Danny, Robb, and Ken all suited up to enjoy the cold weather and warm company!
Robb concentrating and mushing hard - and probably dreaming about a beach in Jamaica!
(Look at the snow on the dogs' faces!)
STOP in the name of insane amounts of snow!Thursday, January 29, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Quotes from Newton and Hans after the Copper Basin
Newton:
"The people at the checkpoints were very, very nice. Sometimes on the trail I didn't know where I was going, I didn't know if I was still on the trail and it was very cold. But we find the trail again and get to the checkpoint. One man leave his house and let us take it over for a checkpoint. There was two bedroom upstairs and the downstairs for everybody to use. Everybody was very encouraging and it was a good race but it was hard. At the end people was laughin' a lot. Lance Mackey shake my hand a lot and ask me how many in my family mush. I tell him, "No one! They think I am a mad man!". People was real nice and it was cold but it was a very good race. I feel good that I did it." "The open water was the worst thing on the trail. I was really scared when I saw that. We had to go so close to it. It was cold, cold, and there was black water open in the ice running under the ice. Would we go too close and would the ice break? I had to not think and I had to get by it."
Hans:
"As usual with the Copper Basin it was the worst trail and the toughest conditions imaginable for a 300 mile race. There is nothing on the Quest trail that is worse than some of the things Newton saw in the Copper Basin. It was at least minus 40 at the start line. There were sections 10 miles long of deep sugar snow with no trail. Chad Lindner had to walk his dogs 20 miles into the finish line after they quit on him. He had camped 6 hours but they would not get started again. He had run out of food and people were giving him things, but finally he said it's time to go and he walked that team 20 miles to the finish line, holding the neck line of the leaders. It took him 17 hours to walk that 20 miles. That tells you about the trail." "Newton did a great job. To do a 300 mile run is one thing, but this 300 miles is something else. It is not flat, it is 300 miles of mountains, open water, deep snow at temperatures ranging down to minus 50. Normand Cassavant from Quebec, who has been running dogs for 20 years but this is his first race in the north, said this is the hardest thing he has ever done. Not just dog racing, but anything he has ever done. He just did not expect it. The Copper Basin is the toughest 300 mile race period, and this year was no different."
"The people at the checkpoints were very, very nice. Sometimes on the trail I didn't know where I was going, I didn't know if I was still on the trail and it was very cold. But we find the trail again and get to the checkpoint. One man leave his house and let us take it over for a checkpoint. There was two bedroom upstairs and the downstairs for everybody to use. Everybody was very encouraging and it was a good race but it was hard. At the end people was laughin' a lot. Lance Mackey shake my hand a lot and ask me how many in my family mush. I tell him, "No one! They think I am a mad man!". People was real nice and it was cold but it was a very good race. I feel good that I did it." "The open water was the worst thing on the trail. I was really scared when I saw that. We had to go so close to it. It was cold, cold, and there was black water open in the ice running under the ice. Would we go too close and would the ice break? I had to not think and I had to get by it."
Hans:
"As usual with the Copper Basin it was the worst trail and the toughest conditions imaginable for a 300 mile race. There is nothing on the Quest trail that is worse than some of the things Newton saw in the Copper Basin. It was at least minus 40 at the start line. There were sections 10 miles long of deep sugar snow with no trail. Chad Lindner had to walk his dogs 20 miles into the finish line after they quit on him. He had camped 6 hours but they would not get started again. He had run out of food and people were giving him things, but finally he said it's time to go and he walked that team 20 miles to the finish line, holding the neck line of the leaders. It took him 17 hours to walk that 20 miles. That tells you about the trail." "Newton did a great job. To do a 300 mile run is one thing, but this 300 miles is something else. It is not flat, it is 300 miles of mountains, open water, deep snow at temperatures ranging down to minus 50. Normand Cassavant from Quebec, who has been running dogs for 20 years but this is his first race in the north, said this is the hardest thing he has ever done. Not just dog racing, but anything he has ever done. He just did not expect it. The Copper Basin is the toughest 300 mile race period, and this year was no different."
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Newton has his qualifying races for the Quest-contributed by Susie
TUESDAY JANUARY 13, 2009
In case anyone has not yet already heard, Newton did make it to the finish line in 13th place. He now has his qualifiers to do the Yukon Quest. Susie
In case anyone has not yet already heard, Newton did make it to the finish line in 13th place. He now has his qualifiers to do the Yukon Quest. Susie
Brent Sass is now the competition for second-contributed by Susie
MONDAY JANUARY 12, 2009 1:39
Taking a closer look I see that Brent Sass left the checkpoint 5 minutes ahead of Hans, AND he's travelling faster than Hans as per their times from Chisto! Wow, this is going to be an exciting finish. Congrats to Brent if he pulls it off! However, Hans's dogs have just had a big snack and a 2 hour break. Brent is runnin' on empty and will have to stop somewhere unless he figures he can run 120 miles straight through (he hasn't stopped since Chisto). I place my bet on Hans. Still, good for Brent for making it exciting and who the heck knows, eh? Susie
Taking a closer look I see that Brent Sass left the checkpoint 5 minutes ahead of Hans, AND he's travelling faster than Hans as per their times from Chisto! Wow, this is going to be an exciting finish. Congrats to Brent if he pulls it off! However, Hans's dogs have just had a big snack and a 2 hour break. Brent is runnin' on empty and will have to stop somewhere unless he figures he can run 120 miles straight through (he hasn't stopped since Chisto). I place my bet on Hans. Still, good for Brent for making it exciting and who the heck knows, eh? Susie
Hans in Sourdough-contributed by Susie
MONDAY JANUARY 12, 2009 1:34PM
Hans is into the last checkpoint tied for second place with Sven Haltman. Hans is only one minute ahead of Sven. However, Hans is allowed to leave the checkpoint after 2 hours, Sven has to stay 3.5. It looks to me that Hans has no intention of chasing Lance down to the finish line. He has already been in the checkpoint for over two hours. He gained quite a bit against Lance's 47 minute trail lead, (reduced it to WHOOOPS!! This just in, they updated the site and Hans DID charge down the trail after Lance. He is 31 minutes behind Lance right now, made up 16 minutes in the last run/checkpoint. The chance of him making up another 31 minutes is very slim, but he's racing to win now! Yee haw! Susie
Hans is into the last checkpoint tied for second place with Sven Haltman. Hans is only one minute ahead of Sven. However, Hans is allowed to leave the checkpoint after 2 hours, Sven has to stay 3.5. It looks to me that Hans has no intention of chasing Lance down to the finish line. He has already been in the checkpoint for over two hours. He gained quite a bit against Lance's 47 minute trail lead, (reduced it to WHOOOPS!! This just in, they updated the site and Hans DID charge down the trail after Lance. He is 31 minutes behind Lance right now, made up 16 minutes in the last run/checkpoint. The chance of him making up another 31 minutes is very slim, but he's racing to win now! Yee haw! Susie
Can i swear yet? (2) contributed by Susie
MONDAY JANUARY 12, 2009 10:41PM
Josh Cadzow won the Quest 300 last year, absolutely blew away everybody else. When he finished, he was 17 hours ahead of second place, and had made up the 5 hours between the Quest 1000 and the 300 start and was ahead of every single Yukon Quest musher as well! In other words, my guess is that Josh scratched due to the fact that they forgot to put in the next 60 miles of trail. He does not see the point in risking his dogs. Tom Lesatz did what I was talking about with people who short their dogs too much on rest. He ran the first 120 miles with only 30 minutes of rest, tried to make it up by stopping 8 hours, (not nearly enough though he had probably already cooked his team anyway), and then went on to Paxon where he scratched. That's called, "Blowing up your team." Newton is doing the race plan he was given. The trail is a little slower than we expected but other wise he is right on time. Looking at that 14.5 hour supposed run to Paxson, I knew there was something dramatically wrong. I thought he had broken his sled or a dog had died, no kidding. There is just no way otherwise that it would have taken him so long, then when they said he came into the checkpoint one dog short... Susie
Josh Cadzow won the Quest 300 last year, absolutely blew away everybody else. When he finished, he was 17 hours ahead of second place, and had made up the 5 hours between the Quest 1000 and the 300 start and was ahead of every single Yukon Quest musher as well! In other words, my guess is that Josh scratched due to the fact that they forgot to put in the next 60 miles of trail. He does not see the point in risking his dogs. Tom Lesatz did what I was talking about with people who short their dogs too much on rest. He ran the first 120 miles with only 30 minutes of rest, tried to make it up by stopping 8 hours, (not nearly enough though he had probably already cooked his team anyway), and then went on to Paxon where he scratched. That's called, "Blowing up your team." Newton is doing the race plan he was given. The trail is a little slower than we expected but other wise he is right on time. Looking at that 14.5 hour supposed run to Paxson, I knew there was something dramatically wrong. I thought he had broken his sled or a dog had died, no kidding. There is just no way otherwise that it would have taken him so long, then when they said he came into the checkpoint one dog short... Susie
Can i swear yet? contributed by Susie
MONDAY JANUARY 12, 2009
Now they have Newton as having arrived in Paxon at 7:19 p.m. last night!! And they say he's already left for Sourdough??!! My god, this is every bit as bad as some of the 'updates' on the Quest and Iditarod. Waiting details... Susie
Now they have Newton as having arrived in Paxon at 7:19 p.m. last night!! And they say he's already left for Sourdough??!! My god, this is every bit as bad as some of the 'updates' on the Quest and Iditarod. Waiting details... Susie
Monday Morning updates-contributed by Susie
MONDAY JANUARY 12, 2009 10:04AM
According to the latest update, it took Newton 14 1/2 hours to do what should have been a 9 hour run. That doesn't make any sense at all unless something went wrong. Danny pointed out to me on the phone that he came in within one minute of two other mushers. Often in these races, when people are struggling they band together at the back of the pack. I see that all the time with the Quest. The two mushers Newton was travelling with are Martin Jahr and Mark Sleightholme. Martin is from Switzerland but has lived in Haines Junction, Yukon for a couple of years now. He just had his 40th birthday and we were invited but didn't make the drive out there (2 hours away from here). Mark is from England and is leasing a team from Sebastian Schnuelle. His team is very slow. We passed them on a training run last month and talked with him when he finally got to Quiet Lake on the South Canol Road. That was back when we took 2 hour breaks in the middle of a 90 mile run. Now we run 90 miles straight through. Which brings me back to, what could have taken Newton so long to do a 60 mile run? My mind is on a hampster wheel on this one. I do not agree with calling the race headquarters except in real emergencies but I did try to call just to ask if they had any news. The line was busy. Hopefully John Firth who is up there with Hans and Newton will call one of us. I'm going to try his wife Dawn next! Take care all, Susie
According to the latest update, it took Newton 14 1/2 hours to do what should have been a 9 hour run. That doesn't make any sense at all unless something went wrong. Danny pointed out to me on the phone that he came in within one minute of two other mushers. Often in these races, when people are struggling they band together at the back of the pack. I see that all the time with the Quest. The two mushers Newton was travelling with are Martin Jahr and Mark Sleightholme. Martin is from Switzerland but has lived in Haines Junction, Yukon for a couple of years now. He just had his 40th birthday and we were invited but didn't make the drive out there (2 hours away from here). Mark is from England and is leasing a team from Sebastian Schnuelle. His team is very slow. We passed them on a training run last month and talked with him when he finally got to Quiet Lake on the South Canol Road. That was back when we took 2 hour breaks in the middle of a 90 mile run. Now we run 90 miles straight through. Which brings me back to, what could have taken Newton so long to do a 60 mile run? My mind is on a hampster wheel on this one. I do not agree with calling the race headquarters except in real emergencies but I did try to call just to ask if they had any news. The line was busy. Hopefully John Firth who is up there with Hans and Newton will call one of us. I'm going to try his wife Dawn next! Take care all, Susie
Hans into Paxon
SUNDAY JANUARY 11, 2009 10:25PM
Hans is in the next checkpoint with the fastest travel time. However, he is 2:47 behind Lance. Lance has to rest 2 hours longer than Hans at the last checkpoint so Hans could make up some time there. That extra two hours will do Lance's team some good though and will still leave him 47 minutes ahead of Hans unless Hans really makes better time over the next 60 miles than Lance does. So far Lance has been faster in each leg except for the most recent run, and even then he was only 1 minute slower! So from here it looks like the race will go to Lance Mackey. Now everybody who is a contender for the top spots is stuck in Paxon taking their 8 hour layovers. Some slower teams stopped for 8 hours earlier so they will be free to leave sooner but I can't see that it will help them enough to put them back at the front. Hans and Newton being bibs 4 and 1, will have to wait longer before being allowed to leave. That puts a number of other people ahead of Hans as follows: Sven Haltman 29 minutes ahead leaving Paxon, but he has to stop 1.5 hours longer at Sourdough, the last checkpoint Brent Sass 3 minutes ahead leaving Paxon. Has to stop 30 minutes longer at Sourdough.Braxton Peterson 4 minutes ahead leaving Paxon. Has to stop 2 hours longer at Sourdough. So these three are people Hans could fairly easily get ahead of again, assuming he does not stay longer than 2.5 hours in Sourdough, the next checkpoint. The big problem is that there is still a 60 mile run to Sourdough, then a 59 mile run to the finish line. That's 119 miles, much farther than any of our training runs. I'm not sure Hans will risk his dogs by running them through with only 2.5 hours in Sourdough to rest. Hans may have hooped himself by resting those extra 2 hours on the trail earlier in the game. That's how the strategy of these races goes! We'll see who's works best. Newton should be in Paxon right about now if he is on schedule. Not sure when they will be updating next. Susie
Hans is in the next checkpoint with the fastest travel time. However, he is 2:47 behind Lance. Lance has to rest 2 hours longer than Hans at the last checkpoint so Hans could make up some time there. That extra two hours will do Lance's team some good though and will still leave him 47 minutes ahead of Hans unless Hans really makes better time over the next 60 miles than Lance does. So far Lance has been faster in each leg except for the most recent run, and even then he was only 1 minute slower! So from here it looks like the race will go to Lance Mackey. Now everybody who is a contender for the top spots is stuck in Paxon taking their 8 hour layovers. Some slower teams stopped for 8 hours earlier so they will be free to leave sooner but I can't see that it will help them enough to put them back at the front. Hans and Newton being bibs 4 and 1, will have to wait longer before being allowed to leave. That puts a number of other people ahead of Hans as follows: Sven Haltman 29 minutes ahead leaving Paxon, but he has to stop 1.5 hours longer at Sourdough, the last checkpoint Brent Sass 3 minutes ahead leaving Paxon. Has to stop 30 minutes longer at Sourdough.Braxton Peterson 4 minutes ahead leaving Paxon. Has to stop 2 hours longer at Sourdough. So these three are people Hans could fairly easily get ahead of again, assuming he does not stay longer than 2.5 hours in Sourdough, the next checkpoint. The big problem is that there is still a 60 mile run to Sourdough, then a 59 mile run to the finish line. That's 119 miles, much farther than any of our training runs. I'm not sure Hans will risk his dogs by running them through with only 2.5 hours in Sourdough to rest. Hans may have hooped himself by resting those extra 2 hours on the trail earlier in the game. That's how the strategy of these races goes! We'll see who's works best. Newton should be in Paxon right about now if he is on schedule. Not sure when they will be updating next. Susie
Newton Chistochina right on time-contributed by Susie
SUNDAY JANUARY 11, 2009 3:53PM
Newton left Chistochina at 10:44 a.m. Alaska time after exactly 6 hours in the checkpoint. He is following his race plan precisely. 108 miles down, 192 miles to go. Susie
Newton left Chistochina at 10:44 a.m. Alaska time after exactly 6 hours in the checkpoint. He is following his race plan precisely. 108 miles down, 192 miles to go. Susie
Hans out of Christo-contributed by Susie
SUNDAY JANUARY 11, 2009 3:12PM
Newton is posted as being still in the check point but I would imagine he's out or will be soon and it just hasn't been updated. Here is some race analysis so you can start to understand how the mid-distance races are run. This could be valuable for the people filming the race so you know what you are hearing and talking about come Quest time. Mid-distance is similar to long distance stratedgy, at least 'mid-distance' in the North which tends to be 200 to 400 mile races vs. in the south where mid-distance can be anything down to 30 miles. However, you can get away with less rest in a mid-distance race. In long distance, the people who cheat their dogs in rest do great for about 500 miles, then they start to crash. Many people have leap frogged past Hans by cutting rest. We'll see if this stratedgy holds up on the 72 mile run to Paxon. This is the hardest part of the trail plus the longest between checkpoints. Generally you want to rest as many minutes/hours as you run. Lance has so far cheated his dogs 2 hours and forty minutes with time on the trail of only 10:40, so that's a pretty big percentage 'cheat'. Hans has 1 hour and 10 minutes owing to his dogs, so he has also been cutting rest. His dogs have two hours more rest on them than Lance's do though, so we'll see if that means something good for Hans's team in this 72 mile run. Lance's team is not suffering so far from being shorted on rest, and his time on the trail is a full half hour less than Hans. Hans had planned to rest 6 hours in Chisto and cut it short to 5, so he's decided to race. If he didn't care about his standing, he'd have stayed another hour. Newton will stay the 6 hours as per the race plan. Maybe longer if he feels it's best for him or the dogs. There are lots of other mushers ripping their dogs off on rest so it should be really interesting to see what happens in Paxon in about 8 hours! Susie
Newton is posted as being still in the check point but I would imagine he's out or will be soon and it just hasn't been updated. Here is some race analysis so you can start to understand how the mid-distance races are run. This could be valuable for the people filming the race so you know what you are hearing and talking about come Quest time. Mid-distance is similar to long distance stratedgy, at least 'mid-distance' in the North which tends to be 200 to 400 mile races vs. in the south where mid-distance can be anything down to 30 miles. However, you can get away with less rest in a mid-distance race. In long distance, the people who cheat their dogs in rest do great for about 500 miles, then they start to crash. Many people have leap frogged past Hans by cutting rest. We'll see if this stratedgy holds up on the 72 mile run to Paxon. This is the hardest part of the trail plus the longest between checkpoints. Generally you want to rest as many minutes/hours as you run. Lance has so far cheated his dogs 2 hours and forty minutes with time on the trail of only 10:40, so that's a pretty big percentage 'cheat'. Hans has 1 hour and 10 minutes owing to his dogs, so he has also been cutting rest. His dogs have two hours more rest on them than Lance's do though, so we'll see if that means something good for Hans's team in this 72 mile run. Lance's team is not suffering so far from being shorted on rest, and his time on the trail is a full half hour less than Hans. Hans had planned to rest 6 hours in Chisto and cut it short to 5, so he's decided to race. If he didn't care about his standing, he'd have stayed another hour. Newton will stay the 6 hours as per the race plan. Maybe longer if he feels it's best for him or the dogs. There are lots of other mushers ripping their dogs off on rest so it should be really interesting to see what happens in Paxon in about 8 hours! Susie
Newton in Christo-Contributed by Susie
SATURDAY JANUARY 11, 2009 12:27PM
Newton is in Chistochina checkpoint. His pace was just over 10 mph which is very good. What I read from that is that the dogs are doing very well and the weather has warmed up. Hans had the second fastest pace from GA to Chisto, Lance was a half mile an hour faster. Hans rested in GA an hour longer than Lance, but they all have to put in at least 20 hours in checkpoints so he used up some of that time like they will all have to. Hans said he would run the first 100 miles easy and see where that puts him. he thought the weather was going to improve so the people who preserved their teams to do faster runs in the second half would benefit from that. He said he would also keep an eye on what Newton is doing and if Newton looked good half way, he would feel okay about taking off if it looked like he could win. Nevertheless, Mackey knows what he's doing and obviously has a very strong team again this year. I've never seen him 'blow up his team' as many do when they take off fast at the start. Lance has this race in the bag already unless something dramatic happens. He's far enough ahead that he has a safe lead on all of them. Allen Moore specializes in these shorter races and beat Hans by 2 minutes in the Sheep Mountain 150. Allen does not run the thousand mile races and trains his dogs to go a little faster. He's another one Hans will have a hard time catching. I suspect Brent Sass is overdoing it and will crash. We'll see. He is very ambitious, has made statements that he intends to WIN the Quest and the Iditarod. You have to start with the intention, but I wouldn't think he has the team to back that up. Nevertheless, so far he is doing great. There are just so many good teams within reach of Hans that I will stop commenting there. They are so close together that really the first 12 teams are all in contention. Newton is the 15th team in, and started first so he is probably in about 17th place. But his run time was very fast and he rested at least an hour longer in the last checkpoint than all the others except for Allen Moore and Hans. He's not up front but he's doing great. Newton still has all 12 dogs, Hans dropped a dog in GA. Newton's team has been very injury free this year. Hans has Two dogs with leg gators on due to the fur on their legs being rubbed off by cold snow in a recent training run. They are susceptible to frost bite. Another dog has a cut in his ear that requires him to wear a head band. These are articles that need to be adjusted on a regular basis and it would not surprise me if Hans just dropped the dog with the head band. They slip off every hour or so and you have to stop the whole team... Things are looking good. Susie
Newton is in Chistochina checkpoint. His pace was just over 10 mph which is very good. What I read from that is that the dogs are doing very well and the weather has warmed up. Hans had the second fastest pace from GA to Chisto, Lance was a half mile an hour faster. Hans rested in GA an hour longer than Lance, but they all have to put in at least 20 hours in checkpoints so he used up some of that time like they will all have to. Hans said he would run the first 100 miles easy and see where that puts him. he thought the weather was going to improve so the people who preserved their teams to do faster runs in the second half would benefit from that. He said he would also keep an eye on what Newton is doing and if Newton looked good half way, he would feel okay about taking off if it looked like he could win. Nevertheless, Mackey knows what he's doing and obviously has a very strong team again this year. I've never seen him 'blow up his team' as many do when they take off fast at the start. Lance has this race in the bag already unless something dramatic happens. He's far enough ahead that he has a safe lead on all of them. Allen Moore specializes in these shorter races and beat Hans by 2 minutes in the Sheep Mountain 150. Allen does not run the thousand mile races and trains his dogs to go a little faster. He's another one Hans will have a hard time catching. I suspect Brent Sass is overdoing it and will crash. We'll see. He is very ambitious, has made statements that he intends to WIN the Quest and the Iditarod. You have to start with the intention, but I wouldn't think he has the team to back that up. Nevertheless, so far he is doing great. There are just so many good teams within reach of Hans that I will stop commenting there. They are so close together that really the first 12 teams are all in contention. Newton is the 15th team in, and started first so he is probably in about 17th place. But his run time was very fast and he rested at least an hour longer in the last checkpoint than all the others except for Allen Moore and Hans. He's not up front but he's doing great. Newton still has all 12 dogs, Hans dropped a dog in GA. Newton's team has been very injury free this year. Hans has Two dogs with leg gators on due to the fur on their legs being rubbed off by cold snow in a recent training run. They are susceptible to frost bite. Another dog has a cut in his ear that requires him to wear a head band. These are articles that need to be adjusted on a regular basis and it would not surprise me if Hans just dropped the dog with the head band. They slip off every hour or so and you have to stop the whole team... Things are looking good. Susie
A lot slower than expected-contributed by Susie
SATURDAY JANUARY 10, 2009 10:30PM
I just checked the race plan and they are all moving a lot slower than expected. We thought Newton would be in Glen Allen in 5 hours. Lance took 5:45 and Hans took 6:03, Newton is at 6:54. At extremely cold temperatures the snow is like sand paper. That slows things down. Also they try to keep the teams slow to avoid frost bite. So you can adjust the finish time already from 5 p.m. Monday to 7 p.m. Monday, and it will probably go a lot later than that as they lose time throughout the weekend against the race plan. Susie
I just checked the race plan and they are all moving a lot slower than expected. We thought Newton would be in Glen Allen in 5 hours. Lance took 5:45 and Hans took 6:03, Newton is at 6:54. At extremely cold temperatures the snow is like sand paper. That slows things down. Also they try to keep the teams slow to avoid frost bite. So you can adjust the finish time already from 5 p.m. Monday to 7 p.m. Monday, and it will probably go a lot later than that as they lose time throughout the weekend against the race plan. Susie
Newyon Update at the CB300-Contributed by Susie
SATURDAY JANUARY 10, 2009 8PM
It's 8 p.m. Yukon time. Newton is into Glen Allen, the second check point and is holding his own in the middle of the pack. Hans has left him behind and is closer to the front. Another musher scratched so the field is down to 21 from 35 sign ups, and 32 registered (ie, 32 showed up to start the race). Eight mushers are still on the trail from Tolsona, on their way to Glen Allen, and nobody has left the Glen Allen checkpoint there. The temperature is -24 F, which is pretty good. About -32 C. Susie
It's 8 p.m. Yukon time. Newton is into Glen Allen, the second check point and is holding his own in the middle of the pack. Hans has left him behind and is closer to the front. Another musher scratched so the field is down to 21 from 35 sign ups, and 32 registered (ie, 32 showed up to start the race). Eight mushers are still on the trail from Tolsona, on their way to Glen Allen, and nobody has left the Glen Allen checkpoint there. The temperature is -24 F, which is pretty good. About -32 C. Susie
Newton and Hans at the CB 300-contributed by Susie
SATURDAY JANUARY 10, 2009 5:20PM
Hans and Newton are in Glen Allen eating dinner right now, the night before the Copper Basin 300. It's -48F there. The musher meeting was this afternoon and guess who drew bib #1? ... Newton! He pulled the number out of the hat at the front of the room, looked at it and said, "Oh shit." Before he even said what number he pulled the whole room was laughing, including him. Hans said it was really funny. Anyway, obviously they are hoping for better weather tommorrow. It's kind of bad when you are HOPING for nothing colder than 40 below. Hans has his brand new Northern Outfitter clothes on, he was hand sewing the ruff on the night before he left. (Yes, I offered but was not allowed to touch it!) Hans and Newton are talking with Sebastian Schnuelle, Lance Mackey and a bunch of other hard core mushers about the race. There are 35 sign ups and almost all are very accomplished and experienced mushers. Hans said people are interested in Newton because he's a relative newcomer, but mainly because he is a Jamaican in "interior" Alaska, in January, at minus 48, ready to run what is arguably the toughest 300 mile dog sled race in the world. (NOBODY in their right mind goes to interior Alaska in January! They don't call it, 'The interior of' Alaska, it's just 'interior Alaska' or 'the interior', and the direct translation is: COLD!) I could hear lots of voices in the background while I was talking to Newton and Hans. Lots of buzz. I told Newton not to go out there and kill himself. If it gets too bad, tell somebody. Newton said, "I'm going to finish this race.", and sounded very serious and calm about it. Hans got back on the phone and was laughing saying he can't wait to see Newton take off across the lake tommorrow in the ice fog at -40, first guy out, nobody to follow. He says he can't wait to see the look on Newton's face. Nice guy, eh? Hans is bib 4, only 8 minutes behind Newton by the way. That's it for now, Susie
Hans and Newton are in Glen Allen eating dinner right now, the night before the Copper Basin 300. It's -48F there. The musher meeting was this afternoon and guess who drew bib #1? ... Newton! He pulled the number out of the hat at the front of the room, looked at it and said, "Oh shit." Before he even said what number he pulled the whole room was laughing, including him. Hans said it was really funny. Anyway, obviously they are hoping for better weather tommorrow. It's kind of bad when you are HOPING for nothing colder than 40 below. Hans has his brand new Northern Outfitter clothes on, he was hand sewing the ruff on the night before he left. (Yes, I offered but was not allowed to touch it!) Hans and Newton are talking with Sebastian Schnuelle, Lance Mackey and a bunch of other hard core mushers about the race. There are 35 sign ups and almost all are very accomplished and experienced mushers. Hans said people are interested in Newton because he's a relative newcomer, but mainly because he is a Jamaican in "interior" Alaska, in January, at minus 48, ready to run what is arguably the toughest 300 mile dog sled race in the world. (NOBODY in their right mind goes to interior Alaska in January! They don't call it, 'The interior of' Alaska, it's just 'interior Alaska' or 'the interior', and the direct translation is: COLD!) I could hear lots of voices in the background while I was talking to Newton and Hans. Lots of buzz. I told Newton not to go out there and kill himself. If it gets too bad, tell somebody. Newton said, "I'm going to finish this race.", and sounded very serious and calm about it. Hans got back on the phone and was laughing saying he can't wait to see Newton take off across the lake tommorrow in the ice fog at -40, first guy out, nobody to follow. He says he can't wait to see the look on Newton's face. Nice guy, eh? Hans is bib 4, only 8 minutes behind Newton by the way. That's it for now, Susie
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Heading for the Copper Basin
Newton poses by the JDT truck as he gets ready for the BIG race. Who would have thought his teeth and eyelashes would ever have the same colour?
Good Luck Newton!
Good Luck Newton!
Copper Basin: Musher Meeting-Contributed by Susie
Just an update for all who may be interested. Hans and Newton are in Glen Allen eating dinner right now, the night before the Copper Basin 300. It's -48F there. The musher meeting was this afternoon and guess who drew bib #1? ... Newton! He pulled the number out of the hat at the front of the room, looked at it and said, "Oh shit." Before he even said what number he pulled the whole room was laughing, including him. Hans said it was really funny. Anyway, obviously they are hoping for better weather tommorrow. It's kind of bad when you are HOPING for nothing colder than 40 below. Hans has his brand new Northern Outfitter clothes on, he was hand sewing the ruff on the night before he left. (Yes, I offered but was not allowed to touch it!) Hans and Newton are talking with Sebastian Schnuelle, Lance Mackey and a bunch of other hard core mushers about the race. There are 35 sign ups and almost all are very accomplished and experienced mushers. Hans said people are interested in Newton because he's a relative newcomer, but mainly because he is a Jamaican in "interior" Alaska, in January, at minus 48, ready to run what is arguably the toughest 300 mile dog sled race in the world. (NOBODY in their right mind goes to interior Alaska in January! They don't call it, 'The interior of' Alaska, it's just 'interior Alaska' or 'the interior', and the direct translation is: COLD!) I could hear lots of voices in the background while I was talking to Newton and Hans. Lots of buzz. I told Newton not to go out there and kill himself. If it gets too bad, tell somebody. Newton said, "I'm going to finish this race.", and sounded very serious and calm about it. Hans got back on the phone and was laughing saying he can't wait to see Newton take off across the lake tommorrow in the ice fog at -40, first guy out, nobody to follow. He says he can't wait to see the look on Newton's face. Nice guy, eh? Hans is bib 4, only 8 minutes behind Newton by the way. That's it for now, Susie
Copper Basin:Thursday 12:41pm-Contributed by Susie
It's 12:41 p.m. on Thursday, and they are loading up the dogs. The truck is running with the two sleds on top, on of which has a green, yellow and black sled bag with 'JAMAICA' in red letters on each side of it plus a large Jamaican flag sewn onto the top of the sled bag. I hope we've got Newton ready for this. Three hundred miles through the worst part of Alaska, with temperatures currently hovering at -40 Celsius or Farhenheit (they meet at -40). Doing this on a dog sled with no assistance, plus having to look after his team of 12 dogs is a big responsibility for Newton and a tough journey for anyone. The dogs are going wild in the yard and Hans is still deciding which dogs to bring. Newton has his dogs almost completely loaded. The issue with Hans's dogs is that two of them have what is called 'chicken legs'. The fur on their lower legs was rubbed off on the last training run by the extremely cold and abrasive snow. The dogs are fine and not injured, but now they have to wear leg gators to keep them from getting frost bite on their lower legs. They have bright blue leg guards, kind of like the polo ponies at Chukka Cove. Hans is wondering if he wants to go through the bother of keeping the leg gators on. On the other hand he wants to see if the gators work so he knows for the Quest. Hans's main leader Tushai is a female who is just coming into heat and the rest of the team is ALL MALES! Now that spells trouble, and he's considering leaving her behind. Kinvig's ear is bleeding where it got bitten by Minty Fresh, so that's another consideration. Even a small injury like that can be a major problem out on a trail like the Copper Basin. Newton's dogs once again have no injuries and no issues. That was also the case on the last big training run. Hans said that if they had have been racing, he would not have been able to keep up with Newton's team. Newton is packing dog jackets for this race, not something you need unless it is very, very cold. As I write here, I notice that they must be finished loading dogs because the dogs left in the yard just started howling. The dogs abruptly change from a caucaphony of happy excited barks to a long mournful howl as soon as the last dog is loaded. That's because the dogs left behind know they are not going. To the dogs these runs and races must be akin to 'the hunt'. Somewhere deep in their genetics sled dogs get extremely excited when they know they are getting ready for a run, just as a pack of wolves would get stimulated by the scent of another animal in the woods and the imminent prospect of a pack hunt. Even though it is a lot of work, and sometimes there is danger and sometimes injuries, they are born and wired to do this. Lisa got a few pictures before the truck took off, and I just watched them leave down the road, dissappeering into the woods that start about 500 feet past the dog yard. Now all we can do is wait for Saturday's race start and watch the race progress on the website.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Copper Basin-contributed by Susie
We are hoping the weather warms up a bit for the CB 300 but it is still 40 below there. Glen Allen is a cold place to start with. Also there is some stomach sickness going around in the yard, even Jesus is not eating and he is a complete swine. However, so far Newton and Hans's dogs are looking fine. They are giving the dogs 'metronitozol' or something like that just in case. We did the food drops last night and all went well other than Goose shit on the floor after eating a lot of scraps. I cooked the human meals and they packed snacks and clothes, matches etc. Lisa and Newton did all the dog food and booties during the day and Hans had already cut all the dog snacks which Newton and Lisa then packed into 14 snack portions. There is a LOT of food packed into small bags waiting to go into the truck. I'll get Lisa to take a picture. It's like 1/3rd of the Quest so I guess ya, it would be a lot of food.
Keep your fingers crossed for Newton!
It's going to be a tough race.
Keep your fingers crossed for Newton!
It's going to be a tough race.
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