ASK THE MUSHER Vol 14: Brent Sass

[Brent Sass]

You were up late! Those are some of my favorite times when everything is so quiet!

We 'visited' Susan's kennel in 2006 on the river boat ride. That was my first view of mushing along with reading the Jessie Arnold books. The next summer, we went to Skagway and did the dog tour there and I was totally hooked for life! I would love to ride in the snow.

Are you running any other races this year?

Thanks again for being here!

you should get out on snow it is a totally different experience. I am not sure if I am going to run anymore races this season now that the Quest is over I have to return to the real world and we will see if it allows me any time to get out and race. IO have thought about the Chatinika 200 or maybe the Taiga 300 we will see.

[BB Backer]

Brent,
Thank you so much for sharing your time with us! It's an honor to have you visit. We were all pulling for you...especially after we heard how you helped William. In our minds "good guys" always finish first! The pictures of you leading William's team up Eagle Summit were awesome. What a guy!

I have a few questions.
What do you listen to on the long lonely stretches of trail? Music, books, movies...if so, what kind?
What is the strangest thing you have seen or experienced while mushing?
This year's Quest was relatively warm...compared to other years. How do you and the dogs handle extreme cold?
Also, could you please tell us a little bit about some of your dogs? Maybe their strengths, quirkiness, etc. As you said, "It's all about the dogs!"

Thanks again for joining us. This is a real treat !
Here's to finishing 1st in the 2010 Quest!

BB Backer

[CynCyn37]

you should get out on snow it is a totally different experience. I am not sure if I am going to run anymore races this season now that the Quest is over I have to return to the real world and we will see if it allows me any time to get out and race. IO have thought about the Chatinika 200 or maybe the Taiga 300 we will see.

The real world is no fun! LOL!!

[Ridge]

Hi Brent.....While mushing along the trail, is it hard to stay warm ?

[SuldalsXpressen]

Hi, Brent! Welcome to the forum, and thanks ever so much for sharing your time with us

My questions are:

1. What are the most valuable lesson you have learned about mushing?
2. What is your strategy for the longest races? What preparations do you do for your young dogs when it comes to the last stretches of the race? Inexperienced dogs sometimes lack motivations this far into the race, mushers have told me.
3. What do you consider your "achilles heel"?


Good luck with your next race!

All the best,

Eskil (the norwegian mod)

[JeanieB]

Another Fan of yours here, Brent. Your racing and your 'Good Guy' reputation are very impressive.
My question: Since you won't be doing the Iditarod this year, could you tell us who you see in the line up (other than the 'stand-out front-runners) who you know might be up and coming competition this year?

Also, comment on your 'dog that steals my heart' in your kennel.

By the way, I DID get to mush 6 miles in the snow last year at Vern Halter's kennel, and it was the MOST exhilerating thing I have ever done in my life! Oh, to do it regularly!
Thanks, and I'll be excited to watch your progress,
JeanieB

[DebbyRose]

THE Mr. Brent Sass...WOW! I am really too much in awe to think of any questions right now.
But I can offer up a huge pat on the back for a job well done & wish a hearty congratulation to you for nailing that Sportsmanship Award!

I'm originally from Minnesota, and my sister still lives in Minnetonka, so I have proudly made you my hometown boy.

It has been a HUGE privilege for me to watch you - wild & free- not so many of us have the courage to live it...

From your #1 Fan in Nebraska-DR

[emwcee]

Well, since DebbyRose is your #1Fan in Nebraska, I guess that makes me your #2 Fan in Nebraska. I was inspired by your great races this year--your sportsmanship and your drive, and I'm also impressed that you are taking the time to interact with us "armchair" mushers so soon after the Quest. Here are my questions for you:

1. How do the mid-distance races differ from the Quest? What are your strategies for both? Which do you like better?
2. Describe what you feel when you are in the middle of a race. What is is like there on the trail? What's the best part and what's the worst part?

Thanks so much for being a part of this forum.

[sc-race-fan]

Wow, welcome. with a name like Brent (mine too) I know you are a great guy. Thanks for taking time to participate here in the best forum in the world. My question is " what is your favorite trail food and do you heat in in the hot dog water??

[Brent Sass]

Hey Brent. Thanks for joining us here and answering some questions for us. I know it wasn't the way you wanted it to end up, but congrats on your Quest finish none the less.

I'm curious about The Dude! My questions are:

In your opinion, why did The Dude refuse to go on after the 8 hour mandatory at Twin Bears?

Was he physically tired? Or just mentally drained?

How did his lack of enthusiasm affect the rest of the team only 44 miles from the finish?

MGF Brian

Brian

thanks for your questions

The Dude refused to go because of some bad decisions on my part. here is the reasoning for my problems in the past 45 miles.

I did a big push from Central over eagle summit rosebud which was a 80 mile trip to the top of rosebud my plan all along was to drop off of rosebud and camp for three hours give the dogs a well deserved rest and then get up and charge into the check point. I new I had a large lead on Phillips and Buser so but i was a little worried about Kleedehn. but when I dropped into the valley the dogs were excited we were back on home trails from a few years back when i lived and trained out of Chena hot springs. because of this new life in the dogs and Kleedehn possible hot on my tail i made the decision to keep going. BAD MOVE. the first 15 miles were great but then the dogs started to get a little tired rightfully so we had been running for 12 hours at that point and had traveled over two major summits. The dude had lead almost all of the 90 miles leading up to dropping off of rosebud and had poured his heart out the entire race. My second mistake came in my excitment. I made the dogs feel like this was the final push and that the race was over when we got to two rivers, which is partial how I felt because of the lead I had for 4th place. I ended up carrying the dude that night going into twin bears because I could see he was getting tired and I really wanted to have him for the final 45 miles. So we came into Twin bears fine. the next morning the dogs were a little confused and surprised when i came out to booty up for the last 45 miles. But they all got up from the straw and headed to the start line. This is where my Big mistake came the checker said go everybody got up and started moving about 30 feet into it the dude pulled back. Right there i should of dropped him instead i encouraged the team to get out of twin bears thinking i could get them going, the rest is history none of this was the dudes fault his was tired mostly mentally and it was due to some mistakes i made not him or any other dog. unfortunately once the Dude pulled back it spread like wild fire through the team and made for a pretty tough few hours. in the end i just let the rest for 2 more hours near the valley center store loaded the dude and they all got up and ran the 6 hours into the finish with no problems. LESSON LEARNED!!! Hope that answers your Questions
Brent