Category — Yukon Quest

The Yukon Quest has changed the trail in response to the effects of the recent ‘heat wave’ in Alaska and the Yukon.

The start was moved from the Chena River to Second Avenue in Fairbanks. The river is not considered stable enough to support the teams and spectators. Snow will be hauled in to cover the road for the start.

The finish has been moved from Whitehorse to Takhini Hot Springs, about 18 miles North, as there is no snow in Whitehorse.

For the second year in a row the trail over the American Summit is impassable, so the trail has routed around it.

The changes has reduced the length of the race to just over 900 miles from the normal 1000 miles.

In local news, the bridges, airports, schools, and government offices are closed and will remain closed until noon tomorrow at the earliest, which is anticipated to be the soonest the temperature will get above freezing and melt the ice that coats everything.

There are no plows, salt or sand trucks, snow tires – hell, there aren’t even windshield scrappers down here. I had to break the ice to open the garbage can which has a frosted flake look to it.

The local emergency management officials and government agencies at all levels took this storm seriously, so we haven’t had the mess that Atlanta is experiencing. People are staying home and off the roads, realizing that with the bridges closed you can’t go anywhere.

This is going to be the smallest field ever for the race, only 18 teams. The primary reasons seem to be a dismal economy and the weather.

It is expensive to maintain a team for a thousand miles, so the money has to be found, and that has been more difficult since the economy took a dive. Sponsorship money has dried up as more businesses cut their expenses.

The weather all winter in Alaska has created another problem for people who might want to race. This has been a warm and wet winter in southern and central Alaska, so a lot of mushers have been left with little time to train and condition a team for a thousand mile race. You can’t really give dogs much of a run if the temperature is too warm.

On Friday I saw a picture of downtown Whitehorse. There is no snow, there isn’t even slush. Of course, a wind change and temperature drop could happen overnight, but there is no snow pack for a trail. Temperatures are dropping, but it is going to take a least a couple of days of sub-zero weather to freeze over the rivers and creeks and firm up the ground. The current conditions don’t bode well for the Iditarod.

Update: Yukon Quest issued a statement that the race will start on Saturday, but the trail, including the start and end points, is definitely subject to change based on reports from those monitoring the trail conditions.

The Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race starts on February 1^st and both the start an finish locations [Fairbanks and Whitehorse, this year] are at or above freezing tonight. It wasn’t that long ago that they moved the start date to the first Saturday in February to give people more time between the Quest and the Iditarod, but now it looks like they will need to advance the date again to get weather cold enough for the dogs to run.

Sled dogs have heat related problems when they work at temperatures above 20°F. The ice on the rivers and streams won’t be strong enough for the weight of the sleds. This is global climate change in action, when it rains in Fairbanks in January.

You know that Allen Moore took home the first place money with trail time of 8 days, 18 hours, and 57 minutes.

Dyan Bergen had 13 days, 6 hours, and 3 minutes of trail time as the final finisher and won the Red Lantern.

Fifth place was good enough for Scott Smith to pick up the Rookie of the Year Award for his run.

For being first into Pelly Crossing, Allen Moore won a pair of traditional beaver gauntlets from the Selkirk First Nation.

For being first into Dawson and finishing the race, Hugh Neff received four ounces of gold.

Normand Casavant received the Vet’s Choice Award for his care of his team.

Darrin Lee was chosen for the Challenge of the North Award which is given for dedication and perseverance during the race.

For the third time Brent Sass received the Sportsmanship Award. This time it is for helping Jake Berkowitz on Eagle Summit.

Quito won the Golden Harness Award for ‘top dog’, [includes a steak dinner]. She is a leader on Allen Moore’s team.

Hugh Neff announced that he was heading to Norway for a while as part of a sled dog promotion. He also mentioned that this was the last 1000 mile event that Walter, a lead dog, would run. Walter is retiring at age 9.

Twenty-six teams left Whitehorse and twenty finished. There were 364 dogs at the start, and 199 reached the finish line. Unfortunately one of the dogs that didn’t finish was General, on Jake Berkowitz’s team. General died as the result of a twisted intestine that caused a blockage. He died while being transported to Whitehorse for emergency care.

Many of those who were at this banquet will be at the starting line for the Iditarod on March 2^nd.

Dyan Bergen (19) left the Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers checkpoint at 5:13AM CST for the final leg of the race and she has the trail to herself until she gets closer in, where snowmobilers and local mushers will be out and about. She is more than a third of the way in moving at better than 6 miles per hour. It is in single digits in Fairbanks with overcast skies and the sun won’t be up for a couple of hours, so her headlamp is all the light available. That said, the glow from the lights in Fairbanks should be visible, and she is on the river, so the trail isn’t too tricky.

She obviously has won the Red Lantern if she finishes and will be in time for the banquet to receive it. This is down to a personal goal for herself and her puppies, which is the biggest reason I always hang in for those in the back of the race.

Update: The Yukon Quest ended at 8:18PM CST [5:18PM AKST] when Dyan crossed the finish line.

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

Dyan as made it over Eagle with the aurora to light her way, as it has been active the last few days. Matt is waiting out the mandatory 8-hour stop at Chena Hot Springs.

Everyone else has found Fairbanks and can get a shower, hot food, clean clothes, and sleep without wood smoke.

Update at 5:30pm CST: Matt is just under 25 miles to the finish, while Dyan is crawling up Rosebud. There is daylight to make the ascent, so she should be fine, although there is deep snow, and most people end up having to lead their team over.

Matt Failor has been wearing glasses since Dawson. In Dawson he put his contact lenses in a glass of water on the bedside stand, and … yep, he got thirsty during the night, so he had to wear his glasses.

BTW, glasses are a real pain in cold weather. When it gets really cold the lenses can crack because of the contraction differential between the lens and the frame. They also cause problems when you put on the ruffed hood as your breath will condense on them until they warm up.

The Standings at 9:30PM CST (6:30PM AKST):

At Fairbanks/Finish
1 Allen Moore (11)
2 Hugh Neff (4)
3 Brent Sass (18)
4 Jake Berkowitz (20)
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
6 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
7 Normand Casavant (7)
8 Abbie West (17)
9 Dan Kaduce (15)
10 Susan Rogan (10)^R
11 Ed Hopkins (25)
12 David Dalton (21)
13 Crispin Studer (26)
14 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
15 Cody Strathe (5)^R
16 Darrin Lee (24)^R
17 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
18 Rob Cooke (3)^R
19 Matthew Failor (14)^R
At Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
20 Dyan Bergen (19)^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 selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

The front half of the field has made it into Fairbanks, while Dyan and her puppies continue to chug along on the trail between Circle and Central. She still has 10 puppies pulling, so it is looking good for her to carry the Red Lantern.

Rob made it over Rosebud and Matt is climbing Eagle, but the weather is more to the liking of the dogs, a bracing -11° in Fairbanks.

I’m having to combine the Current Standings, Live Tracking, and Facebook sites to figure out where people are. This happens at the end of every race, as the bulk of volunteers follow after the leaders, so only a few are left to report on the back of the pack.

The Current Standings (2PM CST) show Matt still in Central when he just arrived at Mile 101.

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

At Fairbanks/Finish
1 Allen Moore (11)
2 Hugh Neff (4)
3 Brent Sass (18)
4 Jake Berkowitz (20)
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
6 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
7 Normand Casavant (7)
8 Abbie West (17)
9 Dan Kaduce (15)
10 Susan Rogan (10)^R
11 Ed Hopkins (25)
12 David Dalton (21)
13 Crispin Studer (26)
14 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
15 Cody Strathe (5)^R
16 Darrin Lee (24)^R
Beyond Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
17 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
18 Rob Cooke (3)^R
Beyond Mile 101
19 Matthew Failor (14)^R
At Central
20 Dyan Bergen (19)^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 selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Dyan is at Slavin’s resting with the Red Lantern. She is moving at almost 7 mph when she is on the trail, but she is definitely traveling alone with the puppies.

Because of the snow and the wind, it is important to stay on the trail. Jake got off the trail going up Eagle Summit and was mired in waist-high loose snow. The trail is packed and well above ground level, so if you miss a turn it will be a hard slog to get the team and the sled back on it after you find it under the surface snow.

Update: Denis Tremblay (13) got dinged with a two hour penalty to be served at Two Rivers for failing to leave the required 4 pounds of food with the dog he dropped at Slavens Cabin.

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

At Fairbanks/Finish
1 Allen Moore (11)
2 Hugh Neff (4)
3 Brent Sass (18)
4 Jake Berkowitz (20)
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
6 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
7 Normand Casavant (7)
8 Abbie West (17)
Beyond Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
9 Susan Rogan (10)^R
10 Dan Kaduce (15)
At Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
11 Ed Hopkins (25)
12 David Dalton (21)
13 Crispin Studer (26)
14 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
Beyond Mile 101
15 Cody Strathe (5)^R
16 Darrin Lee (24)^R
17 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
Beyond Central
18 Rob Cooke (3)^R
Beyond Circle
19 Matthew Failor (14)^R
At Circle
20 Dyan Bergen (19)^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 selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Barring moose, caribou, snowmobile, or asteroid, it looks like Allen is going to win this year and make up for his 26 second loss last year. This is based on Live Tracking, and Hugh’s trackers have a history of malfunctioning, but Allen’s two extra dogs on his team seemed to have allowed him to have built up a real lead that Hugh couldn’t overcome in the final run.

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

At Fairbanks/Finish
1 Allen Moore (11)
2 Hugh Neff (4)
3 Brent Sass (18)
4 Jake Berkowitz (20)
Beyond Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
At Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
6 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
Beyond Mile 101
7 Normand Casavant (7)
8 Abbie West (17)
9 Susan Rogan (10)^R
At Mile 101
10 Dan Kaduce (15)
Beyond Central
11 David Dalton (21)
12 Ed Hopkins (25)
At Central
13 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
14 Crispin Studer (26)
Beyond Circle
15 Cody Strathe (5)^R
16 Darrin Lee (24)^R
17 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
At Circle
18 Rob Cooke (3)^R
19 Matthew Failor (14)^R
Beyond Eagle
20 Dyan Bergen (19)^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 selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Misha Pedersen (16) has had leadership problems on her team which led to the very slow run into Dawson. She headed out last night, but had to come back and scratch because the team wouldn’t move into the wind on the Yukon River. Despite the common perception of dogs sticking their heads out of car windows to get the wind in their face, sled dogs generally don’t like it for very real survival reasons. Weather leaders, dogs that will head into the wind and convince the rest of the pack to follow, are very rare, and Misha doesn’t have one.

Dyan is out on the river heading to Eagle alone, and I wish her well. The Quest officials will be watching her because she’s a rookie and the weather is not good. They want to give her a chance, but they are concerned about her team.

Update: Dyan is making good progress on the trail, while at the front Allen and Hugh are basically running side-by-side as they climb Rosebud.

Update: Dyan made it into Eagle, while Allen and Hugh are sitting in Two Rivers/Chena Hot Spring for an 8-hour mandatory stop. Allen has a 16 minute lead for the 45 mile sprint to Fairbanks.

The winner should be known tomorrow morning, but I hang around until the Red Lantern is extinguished.

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

At Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
1 Allen Moore (11)
2 Hugh Neff (4)
Beyond Mile 101
3 Brent Sass (18)
4 Jake Berkowitz (20)
Beyond Central
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
Beyond Circle
6 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
7 Normand Casavant (7)
8 Abbie West (17)
9 Dan Kaduce (15)
10 Susan Rogan (10)^R
At Circle
11 David Dalton (21)
12 Ed Hopkins (25)
13 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
14 Crispin Studer (26)
Beyond Eagle
15 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
16 Darrin Lee (24)^R
17 Cody Strathe (5)^R
18 Rob Cooke (3)^R
19 Matthew Failor (14)^R
At Eagle
20 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.

Allen has a monstrous lead of 1 minute at Slavin’s Roadhouse heading to Circle.

Steese Highway is closed at several points because of high winds and blowing snow. The temperatures are down in the comfort range of the puppies, but they don’t like the wind in their face, so it is going to be down to having a weather leader, a dog that will take the team into the wind and keep moving.

Brent Sass is really going to miss Silver this year, because Eagle Summit has a 6-foot snow depth, and there are very high winds that have blocked the highway at the pass. This is shaping up to be another 2009 when Silver had to lead several other team through the mess. Hugh is not going to be happy to know that is waiting for him after his experience in 2009.

With luck the winds will calm down before the race gets there, but the snow isn’t going anywhere.

Allen is pulling away – he was 3 minutes ahead of Hugh at Circle 😉

Hugh left Circle 2 hours ahead of Allen and is back in the lead.

Randy MacKenzie (9) of Fort McMurray made the decision to scratch when it came time to leave Dawson.

Update: Susan Rogan (10) has been dinged an hour plus a fine for arriving at Eagle missing two pieces of mandatory equipment. They don’t say what the equipment was, but the fine points toward her vet book on the puppies. She’ll sit in Two Rivers/Chena Hot Springs an extra hour.

Right after I mentioned the cooler weather for the puppies, it decides to warm up again. Fairbanks hit 30° today and may go above freezing tomorrow. If it snows, it will be wet, clinging, miserable snow that will stick to coats of the both the puppies and the people.

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

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

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.

There is some bad news from the race: General, a member of Jake Berkowitz’s team, has died while being taken to Whitehorse by a race veterinarian. He had been dropped from the team at Dawson, and was being evacuated to a more advanced facility in Whitehorse for care. A necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

Update: Results of the necropsy indicate that General died of “a condition called intestinal volvulus with bowel infarction”. That’s an obstructed bowel in layman’s terms. Large dogs don’t chew their food and may swallow pieces too large to pass through their system. The system clogs causing a build up of gas and fluid that distends or expands the stomach to the point that it turns and twists the intestine, making things worse. Death is usually caused by shock. There is no ‘first aid’ for the problem. It normally requires surgery to correct.

Christina Traverse (12), a rookie from Fort McMurray, Alberta, has been withdrawn by race officials. There is no official word as to why, but withdrawal is generally the result of officials determining that a team is not capable of continuing but the musher won’t scratch on their own.

Update: Christina hit the ‘panic button’ on her GPS tracker to request assistance, so it was her decision to leave the race.

The normal 36 hour mandatory stop at Dawson was increased to 40 hours. I haven’t personally seen the reason stated, but I would assume it was to give the trail breakers more time to mark the new trail between Dawson and Eagle caused by the terrible conditions on American Summit.

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

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

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.

Hugh headed out this morning in light snow and single digit temperatures. Above the clouds is a waning crescent moon, so his headlamp is all the light he has. The normal run to Eagle is 150 miles over the American Summit where you cross the border into Alaska. Because of impassable trail conditions on the mountain, thus time it will be about 100 miles on the river. Allen headed out two hours later, and three more teams will get to leave Dawson today.

Update: As expected, Lance Mackey (6) scratched as soon as he arrived at Dawson. His puppies were just not happy on the trail for this Quest. He will be attempting to figure out what’s not working before the start of the Iditarod.

Hugh and Allen should be in Eagle around midnight.

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

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

Today was a matter of waiting for people to file into Dawson for the 36 40 hour mandatory rest stop. They get to sleep, eat, and fix their sleds before heading out to take on the worst part of the trail.

It isn’t very likely that Lance Mackey will be joining them as he is down to 7 dogs. He is hanging in to make Dawson, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to attempt to climb Eagle Summit with a team of 7 dogs.

If he makes it to Fairbanks, Hugh Neff will receive four ounces of gold as the first into Dawson, but the prize stipulates that you have to complete the race to receive it. He now has a $6,500 reason not to scratch.

Update: Kelley Griffin (8) scratched after reaching Dawson. She spent minutes short of an entire day to get from Scroggie Creek, so the team was having some problems.

Update: Scott Smith is a Quest rookie with 4 Iditarod’s on his CV. He is talking about the heat being a major factor for a lot of people. It is colder now, but the early part of the race was like a marathon at 85° for the puppies.

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

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