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Recapping a Yukon Quest that will be long rememberedAfter nine days that took mushers 1,000 miles, the Yukon Quest was decided by 26 seconds. It may be years before the Quest gets a closer finish than Hugh Neff's narrow victory over Allen Moore. Here's a recap of one of history's most memorable Quests. It all began on Feb. 4 in Fairbanks, as 23 teams started the 1,000-mile trek to Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon Territory. The temperatures were below freezing and the sun was shining, making for a firm, fast trail. Allen Moore was the first musher on the trail, and he led most of the second half of the race from Dawson to Whitehorse. The first major test, at Eagle Summit, proved easier than some years. Dave Dalton did hit a tree before reaching the Mile 101 checkpoint and bruised his ribs. He then slid down Eagle Summit on his belly -- losing gear along the way but able to continue. After Mike Ellis cleared Eagle Summit, his sled slipped out from under him on a side hill glacier and he fell, dislocating his shoulder. Mike reset it himself, then drove his team with one arm roughly 20 miles into Central, where he made the hard but necessary decision to scratch. Rookie Misha Pedersen spent a long time on Eagle Summit searching for a lost dog, ultimately making her way to Central, assuming she would have to scratch. However, a little while later, Yukon Quest 300 musher Ed Abrahamson arrived at the checkpoint with the little female, Riot. Abrahamson was running a team of 11 males and they chased Riot on and off the trail for several miles -- until Abrahamson was able to stop and control her. Because the help came from another musher, Pedersen wasn't penalized. Other mushers weren’t so lucky, as rookie Jason Weitzel scratched at Circle City due to sustained back pain. Rookie Maren Bradley's dogs weren’t eating enough, so soon after leaving Circle City she returned and scratched. Later that same day Russian rookie Nikolay Ettyne left Circle with only seven dogs in team and over 750 miles to go. He also returned to the checkpoint and scratched -- the last musher to do so. Out on the Yukon River, the lead pack established itself as Hugh Neff, Brent Sass, Allen Moore, Abbie West, Sonny Lindner, Jake Berkowitz and Lance Mackey. After the four-hour mandatory stop in Eagle, Mackey, Neff and Moore left within 10 minutes of each other, with Moore arriving first into Dawson, winning 4 ounces of gold nuggets as the first team to the halfway point. In Dawson, the teams are required to take a mandatory 36-hour rest, and handlers are allowed to help care for the dogs. Mushers may stay in town, although several sleep in tents near their dogs. Mackey said he didn’t want his dogs to think the race was over, so he curled up with them. The rest of the field was enroute to Dawson except Michael Telpin. The Russian musher was running Chukchi dogs -- the native dog of the Chukotka region of Russia. Larger and slower than the Alaskan huskies most racers use, Telpin took his time and mostly ran during the day because that was his normal routine when using his dogs for hunting. Back on the trail Friday, the temperature had risen above freezing, which was hard on the dogs. Teams needed plenty of breaks and several tried running mainly at night to stay cool. After the final mandatory stop, Allen Moore was able depart Braeburn 42 minutes ahead of Neff because later was given a 30-minute penalty for losing his axe. With 100 miles to go, a first-time champion was about to be crowned; neither Moore nor Neff had won before. Hugh Neff eventually crossed the finish line 26 seconds before Allen Moore, for the closest finish in race history. Moore had led the entire second half of the race until Neff passed with less than 5 miles remaining. Lance Mackey finished third, more than five hours later, and Jake Berkowitz followed in fourth place to take rookie-of-the-year honors. Perennial Yukon Quest favorite Brent Sass rounded out the top five. And teams continued streaming in for days. Dalton, bruised ribs and all, finished 10th. Japanese native Yuka Honda crossed the finish line smiling about her 15th place finish, the final position that earns purse money. Sunday evening, Rookie Marcelle Fressineau finished, leaving only the Russian Michael Telpin, who had earlier caused a stir when his location was unknown for over 36 hours. The 2012 Yukon Quest officially ended Sunday night at 8:05 local time when Telpin crossed the finish line in Whitehorse with all 9 of his native Chukchi dogs, winning the Challenge of the North Award as the musher “who most exemplifies the Spirit of the Yukon Quest.” Some 15 days, 8 hours, 5 minutes, 22 seconds after it started, the Quest was over. Tim Looney is a long-time media professional with a small recreational kennel in Iowa. Contact Tim at timlooney@hotmail.com or follow his posts at http://mushingloon.blogspot.com/ or http://facebook.com/mushing.loon |
