Yukon Quest news

Quest one day away

Mushers draw start order kickoff banquet

Kyla Boivin will drive the first dog team out of the starting chute on the Chena River on Saturday to begin the 23rd running of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, and she is not happy about it.

“Yuck,” said Boivin, a veteran musher from Whitehorse, Yukon who drew the No. 1 bib at the Quest Start Banquet on Thursday night in the Gold Room of the Westmark Hotel. “I hate it. It won’t matter once we get out on the trail, but who wants to be first?”

The banquet featured all 22 mushers in the race drawing dog booties from a hopper to determine the starting order for the race, which begins at 11 a.m. underneath the Cushman Street Bridge.

The annual sled dog race from Fairbanks to Whitehorse traverses 1,000 miles of the coldest, roughest terrain in Alaska and the Yukon. Called by many the toughest sled dog race in the world, the Quest follows original Alaska Gold Rush and mail routes throughout the Yukon.

Mushers will leave the chute on the Chena at two-minute intervals. While some mushers are more superstitious than others, most drivers said that the starting order doesn’t impact their strategy for running the race.

“Not really,” said veteran Whitehorse musher Sebastian Schnuelle, who drew the last position and will wear the No. 22 bib. “The only thing I hate about it (being last) is you have to wait and wait before you can get going.”

Schnuelle, running his fourth Quest and following a personal-best finish in ninth place last year, is familiar with starting at the back of the pack.

“I’m very used to it,” he said. “Before I’ve been last or second to last. I’m always having these numbers.”

The Banquet had presentations by Race Marshal Mike McCowan, Head Veterinarian Kathleen McGill and Phil Streeter, the Fairbanks chair of the Yukon Quest International Council. Ray Pulsifer was master of ceremonies.

A Calcutta wagering pool was hosted by Howard Theis, allowing fans to bet on each musher’s chances of arriving first at the first checkpoint at Angel Creek and also on the chances of each musher finishing first to Whitehorse.

Mushers were interviewed by Greg Sellentin, Editor of Mushing Magazine and Sled Dog Sports. Most mushers thanked family and sponsors and said little about the race, until Healy’s Dave Dalton stepped on stage.

“I’ll tell you this,” said Dalton, the veteran driver in his 16th Quest. “We’re gonna be the first to Angel Creek and the first to Whitehorse. I’ve run the Quest 16 times, I know what I’m doing, and this year I’m going to win it.”

It wasn’t quite as dramatic as Broadway Joe Namath’s famous guarantee that the New York Jets would win the Super Bowl in 1969, but considering how hesitant any of the mushers were to reveal any details at all about what they truly thought of their chances, it was a bold statement.

“I was just trying to get the Calcutta going,” joked Dalton, who finished third in 2004 and fourth in last year’s Quest. “But we do have a strong team this year. We’ve performed really well.”

Dalton, who lived and worked in Fairbanks for many years before moving his kennel to Healy, drew the No. 9 bib.

“Each year I’ve learned a lot,” said Dalton. “Having that experience to draw upon definitely helps out on the trail.”

The race order is set and the Quest is one day away. Two Rivers rookie Richie Beattie summed up the emotions of many of the mushers on the eve of the race.

“I’m ready to be done thinking about it,” said Beattie. “Now I’m ready to do it.”

Staff writer Eric Goold can be reached at egoold@newsminer.com or at 459-7591.