Alaska 2015

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That is actually two orders, going out on two different planes on two different dates.

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The timeline of waking the checkpoint. (I'm Georganne.)

As of tonight, Checkpoint Mile 101 has been opened up by assistant checkpoint manager Mike Bowman. If anybody needs help or a cup of coffee on the Steese Highway between 12 Mile Summit and Eagle Summit, please feel free to stop by.
At this point the weather is good and no problems are anticipated. For emergencies (but only for that) we are for now connected to the outside world by Sat-Phone.

Our checkpoint time table is as follows:

02/8: Delivery of straw and food drop bags for mushers, cabin repairs and set up.

02/11: Our communication manager Nathan Brisboise will arrive and open the communication cabin. He will stay until the last musher leaves.

02/11: Hughes net technicians will arrive and set up our internet link to the outside world. Thanks for being such an awesome sponsor !!

02/11 -12: An extra crew of trail breakers will arrive (not the ones who check the trail before the first musher) to go over the trail from Central over Eagle Summit down the Birch Creek drainage and up to Rosebud again to add markers and gather last minute trail reports. At least two trail breakers will then be stationed at 101 for trail care or emergencies until the last musher leaves.

02/12: Georganne Hampton will arrive to officially open the Mile 101 cook shack, which she runs for 6 years now with Kelly Kamper. She will also bring with her the awesome food Ivory Jacks, a restaurant in the Goldstream Valley near Fairbanks provides for us to feed mushers. Ivory Jacks used to be a sponsor of our little dog drop when no one cared. They are still providing us with food for mushers at what has now become a checkpoint more than 15 years later. Thank you again, again and again ! smile emoticon

O2/13: Kelly Kamper, the checkpoint manager Peter Kamper and all additional crew will arrive.

02/14: Final set up of the checkpoint. Stews and soups will be prepared and the dog lot will be laid out.

02/15: First musher will arrive. We anticipate this to happen in the early morning hours.

The weather is supposed to warm up considerably over the next week and we will keep you posted on this page about weather/wind conditions at 101 and the surrounding Summits as soon as information becomes available.
If you have questions, feel free to contact us.
Happy Trails to all... smile emoticon
Checkpoint Mile 101
The crew

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And so it begins.

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My German Checkpoint Manager...

A checkpoint manager's perspective on the race:
I think, that the first thing to mention is the fact that I am not a musher, but I do have a bit of an idea about the race. I am running a drogdrop/checkpoint for 20 years and with a good crew to back me up, I also did video coverage of the whole trail for 10 years until 2013. When the race started in Whitehorse, I jumped ahead from Circle to Mile 101 and stayed there to be with my crew. When the race started in Fairbanks I usually started with the crew and then jumped again forward towards Circle once all mushers had passed. There is a lot you learn while watching and talking to mushers in their hours of glory or moments of defeat, sitting down with race vets and judges. Listening, watching, learning.
So this year I will comment on the 2015 race as I see it,... not being a musher.
My perspective will by no means reflect the opinion of the Yukon Quest organization or of our awesome crew.
Take it all with a grain of salt: smile emoticon

So far I'm not surprised about the race. It is going as well as it is supposed to go. There will be the usual hype and the media. They will have to suck all kinds of predictions and stories out of their keyboards. That's what they get paid for. That is what we as spectators want and what we expect.
Two things I know....
First of all:
"The race is not won in Braeburn if you start in Whitehorse." This is an old quote I first heard from 4 time champion Hans Gatt almost a decade ago and it still holds. He knew darn well what he was talking about.
Arriving in Braeburn in first place is no art and does not tell you much about the condition of a team. I've known quite a few mushers who came first into Braeburn and later on stalled and eventually scratched on the long way to Fairbanks. Martin Massicote and later on YQ champion Hugh Neff were just two of those.
In my opinion the jockeying for positions will not start in earnest before mushers leave Pelly Crossing for the black hills towards Dawson. Anything before then should mostly be considered a game of cat and mouse. Tonight's Checkpoint times will not reveal much of anything about the teams, the mushers or the race.
The only goal that needs to be achieved by mushers in Braeburn tonight, is leaving with 14 well fed, well watered and happy dogs.
Dog care, patience and stealth are the three greatest arts a musher needs to handle in a long distance sled dog race, in that order.
So what we see tonight or tomorrow will in my mind have nothing to do with times, but rather with exciting a team to run a 1000 mile/ 1600 km race, making them happy and showing them 'what we are up to'.
Second:
Nothing can beat a good musher who's happy team truly want to win, in whichever way they perceive such a notion. They do have a sense of what is going on !
It happens often enough. Hans Gatt told us in Mile 101, when he arrived almost 8 hours before the next contender on his way to Fairbanks said about his dogs: " They just wanted to run. I have no clue where everybody else is, but this team simply came together for me after Pelly Crossing. They just wanted to run. I was amazed...."
Hugh Neff coined this occurrence 'a magic carpet ride' when his team did something similar.
Since this rarely ever happens during the first 100 miles, it is now up to mushers to make their team want to 'eat the trail'. Record times have nothing to do with this.
The foremost challenge mushers face at this point is not only to make their dogs happy, but also to prepare them for the '300 Mile barrier'.
The '300 Mile barrier' is something I will mention later on in the race. smile emoticon
Happy Trails..... smile emoticon
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[crashdive123]

Pretty cool, but then again....some might consider -36F downright cold.

[1stimestar]

Ugh, I am leaving on Thursday to go up to the checkpoint where I will have very little time to practice. After I get back, I only have a matter of days before I do my second performance on Street Jelly (online busking community). A bunch of us fiddle players get together and take it over for the whole day. So I have been practicing pretty heavily.

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Then this morning, I noticed this. I've only been playing for 3 years and about 4 months.

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Blarg! Guess I am going to learn how to replace a finger board. There is only one "luthier" in town and he is backed up for months as it is only his hobby. But I'm just going to have to keep playing it like it is and hope for the best for now.

[1stimestar]

Well 4 mushers have scratched so far. It's really not that unusual as normally only a third of the field finishes. It's not called The Toughest Race on Earth for nothing.

There are still unconquered lands.

I saw a bumper sticker not long ago that said 'Alaskans For Global Warming.' I had to laugh. I think there are 22 mushers somewhere in the Canadian Yukon who would gladly support that cause right now.

The dwindling ‪#‎yukonquest‬ field has largely checked through Pelly Crossing, and is now making the 201 mile trek to Dawson City. Temperatures are reported to be in the -50 range.

We don't count wind chill up here. At -45 (the lowest windchill charts go) even the 10 mph wind speed created by a dog team drops the effective temp to 72 below. Anyone who's ever traveled the Yukon knows there is a near constant wind.

I say somewhere in the Yukon because we don't really know where the mushers are. They are carrying little GPS trackers, but there are places on this planet where GPS doesn't work. Where satellite phones say 'no signal.' Where you remember that no matter how many machines we put into space, how smart we can make a computer, or how many warplanes we can stack on a boat, humans are still not in control. We are very, very, very, small.

Right now 22 mushers are feeling very small. Their world consists of the 10' beam cast by the LED headlight. It shows 12 little dog butts, concertedly scurrying towards some unknown destination. They have no idea where they are, and rarely see markers. They are relying entirely on those lead dogs to follow the trail, on those little trail markers to lead to somewhere, on the 3 AA batteries in that headlight to last until daylight, on these 24,506 goose feathers to keep their core temperature slightly above hypothermia. The only thing they can hope to control is to make their fingers hold onto that handlebar. Never let go. But at -72, they're not even in control of their fingers.

Have you ever been in 50 below? Try to eat. A snickers bar might as well be a concrete block. A banana will drive a 20 penny nail into a plank. If spilled, freshly roasted coffee will freeze before it hits the ground. Same goes for bodily fluids.

If you're frustrated watching the GPS trackers, don't worry, they're not telling the truth. Jeff King (I'm 99% sure) isn't still stopped, and all those other blips DO NOT accurately represent where the teams that carry the signal actually are. We'll know when they get to Dawson. Fortunately the Yukon Quest Facebook page is doing a phenomenal job posting updates.

But Facebook doesn't work where those guys are either.

https://www.facebook.com/seaveysididaride?fref=nf

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You can listen to this here: http://fm.kuac.org/post/mushers-navi...on-quest-trail

Lance is already missing one finger. Fingers are turning black and he is still mushing...

KUAC
On Air
Talk of Alaska
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Yukon Quest
4:34 am
Tue February 10, 2015
Mushers navigate highs and lows along the Yukon Quest trail

By Emily Schwing


Pelly Crossing, YK - Along the Yukon Quest trail, Mushers experience all kinds of highs and lows. Sometimes their dog teams cruise. At other times a rough trail and harsh weather can make even the toughest musher question why they signed up for he race.

In the last three days, almost every musher has had something to say about the persistent deep cold that has settled in over the Yukon. “None of us had thermometers with us because none of us wanted thermometers with us,” said musher Matt Hall.

Hall said teams in the middle of the pack have been running close together in part because of frigid temperatures. “So it was kind of fun. It made us kind of stick together,” he said. “You’d come around a corner and there’d be mushers grouped together and a big fire going and even though you’re competing against each other everybody would sit around the fire together and talk and it’s just a different side of things versus when it’s warmer and everybody spreads out more and you’re just all on your own.”

Despite the camaraderie, Hall arrived in Pelly Crossing in low spirits. “Yeah, I think I’m at what they call the wall,” said Hall.

He said his team just didn’t seem geared up, but he was convinced his dogs were responding to his own low mood. “Oh, I think it’s me. Everything feeds off of you,” he said. “You’re the coach so I think once we get to Dawson that will be the light that pulls us out of it.”

Hall dropped two dogs in Carmacks, and four when he arrived in Pelly. His team left quietly from that checkpoint, but two hours later, he returned to scratch - perhaps an ultimate low for the up-and-coming musher who placed third as Rookie of the Year in 2014.

Highs and lows on the trail aren’t out of the ordinary for even the most veteran of mushers. “Just one minute everything’s great and then the next minute it’s like what the hell just happened? I’ve been referring to as being plugged in and unplugged,” said Lance Mackey.



Nearly every one of his fingertips is frost bitten in spite of battery powered glove heaters. “I can’t put it out of my head. It’s one of those things that’s a constant reminder,” he said of his aching fingers. “I need a replacement with a booty horn on one hand and a hook on the other or something,” he joked.

But the four-time champion is experienced enough to know the Yukon Quest is fraught with ups and downs even for the dogs. “Well coming through some of that jumble ice, I had [a dog] fall in a crack and as soon as it happened I knew she was going to be done,” he said. “So I stopped right away and apologized for not being able to control all the things and I go up there and I have my little talk with her and I’m walking back to the sled and then I fall in a crack and I fall on my head and I tuned back and ‘See?’ and we kind of laughed about a bad situation,” said Mackey.

And then there’s Thorsten Kohnert. “So far I was pretty leveled,” said Kohnert. “No high not low just average. But of course there will be moments you probably regret singing up like if you’re standing in your knees in some overflow in 40 below or something, that’s not so funny.”

The even-keeled Swede didn’t have much to report from the first 300 miles of his race. His plan is to take it easy into Dawson City.

“Well, I don’t believe in stressing things up,” Kohnert said. “Nothing good comes out of it, so I try to be leveled.”

Mushers are looking forward to 24 hours of rest in Dawson. A few say they might consider staying longer. Whether they are serious isn’t entirely clear. The weather forecast is calling for a break in the cold over the next day or two, but few mushers say the trust that prediction.

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Brent Sass, my favorite, is first into Dawson, the halfway point. If he finish the whole race, he'll get about $3000 worth of gold. He's ran it many times but last year he came the closest to winning. Things were looking great for him possibly winning, when he fell asleep on the back of his sled, on the river and knocked himself silly putting himself out of the race.

[Williepete]

I just don't see how the dogs or humans can stand a race like this. I can not see how the human body can get used to that kind of weather. I do enjoy your posting about the race and all your other posts about Alaska. My DW and I did the inside passage cruise several years ago and had a number of land tours and enjoyed everything up there.

Bill

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They all have coats, even the dogs. Also, only northern breed dogs are allowed. So they have the double coat, soft downy undercoat and long protective hairs to layer over the tops. The dogs also wear booties to protect their feet from ice and snowballs that build up in between their toes. During breaks, the mushers will go check all his dogs' feet (as well as other things like wrists and shoulders for soreness). The dogs that train up here are better able to deal with the cold temperatures and fare better then say, dogs that train down on the Kenai or other places south where it is warmer. Also, dogs are very good at transforming fat into calories/heat. That's why they are fed fat in every meal during a race.

[Rick]

What sled dogs do in the off season.....

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It's 11:30 pm and everyone is asleep. The wood stoves are banked for the night. The coffee pot is set up to go for the early morning departure of the trail breakers. The sound of the generator is providing a restful hum in the background and there is a soft snore coming from the back room. The northern lights are doing a little bit of dancing outside. We expect our first musher tomorrow morning sometime and are ready.


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Well, the checkpoint is set up, the crew is ready and there is nothing much to do but being trouble on facebook, ... as you might have already noticed. smile emoticon
But there is still a story to be told that all the media following the race misses by 24 hours. When the media arrives at a checkpoint to get photos and videos from every angle and word from the first musher to arrive, a part of the story has already left.
That's the never told story of the trail breakers, men and women who break the 1000 Mile (1600 km) trail for the mushers who run this race.
When you hear about jumble ice and a bad trail, they eventually get mentioned. If the trail is good and not too hard for the dogs (that might lead to wrist injuries), and not too soft (that might lead to shoulder injuries), those boys and girls are hardly ever mentioned.
If the trail is bad and things go wrong, they most often get blamed and finally get the media attention they deserve...., the wrong way.
This year, we have two experienced trail breakers stationed at 101 and when I asked them, it turned out that they had broken the Yukon Quest trail between TwoRivers and Central for four years. "Or was it five years ?", one asked the other. They didn't remember and they didn't care either.
Trailbreakers don't get paid. If anything, they get reimbursed for fuel, but damage to their machines is not included.
To break trail, you need a good snow machine. That costs roughly $10.000 . Breaking trail will wear down your machine much before it's time.
Then there is the matter of the deep Yukon River. The river always has some open water. Whatever ice holds a snow machine used to break trail, will also hold a musher and his or her four footed friends. But finding and staking such a river trail is a mixture of art and daring.
There will be news stories about the jumble ice, sheets of river ice that thawed and broke again until they finally froze solid 'man high' between Slavens Cabin and Circle.
"How do you find a trail through that mess ?", we asked.
They laughed. "You can't. You go by instinct and on the first run you hope for the best until you get stuck, then you heave your machine around to go back until you find a passable trail." With a shrug the trail breaker added:" If we can make it, a dog team can make it. We get stuck with our machines a lot easier than dog teams do, but before we finally stake a good trail through such a mess, we turn around a lot.... and try again."
Another group of trailbreaker came in this afternoon before sunset. They are sitting down with deep fried halibut, bacon, scrambled eggs as well as other comforts tonight, courtesy of Ivory Jacks Restaurant in Fairbanks.
One of them came all the way from Whitehorse, the rest came from Circle.
"We'll go back out tomorrow to check on some overflow 10 miles out of Central."
That's a meager 60 Mile run over Eagle Summit back and forth.
Those trail breakers are dedicated.
Two of them will stay at Mile 101 until the last musher leaves: "We are here for the duration and go over the hill (Eagle Summit) to pick up trail markers when everything is done."
We feel comfortable, knowing that we are backed up by experienced trail breakers.
In return we can only offer our hospitality, a bunk and food.
They deserve much more.
Photo left to right: Trail breakers Caleb Wiseman and Lyle Croft at Mile 101

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[Rick]

I don't know much about dog mushin' but if the back of that van is any indication you don't have nearly enough beer.

[1stimestar]

Lol there is more up in the front of the load. Those are just ones I threw in last minute.

[DOGMAN]

Great thread. Lots of cool vids and info! A big congrats to Brent Sass for pulling off the win this Year in the Quest. I wonder if he can pull off an Iditarod win as well? Can't wait to find out

[crashdive123]

Nice to see you back DOGMAN - don't be such a stranger.

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I know, we were all so very excited for Brent's win, especially after knocking himself out last year. I just got back yesterday afternoon. After napping around today, then the finish banquet tonight, I'll probably be recovered enough to post videos and pictures. Nice to see you back Dogman!

[DOGMAN]

Glad to have some time to check in and catch up!

[1stimestar]

Here is an opportunity for an adventurer. Where is Payne!? These are my friends that I go visit every year and I can certainly vouch for them.

BUSH ALASKA EXPEDITIONS needs a dog handler NOW through the end of May...permanent position available also for the right person...hard-core "off-the-grid".....incredible dogs....message us if interested..web-site
https://bushalaskaexpeditions.com