The Yukon Quest is a 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race run every February between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon. The course follows the route of the historic 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, mail delivery, and transportation routes. Each musher must rely on a single sled for the entire run, versus three in the Iditarod.
About Yukon Quest in brief
The Yukon Quest is a 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race run every February between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon. The course follows the route of the historic 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, mail delivery, and transportation routes. Because of the harsh winter conditions, difficult trail, and the limited support that competitors are allowed, it is considered the “most difficult sled dog race in the world”, or even the “toughest race inThe Quest is run on shorter solar days and through longer, darker nights. Mushers pack up to 250 pounds of equipment and provisions for themselves and their dogs to survive between checkpoints. Each musher must rely on a single sled for the entire run, versus three in the Iditarod. Ten checkpoints and four dog drops, some more than 200 miles apart, lie along the trail. Veterinarians are present at each to ensure the health and welfare of the dogs, give advice, and provide veterinary care for dropped dogs; together with the race marshal or a race judge, they may remove a dog or team from the race for medical or other reasons. The fastest run took place in 2010, when Hans Gatt finished after 9 days and 26 minutes. The longest race time was in 1988, when Ty Halvorson took 20 days, 8 hours, and 29 min minutes to finish. In 2000, Aliy Zirkle became the first woman to win the race, in 10 days, 22 hours, and 57 minutes.
The 2012 competition had the closest one-two finish, as Hugh Neff beat Allen Moore by twenty-six seconds. In 2005, Lance Mackey was the first rookie to win, followed by Dallas Seavey in 2011. In 2007, Mackey become the first to win both the YukonQuest and the Iditarianod, a feat he repeated the following year. The route runs on frozen rivers, over four mountain ranges, and through isolated northern villages. Racers cover 1,016 miles or more. The first race was run in 1984 from a field of 26 teams; Sonny Lindner won the inaugural race in 1984. The race was officially named in December 1983, when the first person paid his fee for the race. Each team was limited to a maximum of 12 dogs and had no fewer than 12 racers to finish with no finish time to finish, with no one to finish more than 12 hours after the start. The idea for the Quest originated in April 1983 during a bar-room discussion among four Alaskans: LeRoy Shank, Roger Williams, Ron Rosser, and William “Willy” Lipps. They disdained the many checkpoints and stages of theIditarod Sleddog Race and envisioned an endurance race in which racers would rely on themselves and survival would be as important as speed. The first public organizational meetings took place on the race’s 25th anniversary.
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This page is based on the article Yukon Quest published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 05, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
