Yukon Quest - History

History

The idea for the Yukon Quest originated in April 1983 during a bar-room discussion among four Alaskans: LeRoy Shank, Roger Williams, Ron Rosser, and William "Willy" Lipps. The four proposed a thousand-mile sled dog race from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon, to celebrate the Klondike Gold Rush-era mail and transportation routes between the two. They disdained the many checkpoints and stages of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race and envisioned an endurance race in which racers would rely on themselves and survival would be as important as speed. "We wanted more of a Bush experience, a race that would put a little woodsmanship into it", Shank said at the race's 25th anniversary.

This remained a vague plan until August 1983, when the first public organizational meetings took place. Fundraising began, and the start date for the race was optimistically moved forward from February 1985 to February 25, 1984. The entry fee for the first race was $500, and Murray Clayton of Haines, Alaska became the first person to enter when he paid his fee in October 1983. In December 1983, the race was officially named the Yukon Quest. Two more months of planning followed, and a crew of volunteers was organized to staff the checkpoints and place trail markers. On February 25, 1984, 26 racers left Fairbanks for Whitehorse. Each team was limited to a maximum of 12 dogs, and racers had to finish with no fewer than nine. They also had to haul 25 pounds (11 kg) of food per dog (300 pounds (136 kg) total) to cover the long distances between checkpoints.

Numerous problems occurred in the first race. The leading mushers had to break trail because the snowmobile intended for the task broke down. Trail markers often were absent or misplaced, and no preparations had been made for racers in Dawson City until organizer Roger Williams flew there shortly after the race began. After Dawson City, mushers had their dogs and sleds trucked 60 miles (97 km) to avoid a section of snowless trail, then had to deal with open sections of the Yukon River near Whitehorse due to above-average temperatures. The eventual winner of the inaugural race, Sonny Lindner, was greeted with little fanfare on his arrival. On the race's 25th anniversary, he recalled, "I think it was 90 percent (camping) trip and maybe a little bit of racing."