If this truly was Hans Gatt’s final Quest, he’s had one helluva run.
Despite losing his main leader Mona to a shoulder injury early in this year’s Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, Gatt earned $30,000 and smashed the previous record by seven hours, arriving second at the chilly downtown finish line to a festive greeting at 8:40 p.m. Tuesday.
“I am quite surprised. My race was kind of falling apart very early,” said Gatt, an Austrian living in Atlin, British Columbia. “I’ve been training on very soft, punchy trails. This Quest trail was probably the best I’ve ever seen, just hard and fast, and it took a toll on my dogs. In Pelly (Crossing), I didn’t know if I’d make it to Dawson in one piece.”
Gatt’s journey took 10 days, 9 hours and 19 minutes, a mark that would have shattered Frank Turner’s 1995 record and won every 1,000-mile Quest but this one. Instead, he arrived with eight dogs — with Timpany and Tivek up front — almost seven hours after winner Lance Mackey.
Gatt, who won the Quest three straight times from 2002-04, doesn’t mind sharing that three-peat now with Mackey. But whether he makes it to Fairbanks, or Dawson City, or Whitehorse again remains to be seen.
“I really have to decide if I’m coming back anytime soon,” said Gatt, who’ll run the Iditarod beginning March 3 and then assess his competitive mushing future. “I’m thinking retirement, to be honest. There’s other things to do in life than just dog mushing.
“I’ve done it for 20 years now and I’m getting a little tired. I’m just not as excited anymore as I used to be.”
But he helped make the 2007 race an exciting one, for while he wasn’t able to stick with Mackey’s aggressive pace early on, he vaulted from his fifth-place position at the midway point in Dawson into second.
“I made a move in Eagle,” said Gatt, a fitness fanatic who despite a bad knee helps his team by running and ski poling and pedaling as much as possible. “I decided to cut a little rest and put a couple quick runs in on the river, and that put me ahead of William (Kleedehn) and Gerry (Willomitzer).”
Once in second place, Gatt stayed several hours ahead of his German friends, not even allowing a nearly seven-hour vomit-laden journey Monday from Mile 101 to Chena Hot Springs slow him down much.
“I had too many tiger prawns out at 101,” explained Gatt.
It’s clear Gatt, a 48-year-old sled builder whose Gatt Sleds are used by most Quest mushers, has mixed emotions about the possibility of hanging up his racing bib.
“The problem is I still love the dogs, but the racing part I don’t really care that much any more,” he said. “I’ll sit down this spring and think it all over.”
Up for grabs
Gerry Willomitzer and William Kleedehn have been virtually inseparable for almost half the race, and hardly stopped at the North Pole dog drop 33 trail miles from the finish.
Somewhere between Chena Hot Springs and North Pole, Willomitzer put a little gap on Kleedehn, arriving there 28 minutes ahead as the two traveled the home stretch with third and fourth places at stake. Willomitzer reached the finish line at 11:30 p.m. — with Kleedehn three minutes behind.
Several other interesting races also are shaping up involving fifth through ninth place.
Aaron Burmeister of Nenana arrived fifth at Chena Hot Springs, and may leave there four minutes ahead of Michelle Phillips at 12:57 a.m. today.
Sebastian Schnuelle and Mike Jayne can leave the springs at 2:36 and 2:43 a.m., respectively, while Hugh Neff can go at 4:04 a.m.
Teamwork on Eagle Summit
The aforementioned mushers were involved in some drama climbing precipitous Eagle Summit Tuesday morning. Schnuelle summited first, parked his dog team, and then noticed Neff, Burmeister and Phillips struggling to make the 2,700-foot climb.
“He went back down there to help the other teams up,” said Peter Kamper, the long-time Mile 101 staffer, by telephone Tuesday night. “They all balked at the summit.”
Schnuelle’s sportsmanship resulted in a more than five-hour break to recover and dry out.
“All his clothes were drenched (in sweat),” Kamper said.
Jayne, meanwhile, motored from Central to Mile 101 in 4 hours, 29 minutes — the second-fastest trip so far — to leap into eighth place, while Phillips took 10 hours and 40 minutes for the same 28-mile stretch.
Dave Dalton (10th place) and a sick John Schandelmeier (11th) also had their hands full on Eagle Summit, said Kamper.
Eagle Summit will likely continue to provide drama for the middle of the pack today. Kamper reported a temperature there of minus 30, but thankfully little wind on the exposed and treeless dome.
“The cold is starting to wear on the mushers,” said Kamper. “You can see that when they get to 101.”
Contact staff writer Matias Saari at msaari@newsminer.com or 459-7591.
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