2008 Yukon Quest

[MotorWerk]

The race starts Saturday - here are some news regarding the start.

First; Ava Lindner won the junior race. I bet her dad is impressed.
http://newsminer.com/news/2008/feb/04/lindner-claims-junior-quest-5-minutes/

Second; it might be a bit nippy for the mushers starting out from Fairbanks this Saturday.
http://newsminer.com/news/2008/feb/05/forecasters-predict-cold-start-yukon-quest/

...and; Quest fest (!) starts today.
http://newsminer.com/news/2008/feb/03/quest-fest-counts-down-race-day/

...and there might be some danger involved on Eagle Summit.
http://www.adn.com/mushing/story/299761.html

[Di*]

Thanks for all the links Motorwerk
I was just gonna ask if anyone knew what "roughlocking" was after reading some stuff on the Quest site only to find the answer on the Eagle link
With all the forum hopping, I haven't had much time to read up on the Quest so will have to get to it soon. Is it starting earlier this year? Probably just me!
Did you read on Hugh Neff's site that his Dad passed away just this Monday(I think)so he is flying in from Chicago and still has food drops to prepare, maybe a few dog runs and then to the starting line! Sounds brutal to me, hope he has a good race after all that....

[dilli]

Di .. thank you for the head's up ... hadn't checked Hugh's site in a couple of weeks .. knew his dad was very ill, did not know he crossed over.

My heartfelt prayers, condolences and sympathy to Hugh and the Neff circle of family , friends and colleagues

So much going on .. I don't have enough time or energy to leapfrog around or post on all the forums can't even keep up with all the updated races related info overload flooding cyberspace

Race to the Sky and Yukon Quest starts in a couple of days. Will be rooting and cheering GO TEAM TANGLES GO on too

<-- those aren't sunglasses .. those are the new dark husky mask rings under my eyes from serious sleep deprivation. ROFL.

[tanglefoot]

hi , ok rough locking is when mushers wrap a section of chain or rope (mostly chain i think though) around the runners of their sleds to help slow them down on steep down hill sections of the trail, they also might unclip the tugs on the dogs harnesses but leave them connected to the neck lines on the gang lines so reduce the amount of pull on the gang line from the dogs even more.

boo, you must ahev some insight into this too?

[Johncn]

Very cool info...I didn't know that. Thanks!

Is that commonly used in the Iditarod, or just other types of races.

Regards,

Johncn

[dilli]

Thought interested Iditabuds might like to check out Fairbanks News-Miner's Yukon Quest Guide at their leisure .

http://adserver1.harvestadsdepot.com/fairbanksdnm/ss/075301/

[Frozen Chosen]

Temps the last few days across the Quest trail have been hovering from -40 to -55 (at least!). Currently it's around -40 down town Fairbanks. the starting line is right there on the Chena River next to First Avenue/Illinois/Cushman St. bridge. Here is a pic along my drive way this morning. Visible is the "ice fog" enveloping the area. Temps are -46F when this was taken half hour ago. I'll come back with pics of the starting line later today.

Frozen

Frozen-Driveway2.jpg

[MotorWerk]

-46F, that would be, hm, -43(ish)C. That is pretty cold. I don't think I've experienced temperatures like that more than 4-5 times.

[tilstede2]

As I grew up in Finnmark (very north of Norway), I have experienced below 40 several times and for several days.
Temperature at that level are talking to you, constantly reminding you of it's presence.
We never played outdoors on those days, but were able to visit each other if living not far apart.

It's difficult to understand that it is possible to travel with dog teams for several days under such conditions.
Remember I felt sorry for those in 2007 (ex. Bjornar Andersen) taking the 24h layover way down in the fourties.
Don't remember the name of the cp, but it was a very remote one, without houses, only tents. Not very rest-friendly, and I think it stole a lot of energy from both the mushers and the dogs.

[Frozen Chosen]

Tils, sounds like the cp was iditarod, you know, that far, distant place...once upon a time, only the Deg Xit'an Athabaskan lived there. They were maybe the first to travel the Iditarod, and the very name most likely came from them. there they snow-shoed, canoed (birch bark), traveling from area to area, searching for that elusive game...survival was a constant deal...temps dipped down deep, but they stayed within the warmth of their caribou skinned encampments and from the glowing embers of their fireplaces, the young ones looked up toward the distant stars as the northern skies staged the winter dance...the dance of the aurora...

frozen