Category — Yukon Quest

The teams will be dribbling in all day for their major layover, so not much racing. The standings will do odd things as volunteers catch and correct errors made overnight.

Hendrik Stachnau, a German musher, has a team of purebred Greenland Dogs and Alaskan Malamutes. They are larger and stronger breeds than the Alaskan huskies, but were not bred for all out speed.

The first teams will be able to leave Dawson at midnight PST, 2AM CST.

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

At Dawson
1 Brent Sass (3)
2 Michelle Phillips (8)
3 Hans Gatt (2)
4 Allen Moore (26)
5 Paige Drobny (23)
6 Denis Tremblay (1)
7 Matt Hall (7)
8 Ryne Olson (21)
9 Torsten Kohnert (5)
10 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
11 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
12 Jessie Royer (18)
13 Cody Strathe (28)
14 Curt Perano (29)
15 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
16 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
17 Olivia Webster (15)^R
18 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
19 Rob Cooke (30)
20 Andrew Pace (19)
21 Dave Dalton (12)
22 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
23 Misha Wiljes (17)
24 Jim Lanier (13)^R
25 Chase Tingle (22)^R
26 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
27 Laura Allaway (24)^R
28 Remy Leduc (4)^R
Beyond Pelly Crossing
29 Jimmy Lebling (6)^R
30 Lisbet Norris (14)^R

[Read more →]

Lizbet Norris is another Iditarod veteran trying the Quest. Like Rob Cooke, her team are pedigreed Siberian Huskies.

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

At Dawson
1 Brent Sass (3)
2 Michelle Phillips (8)
3 Hans Gatt (2)
4 Allen Moore (26)
5 Paige Drobny (23)
6 Denis Tremblay (1)
7 Matt Hall (7)
8 Ryne Olson (21)
Beyond Pelly Crossing
9 Curt Perano (29)
10 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
11 Torsten Kohnert (5)
12 Cody Strathe (28)
13 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
14 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
15 Olivia Webster (15)^R
16 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
17 Andrew Pace (19)
18 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
19 Dave Dalton (12)
20 Jessie Royer (18)
21 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
22 Rob Cooke (30)
23 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
24 Misha Wiljes (17)
25 Chase Tingle (22)^R
26 Laura Allaway (24)^R
27 Jim Lanier (13)^R
28 Jimmy Lebling (6)^R
29 Lisbet Norris (14)^R
30 Remy Leduc (4)^R
[Read more →]

The Current Standings at 7:00PM CST ( 5:00PM PST):

Beyond Pelly Crossing
1 Allen Moore (26)
2 Hans Gatt (2)
3 Brent Sass (3)
4 Paige Drobny (23)
5 Michelle Phillips (8)
6 Denis Tremblay (1)
7 Curt Perano (29)
8 Ryne Olson (21)
9 Matt Hall (7)
10 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
11 Torsten Kohnert (5)
12 Cody Strathe (28)
13 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
14 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
15 Olivia Webster (15)^R
16 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
17 Andrew Pace (19)
18 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
19 Dave Dalton (12)
20 Jessie Royer (18)
21 Rob Cooke (30)
22 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
23 Misha Wiljes (17)
24 Laura Allaway (24)^R
25 Jim Lanier (13)^R
At Pelly Crossing
26 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
27 Chase Tingle (22)^R
28 Remy Leduc (4)^R
29 Jimmy Lebling (6)^R
30 Lisbet Norris (14)^R

Note: Seeing Jim Lanier listed as a rookie is a bit jarring as he and his signature white huskies have been running the Iditarod for decades. He’s in his mid 70s and is a retired MD.
[Read more →]

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

At Pelly Crossing
1 Hans Gatt (2)
Beyond Carmacks
2 Allen Moore (26)
3 Dave Dalton (12)
4 Matt Hall (7)
5 Paige Drobny (23)
6 Michelle Phillips (8)
7 Brent Sass (3)
8 Denis Tremblay (1)
9 Torsten Kohnert (5)
10 Jessie Royer (18)
11 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
12 Olivia Webster (15)^R
13 Cody Strathe (28)
14 Ryne Olson (21)
15 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
16 Curt Perano (29)
17 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
18 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
19 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
20 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
21 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
22 Laura Allaway (24)^R
23 Rob Cooke (30)
24 Jim Lanier (13)^R
25 Misha Wiljes (17)
26 Andrew Pace (19)
27 Chase Tingle (22)^R
28 Remy Leduc (4)^R
29 Jimmy Lebling (6)^R
At Carmacks
30 Lisbet Norris (14)^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.

Whitehorse 2089 feet [637 meters] Start
Braeburn 2326 feet [709 meters] 100 miles [161 km]
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] 24 Hour Stop
American Summit 3920 feet [1195 meters]
Eagle 880 feet [268 meters] 147 miles [237 km] 6 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]
Two Rivers 750 feet [229 meters] 42 miles [68 km] 8 Hour Stop
Fairbanks 440 feet [134 meters] 45 miles[72 km] Finish

Because of a lack of snow between Braeburn and Carmacks, the teams are being trucked, not racing. It has been cold, but it hasn’t been snowing. The official notice of the changes due to lack of snow.

The trail between Central and Two Rivers checkpoints is really a nasty piece of work, going up and down two mountains at the end of the race.[Two Rivers is also called Chena Hot Springs on some maps.]

Sébastien brought in La Lanterne Rouge (Φ) at 4:29AM CST (1:29AM AKST) after losing the trail between Two Rivers and Fairbanks. Ben Good pushed and took advantage of Sébastien’s wrong turn to hand off the Red Lantern.

Hugh picked up the Dawson money because Brent didn’t finish, and Katherine took Rookie honors.

Fairbanks Finish
1 Matt Hall (20)
2 Hugh Neff (9)
3 Allen Moore (8)
4 Paige Drobny (7)
5 Ed Hopkins (18)
6 Torsten Kohnert (21)
7 Katherine Keith (19)^R
8 Jessie Royer (1)^R
9 Ryne Olson (15)
10 Dave Dalton (13)
11 Rob Cooke (4)
12 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
13 Ben Good (3)^R
14 Sébastien Dos Santos Borges (5)^RΦ
[Read more →]

Dave at the front and Ben at the back are the only ones moving at the moment. Ben should get to Two Rivers in about an hour, but Rob Cooke’s Siberians can’t hit the trail until 11:22AM CST.

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

Fairbanks Finish
1 Matt Hall (20)
2 Hugh Neff (9)
3 Allen Moore (8)
4 Paige Drobny (7)
5 Ed Hopkins (18)
6 Torsten Kohnert (21)
7 Katherine Keith (19)^R
8 Jessie Royer (1)^R
9 Ryne Olson (15)
10 Dave Dalton (13)
11 Rob Cooke (4)
Beyond Two Rivers
12 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
13 Sébastien Dos Santos Borges (5)^R
14 Ben Good (3)^RΦ
[Read more →]

Barring the unforeseen, this looks like the finishing order. Katherine Keith of Kotzebue will win the rookie honors.

Gaetan Pierrard (10) scratched at Central. He left and then returned to scratch.

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

Fairbanks Finish
1 Matt Hall (20)
2 Hugh Neff (9)
3 Allen Moore (8)
4 Paige Drobny (7)
5 Ed Hopkins (18)
6 Torsten Kohnert (21)
7 Katherine Keith (19)^R
8 Jessie Royer (1)^R
Beyond Two Rivers
9 Ryne Olson (15)
At Two Rivers
10 Dave Dalton (13)
Beyond Mile 101
11 Rob Cooke (4)
12 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
13 Sébastien Dos Santos Borges (5)^R
14 Ben Good (3)^R
[Read more →]

Matt left Two Rivers at 3:30AM CST and barring anything unforeseen, his team will win this year’s Quest.

Matt Hall crossed the finish at 3:04PM CST (12:04PM AKST).

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

Fairbanks Finish
1 Matt Hall (20)
2 Hugh Neff (9)
Beyond Two Rivers
3 Allen Moore (8)
4 Paige Drobny (7)
5 Ed Hopkins (18)
At Two Rivers
6 Torsten Kohnert (21)
7 Katherine Keith (19)^R
Beyond Mile 101
8 Jessie Royer (1)^R
At Mile 101
9 Ryne Olson (15)
At Central
10 Dave Dalton (13)
11 Rob Cooke (4)
12 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
Beyond Circle
13 Ben Good (3)^R
14 Gaetan Pierrard (10)
15 Sébastien Dos Santos Borges (5)^R
[Read more →]

There have been bookend scratches on the trail. Brent Sass (14) called for assistance for two dogs on his team while he was 16 miles out of Central at 10:02PM CST last night, and decided to scratch even though the dogs are now stable and under vet care. This morning at 6:50AM CST, Hank DeBruin made the decision to scratch at Eagle. He felt it was best best for his team to stop. Brent was in second place and Hank had the Red Lantern.

Between the mountains and the super cold temperatures affecting the batteries, the trackers are failing and the live tracking isn’t as reliable as it had been earlier in the race.

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

At Two Rivers
1 Matt Hall (20)
Beyond Mile 101
2 Hugh Neff (9)
3 Allen Moore (8)
Beyond Central
4 Ed Hopkins (18)
5 Paige Drobny (7)
At Central
6 Torsten Kohnert (21)
7 Katherine Keith (19)^R
Beyond Circle
8 Ryne Olson (15)
9 Jessie Royer (1)^R
At Circle
10 Rob Cooke (4)
11 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
12 Dave Dalton (13)
Beyond Eagle
13 Ben Good (3)^R
14 Gaetan Pierrard (10)
15 Sébastien Dos Santos Borges (5)^R
[Read more →]

Matt made his lead official at Circle, but it’s only a half hour. Hugh is 4 hours behind them. Even 4 hours isn’t a comfortable lead with the Eagle & Rosebud climbs coming up.

At 11:30AM CST Hank made it to Alaska and beyond 500 miles.

At 11:30AM AKST it’s -51°F at Circle & Central. OK, that’s cold even for Alaska.

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

At Central
1 Matt Hall (20)
2 Brent Sass (14)
Beyond Circle
3 Hugh Neff (9)
4 Ed Hopkins (18)
5 Allen Moore (8)
At Circle
6 Paige Drobny (7)
Beyond Eagle
7 Katherine Keith (19)^R
8 Torsten Kohnert (21)
9 Ryne Olson (15)
10 Jessie Royer (1)^R
11 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
12 Dave Dalton (13)
13 Rob Cooke (4)
14 Ben Good (3)^R
15 Gaetan Pierrard (10)
16 Sébastien Dos Santos Borges (5)^R
Beyond Dawson
17 Hank DeBruin (17)
[Read more →]

This morning Brent and Matt are at Slaven’s Roadhouse, while Hank is alone at Dawson and can’t leave until early this afternoon.

At 11AM CST (8AM AKST) everyone except Hank is in Alaska.

At 4PM CST Matt is about an hour ahead of Brent out of Slaven’s and Hank & the Sibs are headed for Alaska.

It looks like it is going to be Matt & Brent battling it out to the end. If they wear each other out, Hugh will pounce.

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

Beyond Eagle
1 Brent Sass (14)
2 Hugh Neff (9)
3 Matt Hall (20)
4 Allen Moore (8)
5 Ed Hopkins (18)
6 Paige Drobny (7)
7 Katherine Keith (19)^R
8 Torsten Kohnert (21)
9 Ryne Olson (15)
At Eagle
10 Jessie Royer (1)^R
11 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
12 Dave Dalton (13)
13 Rob Cooke (4)
Beyond Dawson
14 Gaetan Pierrard (10)
15 Sébastien Dos Santos Borges (5)^R
16 Ben Good (3)^R
17 Hank DeBruin (17)
[Read more →]

Hank DeBruin and his 8 Siberians made it to Dawson just before midnight local time, and Brent made it to Eagle at 5AM AKST [8AM CST]

The Finish line in Fairbanks has been moved off the river because the ice may not be thick enough for the teams and spectators.

Yuka Honda scratched at Dawson for ‘well-being of her dogs’. The loss of Firefly was too big a burden.

In other sled dog news, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart to move to Fairbanks. I assume they will use the 2015 route, but they moved the finish of the Quest because of questionable ice on the Tanana, so the Iditarod may have to get creative.

The Current Standings at 8:30PM CST ( 6:30PM PST):

Beyond Eagle
1 Brent Sass (14)
2 Hugh Neff (9)
3 Matt Hall (20)
4 Allen Moore (8)
5 Ed Hopkins (18)
Beyond Dawson
6 Katherine Keith (19)^R
7 Paige Drobny (7)
8 Torsten Kohnert (21)
9 Ryne Olson (15)
10 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
11 Rob Cooke (4)
12 Jessie Royer (1)^R
13 Dave Dalton (13)
14 Gaetan Pierrard (10)
15 Sébastien Dos Santos Borges (5)^R
16 Ben Good (3)^R
At Dawson
17 Hank DeBruin (17)
[Read more →]

Hank DeBruin and his Siberian Huskies are the last team not at or beyond Dawson as Brent hits the trail for the climb up American Summit and the US border.

Yuka Honda lost one of her dogs on the trail to Dawson. The cause of death awaits a necropsy. The odd-year Quest has never been easy for Yuka.

Update:

Head Veterinarian Cristina (Nina) Hansen, DVM, PhD reports that preliminary necropsy results for Yuka Honda’s expired dog, Firefly, showed an enlarged heart and that he ingested several booties.

Firefly was a six-year-old intact male in good body condition.

At 5PM CST Brent is in Alaska about to ascend the American Summit.

The Current Standings at 8:00PM CST ( 6:00PM PST):

Beyond Dawson
1 Brent Sass (14)
2 Hugh Neff (9)
3 Matt Hall (20)
4 Allen Moore (8)
5 Ed Hopkins (18)
6 Katherine Keith (19)^R
7 Paige Drobny (7)
At Dawson
8 Torsten Kohnert (21)
9 Ryne Olson (15)
10 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
11 Rob Cooke (4)
12 Jessie Royer (1)^R
13 Dave Dalton (13)
14 Gaetan Pierrard (10)
15 Sébastien Dos Santos Borges (5)^R
16 Ben Good (3)^R
17 Yuka Honda (2)
Beyond Pelly Crossing
18 Hank DeBruin (17)
[Read more →]