Yukon Quest '07

Temperatures have plummeted to -42°F, and an incredible race is underway on the Yukon! Mike Jayne, Richie Beattie, and Brent Sass (11th-13th) could be seen running within a half-hour of each other down the river. At 24, 33, and 26 years old, all three Fairbanks locals were poling hard down the trail. They have all run conservative races so far, have rested their dogs adequately, and are vying for top-ten finishes.

Fifty miles from Dawson is the Forty-mile ghost town, which predates Dawson itself. At this junction, the trail leaves the Yukon, goes up the Forty-mile River, and over American Summit, before descending back to the Yukon village of Eagle. Some trail times and arrival times for the Dawson to Forty-mile section are as follows:

Dalton (6:37, 10:38)
Schandelmeier (6:45, 10:38)
Jayne (6:20, 13:02)
Beattie (6:10, 13:28)
Sass (6:10, 13:29)

Dalton, who has repeatedly finished strong in the Iditarod and the Quest, said that his “Dogs have regained trust in me, after running them too long early in the race.” Schandelmeier was not so upbeat, saying that he had 10 dogs, but that only 8 were pulling. Jayne has eight dogs, and said he was balancing the racing element with a desire to finish. Beattie’s team looked strong, although one dog had broken a toenail near the root.

For Sass, ten strong dogs remain: Madonna, Pixie, Ling-Ling, Ross, York, Busta, Melville, Taco, The Dude, and Thunder. In Dawson, Rocky was dropped due to sore wrist and a temperature, and Vorlox was dropped due to a sore shoulder. Busta Rhymes and The Dude are the unsung heroes. If it ever gets transcribed, the halftime Brenterview, and his trail blog, might have more on the dogs’ condition and some trail recollections. Tomorrow morning the Dalton through Sass teams will be climbing American Summit and heading down into Eagle. Go Brent!

Jayne, after arriving at Forty-mile.	Beattie on the Yukon.
Brent, after arriving at Forty-mile.	Dalton and resting team at Forty-mile.

Hello everybody.

AMAZING is about the only word that explains this experience. Like I have said a million times in the past 36 hours I am having the time of my life. The first half of the race has been full of great experiences and I am sure the second half will be even better. The best part about the second half is that I have learned so much in the first half that my 500 is going to be even better. I wish I could sit here and tell stories all night long, but I really need to get some sleep. Thanks a lot to all of you that are following me along this trip I really appreciate it. Make sure to stay tuned things are going to heat up, the Dogs are looking good and I am raren to go, its time to race!! Ken and Zach will be there the whole way given you the latest news . See ya all in Fairbanks!!!!

Brent

Lance Mackey was the first into Dawson at 23:35 Tuesday, followed by William Kleedehn and Hugh Neff several hours later. There is a 36-hour mandatory layover here, so Mackey can depart around noon on Thursday. Today (Wednesday), Dave Dalton, John Schandelmeier, Mike Jayne, Richie Beattie, and Brent Sass could be seen ascending and traversing the taiga ridges of King Solomon’s Dome, which is about 15 miles outside of Dawson. They reached Dawson this evening in that order, placing 9th through 13th. Kiara Adams scratched.

Brent dropped the stoic “Gene” at Scroggie Creek (see photo from 02/11/07), and ran 12 dogs into Dawson. I was waiting near the trail, on the Yukon, and shortly after Beattie went by, I heard the familiar sound of cross country ski poles. Back at the Pelly Crossing checkpoint, someone astutely observed that Brent was the first musher they had seen strap the pole to their wrist before calling up the dogs to depart. Watching Brent arrive in Dawson gave me the impression that he had not stopped poling since that moment in Pelly Crossing, some 200 miles earlier. Madonna (see photo from 02/11/07) and Pixie (see photo from 02/11/07) were leading the team, and spirits were high. Brent said, “I’m having the time of my life.”

The last report here placed Brent in 11th out of Pelly Crossing, but that statistic was inaccurate. According to the most recent information, Brent was 20th out of Braeburn, 18th out of Carmacks, 13th out of Pelly Crossing, and 13th into Dawson. If you have any words of encouragement, now is the time (post comment)!

Kleedehn speaks to the head veterinarian after arriving in Dawson.		Dalton on a ridge near King Solomon's Dome.
Brent coming into Dawson.

Hugh Neff, Gerry Willometzer, and William Kleedehn were first to leave the Pelly Crossing checkpoint, with Neff out at 07:30 Monday. It is 201 trail miles from Pelly Crossing to the 36-hour mandatory rest in Dawson, and that includes the climb up 4,000-ft. King Solomon’s Dome. Catherine Pinard scratched.

We flew by Brent resting his dogs along the trail between Carmacks and Pelly Crossing at 11:00 on Monday. He arrived at Pelly Crossing 19:30 Monday and departed a brief 17 minutes later, sled piled high with two days and 201 miles worth of provisions. The dogs were calm, and Brent was pleased with their performance and demeanor. He had broken a ski pole and had banged-up his knee in the jumble ice of the Yukon, but he appeared unfazed. Wearing only glove liners at -30F, he left Pelly Crossing in 11^th place.

Race official Josh Horst checks the time and records Brent's arrival in Pelly Crossing.

A Greg Parvin dog enjoys some well-deserved rest at Pelly Crossing.

Brent arrived in Carmacks last night at 21:30, and he stayed at the checkpoint until departing at 3:30 this morning. Unfortunately, lead dog Silver was dropped last night after a fluke shoulder injury just before reaching Braeburn. Brent described the loss as an “emotional blow,” but was in good spirits and emphasized the strength and experience of the 13 remaining dogs. Ling-Ling – “Silver’s prodigy” – and Madonna now lead the team.

Two miles out of Braeburn, Brent encountered Yuka Honda on the trail, her dog team nowhere in sight. Brent put her on his sled and went full speed for 10 miles, until they caught Honda’s loose team on a frozen lake. Unfortunately, Honda’s team had an expired dog, so Brent stayed with her for half-an-hour until he flagged us down as we flew over in the plane. We landed on the lake next to the teams, and Brent explained the situation to us before continuing down the trail. It was traumatic for Honda, but she maintained her composure, made it into Carmacks last night, and is currently on the trail to Pelly Crossing.

Brent and a passing musher continuing down the trail after the incident with Honda.	Dog team on the Chain of Lakes.
Dog cooker and resting team.	Brent single-poling.
Two teams resting.

Hugh Neff led the charge into Braeburn Saturday night, several hours ahead of the nearest competition. The remaining teams arrived Saturday night, meanwhile temperatures dropped to -28 F by Sunday morning. By the afternoon teams could be seen resting in the calm, afternoon sun along the Chain of Lakes. Lance Mackey, Dave Dalton, and Neff are the leaders into Carmacks this afternoon, with Mackey arriving at 13:29.

At 11:00 am Saturday morning, 28 world-class dog teams shot out of the chute at 3-minute intervals, with Brent leaving 3^rd. Every team exuded power as they exploded past crowds of spectators and photographers. Hours later, we flew over all of the teams on the trail. Brent was resting his dogs, while other teams rested nearby. Teams are expected into Braeburn tonight.

Mark Sass, handling.

Brent on the trail.

Brent found a place to park his dogs outside of town, and he spends nights and partial days out there running and hanging with the dogs. Every day seems to be filled with meetings, particularly if you’re a rookie running the Quest. But hey, you get to sign autographs, too, and the race hasn’t even started. Some of the meetings are public, so even novices such as myself get to rub elbows with these unlikely celebrities. It was fun to recklessly speculate about which of the current rookies might someday fill the shoes of the Lance Mackeys and Hans Gatts when they decide to drop the snowhook for good.

At the banquet, Brent drew the 3^rd starting position, 11:06 am Saturday.

Brent and the dogs at the camp outside of Whitehorse.

Race Manager Alex Oleson doing some cross-training.

Brent and Mark listen intently to race official Josh Horst.

Signing autographs for an Aussie.

Sebastian Schnuelle's hair barely fits in the picture.

A typical moment for Lance Mackey, last year’s Quest champion. Intense!