The Yukon Quest: Interview + Video

Posted on 07. Feb, 2010 by Kerry Banks in Living, teaser

“The experience sure kicks the pants of riding a snowmobile”

by Kerry Banks

Each February, a band of hardy (some would say foolhardy) mushers compete in the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, following historic gold rush and mail delivery sled dog routes from the turn of the 20th Century. Contested during the depths of the Arctic winter over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) of wild and hazardous terrain between Whitehorse in the Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska, the race is a true torture test. Teams are limited to 14 dogs and one musher. Once they leave the starting chute, both the mushers and their dogs are on their own for the entire race, relying on a combination of toughness and skill, the commitment and endurance of the animals and, sometimes, luck.

This past year, B.C. writer Masa Takei braved the frigid Arctic conditions to cover the race for Westworld magazine. After his retreat to the relatively tropical climes of Lotus Land, he then sat down with me to answer a few questions about the experience.

MyWW: What makes the Yukon Quest a more challenging dog sled race than any other, including the Iditarod?

MT: The Yukon Quest is said to be more challenging because the mushers travel for longer distances between checkpoints, often over rough terrain and in colder temperatures. Also, they receive no outside help from handlers except during the race’s mandatory 36-hour layover at Dawson City, nor can they substitute any dogs. The way I’ve heard it described, the Iditarod is about pure speed whereas the Quest is about self-reliance. Just think about Lance Mackey, who won both races in 2007, an unprecedented feat. At least it was until he did it again the next year.

MyWW: How did you end up covering the event – and racing yourself?

MT: I’d read Adam Killick’s book Racing the White Silence and became interested in the race. Even before then though, all the Jack London and Farley Mowat stories I’d read growing up put the bug in me to find an excuse to go up north. Then I got an assignment with the newspaper 24Hours to cover the race, and ended up covering the Inuit Games, as well. But spending some time out on the trails with Frank Turner’s kennel was a real highlight. Watching from the sidelines had its moments, but it’s hard to beat getting out onto the trail, even if it gives only a faint taste of what the racers experience.

MyWW: How much time do the competitors spend preparing for the race? How do they train?

MT: Each racer has his or her own approach to training, but I’m sure that getting in the mileage is critical for both mushers and dogs. When there’s no snow, mushers use a cart or an ATV in place of a sled for dry-land training. Some mushers also cross-train with cycling, running and cross-country skiing.

MyWW: Were you impressed by the dogs in the race? If so, why? And, do they all wear booties?

MT: To understand what supreme athletes these dogs are requires thinking about what they do, day in and day out, during the race. To the layperson’s eye, however, there’s often nothing particularly impressive about them. They actually look smaller than I’d expected. It’s probably equivalent to seeing some professional endurance athletes, such as marathoners, in person. They often don’t look physically impressive. And nothing about sled dogs standing still suggests any of their phenomenal abilities. As for booties, those are mandatory equipment and Quest racers are required to have at least eight booties for each dog at every checkpoint, though when to use them is a matter of judgment. I’ve also been told that there’s a protective sheath for the more sensitive body parts on male dogs, the tip of which doesn’t have any fur, though these are needed only when it’s extremely cold. I didn’t see any during the race I was covering. Guess it didn’t get cold enough!

MyWW: Are mushers emotionally attached to their dogs?

MT: Although I certainly saw a lot of affection being passed between mushers and dogs, I think that it really depends on the individual racer. It’s hard to imagine that a strong bond wouldn’t develop between mushers and dogs after sharing so much trail time together, though each dog also has its own personality, some I’m sure more loving and loveable than others. On the other hand, the dogs aren’t like regular pets; there’s a professional dynamic to the relationship as well, not unlike the one that existed with the working dogs who made inhabiting the North possible a century ago. It’s expensive to keep dogs, for example, and if a race dog isn’t performing well, mushers face the decision of whether they can keep the animal or not. One mushing couple, Zoya DeNure and John Schandelmeier, at Crazy Dog Kennel, run a good number of rescue dogs – unwanted race dogs that are at risk of being culled. In fact, I believe that Schandelmeier now races exclusively with rescue dogs, even if that reduces his chances of placing with the top competitors. And I know that Frank Turner, who I interviewed, makes sure that all his dogs enjoy a blissful retirement, long after they are past the point of being able to pull a sled.

MyWW: Do the competitors race at night?

MT: The clock never stops, which means the mushers run any time of the day or night. In fact, mushers talk about falling asleep on their sleds for miles at a stretch.

MyWW: Which section of the Yukon Quest is toughest on the racers?

MT: Eagle Summit, a 1,100-metre peak infamous for its wind-scoured conditions, gets a lot of attention since that’s where racers and dogs have one of the greatest chances of getting hurt. During a mushers’ meeting in Dawson City, veteran racer William Kleedehn came out and called for rerouting that section of the race. He thought that the course was tough enough without introducing that wild card, where injuries could lead to a forfeited race or worse, and that more racers would enter without that notorious stretch.

MyWW: Had you ever been in such freezing temperatures before? Were you able to adjust?

MT: That was my first time camping out in -40 temperatures, and my first visit to the Yukon. But with the right gear, it was surprisingly comfortable. I’ve felt colder getting soaked tree-planting in B.C.

MyWW: You tried your hand at running a team for a short distance. Was it difficult?

MT: We had the benefit of running empty sleds with about half the dogs that a Quest racer needs to manage. Turner had also tailored the temperament of each musher’s team so that no one got more dog than they could handle. The most difficult part of the mushing for me was holding up my end of the deal and not letting down the team. And there was a lot more “body English” necessary than I’d expected in order to negotiate some of those turns. The dogs can sense when they’re dealing with a “gumby,” too, though the ones I was running were pretty forgiving. When I got the hang of it, I could relax enough to enjoy the exhilarating sensation, something like swooping a mountain bike over fast flowing single-track, coupled with that particular thrill of having animals pull you. The experience sure kicks the pants off riding a snowmobile.

>>View the latest footage from this year’s Yukon Quest Test Run here.

>>Read Masa Takei’s personal account of trailing the Yukon Quest racers

Lead photo courtesy Pete Ryan.

Tags: Adam Killick, Frank Turner, Racing the White Silence, sled dog racing, Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race