanity [Hugh Neff’s team leaders]
Veterinarian’s Choice – Kristy Berington
Challenge of the North – Michael Telpin
Dawson Award – Allen Moore
Rookie of the Year – Jake Berkowitz
Red Lantern – Michael Telpin

Michael Telpin’s effort is almost like a reenactment of the original techniques and equipment that were used during the Yukon Gold Rush. With a few exceptions, he used the equipment and dogs that would have been in daily use back then, and are still in use by the Arctic peoples. He started and finished with 9 dogs, and with the race nearly over, he finally let them run like they could, which is why he finished so closely behind Marcelle. He had been holding his team back because of the heat, and the lack of familiarity moving through trees.

I would note that when it was colder, early in the race, he was moving much faster, than after it warmed up.

Final Standings: [Read more →]

This morning Marcelle is about halfway between Braeburn and Whitehorse, while Michael’s GPS is again being silent after showing him at Braeburn last night.

The GPS distances shown on Live Tracking are straight-line measurements from point to point, not trail measurements, which yield a total distance of 890 miles, missing about 100+ miles of the actual trail.

At 11PM CST: It’s over with Michael’s arrival at about 10:20PM

Beyond Braeburn
18 Marcelle Fressineau (15)^R [finished at about 9:24PM]
19 Michael Telpin (24)^RΦ

Both teams are on the final stretch, and the official site expects them in today.

Marcelle is almost at the finish line and Michael is only an hour behind her, so both will be in tonight.

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 selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

This is now totally an endurance event and a matter of pride. They want to finish what they started and are running on will-power. The dogs have been moving at an easy pace, as evidenced by Michael still having all 9 dogs he started with, and they have been receiving plenty of rest, but neither he, nor Marcelle have. When the sled stops, the musher has to take care of the dogs, while the dogs can just rest immediately, if they are so inclined. At a six-hour stop the dogs get over 5 hours of rest between meals, the musher is lucky to get 4, because of the dog care, and making their own food and repairs.

At 11:30PM CST [Live Tracking]

At Braeburn
18 Marcelle Fressineau (15)^R
19 Michael Telpin (24)^R

Michael’s GPS isn’t working again, the last report is over 5 hours ago, but he has been about 15 miles behind Marcelle all day. [5:30PM CST]

Michael finally registered at Braeburn when I checked at 11:30PM.

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 selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.