Mushers in 2024 Yukon Quest’s 450-race will not celebrate their triumph in Dawson City this year after race organizers called off most of the race’s second half.
The reason for the abrupt change of plans is due to timing, according to race marshal Jason Severs.
Following the discovery of open water on the Yukon River between the Carmacks checkpoint and McCabe Creek on Feb. 5, Quest headquarters decided to truck mushers from Carmacks to McCabe Creek.
This adjustment resulted in mushers being further up the trail than planned at this point, and there wasn’t enough time to get supplies to the Scoggie Creek dog-drop station, the second-to-last stop mushers make on their way to Dawson.
Instead of continuing the 450-mile race to Dawson, mushers are making the roughly 37-mile run to the hospitality stop at Stepping Stone before turning around and returning to Pelly Crossing.
The first team to return to Pelly Crossing will be crowned the Quest’s 450-mile race winner.
According to Severs, the decision to forgo the musher’s journey to Dawson was made last night.
The 250-mile race finished in Pelly Crossing as planned, with 29-year-old Crystal To winning against Louve Tweddell.
The decision to cut the race short is unquestionably disappointing to many involved, but it’s not wholly unexpected. Severs said mushers were briefed about this possibility during the mushers meeting before the start of the race.
“It’s pretty disappointing. We were informed at the drivers meeting that this was a possibility,” says Aaron Peck, the musher representative on the Quest’s board of directors and the owner of Elevation Sled Dogs.
He adds, “From a musher’s perspective, they trained so hard. The 450 is the reason a lot of the teams are here — because of the distance.”
The shorter nature of this year’s race certainly opens the possibility that new records will be set. According to the Yukon Quest’s executive director, Benjamin Smith, any new records set will come with an asterisk.
“This is only the second year that we’ve run this three-race format, so some of these races didn’t exist prior […] If records are set this year, I’d give them an asterisk. We cut distance and time off the start and cut down rest periods due to trail conditions,” Smith told the News via text from race headquarters in Whitehorse.
“This race is moving much faster this year because of in-race adjustments.”
The start line of the 2024 Yukon Quest was moved due to icy conditions at Shipyards Park. Mushers instead departed for the race from a location along Takhini River Road on Feb. 3.
READ MORE: Yukon Quest’s 100-mile race won by Alaskan Sean de Wolski
Contact Matthew Bossons at matthew.bossons@yukon-news.com