Update: Four mushers found on summit
CENTRAL—An airplane spotted four dog mushers stranded Monday afternoon on Eagle Summit during the third day of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, according to Race Marshal Mike McCowan. A dozen or more mushers were stranded or unaccounted for Monday as whiteout conditions wreaked havoc on both the 1,000- and 300-mile versions of the race.
Mushers Saul Turner and Jennifer Cochran and their dog teams were flown from the summit by helicopter to the 101 Mile Steese Highway dog drop at about 4 p.m. The two 1,000-mile competitors and their dogs seemed healthy, according to reports McCowan received.
The two other mushers found remained unidentified.
Alaska State Troopers and Alaska National Guard were assisting in the search and at least three aircraft were participating.
The lost dog team of Quest 300 participant Randy Chappel is still missing. Chappel lost the dog team as he descended Eagle Summit, a usually steep drop made all the more treacherous by weekend rain and low-snow conditions.
As many as five 1,000-mile Quest mushers and as many as eight Quest 300 participants were on the 35-mile trail between the 101 Mile Steese Highway dog drop and this checkpoint, about 165 miles into the race, when the weather turned from bad to worse Sunday night and Monday morning.
Two Quest 300 mushers arrived at Central by trail around 3 p.m. Bob McAlpin and Rocky Demers drove their teams into the dog yard next to the Steese Roadhouse and checked in with Race Marshal Mike McCowan.
In the 1,000-mile race, Yuka Honda and Phil Joy were also still on the trail. Locals reported that rookie Kiara Adams, the 18-year old from Whitehorse, was sighted on her way to Central, but she had yet to arrive as of 4 p.m.
A fixed-wing aircraft from Fairbanks as well as a helicopter were dispatched to Eagle Summit to look for mushers and their dog teams after trailbreakers on snowmachines out of Central were unable to reach the summit due to blowing snow and poor visibility.
Dean Willis, a Quest trail breaker and resident of Central, said that mushers still on the summit will have one primary difficulty.
“Just finding the trail from marker to marker with poor visibility is the real challenge,” he said. “Where they are is the big thing. With four of them still there, if they’re off the trail up on top with poor visibility, who knows what draw they could be in.”
While teams at the back of the pack struggled, 14 of the 19 teams remaining in the 1,000-mile race had left Central for the 75-mile trip to Circle, mostly along Birch Creek.
Sebastian Schnuelle of Whitehorse led teams into Circle at 1:49 p.m. Monday, followed by Hans Gatt, Dave Dalton, Hugh Neff and Lance Mackey.
For the most recent updates, go to www.yukonquest.com.