Sean de Wolski, racing out of Fairbanks, Alaska, clinched the top spot in the Yukon Quest’s 100-mile race, cruising into Braeburn at 10:59 p.m. on Feb. 3. He departed the start line at Takhini River Road approximately seven hours before his winning finish.
De Wolski was followed by Jonathan Lucas at 11:42 p.m., Nathaniel Hamlyn and Amelie Janin at 11:46 p.m., Claudia Wickert at 12:22 a.m. on Feb. 4, Silas Godber at 12:40 a.m., Vico Fauveau at 1:25 p.m. and Jimmy Lebling at 2:10 a.m.
It’s worth noting that the 100-mile race this year was actually just under 62 miles due to the adjusted starting location. The 2024 Quest was initially supposed to leave from Shipyards Park in downtown Whitehorse, but due to unfavourable conditions, the starting line was moved to a location on Takhini River Road.
The first musher to arrive at the Braeburn checkpoint was Michelle Phillips, who is participating in the Quest’s 450-mile race. She arrived at 9:30 p.m.
Connor McMahon was the second musher in the 450-mile race to reach the Braeburn checkpoint at 10:39 p.m. Mayla Hill arrived at 11:19 p.m. and departed at 11:28 p.m., heading up the trail towards Carmacks.
Normand Casavant was the fourth musher in the 450-mile race to arrive in Braeburn, pulling in at 11:32 p.m., followed by Misha Wiljes at 11:42 p.m. Kailyn Olnes arrived at 1:45 a.m. on Feb. 4.
Of the two mushers in the 250-mile race, Crystal To arrived first. She pulled into the Braeburn checkpoint at 11:47 p.m., well ahead of Louve Tweddell, who arrived at 1:35 a.m. on Feb. 4.
Despite some concerns pre-race about trail conditions, mushers arrived in Braeburn well ahead of the predicted arrival times shared with media members by race organizers. Some volunteers the News spoke with suggested the ice and hard-packed snow on the trail were responsible for the fast arrival times.
Godber confirmed to the News that there were icy conditions on parts of the trail.
“Around the 10-mile mark, we went into the creek, and that was a bit exciting, and it was very icy, a lot of sharp turns. I almost wiped out a couple of times, but I managed to keep my sled upright,” Godber said after arriving in Braeburn.
Godber, who was racing out of Carcross, originally hails from Prince George, British Columbia. He was initially going to run in the 250-mile race but said that he chose to change races because some dogs on his team sustained injuries, resulting in the addition of less-experienced dogs to his team.
According to race marshal Sean Severs, on the morning of Feb. 4, mushers are approximately “four to five hours ahead of the projected time.” As of 10 a.m. on Feb. 4, Mayla Hill was past the Mandanna Lake time station and in the lead. Michelle Phillips was approximately 15 miles behind her.
Contact Matthew Bossons at matthew.bossons@yukon-news.com