“Extremely icy” conditions have led Yukon Quest organizers to move the start location of this year’s races from Shipyards Park in downtown Whitehorse to Suncatchers Inn Cattery.
Suncatchers Inn Cattery is located on Takhini River Road near the Dawson Overland Trail.
The start time of the Quest — comprised of a 100-mile race, 250-mile race and a 450-mile race — has also been pushed back to 2 p.m. The race date remains unchanged, with the storied sporting event set to launch on Feb. 3.
The delayed start is to “compensate for the difference in distance and to maintain the schedule of volunteers and coordination we have further up the trail,” according to a Jan. 31 post on the Yukon Quest’s Facebook page, which announced the changes.
The post further notes that several mushers had expressed concerns about the conditions. Quest officials agreed that the unfavourable conditions endangered mushers, volunteers, officials and the public.
“The weather in Whitehorse has been warm and wet recently, and as a result, the Shipyards Park and surrounding area have become extremely icy. We have been monitoring the weather closely as we approach the start of the race and determined that the conditions were not safe [for] us to start in Shipyards Park,” reads the announcement.
Temperatures in Whitehorse and surrounding areas spiked well above 0C earlier this week, with federal government weather data showing that it was above 4C in Whitehorse on Jan. 29.
On the same day, the mercury climbed above 7C in Carmacks, an official checkpoint along the Quest’s route to Dawson City.
The public is still welcome to attend the 2024 Quest’s kick-off and watch teams depart from a viewing area that will be set up. However, there will be no buildings for spectators to warm up in, and current weather forecasts indicate that Feb. 3 will witness a high of -26C.
Additionally, the dog yard will not be open for attendees to meet the teams. Instead, those looking to interact with Quest mushers are encouraged to stop by the Sternwheeler Hotel tonight at 5 p.m. for the “Meet the Mushers Event.”
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Contact Matthew Bossons at matthew.bossons@yukon-news.com