This year's running of the Yukon Quest is turning into a brutal ordeal for both mushers and dogs, and as we write this, there's a horrendous unresolved situation on Eagle Summit. Late Sunday afternoon both snow AND rain descended on the Summit, creating extremely icy conditions. At this moment, high winds and blowing snow have created whiteout conditions. Snowmobile patrols have turned back; air search planes are grounded.
Quest veterans like Bill Kleedehn who have completed the treacherous descent from the Summit are saying things like, "I'm just happy to be alive." AND THERE ARE FOUR MUSHERS LOST OUT THERE SOMEWHERE. It's hoped they are just bedded down somewhere between Mile 101 and Central, waiting it out. But it gets worse yet. Quest 300 musher Randy Chapelle lost his dog team coming down the summit! He caught a ride with another descending team, but there is NO SIGN OF HIS DOGS, and as we noted, air search is impossible and the snowmobile patrols "don't wanna go there." We can only hope that this situation doesn't turn into a real tragedy. (Veteran Hans Gatt said he would not be surprised if someone got killed up there.)
A few suicidal nuts like Lance Mackey find it their cup of tea: "That's as out of control as I've ever been. It's what we look for." But the dog team that has lost its musher on an icy descent from a 3600-foot summit in blizzard conditions is another matter.
Read the Fairbanks News-Miner's story on this hair-raising situation:
http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~3236540,00.html