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29 mushers begin 1,600 km race toward Alaska

Last Updated: Saturday, February 14, 2009
CBC News

Wayne Hall of Eagle, Alaska, leans into a turn on the trail while driving
his dog team along the Takhini River. (Eric Engman/Associated Press)

With the thermometer hovering around -30 C, 29 mushers set off from
Whitehorse on Saturday to make their way toward Fairbanks, Alaska, 1,600
kilometres away.

Rookie British musher Mark Sleightholme led the way out of the Yukon Quest
International Sled Dog Race.

"I get at least a few minutes in the lead," Sleightholme, who drew the No. 1
starting spot.

The field for 2009 is comprised of mushers from around the world, including
Yuka Honda from Japan and Newton Marshall from Jamaica.

"[It's] a dream and a nightmare," Marshall said. "So I'm just hoping for the
best and the best for everybody else."

Alaskan musher Lance Mackey ‹ who has won the Quest a record four
consecutive times ‹ decided to drop out of this year's race after initially
signing up, saying he wanted to focus his efforts on the Iditarod.

His younger brother, Jason Mackey, 37, will be making his Quest debut after
previously finishing 26th and 33rd in the Iditarod in 2004 and 2008.

But three-time Quest champion Hans Gatt, local Yukon favourite William
Kleedehn, and four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser are considered some
of the frontrunners for the race, according to Quest insiders.

But with 15 veterans in the lineup and kilometres of trail and weather ahead
of them, the race could be won by anyone.

Competitive field

Race veteran William Pinkham of Glenwood Springs, Colo., waves to the crowd
while driving his team down the starting chute at the 2009 Yukon Quest
International Sled Dog Race in Whitehorse on Saturday. (Eric
Engman/Associated Press)

"It's a really competitive field," said Kyla Boivin, a Whitehorse musher.
"There are a lot of good teams here and I think that we're going to see a
lot of finishers, a lot of people do well."

For most teams, it will take about two weeks to reach their final
destination. Over the course, mushers and their dogs will race over
mountains and across rivers and jumble ice while competing for a share of
the $150,000 US pot.

The winner of the Quest receives at least $30,000 US. The amount increases
if mushers decide to withdraw before reaching the end of the trail.

"It's not going to be easy and it's not supposed to be," Kleedehn said. "I
think it's going to be a good race."

Rookie Coleen Robertia said she was feeling rather emotional as she readied
her 14 dogs for the long journey ahead.

Buser, who despite his wins in the famous Alaska state race, will hit the
Quest trail as a rookie.

"I am looking forward to experiencing a new trail," he said. "The dogs were
right, the timing was right."

Spirits were high as the racers departed the Yukon capital.

Veteran Sebastian Schnuelle entertained the crowd by donning a stuffed
animal Husky hat while heading out onto the trail.

Meanwhile, line trapper Wayne Hall earned smiles from his wife and handlers
as he pulled out a bag of chocolates and yelled, "Happy Valentine's Day" as
he took off.

Mushers were expected to begin to arrive at their first checkpoint in
Braeburn ‹ about 160 km from Whitehorse ‹ late Saturday night or early
Sunday morning.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2009/02/14/quest-start.html