yukon quest
AND THE WINNER IS…HANS GATT!
Chills and tears or not, the 2010 Yukon Quest race turned out to be one, over the top, fantastic race. The first six mushers to arrive in Whitehorse (that’s right the first SIX) beat Sebastian Schnuelle’s 2009 Quest record of 9 days 23 hours and 20 minutes. The winner, Hans Gatt, of the Yukon Territory, came in at a smoldering 9 days and 23 minutes, almost a full day faster than the Schnuelle’s time. Lance Mackey, was just an hour behind him, and musher number six was none other than 60 year old Sonny Linder, the first musher to ever win the Yukon Quest- 26 years ago! Seventh place winner, 22 year old Joshua Cadzow of Fort Yukon, was crowned the “Rookie of the Year” for his excellent performance, and to date only 1 musher has scratched. All in all an amazing showing.
Shattered records, happy, healthy dogs, great weather and one incredibly strong group of mushers made the 2010 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog race a truly momentous race.
yukon quest
MAY THE WIND ALWAYS BE AT THEIR BACKS…
by Amy Geiger · 2 Comments
I have a confession to make….a chill went down my spine and I felt like I was on the verge of tears at the start of the Yukon Quest. I guess it is the age old feeling of embarking on a long and tremendous journey that tugged on my heartstrings and made me feel like I was bearing witness to something unusual, something larger than life. Something Great.
You know how in those spectacular turn of the century paintings (by the great Alaskan artists- Sydney Laurence, Theodore Lambert, Eustace Ziegler) where the people are so small and our fierce landscape overwhelms them? You know how this land, this land we love called Alaska, doesn’t really care about us, our frailties, our complexities and how that makes us love Alaska even more? The Quest conjures up all of these powerful, primordial thoughts and emotions. The mushers and the dogs are those little figures in the big sub-arctic landscape….and their very real frailties and strengths will be tested by an Alaska that doesn’t even realize they exist.
The 1000 mile, tough as nails, Yukon Quest International Sled Dog race began in Fairbanks on February 6th, 2010. The weather and the trail are excellent, a record pace is being set, and the number of front runners is huge compared to past years. Kudos to all the heroic people and dogs that accepted the challenge of the Yukon Quest….May the wind always be at their backs and the sun warm upon their faces.
